Polish Your Practice (Prof Practice – Pt 2)
starting Monday 21 September 2026Prerequisite: This paper is one of the two short courses that make up our Professional Practice strand. It is typically completed last in your CertCelSts qualification, but may be taken prior to Pt 1 – Building Your Brand. Please contact the Director if you are uncertain about your eligibility.
Polish Your Practice consolidates your learning across the four quadrants of professional celebrant practice to refine your craft. It focuses on strengthening client engagement for more complex ceremonies, deepening your understanding of ceremonial purpose, and advancing your capability in working with diversity, difference, and sensitive contexts.
In addition, we examine emerging sector issues, including the role of technology and artificial intelligence in contemporary celebrancy. Participants may request specialist topics of interest, allowing the cohort’s needs to shape elements of the curriculum.
The course is delivered over four Zoom sessions, held weekly, 7.00pm-9.30pm (NZT) on these dates:
Monday 21 September 2026
Monday 28th September 2026
Monday 5th October 2026
Monday 12th October 2026
Sessions combine discussion, case studies, skill-building exercises, ceremony delivery, and facilitated peer reflection. If you are aiming to graduate this year, please note this is the final opportunity to complete this paper in 2026.
Enrol by 31 August for earlybird rate
Professional Practice – Build Your Brand
Monday 13, 20 & 27th July 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 Celebrants Aotearoa.
Student feedback has shown that celebrants often start making decisions about their brand early in their training, so to help avoid expensive mistakes, our Professional Practice strand is divided into 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 13, 20 & 27 July and an applied assignment on which you will receive individual feedback.
To provide adequate time for pre-course work (which will require some research on which to base your celebrant branding and systems), and to take advantage of the earlybird rate, please enrol by 31 May.
Polish Your Practice (PYP), the ceremony design part of Professional Practice, will be offered both in May and September, and is best undertaken towards the end of your Certificate programme. We hope these two opportunities enable as many current students as possible to complete course requirements and graduate as part of our special 30th Anniversary event in Auckland on 21/22 November. It would be wonderful to have you there – so save the date!