Taxes, Holidays, Celebrant Conference
Oh yes, and Weddings!
Paperwork
I love every single ceremony I get to conduct, I enjoy working with every couple, but these things take time to create.
Winter is the time when I look ahead to my next 12 months, and begin to lay out a plan for meetings, writing sessions, and actual ceremony days. Even the most simple of legal ceremonies is a few hours of work, and with writing a bespoke ceremony being a much longer process, often with the addition of MC reception planning, I need to be organised to stay on my best game!
Planning for Summer 2024 and Spring 2025 starts now, winter 2024. Every couple gets an email. Maybe a reminder to come in and lodge their NOIM (Notice of Intent To Marry) or maybe a reminder to send me some planning paperwork that I am waiting on. Or even just an email to say ‘Hi how are you both? Hope the planning is going well’ so my couples know I haven’t forgotten about them.
Taxes
With the end of the Australian financial year being the end of June, winter is the perfect time for me to hit my books and tie up all the loose ends ready for my accountant to submit my taxes.
Everyone needs a Celebrant who is financially viable and going to be in business for years into the future. The bookkeeping might not be the glamourous part of the job, but it is important. So why not curl up in front of the heater and sort my receipts?
I mean, what brighter way is there to bring happiness to a dull and wet day, than with a tax return?
Holidays
Yes, a holiday!
Maybe even two!!
Shock horror, I don’t actually work 24/7, 365 days a year!!!
Winter is a great time for me to get away further afield than South Australia. Hopefully a trip with my hubby, somewhere warm and fun, while South Australia is cold and wet.
Oddly this year we drove the Great Ocen Road for a week in July. Whatever possessed us to do that in July I have no idea! It was cold, wet, and at times I couldn’t see the road in front of us. But it was always fun to spend time together, to be away from the everyday, and to be out in nature. We went Zip Lining in the Otway forest, and I hugged some 400-year-old trees!
I also try and get in a trip back home too (I like to think I have two homelands)
Back to Essex in England. A few weeks with family and friends that I only see over video calls for the other 11 or more months in-between visits. This year I am going back in September, so I am very much looking forward to that in only a few weeks time.
Celebrant Conference
Ongoing Profesional Development, or OPD, doesn’t sound like much fun. And often the hours I put in to do the compulsory hours online each year, while necessary and compulsory, they are definitely not my idea of fun.
But put 80 to 100 Celebrants in a hotel for two and a half days, and you are guaranteed to have fun. Celebrants are not a quiet bunch, I mean we all talk for a living… So can you imagine the noise?
I make a point each year to make time to go to the AFCC (Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants) Annual Conference. Luckily they have the sense to have it in winter, they always have great speakers and trainers, amazing food, and in my ten years as a Celebrant I have made Celebrant friends right across Australia. So it is an all-round winner for me!
Oh, and Weddings
And yes, in between all that fun, I am still carrying out regular wedding ceremonies.
In winter it is probably more legal weddings in my home office, and small intimate elopements, than big weddings with lots of guests, but they all still happen across every month of every year.
Winter in Australia varies depending on where you live, due to the countries vast size and diverse climate zones. Here in South Australia, winter generally brings increased rainfall, particularly in coastal areas like where I live in Maslin Beach. This usually means a lush green landscape and vibrant flowers. It’s cool, but not freezing, often hovering around 10-20°C (50-68°F).
So weddings do happen here, a surprising number actually, all throughout the winter months. Throughout winter, we adapt to seasonal conditions, ensuring ceremonies are conducted professionally and with sensitivity to the needs of clients. I work closely with my couples to create memorable and meaningful ceremonies despite the weather or any logistical challenges the winter season may bring. Having a Plan B is one of the most important planning aspects, what will you do if the weather isn’t kind to you on your wedding day?
Hit me up on my socials and ask me anything you want.
If you are still looking for a Celebrant, and you think that I may be who you need, then click HERE and say Hi.
Photo credits to KISS Package (selfie by ME)