Marriage Celebrant Perth | James Beecroft
What do I do as your marriage celebrant?
Well, outside of the basic legal stuff we all do (making sure the government agrees you're married), the main part is crafting a personalised, unique, intimate and modern ceremony that's as ‘you’ as it gets! But there's obviously a little more to being a marriage celebrant than that, so I’ll break it down for you from where we’ll start, to where we’ll end up:
We’ll go on a date: I know, you're both taken - but we've still got to meet up and get to know each other. We'll meet up for a beer or a coffee, talk about you guys, your wedding, and how it all led to you guys planning the best day of your life. It might not be quite as exciting as the first date the two of you already had, but I guarantee it'll be better than most first dates!
I’ll handle the admin: there's a bunch of really unexciting administration involved in getting you two hitched, and you'll be happy to know that as your marriage celebrant I'll be handling 95% of it. All you'll have to do is fill in your Notice Of Intended Marriage, upload some documents, and sign where I tell you to sign. Once the wedding's over, I'll let you know the steps to getting a copy of your marriage certificate and doing the whole name change thing if that's what you'd like to do.
I solemnly swear that I, James, will help you, couple, with your vows: your personal vows to one another are the emotional high point of the ceremony, which is what makes them so important - and nervey! But don’t worry nearlyweds - not only have I written a super helpful vow guide to get the ball rolling, but I'm on call 24/7 (ok not quite, but you know what I mean) to talk it through on the phone and to make revisions and suggestions until we nail it. Once we’ve got those vows just right, you can either bring them along yourselves on the day if you’re supplying your own booklets, or I have some pretty nice blank ones that I can bring along to our final meeting, which are yours as a keepsake of your wedding day.
I'll marry you anywhere: my setup is high-quality, low-profile, and one hundred percent battery powered, portable and wireless. My Bose S1 Pro system requires no unsightly tripod stand and I've got all your ceremony music ready to go on my leather-bound tablet, along with your ceremony script. I once married a couple on a giant rock 50km from the closest town in the wheatbelt. When I say I can be your marriage celebrant anywhere, I mean it - outdoor, indoor, traditional, modern, elopements and destination weddings, it’s all good.
I’m the ceremony point-man: as your marriage celebrant, I'll be there early enough to talk with all the other vendors involved in your ceremony to make sure we're all on the same page. Your photographer will know the order of the ceremony, I'll have your videographer sorted with a direct audio feed from my speaker, and if you've got live musicians I'll make sure all their cues are perfect!
I’m also the post-ceremony sheepdog: once you're officially married and have boogied your way back up the aisle, I'll get on the mic and herd everyone into the right spot for any group pictures, and let them know where they'll be heading for pre-reception drinks while you're off for your photos.
And that's pretty much it! Sound good? Drop me a line.
What does a marriage celebrant cost in Perth?
Fees for a Perth marriage celebrant run from around $450 for a quick registry-style ceremony up to about $1,950 for a fully bespoke one. That gap is heavily about how much of your ceremony is genuinely written for you, versus adapted from a template with your names dropped into it. It’s also about stuff like music management, sound equipment quality, and perhaps most of all - experience.
My price sits at the upper end of that range, and I'd rather say so now than later. Get in touch and I'll send my fees and inclusions straight through!
What's included:
A ceremony written from scratch, for you two only. Not a template with your names dropped in. I've never once reused a script, and I'm not about to start with yours.
Two meetings, plus a rehearsal if you want one
The questionnaires. A relationship questionnaire you fill out together, plus individual ones for each of you. This is where your story actually comes from, and honestly, most couples tell me it's one of the more fun nights of the whole planning process.
Me, on the ground, early, with full ceremony sound, anywhere in WA. Indoor, outdoor, backyard, beach, winery, or a giant rock 50km from the nearest wheatbelt town. I've done that one. Travel outside the metro of less than 400km is charged at $600 to cover fuel, travel time, and overnight accommodation. Further travel - whether within WA, Australia, or worldwide, can be arranged and will be quoted custom.
Unlimited vow help + booklets
All the legals, handled
Why I’m Not a ‘cheap option’
Because writing a genuinely personal ceremony takes time, talent, and experience, and there's no version of that which is also cheap.
You can absolutely get married in Perth for a few hundred dollars, and if all you need is the paperwork done properly, that's a completely reasonable choice - go and do it, and spend the difference on the party.
But if you want that thing where your guests come up afterwards and ask how long we've all been friends, where people who've sat through a dozen ceremonies tell you it's the first one they actually enjoyed, and where your ceremony sounds like nobody else's because it is nobody else's - that's what you’re paying for. Seven years and a few hundred weddings’ worth of experience.
I only take one wedding ceremony per day, and I book out well ahead, particularly October through April. If your date's a Saturday in peak season, it's worth getting in touch early even if you're still deciding.
