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What happens if the celebrant is sick on your wedding day?

white ceramic mug on white table beside black eyeglasses

I’ve touched briefly on this elsewhere, but it’s an important thing to consider: what happens if the celebrant is sick on your wedding day? This is something I discuss with all my couples. I think it’s important for you to know that I have a plan.

How sick is sick?

Apart from getting COVID and being legally required to isolate, there’s all sorts of illnesses and injuries that could prevent the celebrant from performing your ceremony. Most of us are pretty determined and will soldier on as best we can, even if that means we have to perform your ceremony from a wheelchair or on crutches. There’s even one famous story of a celebrant wearing an adult nappy to a ceremony – I’m probably not going that far.

Having said all that, something pretty dramatic would have to happen for me to not be at your wedding. But we know things do happen (particularly in this time of COVID). So I like you to know what my plan is.

My plan for if I get sick

I have a massive network. Within one or two degrees I’m pretty sure I’m connected to every celebrant in Melbourne. If I couldn’t be at your wedding, I would find someone who could. Obviously they might not be quite as awesome as me, but they would be very close. I promise I would not send you an old lady with a name badge.

My network has gotten pretty good at filling in for each other during COVID, whether it’s planned in the week before or on the actual ceremony day. We’re well practised at:

  • transferring the legal paperwork
  • making sure you’ve got your identity documents so the new celebrant can see them, and
  • delivering other people’s scripts.

We’ve got a network-wide agreement on the fee split, so we know how much the original celebrant will pay the new celebrant to step in. We don’t even need to negotiate that stuff anymore, it’s just settled.

So if I couldn’t be at your wedding, I would find someone who could. They would turn up with your legal documents and your script. They would look after you just as well as I would. I would only send someone who I would be comfortable delivering my own wedding. You wouldn’t need to worry about money or anything like that; we’ll deal with it all. And you will get married and it will be wonderful!

Make sure you check with your celebrant (if it’s not me) what their plan is for if they get sick.

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awesome wedding readingsDaily Afflictions wedding reading
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