Ceremony and Celebration – Foundation Course
18/19 September (online) & 2/3 October (in person in Wellington unless Covid restrictions in place)This is recommended as first course of the Certificate in Celebrant Studies. It establishes a firm understanding of the nature of ceremony and ritual and the role of the celebrant in Aotearoa-New Zealand, builds essential writing and delivery skills, and provides a framework for the planning and design of a broad range of contemporary ceremonies .
Professional Practice
starting 2 November 2021Prerequisite: Ceremony & Celebration & one other course
This Professional Practice course will be in a series of 7 Zoom evenings.
Tuesday 2 November through to Tuesday 14 December, each session 7.00pm-9.30pm
Funeral Celebrant Course
starting 12 August 2021This course is designed for those who wish to be competent to design ceremonies for funerals and memorials and confidently officiate as the civil funeral celebrant at these events. It also provides an opportunity for continuing education for experienced funeral celebrants to explore new dimensions in their work, and other practising celebrants who decide they are ready to move into this area. This course will be delivered entirely by Zoom, which 2020 showed us is a medium that contemporary funeral celebrants need to be familiar with
Marriage Celebrant Mastery
28 September - 26 October 2021This course is for those who wish to be fully trained as professional marriage and civil union celebrants. It builds upon our prerequisite Marriage Celebrant Essentials course and therefore assumes a thorough working knowledge of the legalities imposed by the Marriage Act and Civil Union Act*. We explore the full design process, a spectrum of creative enactments that can be incorporated in contemporary ceremonies of commitment, and continue building the writing and delivery skills expected of professional celebrants.
The course is delivered in 5 evening sessions 7.00pm – 9.30pm
*Note: Practising celebrants who have already conducted 5+ ceremonies may apply to the Director for direct entry into this course (although if interested in the differentiation and offering of registry and registry-style ceremonies, MCE is still recommended as a pre-requisite)
Marriage Celebrant Essentials
starting 17 August (Online)This popular on-line, short course provides all the essentials for starting out on the right foot as an independent marriage celebrant. It 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 or renewing your appointment with BDM, and 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. Those interested in crafting fully-personalised ceremonies will be invited to continue into a more advanced module later in the year.
Tuesday 17 August: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday 24 August: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday 31 August: 7:00pm-9:30pm