Contemporary celebrants need to be able to design and deliver personalised ceremonies for all occasions. This requires advanced communication skills to liaise with clients, listen, understand their requirements, and clarify the brief. Excellent writing skills are necessary, as are presentation skills to deliver the final ceremony. As most celebrants are self-employed, basic office management skills are also necessary. Celebrants are people-oriented, and need to have compassion, tolerance, and to be accepting and accommodating of difference. They work with people in times of joy and sadness, so need to be self-aware and to understand their own relationship with certain emotional triggers. Our training is designed to address all these areas in a supportive, participative learning environment. Experienced adult educators have commended our programme for its innovative and effective design which enables students to develop all the necessary skills progressively through successive courses leading to a qualification.
Many people are shocked to discover that training is not compulsory. Any ceremony is a significant event and clients deserve assurance that their chosen celebrant knows what they are doing. There is probably no other industry where someone can offer their services to the public by just claiming to be sufficiently skilled. The desire for a professional standard for celebrancy was the reason the Certificate in Celebrant Studies was founded, here in New Zealand, over 25yrs ago – another first in the world for our small country! The students who are attracted to our training all share the desire to be professional in their approach, and confident that they have the necessary knowledge and skills before they “practise” on the public! Many are surprised to discover the complexities that they hadn’t appreciated before they started their training. “I didn’t know what I didn’t know” is a frequent refrain. We also cover the “what-ifs” so you can be prepared for the unexpected.
All our courses were originally taught face-to-face, either over a full week or on two consecutive weekends. The face-to-face learning environment reflects the nature of celebrant work, which regardless of ceremony type, involves building relationships – whether it be meeting clients, planning a wedding, funeral or other ceremony, or delivering it to an audience. In 2020 the world changed with the arrival of Covid-19. Overnight we needed to pivot and begin on-line teaching. Our team spent many hours developing the tools and strategies to make the most of this new medium. Our aim is to enable students to practise in real-life settings. Many factual aspects, such as the legalities of wedding ceremonies, can be studied on-line, and Zoom sessions provide the benefit of being able to study from home and meet people from all around the country from the comfort of your lounge. Covid has changed professional education probably for ever. We are continually refining how we take advantage of the gains, whilst retaining the benefits of interactive group learning, especially for the higher order skills that are essential in celebrancy. Most students really value the network that forms with like-minded celebrants during their training. This is a benefit as you gain an instant referral and support network! Whatever the medium, our classes are carefully designed to be real, participative and inspirational!
We offer most courses several times throughout the year. Students often enjoy continuing with the peers they meet on their first course but, in reality, everyone has different time commitments. We recommend you schedule your courses to fit with your existing work, family and other activities. There is an assignment to complete after each course, and this needs to be passed before you progress to the next. It is advisable to have time between courses to review and integrate your learning. If you are serious about being the best celebrant you can be, respect your training as a professional commitment. It will take 3-6 months minimum to complete the Certificate in Celebrant Studies, but most people spread their courses throughout a year (or more). We also offer a Diploma in Celebrant Studies which involves two further courses.
No – the appointment process for marriage celebrants is completely separate. It is administered by Births Death and Marriages, (BDM) which is part of the Department of Internal Affairs. Doing this training will equip you with the skills and confidence you need to offer marriage and civil union ceremonies to the public. BDM endorses our training which helps you prepare for the application process. You will learn both the legal aspects and the ceremonial aspects, which together create the complete, legal and usually personalised ceremony that we recognise in Aotearoa-New Zealand. Information about the registration process for marriage and civil union celebrants is on this link to the BDM website. Whilst BDM tests understanding of the legal requirements for weddings and civil unions as part of the registration process, they are happy to leave the preparation for your ceremonial involvement to us!
In Aotearoa-New Zealand, Government registration is only required for celebrants who conduct weddings and civil unions. This is not the case in Australia and other countries, where the legislation is different. Our population, social and cultural contexts are also unique to this country and our so courses are grounded in this reality. The internet has opened possibilities to train anywhere in the world, but we encourage you to check that any celebrant-specific training you consider undertaking will be applicable here and take account of our laws, mores, and context.