No deposit is due until you're ready to lock in the date, and I don’t charge for meeting. If we're not a fit, that’s okay and I won’t take it personally! Hit the contact button below to get in touch and check my availability, or read on for info on where I’ve worked around Perth, and how different venues might affect the way your wedding comes together.
Where I'll marry you: Perth venues and beyond
I've lost count of how many Perth venues I've worked at, and there's a decent chance I've already been to yours. That's genuinely useful to you, because it means I know how the different aspects of a wedding ceremony play out there: sun, weather, access, and general vibe!
The Swan Valley
Sandalford Wines · Nikola Estate · Caversham House · Mandoon Estate · Riverbank Estate · Bailey Brewing Co.
Twenty-five minutes from the CBD and the busiest wedding strip in the state. The thing nobody tells you about a Swan Valley wedding: in February and March it is hot, and a 3pm ceremony on an unshaded lawn is a long twenty minutes for your guests. I'll happily talk you through timing it so everyone's comfortable and your photos still get the good light. Guildford's just next door and worth a look if you want the heritage-pub version rather than the vineyard version.
Perth Hills
Darlington Estate · Araluen Botanic Park · Masonmill · Naked Apple Cider
The hills tend to be hotter in summer, and colder in winter, so factor this in when deciding on a hills venue. Like the Swan Valley, there’s no shortage of natural beauty nearby to serve as a backdrop to your photos and your celebration. The sun also tends to disappear over the Darling Ranges earlier than it does the rest of the city, so be prepared to get those golden hour shots in just a little earlier.
Fremantle
Esplanade Hotel Fremantle · Assembly Yard · Moore & Moore Café · Tradewinds Hotel · Guildhall · Bathers Beach House
Freo is one of my favourite places to work, and much of that is owing to not just the coastal setting, but the abundance of heritage architecture nestled amongst a vibrant and walkable city centre. However, with some venues this comes at a cost - most notably sound restrictions and earlier than usual finish times. If there’s a venue in Freo you’re vibing on but want more info, feel free to hit me up on my experiences there and what will work best for your wedding day.
Image credit: Melissa’s Photography
On the River
Nedlands Yacht Club · Matilda Bay Restaurant · Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club · South of Perth Yacht Club
River weddings are my favourite kind of easy. The Swan and the city skyline do about ninety percent of your styling for you, which means the decorating budget can go on something your guests will actually remember. Two things worth knowing, though. The sea breeze still finds you by the river - better mannered than it is at the beach, but enough to factor in on the cooler months. Your golden hour photos will be better by the river than pretty much anywhere else in the city!
Image credit: Jack In The Box
On the Farm
Yoothamurra Homestead · Mardella Meadows · Millbrook Winery · Brookleigh Estate · Buckland Estate
Private estates are a different sort of wedding, and increasingly they're my favourite kind to work. You're not booking a room, you're taking over a property, often for the whole weekend, often with most guests staying on site, which turns a six-hour event into a two-day one. It often also means that ideal spot for your ceremony doesn’t have a power point. But everything I bring runs on batteries and nothing needs cabling, so we put the ceremony where the light and the view are and work outwards from there. Two things to square away with the venue beforehand: the wet-weather alternative, which on a property this size is usually a genuinely different location rather than a marquee ten metres away, and a run sheet that accounts for guests arriving across a weekend instead of a single afternoon. Bring more than you think you need.
Perth CBD and inner suburbs
Fraser's at Kings Park · Pan Pacific Perth · Duxton Hotel · Burswood on Swan · Perth City Farm · Lawson Flats
City weddings live and die on logistics: loading docks, lift access, parking for the people carrying things, and a noise curfew nobody mentioned. I'll have all of it confirmed with your venue before the day. Kings Park deserves its own note - the outdoor ceremony spots are stunning, they book out a long way ahead, and they're public, so we plan around the odd jogger wandering through your vows. It's fine. It's usually funny.
The South West
Credaro Family Estate · Eagle Bay Brewing Co · Meelup Farmhouse · Stonebarn · The Tiller Farm · Cherubino
I travel south-west for weddings around once a month during wedding season and always look forward to it. It’s a great way to get the destination wedding feel without slugging your nearest and dearest for international travel costs. It’s got the vibe of the coast and the hills all rolled into one, and many of WA’s most stunning venues call this region home. I charge a flat fee to cover all travel and accommodation for weddings in this part of WA.
Anywhere else
Not on the list? Doesn't matter. My whole setup is battery-powered, wireless and packs into a car, which means I can marry you somewhere with no power, no shade and no road. I once married a couple on a giant rock 50km from the nearest wheatbelt town, and it remains one of my favourite days at work. Backyards, farms, clifftops, national parks, your nan's front room - it’s all good!