Marriage Celebrant Mastery
Marriage Celebrant Mastery
Starting 2 September 2025 in weekly evening sessions

This in-depth course is designed for those seeking to become fully trained, professional marriage and civil union celebrants offering bespoke, personalised ceremonies.

Building on the foundation of our Marriage Celebrant Essentials (MCE) course, this MCM course assumes a strong working knowledge of the legal responsibilities outlined in the Marriage Act and Civil Union Act.*

You’ll explore the full design process and a broad range of creative elements that can be woven into modern ceremonies of commitment. Through practical, hands-on learning, the course covers:

  • Interviewing techniques

  • Vow coaching

  • Enhancing your ceremony writing and delivery

  • Responding to the diverse needs of couples

  • Managing Rehearsals

Whether you’re aiming to deepen your celebrant practice or elevate your professionalism, this course is practical, inspiring, and fun!

Course Format:
Tuesdays, 2 Sept – 30 Sept
5 weekly evening sessions, 7:00pm–9:30pm (via Zoom)

*Practising celebrants who have already conducted four or more marriage ceremonies may apply for direct entry, bypassing the MCE prerequisite.

Enrolment Details:
Earlybird rate closes 28 July – secure your place now!
To ensure smooth enrolment and allow time for pre-course preparation, we strongly recommend registering early.
Enrolments received less than one week before course commencement will incur a 10% late fee to cover additional admin requirements.

 

$585.00 incl. GST Add to cart
Marriage Celebrant Essentials
Marriage Celebrant Essentials
starting Tuesday 5th August 2025

Join this very popular, on-line, short course for aspiring marriage celebrants. THIS COURSE FILLS QUICKLY! 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 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. For those keen to stay in the flow and move into ceremonies which are fully personalised, this particular MCE dovetails perfectly with the more advanced Marriage Celebrant Mastery starting 2 September.

Secure your enrolment early in both courses to benefit from the lowest course fees.

Note: MCE Earlybird discount (saving you $50 off the full price of $375 is available until 1 July) Enrolments received within the week before course commencement incur a 10% surcharge to cover the additional admin required.

Tuesday 5 August 2025:  7:00pm-9:30pm

Tuesday 12 August 2025: 7:00pm-9:30pm

Tuesday 19 August 2025: 7:00pm-9:30pm

$375.00 incl. GST Add to cart
Professional Practice – Pt 1: Build Your Celebrant Brand
Professional Practice – Pt 1: Build Your Celebrant Brand
Monday 14, 21 & 28 July 2025

Prerequisite: Intended for students who have already completed at least one Certificate paper, but practising celebrants wanting to improve their management and marketing systems may apply.
This is the first part of our Professional Practice strand.

Student feedback has indicated that celebrants often start making decisions about their brand early in their training, and would appreciate some guidance to help avoid expensive mistakes. We have therefore split our Professional Practice course into 2 parts. This first part will help you to define and/or refine your brand and to  establish the systems to manage, market, and support your practice.

The course consists of three Zoom evening sessions held 7.00pm-9.30pm on Monday 14, 21 & 28 July.

Please enrol before 7 July to provide adequate time for pre-course work which will require some research on which to base  your celebrant branding and systems. (Late enrolment surcharge applies after this date)

Part 2: Polish Your Practice will be available later in the year for anyone who has completed all the other required papers for their qualification and wants to graduate in 2025.

$350.00 incl. GST Add to cart
Workshop: He Karanga ki te Reo – Inviting te reo Māori into your ceremonies
Workshop: He Karanga ki te Reo – Inviting te reo Māori into your ceremonies
Two evening Zooms on Thursday 17 & 24 July 2025, at 7.30-8.30pm

This workshop is for celebrants who would like to incorporate more te reo in their ceremonies but are unsure where to start.

Karen Tangaere, Ngāti Porou, celebrant, teacher, will guide you to help overcome common barriers in a supportive, uplifting environment that gently reduces fear, encourages correct pronunciation, and builds cultural understanding.

You will explore:

  • why the use of te reo Māori in ceremonies matters
  • what connects familiar celebrant processes and mihi whakatau
  • pronunciation of the Māori words you commonly use
  • how to introduce yourself in te reo
  • why karakia are used, what they achieve, and how to offer your favourites with greater confidence

This 2 session workshop allows time to practise and embed your learning. All questions welcome!  Tūwhitia te hopo! Feel the fear and do it anyway!

 

$95.00 incl. GST Add to cart
Funeral Celebrant – superb combo of online and face-to-face training
Funeral Celebrant – superb combo of online and face-to-face training
starting Thursday 31st July 2025

You get the best of both worlds with this combination of online and face-to-face funeral celebrant training. It has proved enormously successful in taking advantage of the convenience of Zoom and the added depth of in-person training. If you want to competently and confidently design and lead funeral ceremonies in NZ, there is no better option. You build some skills and knowledge in the online classes and then meet for an intensive, practical  weekend in Wellington. Here you get the inside view of a chapel, Q&A with a Funeral Director, see a mortuary, visit a natural burial cemetery and urupa, and get live funeral delivery practice. This enriching experience is real and builds your collegial network at the same time!
It is beneficial if you have already completed the Ceremony and Celebration paper, 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:
Thursday 31 July: 7:00pm-9:30pm online
Thursday 7 August: 7:00pm-9:30pm online
Thursday 14 August: 7:00pm-9:30pm online
Thursday 21 August: 7:00pm-9:30pm online
Saturday 30 August: : 10:00am-5:00pm face-to-face in Wellington
Sunday 31 August: 9:00am-3.00pm  (Please note: the weekend times allow for those travelling)

Precourse work is sent prior to the first Zoom session. 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.

$799.00 incl. GST Add to cart