Descriptive Definition
A civil marriage celebrant is a private person authorised by the relevant government to perform legal civil marriages in a dignified and culturally acceptable manner, mainly for the benefit of secular people.
To a lesser extent, civil celebrants may be of assistance to people who have religious beliefs but do not wish to be married in a church, temple or mosque. In contrast to the established ceremonies of religious or registry office authorities, in celebrant ceremonies final and basic decisions regarding the content are seen as the prerogative of the couple. Therefore, the civil celebrant has come to be defined as a professionally trained ceremony-provider who works in accordance with the wishes of the client couple. The task is often seen as analogous to that of an architect who is charged with designing a dream home for a couple who need expert help. In this sense the celebrant is not merely the central deliverer of the ceremony according to law, but its facilitator, the couple’s adviser, the resource person, the co-creator of the ceremony, and the rehearsal-director.
A celebrant, by this definition, does not come from the standpoint of any doctrinal belief or unbelief. A trained celebrant usually operates professionally on the principle that their own beliefs and values are irrelevant.
Read more about this topic: Celebrant (Australia)
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