Each Course has class times specified on our website. In addition, there is typically one or two assignments to complete along with exercises on the learning platform. Assignments are clearly outlined and can generally be completed even by people with busy lives. Most celebrants work in portfolio roles, so gaining practice at juggling different projects is all art of the reality. One of the assignments in each module will involve creating an original ceremony. Where there is a precourse assignment, this will be explained in the Welcome letter you receive six weeks before the course commences and upon full payment of your fees.
There is no time limit for completion of our qualifications. You can pace your training to what suits your life. Some celebrants undertake the Certificate programme because they have a particular focus in mind eg conducting weddings. They may later find they are asked to do funerals, and so return after a period of years to upskill on funeral celebrancy. Similarly, our Transitions course is an advanced paper which may be completed at a later stage (some pre-requisites apply).
The Certificate in Celebrant Studies requires successful completion of two compulsory papers plus a specialised strand in either Marriages or Funerals. Students who complete all the qualification papers are awarded the Diploma in Celebrant Studies in acknowledgement of the extra commitment they make to broadening and deepening their learning. This option has been available for students commencing their training since 2016. Students who were awarded their Certificate prior to this date can still complete any outstanding papers for their Diploma or may be eligible for our Diploma Accreditation course which assesses their work at the current Diploma level.
Most courses leading to the qualification are held fully on-line or with a short, complementary face-to-face component in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. We have graduates in all parts of the country and are very proud of this regional spread. The full range of courses and dates are on this link www.celebrant.school.nz
Our teachers are all experienced celebrants and educators who have made a recognised contribution to the development of ceremony and the celebrancy profession in Aotearoa-New Zealand (see Meet the Team). The Celebrant School is a fully New Zealand owned and operated business, with a big Kiwi heart! Understanding the cultural, political, and familial context of clients is essential for celebrants. Our course materials originate here and address the legal, cultural, spiritual/philosophical, and individual components of ceremony. The Celebrant School – Te Wānanga Korowai Aroha is the longest-established provider of celebrant training in New Zealand. As with any purchasing decision, you need to do your due diligence – check out testimonials and references, course content, ask questions, and compare providers. Our programmes have been offered for over 25 years and many of New Zealand’s top celebrants trained with us.
You can pick up some aspects of celebrancy piecemeal, but you may discover that quality can be variable and misleading advice is plentiful on social media forums. Our courses are professionally-designed, fully comprehensive, and in-depth to ensure you gain all the knowledge, skills and understanding you need. The integrated design of our qualifications enables students to staircase from one paper to the next – building skills and confidence successively. The outcome is a professional, confident and fully-competent celebrant!
Our foundation course, Ceremony and Celebration, gives an introduction to the role and the key skills required to be a celebrant. In essence it a realistic preview of what working as a celebrant requires. You can enrol for this one course and then decide for yourself whether to progress. This paper all sorts of ceremony, so your resultant skills may be applied in your whānau environment, adding richness and connection to your family, even if you decide not to offer services to the wider public.
Yes it is possible, even though we actively support our students to reach the required standard of performance. We give detailed written feedback illustrating when work meets the standards expected, and when and how it does not. Incorporating the feedback into a revised ceremony is an important step in integrating the learning. Most students appreciate this process and do achieve the desired standard, but some do not. Sometimes it is because they are genuinely surprised about the skills required or simply do not commit time to their assignments. Students are always alerted when they have one last opportunity to submit their final assignment and demonstrate that the learning outcomes have been achieved. When this assignment is marked, they are awarded a pass or fail.
The course has been designed to cover both the breadth and depth of contemporary ceremony in a carefully planned way. This is comprehensive training and some courses have pre-requisites to ensure that students have developed the competencies they need before progressing. Sometimes people ask about existing skills and we certainly do attract some very accomplished students! However, we want those skills to be explored in, and applied to, the context of celebrancy. Students appreciate this as they move through the programme and recognise the progress they have made. Feel free to talk to us – or past graduates.