The number of independent celebrants in New Zealand has skyrocketed, as more couples opt for a friend to officiate their wedding, rather than use experienced professionals.

Data from the Department of Internal affairs shows there were 4538 independent marriage and civil union celebrants in the 2020-2021 period, a significant jump from 3600 in the 2018-2019 financial year.

The process for being a celebrant in New Zealand was relaxed in 2013.

Previously, there was a requirement for applicants to demonstrate that there was a public need for their services in the local community, but that resulted in difficulties for new people to enter into the space.

The Celebrant School Director, Kathrine Fraser said the changes caused an influx of applications.

She said prior to then, “there were around 2000 celebrants in the country, give or take”.

The influx in numbers has led to calls from major players in the celebrant industry for an overhaul of New Zealand’s registration process.

Currently, New Zealand citizens can become legal independent celebrants without having to undergo any formal training.

The Births, Deaths, and Marriage's website says that applicants only need to pay a $220 fee, pass a short online test, provide four signed letters of support, two character references, and undergo a police check.

Despite the thousands of people entering the industry, The Celebrant School only has around 30 graduates a year, which Fraser thinks “paints a pretty stark picture”.

She wants to see changes to New Zealand’s process for becoming an independent celebrant.

Fraser has noticed a growing trend of couples asking close friends to be their marriage celebrant, rather than being a groomsman or bridesmaid like they may have opted for a generation ago "because they can pay for their registration, and it’s cheaper than hiring a celebrant”.

She said couples do not realise what they miss out on by using a friend, rather than a fully-trained professional.

“As well as the position they are putting their friend in to be responsible for something they don’t necessarily have the skills to do.”

Fraser said it begs belief that in this day and age, people can call themselves a professional celebrant without any understanding of ceremony.

“I think there should be some training for individuals in that role, because you're dealing with people at a really important time in their life... there are many transitions people have, and if you don't understand how to bring them into that very special space that's created in a ceremony, how to craft it so it's meaningful for people, and then how to transition them back into the world -- that ceremony is going to be really unsatisfying.”

She said the short test applicants undertake is the only form of compulsory ‘training’ required, but it boils down to a simple multi-choice quiz.

“It deals with the processing of marriage documentation, but there's nothing about the actual ceremony or what's required to conduct a ceremony for people -- which nowadays is what people want, something that reflects them.”

“There's a lot of opportunities to include things around your cultural or spiritual background or any particular interest or family connections.”

Celebrants Aotearoa – The Celebrants’ Association of New Zealand is among those wanting to see change.

Association President Rachel Clarke, said it fully endorses the idea of training to be mandatory for celebrants.

“We believe it ensures that celebrants have the knowledge and skills to deliver quality ceremonies that are legal, meet the handful of requirements, and are fully personalised to the couples, needs, wishes and style.

She said in the case of a wedding, the ceremony is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the amount of relational work celebrants do in order to get up to the big day.

“There’s a whole lot of work that goes on before you get to the point of actually standing there and officiating their wedding.”

Some believe the lack of regulation is having an adverse impact on those already in the industry.

Fraser said experienced and trained celebrants are being pushed out of the sector by those who lack training and experience, with the high volumes of people becoming registered celebrants being simply unsustainable.

"What it has meant is that we’ve lost a lot of experienced people, because they simply can’t pay their bills.”

Clarke said that isn’t something she has heard.

“But there is a high number of marriage celebrants, so there is more competition for the work perhaps...  celebrants may need to take a up a fuller role in something that isn’t celebrancy, in order to make a sufficient income.”

Fraser believes the pandemic only made things harder for experienced celebrants, with far less work going around to cater to high volumes of people entering the industry.

She said there is a major public misconception, and that most people believe in order for a person to call themselves a legal celebrant, they would have had to undergo formal training.

“I know the most common question I receive as a marriage celebrant is ‘are you free on this date, and how much do you charge?’ Nobody asks ‘what qualifies you to do this role, or what experience or training you’ve had.’”

She said most people are surprised to hear not all celebrants are trained.

When asked whether changes to the application process are being considered to make formal celebrancy training compulsory, The Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriage, Jeff Montgomery said it currently “encourages those applying to be a celebrant to complete professional training or join the Celebrants Association.”

“The application process includes written and practical assessments. However, training or qualifications are not required under the legislation that governs celebrant appointment.”