Celebrants online welcomes ...

Marriage Celebrant, David Courtney, CMC.

David is Scottish and prides himself on offering weddings that can incorporate authentic traditional Scottish ceremonies, e.g. hand-fasting, pinning of the tartan and sharing of the Loving Cup.

Based near Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, David travels extensively throughout the Sydney, Central Coast & Hunter Valley regions.

To learn more about David, visit his profile on Celebrants Online.

Celebrants Online welcomes ...

Marriage Celebrant, Orna Binder, CMC.

Based in Sydney's Northern suburbs, Orna is an experienced Celebrant. She services all areas of Sydney and works out of a wide range of venues. Orna enjoys working closely with clients to produce ceremonies that are elegant and meaningful.

In addition to Wedding Ceremonies, Orna also celebrates Naming Ceremonies, Commitment/Love Ceremonies and Renewal of Vows Ceremonies.

To learn more about Orna, visit her profile on Celebrants Online.

Marriage Celebrants Program Reforms

Beginning 1st July 2014, the Australian Government is instituting a Marriage Celebrant Registration Charge.  First touted by the former Labor Government, the Marriage (Celebrant Registration Charge) Bill 2014 was passed by both Houses on 27th March.

The new Bill imposes an annual registration fee on all Commonwealth-registered Marriage Celebrants and allows for the fee to be indexed annually.

Set at $600, the registration fee is expected to net the Government approximately $6.3 million from over 10,500 eligible Celebrants. to the chagrin of many of those Celebrants, Ministers of religion of a recognised denomination proclaimed under Section 26 of the Marriage Act and State and Territory Officers authorised to celebrate marriages are exempt from the registration fee.

In addition to the registration fee, the Government will also raise funds by charging a fee to those applying for registration as a Marriage Celebrant and those seeking exemption from the various newly imposed charges!

Read the Bill Explanatory Memorandum here (pdf format in browser).

Wedding Dresses Transformed

Over 1,000 wedding dresses have been donated to a drive organised by WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas. The donated dresses will be transformed in to beautiful 'angel gowns' for babies that don't make it home from hospital.

The Angel Gown Program is run by NICU Helping Hands, a local Fort Worth organisation that supports parents dealing with the premature delivery of a child.

Accompanying the wedding dresses as they were donated were heartfelt stories of love and loss, and the desire to make a difference to families in their time of suffering.

What a beautiful outcome for one's wedding dress.