Colleague Celebrants and Members of the General Public: the matter of fees
You need to know that the government has appointed an excessive number of celebrants. Some of these have been trained well (a minority); others are a disgrace. You would be very foolish indeed if you chose a celebrant on price.
The International College of Celebrancy wishes to make it perfectly clear that it is not, and never has been, in favour of any suggestion of fixed fees for civil ceremonies - despite my own personal experience with the ACCC.
We believe the only fair way to pay a celebrant is by an hourly rate set by the individual celebrant based on his / her qualifications and experience. We acknowledge, however, that clients demand a fee quotation and most Funeral Directors will not give anyone work, unless the celebrant accepts that Funeral Directors' fixed ceiling maiximum fee. (This is why we advocate developing direct links with our own clients and with the general public.)
So what can we say about fees ?
My observation is that celebrants trained by shonky operators and who make no effort to improve by further study or mentoring, are very cheap and ought to be - say $20 per hour - or less. They need to be cheap to attract some ceremonies.
Celebrants who have a level of skill and experience, seem to charge $60-$80 per hour. College Diploma graduates or equivalent ought to be able to charge $85- $190 per hour. When all is said and done, a celebrant should be paid for what they do, and how they do it.
Fees should be based on the 3-4 Diamond celebrant standard.
My observation in 2016 is that one needs to pay of $800- $1200 for a wedding of substance, content and elegance, and $1000-$2500 for a funeral, depending on size, time, work required, and level of responsibility.
I must say there are some excellent celebrants who accept the Funeral Directors' fixed fee of $590. By "fixed" I mean that, if a celebrant charges more than that, they are unlikely to get any work. I went on an hourly rate in 1997 and have NEVER been asked to officiate at a Funeral by a Funeral Director in the time since.
(Please note that we believe that Funeral Celebrants who observe the College Standards are notoriously underpaid, given the intense nature of the work, the skill required, the time spent, the spasmodic nature of the work, and the out-of-hours-time required. In States other than Victoria the fee paid by Fiuneral Directors is outrageously low.)
How to choose a 3-4 Diamond celebrant.
© Dally Messenger III - 2016
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