Marriage Celebrant Essentials (March)
starting Tuesday 10th March 2026$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.
Enrol by 3 Feb to catch the earlybird rate!
Class times on Zoom:
Tuesday 10 March 2026: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday 17 March 2026: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Tuesday 24 March 2026: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Enrolments less than one week before course commencement incur a 10% surcharge to cover the additional admin.
For full exposure to a wider range of ceremonies, this paper is ideally complemented by Ceremony and Celebration, which will be offered in February and June this year. See other course listings.
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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 really does, what makes a ceremony meaningful, or whether celebrancy could be your next professional step? Perhaps you have long wanted to become a marriage celebrant, or you have completed Marriage Celebrant Essentials and are ready to explore the deeper ceremonial dimensions of this mahi.
Ceremony and Celebration offers a realistic and inspiring introduction to professional celebrancy. The course explores a wide range of contemporary ceremonies and begins to build the core skills required for practice as a professional celebrant. It is recommended as the first course toward the Certificate in Celebrant Studies (although other entry points are possible).
You will:
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Develop a strong understanding of ceremony and ritual
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Explore the role of the celebrant in Aotearoa-New Zealand
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Build essential writing, presentation, and delivery skills
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Learn a practical framework for planning and designing ceremonies for births, deaths, marriages, and other significant life events
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Gain confidence, clarity, and a grounded sense of professional practice
Course dates and format
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Weekend 1: 31 January & 1 February, 9.00am – 4.00pm
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Weekend 2: 14 & 15 February, 9.00am – 1.00pm
(The course is delivered across two weekends with a weekend break in between.)
Delivery
The programme is delivered fully via Zoom. We have created an engaging online learning experience that keeps participants connected, active, and involved. Past participants consistently report strong skill development, meaningful professional connections, and genuine enjoyment throughout the course.
Invest in yourself — and in your confidence and competence as a professional celebrant.
Christmas Special
The earlybird rate has been extended until 31 December. Enrol before year end to secure the discounted fee.
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
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.