At my last wedding on 28th November, the couple had a very interesting set-up for the bonbonniere given to guests.

On a large coffee table in the venue, a small boutique Brisbane hotel, the couple had placed large, odd-shaped jars filled to the brim with lollies.

There were jars with M&Ms, Jaffas (who hasn't rolled those down the steps at the cinemas?), striped Peppermint candy pieces and more. A child's wonderland, to be sure, but not a child in sight.

A nicely presented note sat near a stack of plastic bags asking the guests to "fill a bag" and take it home with them as a sweet memory of the sweet occasion of the couple's marriage.

I wondered who got the Edelsten wedding gig in Melbourne this coming weekend. Dr Geoffrey Edelsten, celebrity doctor, is marrying his American fiance Brynne Gordon at the Crown Palladium Ballroom. Sounds fancy. Sounds expensive. Sounds like something I would not be comfortable doing, personally.

I have today updated my 2010 calendar, incorporating the times when I will not be available due to intensive study commitments. Something like 10-12 weeks of my year have been blocked off so that I can meet my proposed study commitments (unfortunately, the most popular times of the year in which people like to marry!). My wedding workload will be seriously reduced in 2010 due to my studies.

Today I spent a fair bit of time outdoors down at Currumbin and it was a scorcher.  I can't imagine what it's going to be like when the full force of summer is upon us. Thankfully, I don't have a very busy calendar this summer. It's the least pleasant time of the year for outdoor ceremonies. I think many couples are slowly realising that as well.

A celebrant I've been mentoring in rural Queensland recently told me about an experience she had with a prospective client who was marrying an Asian lady who didn't speak English.

When my mentee told the man that an interpreter would be required for the ceremony so that his bride could understand what was happening and the marriage would be valid, the man brusquely told her that one wasn't needed at all despite his bride not speaking "a word of English" (to use the groom's description).

My mentee tried to elaborate on why the interpreter was required - the law requires participants to a marriage to fully understand what they are committing to in the marriage ceremony, and therefore must understand what is being said at the ceremony. But this arrogant groom insisted that he'd been "through all that with immigration" and his original celebrant in the Rockhampton area (who had taken his Notice of Intended Marriage before he left the area and moved to my mentee's town) told him an interpreter wasn't required.

To cut a long story short, my mentee advised me that she had been dumped by the client despite working tirelessly to help him by locating a local area interpreter. Apparently, the man said he would "fly in" a relative of the original Rockhampton celebrant (the relative also being a celebrant, as it happens), as that person would conduct the ceremony without an interpreter!

This sort of unethical and unprofessional celebrant practice needs to be stopped. Celebrants need to realise that they have an obligation to follow the law in marrying their clients, and where English is not spoken by one or more parties to the marriage, that interpreters are required to facilitate a valid marriage.

At the end of the day, I'm enormously proud that my mentee stood her ground and insisted on using an interpreter. This was the right thing to do in the circumstances. She didn't end up doing the wedding, but she proved herself to be an ethical, professional celebrant and will be a better celebrant because of that.

POX ON THE ROCKHAMPTON CELEBRANT AND HER FEMALE CELEBRANT RELATIVE FOR ACTING UNETHICALLY AND UNPROFESSIONALLY, BREAKING THE LAW, AND BRINGING OUR INDUSTRY INTO DISREPUTE!!!!!!!

I've just spent all morning updating different sections of my website. It's important to ensure our websites remain current and up to date, otherwise clients may not be receiving the right information.

I will continue the updating but the process will be slow as there is a lot of information on my site.

 

It's been a long, hard road but I have just produced my final piece of assessment for the Graduate Diploma in Civil Ceremonies at Monash Uni. This Friday, my dear friend and celebrant colleague (and long-suffering "video guy"), Guy Piper (pardon the pun!) will film my final ceremony developed for the course assessment. Guy has filmed all of my assessment pieces for this course over the years, and I am indebted to him for his kindness and willingness to assist l'il ol' technophobic me.

This course is one of just two tertiary-level celebrancy courses to be taught in the world, so it is certainly an exclusive educational qualification.