Interview with Adrian Downey NSW Celebrant
By admin at February 20, 2012 | 1:54 am | Print
Company Name: Adrian Downey NSW Celebrant
Company Address:9 Brent Place STANHOPE GARDENS NSW 2768
Phone Number: 0403 226446
Website: www.nswcelebrant.com.au
1) Can you tell us a little about your wedding celebrant services? How did you get started in the wedding industry?
I find being a celebrant one of the most rewarding and enjoyable things I have done. Being involved in one of if not the most important days of a person’s life is an honour and privilege. I got started in the wedding industry some years ago sort of by chance. I had been involved in law enforcement for many years, which also included delivering careers talks to school groups. I have also been a Justice of the Peace for many years which I quite enjoy, performing service for and with the community. A very good friend of mine was looking to get married and initially I though he was going to ask me to be one of his groomsman however he told me that he was having some trouble finding a younger male celebrant and he would like me to be the celebrant for his wedding. This caught me a little by surprise however after a little research I went about obtaining the qualifications and became registered with the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.
2) From your experience, what type of couples search for your services? Who is your ideal/typical client?
This is difficult to answer as it varies greatly. I have had people come to me on short notice and wanted a simple ceremony just not in the registry office for one reason or another, I have had couples book me up to eighteen months in advanced with very specific and well planned out ceremonies. I guess if I had to generalise on my initial meetings with the couple I get the impression that when they are searching for their celebrant they start by narrowing down whether they would like to interview a male or female celebrant and go from there to see who they fill comfortable with.
3) How many weddings have you done? How many do you do a year?
This is difficult to give an exact answer however it is several hundred weddings, I do an average of 80 weddings per year. I enjoy every one of them as every ceremony is different.
4) What do you do best and enjoy most about being a wedding celebrant?
I love communicating with the couple, find out as much as I can about them and take a genuine interest in their big day. I enjoy visiting the many different locations that being a wedding celebrant has taken me to, and I also enjoy the many friendships not only with the couples I have married but also the other great wedding suppliers I have worked with.
5) Why do couples choose you over other celebrants? What do you think makes you stand out? In other words, what do couples get with you that they might not get with others?
With so many celebrants around today it is important to offer great service and communicate well. Unfortunately there are many people who will book a celebrant based on price alone without considering many other factors. I enjoy sitting down with the couple and listening to their story, perhaps how they met or a bit about them as everyone has an interesting story to tell. I am a relaxed person and try not to over complicate things. I think people want someone that they can relate to and who takes the time to explain everything, communicate well and provide them with options for their ceremony, answer their questions, provide a great service at a reasonable price. I provide couples with many different ceremony options including sample ceremonies and encourage them to personalise their ceremony as much as they like to ensure that they have the ceremony they want. I believe that I offer a great package and this is with the assistance of my lovely wife who comes along to assist me with music for the ceremony if needed, the PA system and also taking some photos of the big day that we send to the couple after their ceremony. I am very lucky to receive many letters, e-mails and wonderful testimonials from my couples.
6) Can you describe a normal wedding day in your life as a wedding celebrant?
For me a wedding day starts off as any normal day. With two young children there is no sleep in for me. I do have a checklist of things that needs to be done on the day of a wedding to ensure that nothing is missed. As you can appreciate there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be prepared. Once I have the file out in front of me and I confirm the time and place of the ceremony, plan the route I will be taking I commence printing all the documentation I need, naturally I also ensure that everything I need is fully charged and the music if needed is ready to go. I leave with plenty of time aiming to be at the ceremony location at least 45mins prior to the start of the ceremony. Even having done several hundred weddings like the bride and groom I still get a bit nervous before the ceremony however to me this is a good thing.
7) Can you share your top tips to find the ideal wedding celebrant? What do couples need to look for?
To me it comes down to a few very important factors, communication, friendliness, professionalism and cost. Naturally you have to feel comfortable with the celebrant, they should respond quickly to your enquiry and any follow up questions and be willing to meet with you when and where convenient. My advice is to rate each celebrant the couple interview against these factors and to not interview too many as you will achieve very little and confuse yourselves. Make your decision and notify the celebrant as soon as possible as most good celebrants will meet with quite a few people and become booked up well in advance. I for example will only book one wedding on any given day. Never book a celebrant based purely on price alone.
8.) What’s your top 3 questions couples should ask prior to choose their celebrant?
The most popular questions I am asked are;
1. Are you available on our chosen date?
2. Do you perform ceremonies at this particular location?
3. What are your fees and what do you include?
I guess I cannot argue with these questions as they are very important to ask and have answered prior to any initial meeting as it would be a waste of everyone’s time meeting with someone who answered no or you were not happy with the answer to any of the questions above.
9.) Trivial question… favorite wedding location?
This is a tough question having performed many weddings at many wonderful locations however if I had to pick one it would Jenolan Caves NSW inside the caves. A great spot, great atmosphere and a very well coordinated team of people there.
10) Please share one last message to our site visitors. Make them an invitation to visit your company/website, and please indicate 3 AMAZING (yep REALLY AMAZING) reasons to choose you for their wedding day.
I stand by and believe strongly in my statement of values being Fairness, Accountability, Commitment, Excellence, Integrity and Trust, I was quite humbled last year to be voted in the top ten celebrants in NSW in the Australian Bridal Industry Academy (ABIA) awards achieving the highest ranked male civil marriage celebrant in NSW. I enjoy working with couples to create a ceremony that truly reflects them, listening and communicating to fulfil their dream wedding day.
