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Celebrant

Celebrants conduct personalised wedding, naming and funeral ceremonies. They also help mark other important occasions and relationships.

Annual Salary

variable

Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

irregular

You could work: as a contractor / self-employed; as customers demand

4%
Future employment

There will be 4% more Celebrant jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In your day-to-day duties you could:

  • meet with couples and families to plan the ceremony they want
  • offer practical advice on things like venues, music and timings
  • help clients to write personal vows, tributes or readings
  • organise a rehearsal before the actual event
  • lead the ceremony on the day
  • advise clients about legal obligations, like registering a marriage
  • produce a copy of the ceremony for the clients to keep
  • market your business to attract clients

Working environment

You could work at a venue, at a client's home or in a place of worship.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.

You can get into this job through:

  • a private training course
Other routes

You do not need formal qualifications to become a celebrant though training may help your career prospects. There are different courses you can do with private training providers and through organisations like Humanists UK.

Courses vary in length, cost and entry requirements, and include:

  • level 3 Certificate and Diploma in Celebrancy
  • wedding, funeral and naming ceremonies training
  • postgraduate Master's in Existential Humanist and Pastoral Care

You'll need excellent organisational skills and sensitivity to people's emotions when planning and conducting ceremonies.

Experience in wedding or event planning may be helpful but is not essential.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Career tips

Celebrants are usually self-employed and often combine their work with a second career, for example wedding planning, events management or funeral directing.

Further information

You can find many celebrant organisations online, who offer information on how to become a celebrant, training courses and the different types of ceremonies they conduct.

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As an experienced celebrant, you may wish to train in conducting different types of ceremonies, or set up your own celebrant training business. You could also offer related services, like wedding or event planning.

You could use your skills to move into areas like counselling, for example bereavement counselling or family mediation.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • sensitivity and understanding
  • customer service skills
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • business management skills
  • the ability to work well with others
  • leadership skills
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • active listening skills
  • knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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