The first issue of my newsletter, Ceremonies And All That Jazz, is now available in the "Free Stuff" section of my website. It will be produced periodically as an informative promotional tool for clients and prospective clients.

Feel free to pass it on if you know someone in need of a celebrant for their ceremony!

Happy New Year!

I would just like to take this opportunity to wish all my clients a safe and happy Christmas.

And as the great Mahatma Gandhi is purported to have said: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

This is my philosophy for 2010.

Have a good one.

If you haven't visited my site for a while, you may be surprised to find it has been considerably redeveloped in recent weeks.

I firmly believe that websites should remain current and up-to-date because the world around us constantly changes and so it is that things may change in our own businesses that need to be reflected as quickly as possible on our websites.

No, I haven't raised my fees - if that's what you were thinking! I have simply taken out some of the information that was outdated and that I didn't feel needed replacing. I've also made it possible for viewers to see a summary of my fees and charges via the main webpage, rather than as part of the "ceremonies" sub-pages where this information used to be featured. I've also added some new links on the "Links" sub-page and updated my "Availability" sub-page to incorporate some significant periods of time when I will not be able to conduct ceremonies due to my forthcoming studies in 2010.

The redesign will hopefully make navigation of my website easier for all who view the site. 

I still maintain that I have one of the most comprehensive information-based websites in the celebrant community. It focuses on the things I feel prospective clients need to know, at the expense of an overdose of fluff and guff. This is because I know that prospective clients want information to be able to make decisions, not fluff and guff that really equates (in my view) to smoke and mirrors. And hey, I'm okay with that!

Have a Happy Christmas!

A recent celebrity wedding in Australia was officiated by a civil celebrant who has since allegedly discussed publicly their role in conducting the ceremony.

This calls into question the privacy laws of this country, and, I believe, transgresses section 5(b) of the Code of Practice for Marriage Celebrants, requiring civil marriage celebrants to "respect the privacy and confidentiality of the parties".

I went to high school with the sister of someone who went on to become an Australian singing sensation. If I were ever asked to conduct a ceremony for that popstar, I would never be able to speak about it, even to acknowledge my involvement, as that would not be respectful of the privacy and confidentiality of the clients.