Welcome and Congratulations! You've come to the right place to find a Professional, Registered Marriage Celebrant

Carol Astbury is delighted to assist marrying couples to find a marriage celebrant who will assist them in creating a personally meaningful, deeply rewarding ceremony. Carol understands the need for couples to feel absolutely confident and happy in their choice of celebrant, this web page has been designed to assist couples in their search for the “perfect celebrant” for their wedding day.

You will find a selection of celebrants listed in the ‘celebrant directory’ page. Here you will be able to see a photograph of each celebrant along with a description of their services and their direct contact details.

Commonwealth Registered Marriage Celebrants are authorised by the Registrar of Celebrants (Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department) to legally solemnise marriages in Australia.

A professional registered marriage celebrant will assist you in every way to achieve a personally meaningful, deeply rewarding ceremony. The celebrant will offer you ideas and texts to review; assist you in crafting your ceremony using poetry, ritual and symbol; and offer you guidance should you decide to author your own ceremony.

Professional registered marriage celebrants work within a Code of Practice as prescribed in the Marriage Regulations 1963.

Legal Requirements for couples marrying in Australia: Notice of Intended Marriage

Celebrants may also conduct many other forms of ceremony to Celebrate Life and all Rites of Passage.

Ceremonies nourish the soul, they offer us a time to pause, to reflect, to be inspired. Recognising our rites of passage in ceremony offers acceptance, the opportunity to express joy or grief, the ability to move forward.

From conception to death, we travel the path of life with all its inherent experiences, achievements, losses. Honouring these "stepping stones" in life with ceremony allows us to join with others with love in our hearts - a gathering of energies takes place - in this way ceremony becomes a powerful tool. Celebrate those "stepping stones" in life - a new pregnancy; new home or job; significant birthdays; citizenship; graduation; forgiveness; end of marriage; farewelling a loved one; celebrate our heros, our country; honour the wisdom of our elders with a "This is Your Life" birthday celebration.

Adult Commitment Ceremony (Same-Sex)

Ceremonies for consenting adults - celebrate the commitment to your partner in a very special ceremony, in the company of family and friends. In the words of Dorothy McRae-McMahon “… all loving committed relationships add to humankind and are to be celebrated.” Wonderful use of ritual and symbol, beautiful poetry, prose and music are encouraged to create a deeply rewarding celebration in ceremony.

Reaffirmation Of Marriage Vows

The reaffirmation of vows ceremony offers couples the opportunity to celebrate their continuing commitment to each other in a special ceremony surrounded by family and friends. Many couples choose to reaffirm their vows on the anniversary of their wedding, others may choose to reaffirm their vows before family and friends as they may have been married overseas and are now returning home. In any event the ceremony will be created to enhance the celebration.

Namegiving Ceremony

A namegiving ceremony offers a wonderful way to welcome a new child to the wider community of family and friends with a celebration of the child's safe arrival in this world. Namegivings also offer the perfect opportunity to affirm the name of an adopted child, publicly announce the change of name for an adult, and importantly recognise the unity of a “step family”. Many fascinating customs and rituals may be included to enhance the ceremony and acknowledge heritage and tradition.

Funerals - Eulogies - Memorials

Celebrate and honour the life of a loved one who has passed on. Eulogies, carefully written, may be used as a wonderfully sensitive way of assisting grieving family and friends to pass through the grief and move on from the loss. Pay homage to you the individual, in celebration of life. Eulogy creates a highly personalised celebration of the deceased’s life and beliefs, contributing to a deeply meaningful remembrance. The first step towards healing.