FAQs

Why hire a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant®?

Clients looking to create meaningful ceremonies find that Celebrants offer personalized services that authentically reflect the clients’ own desires for creative ceremonies. I handcraft the elements of your ceremony with you only after hearing your story, learning about your own hopes and concerns; and I keep on listening through our conversations to bring forth your own vision.

My specialized education in Celebrancy serves my clients well. Each ceremony I help create is informed by my knowledge of ceremony structure, ritual, the written word, the spoken word, story, symbol, music, the arts, world cultural traditions, and the human heart. As a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant® I belong to an international organization of professional Celebrants who embrace all humanity in its many forms and beliefs. I will honor you by helping to create the ceremony that is unique to you, that speaks to and expresses your own experience, and that resonates within your community of family and friends.

Whether a wedding, memorial, personal or community celebration, or healing ceremony, you and your guests will feel truly inspired, connected, and transformed by the one-of-a-kind ceremony that results from our collaboration.

How is a Celebrant different from an officiant?

officiant: one who presides at and officiates a service.

An officiant’s title describes only the smallest and only the final part of what a Life-Cycle Celebrant® offers.

Because I believe every ceremony should be uniquely crafted to serve the needs of each client, I spend ample time with clients before their ceremony to understand their vision for rituals that serve them.

I take time to ask you questions about your ideas, hopes, and fears. I listen carefully to your responses and carefully integrate your story into the ceremony.

I have extensive knowledge of a wide variety of rituals and healing practices, cultural traditions and belief systems that I bring to your table.

I value the client’s own values, urging you to imagine and explore the many rich possibilities for your ceremony.

Then, I compose a basic plan for your ceremony that addresses your own desires. Together we hone and polish this draft until you have the ceremony you want. Only then do I, your Celebrant, enact your ceremony for you.

As a professional Celebrant, I am with you from the beginning to help you bring your ideas to life and to help you articulate your vision for a “just right” ceremony, not just to “preside and officiate” over the final event.

Why is ceremony important?

Some of us still think of ceremonies as worn out rituals: the incomprehensible repetition of dusty phrases uttered by someone we may not know well in a location that may be less than inspiring. That kind of mindless and heartless, cookie-cutter ceremony won’t effectively mark this important moment in your life.

In fact, without ceremonies that genuinely speak to our unique experience and values, we cannot fully move forward into this new stage of life. A lack of meaningful ritual isolates us and inhibits our ability to grow and to transform.

Our rituals must provide us the sacred space to help us step outside of time momentarily so we can reflect on what has been, what now is, and to prepare for what may come. The ceremonies we create today can powerfully support our transitions as we move through life’s important passages.

What exactly is the service I am buying when I hire you to create our ceremony?

As a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant®, I already know that your ceremony is all about you.  You are not going to get the old “Dearly Beloved…” ceremony with me—unless, of course, that is what you want!  I am a professional Celebrant with a solid education and background in writing, crafting, and performing personalized ceremonies to fit each client’s own desired tone and need for authenticity. Specifically,

As your Celebrant …

• I will offer to meet with you in person for a free, no-obligation conversation. We’ll take up to an hour, so I can hear from you what you have in mind, what you have in heart, and all the details of the event you wish for. I will carefully listen to your story.
• I will present you with my contract to read and consider.
• If you decide to hire me, I will ask for a deposit, (50% of the total fee I quote you at this meeting), to be paid in cash or by check with the signed contract.
• As soon as I have your signed contract and full deposit:
• I will lock your special date into my calendar.
• I will compose (and keep us on) a schedule as we design your ceremony.
• I will customize a list of questions for you to respond to, opening up yet another avenue of communication to help build your ceremony.
• I will begin immediately to create a first draft of your ceremony as soon as you have returned your questionnaire. I will use my expertise to offer rituals designed for your unique interests and ceremony.
• I will email you one initial draft and then will edit it using your suggested revisions. We will do this more than once—if you feel it is needed.
• I will ensure that you have complete control over how your ceremony looks and sounds.
• I will be available to you for any discussion of ceremony business via email and phone from the day you sign on until your ceremony has concluded.
• I will provide you with any vendor resources and referrals I have at my disposal.
• I will coordinate with any vendors you have hired (musicians, florists, photographers, etc.) to ensure they understand their important roles related to your ceremony.
• I will write an official ceremony script and share it with those involved in the ceremony.
• I will lead a ceremony rehearsal the day before the ceremony.
• I will arrive for your ceremony 30 minutes early to help facilitate a calm and competent occasion.
• I will travel to and officiate at your ceremony, bringing your vision to life.
• If you are marrying, I will return all necessary legal paperwork to the County Clerk after it is signed.
• After your ceremony, I will send you a beautiful Keepsake Copy of your ceremony.

How much does a Celebrant’s services cost?

As is true of other professional ceremony services, the answer to this question depends on what you want me to do for you.

I can promise you that I will first offer you a reasonable ballpark idea of my fee over the phone once I understand what kind of ceremony you want. Then, I will quote you a fair fee at the end of our 1 hour, no-obligation interview, once we’ve talked more in-depth and explored your basic vision for your ceremony. This is the fee amount we will enter on the contract.

The factors influencing the final quote can include the anticipated complexity of the ceremony creation, the location of the function (travel costs, etc.), and the client’s own unique requirements. The more you have thought about your ceremony before our first meeting, the better I can tailor my quote to your specific needs.

For most ceremonies, my fees will range from $425-$750 U.S.