One of the most common questions I've received since I became a celebrant is..
"Why did you become a celebrant"?
Well, you may or may not know, I've been a singer since I spoke my first words as a child. What makes a professional singer I hear you ask? A number of things really. One of them involving a childhood filled with countless drives to local eisteddfods by my ever patient (also musical) mother as young Sally, wearing a power pink pantsuit from Witchery, (which at the time was the most expensive thing I'd bought - I even needed mum and dad's permission), but hey! I won the Junior Vocal Championship two years running!
It also involves a lot of hard work, a tonne of practice hours and the ability to wear many hats as you learn to not only master your craft, but market yourself too.
Eventually I studied singing at tertiary level, joined the police band for a hot minute (six years), before moving to Sydney to work with a cappella vocal group, The Idea of North for a decade. During my time in the group we won 2 ARIAs and I was fortunate to travel the world a few times over, doing something I loved.
Celebrant life is pretty similar in a lot of ways to my life as a professional singer. There are many skills that crossover, like..
Addressing large crowds
Using a microphone (check, check, one two)
Gathering people and holding their attention..
and other useful tricks like getting really great at hair and makeup, packing a suitcase (with concert gowns) in 3 minutes before a 6am hotel lobby call and finding cheap and cheerful places to eat after midnight in Kuala Lumpur.
Since settling back down in Adelaide with my husband (and our now two little boys), I've loved shifting my focus to becoming a celebrant. I've always loved weddings and witnessing wonderful examples of love.
Adelaide celebrants are spoiled with the amount of incredible wineries, botanic gardens, 'hip' sheds, barns and warehouses we get to hang out in. Not to mention a huge part of my job is meeting loved-up couples at various trendy cafes to chat about how much they adore each other and want to celebrate their love.
So, now I'm still doing something I love and that's why I became a celebrant.
