Marriage Celebrant Essentials
NEW Dates starting Tuesday 24th June$350.00 incl. GST
This very popular, on-line, short course provides all the essentials for starting out on the right foot as a marriage celebrant. MCE 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 as an independent marriage celebrant by Internal Affairs (Births Deaths and Marriages, 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.
This course is ideally complemented by the Ceremony and Celebration course, also in June, which provides a thorough foundation for working as a celebrant and the tools to design fully personalised ceremonies, so if the timing suits you, there is the option to go full-immersion here!
Enrolments less than one week before course commencement incur a 10% surcharge to cover the additional admin.
PLEASE NOTE: Owing to family bereavement, the original dates have been changed. New Dates:
Tuesday 24 June: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday 1 July: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday 8 July: 7:00pm-9:30pm
In stock
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Professional Practice – Pt 2: Polish Your Practice
Wednesday 11, 18, 25 June & 2 July 2025Prerequisite: This is one of two parts of our newly reformatted Professional Practice paper, the final paper prior to Graduation. You may complete this paper prior to Pt 1 – Building Your Brand. Please contact the Director if you are unsure of your eligibility.
This paper wraps up the learning in the four Quadrants of professional celebrant practice and gives your performance a final polish. Establishing strong client connection for more complex ceremonies, clarifying ceremonial purposes, diversity and dealing with difference come under the lens, along with emerging issues, such as the use of technology and AI. Students can also request special topics that they would like addressed.
The course consists of four Zoom evening sessions held 7.00pm-9.30pm on the dates above.
Please enrol before 7 May for the early bird fee of $449, after which date the course fee will be $499.
Professional Practice – Pt 1: Build Your Celebrant Brand
Monday 14, 21 & 28 July 2025Prerequisite: 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 reformatted Professional Practice paper.
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 9 June for the earlybird fee of $325 and to provide adequate time for pre-course work which will require some research on which to base your celebrant branding and systems.
Part 2: Polish Your Practice will be available later in the year for anyone who has completed all the other required papers and wants to graduate in 2025.
Celebrate Matariki 2025
Date Change: Now Tuesday 17th June - online seasonal ritual at 7:00pmNgā kai a Matariki, nāna i ao ake ki runga – The food supplies of Matariki, scooped up.
The Matariki cluster holds a profound connection to food. Traditionally, its rising signified a time to interpret and predict the abundance of the New Year. Inspired by this proverb, we will craft a virtual feast honouring the stars of Matariki. This celebration will also serve as a space to cherish memories of our departed loved ones and to create a wish dandelion, setting our intentions for the year ahead.
Our ritual facilitator, Darcie Price, has created this new opportunity to help you bring this uniquely Kiwi seasonal celebration into your life, your family and your community to thus enrich the society of Aotearoa-New Zealand. Building on the rituals offered in previous years she will further supplement your kete of ideas and activities that you can include in your local celebrations.
Deepen your knowledge and become part of this evolving national celebration. All welcome – celebrants, friends, family and anyone curious and interested in what Matariki offers! You can participate with a group, but please enrol individually (and email us who’s in your group) as we will be managing breakout groups during the evening.
Note: Estimated length 1 hour. We may record this session for those wanting to purchase it for later viewing.
NB: The date has changed from what was originally advertised – apologies for any inconvenience.