Life
is full of wonder, beauty, joy and love. It is our relationships and
our community of family and friends that brings life alive by the
sharing of our experiences. I believe ceremony, celebration and ritual
can bring richness, intimacy and meaning to the changes, events, loves
and losses that we experience in our life journey. A
good ceremony expresses your values, beliefs and personality in a
creative and personal way. A great ceremony should take you on an
emotional journey. It should be fun, natural, engaging and genuine.
A great, best practice ceremony is when both you and your guests feel drawn in, engaged and part of the ceremony. It is when the words and symbols and actions are truly authentic to who you are and what you want to say. It is a ceremony that gives people the experience of an emotional journey, where they can feel moved and touched by it. It is crafted by a celebrant who takes the time to learn about you and develop the ceremony around your needs, values and beliefs. It means adhering to professional service standards and delivering even beyond that.
As a Diploma qualified celebrant, and
a member of the Australia Federation of Civil Celebrants and the
International College of Celebrancy, I follow our industry Code of
Practice as well as delivering above and beyond, according to my
personal promise to you.
My Promise – Adhering to ‘Best Practice’ Principles
I
take an holistic approach with my clients, sharing the planning and
preparations and working with you to individually craft your ceremony.The
ceremonies I craft are truly individual ceremonies, written from
scratch, based on my meetings and interviews with my clients. My
approach is to opt for quality over quantity in terms of the work I
take on. I perform no more than two ceremonies per day, preferring to
give my clients the time, focus and energy each ceremony deserves.
For
weddings and funerals in particular, two of life's most important
ceremonies, it takes time and attention to detail to create a great
ceremony. For these significant events, it takes between at least 10-20
hours to research, prepare, create and perform a great ceremony. I give
more time with my clients - the service you experience is involved,
thorough, considered and professional.Ceremony
is powerful and transformative, and in my view, the words, the symbols,
design and performance of the ceremony are a critical element to the
success of your celebration.The role of your
celebrant is a skilled craft that brings together many elements -
communication, writing, performance, people skills, empathy and
compassion, creativity and passion.
In my celebrancy I work with you to make your ceremony a personal, meaningful and authentic experience.My
craft as a celebrant is to give a personal and involved approach,
spending time getting to know you and helping you to articulate your
life, love and relationships in the context of your own beliefs, values and
experiences. My style is to create individually crafted ceremonies that
are real, intimate and unique.
It would be an honour to share and create your life and love celebrations with you.
Sarah Tolmie, Civil Marriage Celebrant
My personal promise of service and commitment:
1.I can promise you a professional, well conducted ceremony that will be intimate, personal and contemporary.
2.You will be supplied with an information package “Your ceremony” filled with readings, poetry, samples and ideas to make your wedding day a well planned and thoughtful event.
3.I am online daily so you are able to make contact easily with me if this is convenient to you. Drafts can be forwarded easily by email.
4.I will have available a number of books for you to borrow that will help you to make decisions on your ceremony. These books cover ceremonies in general through to books on vows and verses.
5.You are given a completely individually crafted ceremony based on 'your story' and written pursposely for you. I am there to help and guide you and make sure you are aware of all your options. I also give clients a questionnaire to complete that helps me put together your personal ceremony.
6.At a relaxed interview, at your home or a convenient venue, you can discuss all your ceremony requirements.
7.You are entitled to unlimited consultations with me, whether they are in person or on the phone or via email.
8.I encourage all clients to have a rehearsal, on site, where all the details and choreography of your ceremony is run through.
9.I will supply you with a printed copy of your ceremony along with a printed certificate.
10.I will guarantee that no other ceremony will be booked so close that I arrive late or rush in an unseemly manner.
11.I will be familiar with the ceremony and speak in a genuine and natural manner and ensure all can hear me.
12.I will dress to fit in with your ceremony.
13.There are no surprises with my fee- we agree to a figure upfront and that is what you pay. No hidden costs.
14.I supply a professional PA system - that includes a CD player - I use this at most ceremonies so everyone can hear the entire ceremony. To hire one of these would cost approx $300, so this is a significant saving for you.
15.I bring along a table, chair and cloth if required, for the signing of the certificates.
