Building Your Celebrant Reputation
I remember, as a child, watching my father build us a new house. Firstly, the land had to be cleared. And then the rooms of the house were marked out, and trenches were dug for foundations. These went down about 45cm. Concrete was poured in, and then walls were built from Besser blocks.
A foundation is essential to the stability and overall safety of a building.
It’s not dissimilar to building a career as a celebrant, and with the building of a career comes the building of a reputation. It can take years to build a solid reputation. And it can come tumbling down in a second.
Just as we build a house on a solid foundation, so too must celebrancy (if it expects to have longevity and to shine with brilliance) be built on solid ground. How do we do this? Well, apart from ensuring that you invest in a training course that is comprehensive, has detailed learning outcomes, offers ongoing support and mentoring as and when needed, it is rooted in a rigorous and detailed assessment of your work.
This foundation is non-negotiable. Once that is solid and in place, then the onus is on the celebrant in question to ensure that they don’t build a celebrancy practice on shoddy work. This is one of the reasons why our assessment programme is so detailed, thorough and comprehensive. If we can help nip ineffective or unprofessional patterns, habits and even mannerisms in the bud at the outset, it sets you off to a good start.
We are only ever as good as our last ceremony. It behoves us, as Heart-led Celebrants, to bring respect, reverence, grace, compassion, diligence, discipline and attention to detail to every aspect of our celebrancy. For it is in this dedication to EVERY aspect of our work that we are constantly advertising ourselves. The ‘invisible’ work is especially important in building our reputation. I’d go so far as to say that this is our most important work for without that care, detail, time, creativity, inspiration, reflection and personal growth, the few minutes we spend ‘on stage’ can fall flat.
Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson are a husband and wife team whose boutique celebrant training Heart-led Celebrants attracts people from around the world. Heart-led Celebrants has earned a reputation for excellence in celebrant training, and those who are certified exemplify the highest standards in the industry.
Veronika has been officiating beautiful, bespoke ceremonies since 1995. She is a certified Infant Loss Professional; founder of Penrith’s first Death Café; is a celebrant for the charity Gift of a Wedding; and mentors celebrants around the world.
Veronika is the author of many books including the popular Celebrant Collection: Write That Eulogy; The Successful Celebrant; Funeral Celebrant Ceremony Planner; Wedding Celebrant Ceremony Planner; The Blessingway. Three more titles will be added in January 2024: The Gentle Celebrant’s Guide: Funerals For Children; The Discrimination-free Celebrant; The Celebrant’s Guide to the Five Elements.
Award-winning voice artist, Paul Robinson, has had a whole career centred around his voice and other people’s. He’s highly experienced as a celebrant, trained actor, drama coach, voice-over artist, singer, broadcaster, compère, and ventriloquist. Paul is an excellent communicator and teacher, and has a sixth sense about how to relate to individuals, groups and audiences.
