Marriage / Wedding Celebrant feedback is one of the hardest things to obtain unless you relentlessly hound your couples… fill in this form, leave a review, tell me how I’m doing, refer me to your friends. And so it goes on.

I choose not to do this. If I receive feedback, its unsolicited. Its because my couples genuinely want me to have the feedback – good or bad. And if they don’t want to tell me how I’m doing, then that’s fine too. It’s their special day and they need to enjoy the ensuing honeymoon (whether they go away or not).

I’ve been a Marriage Celebrant since 2009, and in that time I’ve had only a handful of genuinely unhappy couples. Humans, by their very nature, find it easier to complain, to take to social media and voice their concerns. It’s the unhappy ones who you will hear the loudest. I take constructive criticism very seriously. If I need to change the way I do things, I will. If I need to mix things up a little, I will. If I need to ignore the unfounded ramblings of an unhappy complainer, I will. 

The vast majority of my couples are happy. I get instantaneous feedback on the day. Granny shakes my hand and pecks me on the cheek, Fathers of the Bride thank me, photographers compliment me and if I’ve made the Bride or Groom cry tears of happiness, then I know I’ve done my job well. I walk away feeling a sense of achievement and happiness that yet another couple have made a life-long commitment with my help. And in the evening, I sit quietly and dissect my own performance to decide how I can improve for the next time.

So, if I receive a Certificate of Excellence with a Five Star Rating, then I’m so very happy. I must be doing something right!