Essential Questions to Ask Before You Invest in a Celebrant Training Course
© Written by Veronika Sophia Robinson
So, you’ve been searching for a Celebrant Training Course? Do you know the essential questions to ask before you part with your money?
It would seem every other celebrant is now setting themselves up as a celebrant trainer (long before they’ve garnered the necessary life-time and fully lived experience of celebrancy). This has resulted in the inexperienced leading the inexperienced (and countless mourners and wedding couples being let down).
As the rise of celebrant-led ceremonies grows in the UK, more people are coming across a celebrant at work, and if the celebrant is good at what they do, then the observer may be inspired to pursue that career path. The opposite is true, too. A person may come across a poorly equipped celebrant and decide they could do a much better job.
There are many training organisations available. How do you choose? Where do you even begin to work out what will be right for you? It is important that you choose one that matches your ethos, and don’t make a decision purely based on price or location. There are many, many factors to take into account with your training, and that also includes during-and-after-course support. Many organisations claim to offer this, but the reality is that your support is coming from being part of a group with your cohorts which, obviously, has benefits but this is not that same as tutor support.
An expensive course does not necessarily mean an excellent training programme. Too many would-be celebrants are left flailing and seeking out a second or even third training course because their ‘expensive’ one was inadequate, and didn’t do what it said on the tin. It’s easy to be lured by words like ‘government diploma’, ‘professional’, ‘NOCN’, ‘institute’, etc. It could be that you’re paying for modules on how to write an email or use a Word document, or writing essays on the history of funerals. And then there are the ones where you’re left alone to watch videos with no real-life guidance.
An excellent celebrant-training course
should teach you to
BE A CELEBRANT.
It should inspire your creativity, empathy, imagination, and excellence in forging client relationships.
Also, consider why so many organisations offer separate courses for wedding/naming celebrancy and funeral celebrancy. My view, as a celebrant of more than thirty years, is that they don’t need to be offered separately, and that it is merely a way for organisations to ‘earn more money’.
When looking at different training courses, ask questions. Lots of questions!
Questions to Ask Your Celebrant Trainer
How many face-to-face contact hours are there? (minus the time for meals/refreshments) Many courses are now offering ‘pre-recorded’ videos instead of interactive teaching with a live tutor.
What is the experience of the tutors?
Do they pride themselves on quality services over quantity?
Is there voice training by a qualified voice coach? What does that involve? Is there ongoing voice training as part of your fee?
Does your training include communication and presentation skills?
How is your work assessed to see if you are suitable to be a celebrant?
Does the course give certificates to anyone who attends, or only to those whose written and practical work is outstanding? What are the qualifications and experiences of those assessing?
What practical experience does the course offer you?
Are there shadowing opportunities?
Will you have the opportunity to write ceremonies and have these critiqued by an expert (as opposed to other students)?
What experience does the tutor have in creative writing?
Does the course teach you how to create and choreograph rituals? What is the tutor’s experience of bespoke ritual creation?
What experience do you have on the course of officiating a ceremony?
Does the training take a holistic approach? That is, will you learn about regulating your emotions?
Does the tutor have experience in a wide variety of settings? What are these experiences?
What written material is available as part of your training?
What does the course offer to assess your ability to meet deadlines?
What post-course support is available?
These are important questions to ask. Don’t throw your money away on the first course you see. Research your options well.
If you’re looking for a mind, body, soul approach to celebrancy, you are invited to consider one of our celebrant training courses at Heart-led Celebrants. Ask us any questions you like. Our course isn’t for everyone, but it is for those who intuitively feel that celebrancy is a heart-led vocation rather than an administrative job.
