Home & Index- Table of Contents of these pages | Index to College Website - testimonials
How you benefit from studying with the College
(You could select the apparently easy option - a cheap course, full of false promises and a quick (meaningless) qualification?)
For you, we have the best celebrancy courses in the world and we know it. We have the experience, we have the dedication, and we have the track record of producing the best materials, the best graduates - and the best teaching and training methods.
You will find we don't make false promises, or exaggerate who we are to sell courses, or demand testimonials before we issue a qualification, or make out that you have a future as a celebrant, when we don't know any such thing. In fact, in 2003, there were 1600 authorised celebrants (too many) and since then the government has appointed another 12,000 (!) increasing daily - the number of marriages in Australia has stayed the same! So you will have to be pretty good even to make a part time income. But if you want to proceed because you believe you have that special something, we are for you. If you want to understand ceremony and ritual to enrich your community and your family life, and yourself - really good reasons to study celebrancy - why not do your course from those who know what they are talking about?
And, for the reasons above, if you are an authorised celebrant wishing to improve your understanding, skills, and depth, we are for you.
You would realise there is an ethical obligation, to know what you are doing when you officiate at important events in people’s lives.
You will find that we, at the College, are for real. You’ll discover why we believe in ceremony. You will come to appreciate ceremonies are an essential component of our culture. You will become convinced that a culture rich in ceremonies - ceremonies of acknowledgment, of recognition, of bonding and of support - enrich human life. You will be inspired to realise how good ceremonies in individual lives add to the sum total of human happiness. Human happiness is what this College has always been about.
You will receive support, information and inspiration as one of our valued students all the way through. (We don’t just take your money and wave goodbye!). Our students always have the five core members of the college team (plus two in the UK) accessible through e-mail and phone. Here they are:
- Registrar: Yvonne Werner CMC: 03 9419 0460 -0411 128 285 celebrants@netspace.net.au
- Student Liaison: Diane Storey CMC - 0417 106 275 - pamir@bigond.com
- Project Manager: Remi Messenger CMC - 0422 629 905 - remib1@mac.com
- Dean of Studies: Dr Chris Watson CMC, 03 9499 4977, messmate@netspace.net.au
- Principal: Dally Messenger III CMC - 0411 717 303 - dallymessenger@mac.com
---
In the UK -
Mr Neil Dorward DipFC, Day: 07752 212 067, Evening: 01259 781280 - neil@bespokecivilceremonies.co.uk
Terri Shanks, - +44 1903 602795 terri@sussexcelebrant.co.uk
You will get the message too that we continue to support our students after their studies, when they are facing the challenges of creating best practice ceremonies in the real world.
From the moment you become one of us (as a student) you can join our ongoing email forum for staff, students and graduates run by triple graduate celebrant Lynnette Olsen - lynnette@lynnetteolsen.com)
You will not be subjected to inexperienced amateurs. You have, assisting you, our team, who are all experienced celebrants. All of us are authorised marriage celebrants. You know already that there is simply no substitute for knowing what you are doing. (We have watched with dismay over the last six years as non-celebrants taught other non-celebrants how to be celebrants. Or even worse, low standard celebrants taught others their low standard habits. Is this Training? Is this Education?)
You will be impressed how our students and graduates have had a long history of supporting each other - how they stay in touch with each other in our e-mail forum and in many other ways. You will be encouraged to attend (observing protocols) ceremonies, learn from your colleagues, and enrich each other by sharing experiences.
As you would know, we need to earn money to survive, but we have never been about making money for its own sake. We believe the money-only minded have been very destructive of professional Celebrancy, and if continued unchecked, will continue to destroy it.
You need a team which is really well qualified in Education, as well as in in Celebrancy and in all the associated skills that matter. Check us out.
You will be encouraged to know that the principal of the College, Dally Messenger III, has a track record of being involved with civil celebrancy from the beginning. He was asked by the founder, Lionel Murphy, to become the first secretary of the Association of Civil Marriage Celebrants of Australia, founded in 1974. He has taken, with Murphy’s encouragement, a leadership role in all the years since. He has taught and mentored celebrants since 1974.
You may be interested to know that Dally was the leading teacher when Celebrancy began in the USA. He has been involved in lecturing and encouraging independent civil celebrants in the United Kingdom. He was the invited guest speaker in New Zealand for three major conferences in a row. He was the foundation president of the first Funeral Celebrants Association of Australia, and the foundation president of the Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants. In 2009 he was invited back to their national conference as its keynote speaker.
Dally was and is the compiler-author of the best selling resource book on civil ceremonies, Ceremonies and Celebrations, now in the fourth printing of its fourth edition.
You will see the results of our work since 1995, the high calibre of celebrant 1995 the College has produced - the result of quality training and education. We have followed up by Ongoing Professional Development - producing over 12 textbooks, and many celebrancy information booklets which have been universally acclaimed.
You should study with the college because you know that Value for Money always trumps shabby cheapness - in training for celebrancy - as in celebrancy itself.
Finally, you should train with the college because our students acclaim us. Why not read their testimonials and proceed with confidence.