Ceremony Ideas and Resources ...

• Copyright, plagiarism and your ceremony
  
• 10 reasons to focus on your ceremony
• Scheduling your ceremony
• Outdoor ceremonies
  

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Copyright, plagiarism and your ceremony

The Attorney General's Department has advised that poetry and other readings can be recited (Reading or reciting a reasonable portion of a published literary or dramatic work in public, provided the work is acknowledged, is an exception to copyright, and therefore it is not necessary to obtain permission) and that recorded music can be played at a wedding without being in breach of the Copyright Act (1968) or the provisions of Performing Rights, controlled by Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Limited (PPCA), which have waived the requirement to obtain a licence for either the performance of music or playing of sound recordings within a wedding ceremony.

APRA has exempted the performance of live music at a wedding reception from the requirement to obtain a public performance licence. However, you must get a licence from PPCA for public playing of sound recordings at your reception.

Note that these waivers are ceremony specific. If you hold any other type of ceremony in a public place, then you must obtain licenses.

Copyright means that the owner of the Copyright has the exclusive right to publish, reproduce (by any means), publicly perform, communicate and adapt any work of original expression.  This right arises as soon as an author creates an original work and fixes it in a tangible medium - that is something that can be seen (paper, video, CD etc).  Because copyright covers  "original musical, artistic, literary and dramatic works " - copyright issues must be considered in relation to the poems and music you might use in your ceremony, and also in relation to the ceremonies written by others, whether or not they have been published. Copyright is both an economic right and a property right. That is, the ownership of the materials (which, in the case of ceremonies, one could define as groups of words particular words in a particular order) vests in the creator of the "work". The property in this case, therefore, just happens to be intellectual. Copyright lasts for 70 years after the end of the calendar year in which the author died (from 1 January 2005 the term was extended  under the terms of Australia's Free Trade Agreement with the US). More information about copyright can be found on the Copyright Council of Australia website.

Plagiarism is the use of others intellectual property (that is, the original work they created) without permission and passing that intellectual property off as your own creation.

There are a number of common misconceptions about the use of the intellectual property of others in ceremonies of all kinds:

Misconception 1: If something is on the web it is in the public domain
The contents of a website are protected by copyright in exactly the same was as are the contents of a book or magazine.  A work only passes into the public domain when the rights expire - 50 or 70 years, depending on the nature of the work after the end of the calendar year in which the creator died. Copyright is a property right, so the right becomes part of the author's estate on his or her death. However, even if the author is long dead, copyright may still subsist in the work if the copyright has been renewed by the heirs or if the source is a copyrighted collection.

Misconception 2: You can use 10% of any work without permission
The 'fair dealing' provision of the Act refers to 'less than a substantial part', there is no set amount as what is regarded to be substantial will vary from work to work. Fair dealing applies only to quoting for purposes of criticism and review, and for personal research and study. Clearly none of these provisions apply to use and/or publication as part of a ceremony.

Misconception 3: You can make compilations of music from your own CDs to play at your ceremony.
Wrong, you must obtain a license.
Information about licenses can be obtained from the Australian Performing Right Association,  and the  Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Limited
 
Misconception 4: If there isn't a copyright statement attached to a work it is in the public domain, and can be freely used.
Original works are copyrighted whether or not they have a statement attached. Copyright exists automatically, both in Australia and overseas, the minute an original work is committed to a tangible medium - that is, something that can be seen. It is not necessary to publish the work for it to be copyrighted. Confusion is sometimes caused by the facility in the United States to register one's copyright. Such registration is a means of establishing the date from which the rights existed in case of later dispute, but it is not necessary to register a work, pay any fees or fill in any forms for that work to be protected.  There is no system of copyright registration in Australia.

Misconception 5: It is all right to adapt someone else's work without permission.
In addition to copyright, there is a right called moral rights embedded in the Copyright Act (1968). Moral rights are the right to be attributed (credited) correctly on the work, the right not to have their work falsely attributed, and the right not to have their work treated in a derogatory way. Moral rights belong to the creator of a work in perpetuity, regardless of whether he or she still owns the copyright, because they cannot be transferred, assigned or sold.

Misconception 6: If I was given copies of material as part of a course it is all right to use those in a ceremony.
Educational institutions have much greater freedom to copy and provide copies of copyrighted works to students for educational purposes. They are covered by specific Educational Copying Licenses. It cannot be assumed that material provided as part of a course can be used outside that course for other purposes.

© Jennifer Cram 2005

[NOTE: In the interest of furthering the understanding of clients and celebrants of the issues, permission is granted for celebrants to copy and use Copyright, plagiarism and your ceremony above on websites or in material provided to clients. In this specific case, attribution is not required. You may not, however, link to this information from your website]

10 Reasons to focus on your ceremony

1. No matter what type of ceremony it is, your ceremony is a public statement of your intention. That statement should be as close to perfect as possible, particularly so where the ceremony is a commitment ceremony, a renewal of vows, or the welcoming of a new baby.
   
2. Ceremony and ritual are a central part of life. Through ceremony we communicate behaviours and values, establish, confirm and reinforce relationships, and recognise changes in status.
   
