As a Civil Marriage Celebrant I am appointed by the Attorney-General to conduct civil marriage ceremonies in compliance with the requirements of the Marriage Act.

As an accredited Naming Celebrant and General Celebrant I also offer ceremonies to acknowledge or celebrate other events -

• the loving commitment of partners who are not marrying,
• the naming and welcoming of a child into the family
• renewal of marriage vows for couples celebrating staying married
• a divorce or end of a relationship
• reaching puberty or maturity (wise-woman ceremonies also known as croning)
• launching of businesses or other ventures
• house-warming
• other ceremonies

I classify myself as a Secular Humanist. That is, I adhere to a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion.  I strongly affirm the dignity of each human being, support the  maximisation of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with both social and environmental responsibility, and endorse democracy, education, equality, justice, tolerance, reason and environmental responsibility.  The unique ceremonies I create for my clients reference their beliefs, not my own.  Most clients seeking a civil ceremony want no religious expression in their ceremony. However, in Australia there is no prohibition on inclusion of religious expression within a civil ceremony provided that it is at the express request of the client.  So my clients have complete freedom regarding expression of their beliefs through their ceremony.

Who I will work for

I provide ceremonies for everyone regardless of culture, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or the time of day or type of setting in which the ceremony is being held.

The clients I actively seek are those who seek value for money (as opposed to a cheap ceremony), who want their ceremony to be truly expressive of who they are, who understand the consequences of making the wrong choice when selecting their celebrant and who have an appreciation of how much a skilled and professional celebrant can bring to their ceremony

• knowledge
• capacity to design and deliver a ceremony that uses beautiful words to touch the hearts and minds of everyone present
• capacity to design and direct a ceremony that is visually satisfying and delivers opportunities for stunning photographs

Where I am

I am based in the western suburbs of Brisbane and conduct ceremonies throughout Brisbane, Ipswich, Caboolture, and the surrounding areas in Queensland, Australia. 

Qualifications in celebrancy

• Advanced Diploma of Marriage Celebrancy (with the grade High Distinction)
• Advanced Diploma of General Celebrancy (with the grade High Distinction)
  
• Certificate IV in Marriage Celebrancy
• Advanced Diploma of Funeral Celebrancy (with the grade High Distinction)
  

Other qualifications

I hold a number of academic qualifications which have provided me with transferable knowledge and skills applicable to general celebrancy:

• Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English Literature and Psychology
• Diploma in Education
• Higher Diploma in Library Science (With Distinction)
• Graduate Diploma in Advanced Librarianship
• Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management

These qualifications and many years of experience in librarianship, education and management have equipped me with highly developed skills in

• formal public speaking
• capacity to 'read' an audience and ensure that they connect with the ceremony
  
• interviewing clients to establish their needs
• providing service and information to clients which meets their needs and timelines
• research, analysis and synthesis of information
• writing (author of approximately 100 published works)
  
• creativity
• attention to detail
• high level computer skills that enable me to produce documents with professional layout and content
• high level of comfort and facility with online communication
  
• working with others to assist them to meet their own needs and achieve their goals

Presentation

I am well-spoken with good voice projection.

I will seek information from you about the dress-code for your occasion together with your chosen colour scheme so that I can ensure that my outfit will coordinate but will not compete.  My dress style is elegant and understated.

'No uncomfortable surprises' policy

My policy and commitment is that you will have no uncomfortable surprises in relation to your ceremony. Everything, including the final text of your ceremony, will be agreed and signed off beforehand.

My 'no uncomfortable surprises' policy includes no surprises for the participants. While I'm happy to perform ceremonies that are a surprise for your guests or others, I believe it is unfair to spring such a surprise on a participant.

Custom-created vs Personalisation

There is a world of difference between a  "personalised" ceremony and a custom-created ceremony. A personalised ceremony is generally a standard or mix-and-match ceremony which includes a section or two that is about you, but the rest could be about anyone.

I deliver only custom-created ceremonies, so I will use a number of mechanisms to ensure that I understand your needs, values and wishes for your ceremony.

• I will work in close conjunction with you to facilitate development of a unique ceremony. While this is more work for me I feel it works much better for you and for your guests than the more-usual "mix-and-match" methodology where you are given a number of ceremonies to pick and choose bits from. I will do as much of the work in writing your ceremony as you wish me to.
  
• A full rehearsal is part of the package for Full Service Couture Weddings and Commitment Ceremonies ceremonies.  A rehearsal is a dry run of the ceremony and should include all participants. But it is also more than that - a rehearsal is part of the ongoing realisation of the commitment between the couple, which deepens through the process of preparing for the ceremony. A rehearsal will take much longer than the actual ceremony, so many celebrants do not include a rehearsal and some even actively advise against one. There are many reasons for holding a rehearsal on site (or if that's not possible, in a space that has been mapped out to replicate the site), these include:
• It helps everyone involved know what is expected of them and allows a walk through of the mechanical details, enabling all the various logistics to be worked out and understood by everyone and allowing everyone to concentrate more fully on the special moments during the ceremony
• It ensures that all transitions during the ceremony are smooth
• It ensures that photgraphic opportunities are optimised
  
• It allows everyone's pacing to be synchronised
• It ensures that all the readers have a chance to practice their readings and check their pacing, interpretation and voice projection
• It gives an opportunity to have an "emotional" dry run of the ceremony. As well as physically walking you through the ceremony, I build into the rehearsal processes that help you experience your actual ceremony to its fullest.
  

Privacy

• Any information provided to me is provided in confidence.
• Information is stored in a secure location, is accessed only by me, and is kept no longer than is needed for the purposes of your ceremony, at which time it is destroyed by shredding.
• I do not pass on, or otherwise use, any information provided as part of arrangements for your ceremony for any purpose.
  

Contact Me

Jennifer Cram
Commonwealth Government Authorised Civil Marriage Celebrant
Naming & General Celebrant
P O Box 20
Indooroopilly  Queensland 4068
Phone (07) 3378 3005
International Callers + 61 7 3378 3005