There's a lot appearing in the news at the moment about celebrities who are marriage celebrants, or on the waiting list to become marriage celebrants.  I know of five individuals who have established names in the media or the acting world who have become marriage celebrants or are on the waiting list to be appointed as one. All actively promote the fact that they are a) from the media or the acting world and b) are therefore "well-fit" to conduct ceremonies because of this experience speaking in public.

Whilst a wedding or other ceremony does involve a public performance, it's not generally the type of performance seen on the stage or screen.  A ceremony is not a place for dramatic play-acting by the celebrant. Whilst a good, clear speaking voice is essential, this is not to be found just within individuals emerging from the realm of the stage or screen. Many non-media celebrants work very hard to develop their speaking voices.

Whilst celebrants are the ones doing most of the talking in ceremonies, their role should be prominent without taking centre-stage at the event. In other words - understated but eloquent and always secondary in importance to the couple. The guests are there to watch the couple join together in marriage - not the celebrant whoop-whooping the crowd into a frenzy after the vows are stated, or delivering the words of the ceremony with such dramatism as to win an Academy Award.

Couples who choose to use celebrity celebrants may, in my own opinion, risk being reduced to the role of mere supporting actors in the wedding production rather than be the "stars" of their own special day.

To give you an example, I would like to tell you a little story from my own experience. I officiated at a wedding in 2007 where a performer appeared as a surprise during the signing, and proceeded to steal the show from the couple. I was told someone would sing, but was led to believe it was a relative, not a professional performer. It was impossible to regain control of the ceremony once the performer started, and the guests were focused on the entertainment and not the couple. This effected the end of the ceremony, for the signing of papers is certainly not "The End" of the event.  To some extent, I see celebrity celebrants possibly doing the same in some ceremonies - taking the attention from the couple rather than ensuring the couple remain the centre of attention at their own event.

The other thing about celebrity celebrants is that they will command a significantly higher fee than non-celebrity celebrants for doing the same job and working the same amount of hours (around 20 hours if they write their own ceremonies).  I've heard $2,000 mentioned as the fee for one celebrity celebrant. That is 5 times what I charge, but if having a celebrity is going to add something special to someone's wedding (and certainly to their budget ;), then there are several to choose from across Australia.

(No, this is not me on a bender! But it could be a future Dame Edna Celebrant...)

This afternoon I solemnised my 175th wedding since becoming registered as a marriage celebrant on 2 Septemer 2004. The venue was the beautiful Glengariff Historic Estate in the Dayboro Valley, north-west of Brisbane.

The day was fine but the winds were cold and blustery, which is a little unusual for May. Fortunately, the hedges surrounding the Glengariff wedding garden seemed to deflect the bulk of the winds from us, and the ceremony proceeded as planned.

At the end of the ceremony, my clients Daniel and Colleen released some doves with their children as a symbol of family unity. At first we were unsure if the doves could be released in the high winds, but someone was smiling down upon us today and the winds died down enough to be able to release the doves safely.

Today I did not have any weddings but conducted two wedding rehearsals in two spectacular venues. The first was at Glengariff Historic Estate in the Dayboro Valley inland from Redcliffe, and the second was at the Mount Cotton Rainforest Gardens at Mount Cotton, Redlands. Both venues are perched on the side of small mountains, and are equally beautiful.

Although I do offer a level of service that doesn't include a wedding rehearsal, I think it's really important to have rehearsals where there are many people involved in the wedding party and when the venue has a number of options for things to take place. Mount Cotton Rainforest Gardens, for example, has a number of different locales within the grounds where weddings can take place and there are different ways in which the bridal party can make their entrance.  Glengariff also has some different locales for ceremonies.

Rehearsals allow you to explore what is possible and what might suit your particular event. I set aside at least an hour for a rehearsal so that entrances, exits and the signing process can be worked out properly and practiced a number of times. At the end of the day, I know my wedding parties will work better on the day if they have had a chance to run through all of this beforehand.