3. Ceremonies are rites-of-passage and rituals which are designed to move us gracefully through that passage and deepen our sense of being related.
4. Ceremonies help us to focus on the purpose of important events, and aid communication about that importance. They help us tell each other how we feel and how to celebrate or grieve together.
5. Ceremonies make events more meaningful and more memorable, thus your ceremony should be both aesthetically pleasing and emotional powerful.
   
6. If celebrated meaningfully and appropriately the psychological, social and cultural effects of your ceremony go deep into the sub-conscious and enrich you in a lasting way.
7. Focussing on the ceremony helps keep everything in perspective, and ensures that you don't let your heart get lost in all the trimmings. For many types of ceremonies it is traditional to have a post ceremony party which is a celebration of the milestone marked by your ceremony, not the reason for it.
8. A great ceremony that reflects the personalities of the participants and their values is a deeply moving event. Different types of ceremonies offer a range of opportunities for inclusion of symbols and symbolic acts as an expression of who you are, as well as opportunities to make reference to your cultural heritage and family traditions.  Only you can provide your celebrant with this sort of "insider information".
   
9. Keeping your focus on your ceremony is an acknowledgement that you, your family, and/or your new venture are unique.
   
10. The guests at any ceremony are not just an audience, they are an integral part of the ceremony and it takes focus and planning to ensure your ceremony acknowledges their importance.
    

Scheduling Your Ceremony

There are a number of considerations and constraints you might have to work around when it comes to choosing the day, date and time for your ceremony. These will differ depending on the type of ceremony, but in general could include some or all of the following:

Considerations

1. Significance
• An anniversary related to your relationship
  
• An anniversary of family significance
  
• A birthday
• Another special day (like Valentine's Day)
• A day of significance to your new venture
• A day related to your baby's birthday (for example, the day the baby is 3 months old)
  
2. Time of the year, particularly if
   
• you have plans to include seasonal flowers or foods in your celebration
• you plan to have your ceremony in a park or garden, or
  
• you have a particular preference for warm or cool weather
• you have to fit the event in with your own or others work or holiday schedules
  
3. Time of the day
• Sunrise
• Morning
  
• Lunchtime
• Afternoon
• Sunset
• Evening
• Relationship to an individual baby's feeding/sleep schedule
• Bear in mind that in Queensland the best light for outdoor photographs is the morning, so if you wish to have an outdoor naming or commitment ceremony, or launch of a new venture outdoors, photography might be important.
4. Travel arrangements for far-flung family and friends. Travel can be expensive and over-booked at peak times such as school holidays and Christmas.
5. Work and other commitments of guests.
   

Constraints

1. Availability of your chosen celebrant.
   
   • Certain times, for example weekends, tend to be heavily booked.
     
   • Remember that industry practice is that you do not have a firm booking until you have paid the booking fee.
2. Availability of venue(s)
   
   • Certain times, for example weekends, tend to be booked up well ahead.
     
   • If you're planning to have your ceremony and post-ceremony celebration in your own home, home of a friends/relatives or your business premises this isn't an issue
   • If you're planning to have your ceremony and post-ceremony celebration in some other venue(s), you might be limited by availability.
3. Your budget
• Venue hire and catering can be more expensive at sought-after times.
4. Your time-line
   
   • If you are planning on scheduling your ceremony in the near future you have to be far more flexible than if your proposed date for your ceremony is a long time off.

© Jennifer Cram 2004

Outdoor Ceremonies
In Queensland outdoor ceremonies are popular all year round.

Some  important considerations:

• If planning a ceremony in a park or on a beach, check with the local council regarding requirements and restrictions - in Brisbane you have to book and pay a fee to use designated areas in the most popular parks (bookings are for 2 hours and the fee can include an electricity deposit).
• Position of the sun - check out where the sun will be at the time of your ceremony. However lovely the setting, if the sun is shining in everyone's eyes they will not be able to appreciate the beauty of the surroundings or focus on the ceremony.
• Availability of shade - severe sunburn can occur in a very short time, and heat and sun can cause dehydration in children and older guests, particularly at the hottest time of the day so it is best to position everyone in the shade. To guard against dehydration think about having bottled water available for guests as they arrive.
• Mosquitoes and midges - regardless of the time of day, in some locations mosquitoes and midges are a problems. Consider having insect repellent available
  

There is always the possibility of inclement weather. The following suggestions will help reduce stress should the day turn out to be rainy, windy, extremely hot, otherwise not suitable for an outdoor ceremony:

• Make arrangements for an alternative venue well ahead of time
• Include in your invitations a note along the lines of:

• Record a new outgoing message on an answering machine so nobody gets to spend a lot of time answering the phone calls and to ensure that long conversations about the issue don't keep the phone tied up. It is a good idea to disable the capacity for callers to leave a message.
  
• Include the details of the alternate venue, including directions of how to get there, with the invitation.
• Delegate one person to make the decision about whether or not to change the venue to the dry-weather venue
  
• Make sure your celebrant has all the same information as your guests.

© Jennifer Cram 2004