Ceremony and Celebration – kick start your celebrant training here!
31 January/1st Feb & 14/15th February 2026 (online across 2 weekends)Is now the time? Have you been wondering what a celebrant does, what makes a good ceremony, or how to become a celebrant? Have you long wanted to be a marriage celebrant? This course gives a realistic preview of the role, explores a range of ceremonies, and starts to build the skills that are essential for practising as a professional celebrant. It is recommended as the first course towards the Certificate in Celebrant Studies (although other entry points are possible). You will gain a firm understanding of the nature of ceremony and ritual and the role of the celebrant in Aotearoa-New Zealand, build essential writing and delivery skills, and receive a framework for the planning and design of a broad range of contemporary ceremonies for births, deaths, marriages and more.
Weekend 31 Jan and 1 Feb 9.00am – 4:00pm each day then skip forward two weeks to
Weekend 14 and 15 Feb 9:00am – 1.00pm each day ie the course runs across two weekends
Invest in yourself and your confidence and competence as a professional!
Note: We are delivering this programme fully by Zoom, but be assured that we have mastered how to keep you so engaged that time will fly on Zoom. Feedback from past participants shows that you build both skills and a professional network and have fun in the process!
Earlybird fees close 27 December, so get your enrolment in before Christmas.
AfterGlow Ceremony – a ritual for fully & semi-retiring celebrants
Sunday 15th February 2026 at 4:00pm (by Zoom for approx 1hr)Have you decided to relinquish your registration as a marriage celebrant, or semi/fully retire from your wider celebrant role? During your celebrant career you have been a beacon for others, crafting ceremonies to shine light on important transitions and rites of passage including births, marriages, and deaths. Now it is time for your service to be acknowledged, and how better than to use the celebrant métier of ritual?
With support from Dept Internal Affairs, BDM, this ceremonial event is an opportunity for you to mark this transition with your peers as you bathe in the AfterGlow of your unique journeys as celebrants.
Based on a successful pilot in early 2024, Ceremonies NZ has commissioned transition ceremony specialist, Kerry-Ann Stanton, to design and facilitate this event. Some preparation will be necessary, so please register your participation so we can send you the details nearer the date.
A long lead-in time has been planned to allow the word to spread through the celebrant community. Please share this event with others at a similar career stage.
There is no fee for participation, but if you have both the means and the inclination, an optional koha to help cover costs will be appreciated.
Photo credit – photographer Mohamed-Nohassi
Marriage Celebrant Essentials – start early!
starting Tuesday 13th January 2026START YOUR CELEBRANT TRAINING EARLY! Put intention into practice by getting your training underway early in the year. This popular course fills quickly and is an ideal short course for aspiring marriage celebrants. It provides all the essentials and ensures a thorough knowledge of the legalities imposed by the Marriage Act and recent changes affecting celebrants. You will be well set up for applying to be appointed by BDM, and for dealing with the tricky legal questions that invariably arise in a public role. You will learn about designing ceremonies at the simpler end of the spectrum. For those keen to stay in the flow and move into ceremonies which are fully personalised, this particular MCE dovetails perfectly with Ceremony and Celebration, a broader and more comprehensive foundation for working as a celebrant in Aotearoa-New Zealand. Secure your enrolments 6 weeks before course starts to benefit from the lowest course fees.
Tuesday 13 January 2026: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday 20 January 2026: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday 27 January 2026: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Professional Practice – Build Your Brand
Monday 16, 23 & 30 March 2026Prerequisite: This is designed for students who have already completed at least one Certificate paper. Practising celebrants wanting to improve their management and marketing systems are also welcome to enrol in this as Ongoing Professional Development (OPD) which is recognised by CANZ.
Student feedback has shown that celebrants often start making decisions about their brand early in their training, so to help avoid expensive mistakes, we now offer our Professional Practice paper in two, shorter, stand-alone courses, each with a distinct focus. This first one (BYB) helps you to define and/or refine your brand and to establish the systems to manage, market, and support your practice. This course can be taken at any point during your training.
The course consists of three Zoom evening sessions held 7.00pm-9.30pm on Monday 16, 23 & 30 March and an applied assignment on which you will receive individual feedback.
Please enrol early to take advantage of earlybird rates and to provide adequate time for pre-course work which will require some research on which to base your celebrant branding and systems.
Polish Your Practice (PYP), the ceremony design part of Professional Practice, will be offered both in May as well as later in the year as the final paper in your Certificate. Our Graduation ceremony will be in November.
Funeral Celebrant – fabulous combo of online and face-to-face training
starting Wednesday 13th May 2026This combination of online and face-to-face funeral celebrant training gives you the best of both worlds – the convenience of Zoom to begin and the added depth of in-person training to complete. If you want to competently and confidently design and lead funeral ceremonies in NZ, there is no better option. You will build some skills and knowledge in the online classes and then meet for an intensive, practical weekend in Auckland. Here you get the inside view of the funeral industry with Q&A’s, site visits and presentation practice to a real live audience. This enriching experience has been highly endorsed by past students – it’s real and builds your collegial network at the same time!
We prefer students to have completed the Ceremony and Celebration paper first, although practising celebrants and others with experience in the industry and/or with loss and grief may also apply. (Contact the Director to discuss your suitability). Grab this opportunity for the ultimate funeral celebrant training package.
Note the dates:
Wednesday 13th May: 7:00pm-9:30pm online
Wednesday 20th May: 7:00pm-9:30pm online
Wednesday 27th May: 7:00pm-9:30pm online
Wednesday 3rd June: 7:00pm-9:30pm online
Saturday 13th June: : 10:00am-5:00pm face-to-face in Auckland
Sunday 14th June: 9:00am-3.00pm (Please note: the weekend times allow for those travelling)
Precourse work is sent prior to the first Zoom session.
Earlybird rate applies for those who have completed enrolment 6 weeks prior to course commencement. Later fee is $799)
To provide a smooth start for the group, we need all enrolments/course admin to be concluded 10 days before commencement – enrolments after this incur a 10% surcharge. Please enrol early.