Guide
Prices
Every price Felicity Best charges is published in full, in Australian dollars, no GST. A full wedding ceremony is $950 Monday to Thursday and $1,200 Friday to Sunday, and the shortest legal ceremony is $650. The table below carries every tier in both columns, with travel, permits and the booking fee listed rather than added later.
| Ceremony | Mon–Thu | Fri–Sun |
|---|---|---|
| Wedding ceremonies — Wedding ceremony Getting to know you both, a ceremony written to tell your love story, help with your vows, a rehearsal, PA and wireless microphone, arrival well before your guests, lodgement of your legal paperwork, your commemorative certificate. | $950 | $1,200 |
| Wedding ceremonies — Friend officiates, celebrant does the legals The legal requirements taken care of, your ceremony prepared with you, coaching for the person you have chosen, everything done correctly on the day. | $950 | $1,200 |
| Elopements — Elopement A ceremony written to tell your love story, a planning meeting, help with your vows, the legal paperwork, PA and wireless microphone, your commemorative certificate. | $750 | $875 |
| Legals-only & registry-style ceremonies — Legals-only ceremony Ten to fifteen minutes with up to ten guests, the legal ceremony, the Notice of Intended Marriage, lodgement of your legal paperwork, a commemorative certificate. No PA and no personalised ceremony script. | $650 | $750 |
| Vow renewals & commitment ceremonies — Vow renewal or commitment ceremony A personalised ceremony written around your story, a PA, a commemorative certificate. One price whatever day of the week it falls on. | $650 | same |
| Naming ceremonies — Naming ceremony A meeting to hear your story, a ceremony that reflects your family, a PA, certificates for your child and guide parents. One price on any day. | $595 | same |
| Funerals & celebrations of life — Funeral or celebration of life A personal meeting with family or loved ones; a personalised eulogy and complete ceremony; help with readings, music, tributes and other personal touches; helping family and friends prepare if they would like to speak; liaison with your funeral director; conducting and guiding the complete ceremony; chapel, graveside or another agreed location; PA and wireless microphone; the final committal. | $750 | same |
| Funerals & celebrations of life — Graveside or ashes committal A simple, personal committal of around 30 minutes, written and led by me. It can be held on its own or as a separate farewell following a funeral or cremation. | $450 | same |
| Funerals & celebrations of life — Living funeral A celebration held while someone is still here, planned with the person being celebrated: a chance to gather the people they love, share stories, memories and music, and say the things people so often leave unsaid. | $750 | same |
| Celebrant + MC — Ceremony and reception MC Your personalised ceremony, planning and preparation, help with vows, a rehearsal, PA with wireless microphone, the legal paperwork, your commemorative certificate, plus MC duties throughout the reception through to the first dance. | $1,850 | $2,350 |
| Celebrant + MC — MC only Four hours on site, a run sheet prepared with you and your venue, the reception kept moving naturally, a PA. For couples whose ceremony is being conducted by someone else. | $750 | same |
Australian dollars, no GST. Travel within 80 km or an hour and a half of Murwillumbah is included, whichever gets you there; beyond both it is $1 per kilometre, round trip. Booking fee $250, which comes off the total. Witnesses supplied at $60 each. Council permits for beach and park ceremonies are booked and paid for directly with the council, and are not included.
A weekday column and a weekend column, no GST, so the answer to "what would it cost" is on the page rather than at the end of a phone call.
What to expect
Work out your total.
The ceremony, the day, where it is and whether witnesses need supplying are the four things that change the figure. Everything else is included, and so is the travel to almost everywhere on this list.
Permits for a beach, headland or park are the one cost outside this: the fees vary between councils and sites, and you book and pay for them directly with the council or land manager. The official marriage certificate is an additional cost too, ordered and paid for directly from the state registry, and the NOIM guide explains when you order it.
Upfront pricing
I believe in being upfront about pricing. You should be able to look at the website and have a good idea of what your ceremony will cost before the first conversation.
All prices are in Australian dollars, no GST, and the figure in the table is the figure you pay.
Travel
Travel within 80 km or an hour and a half of Murwillumbah is included. If your ceremony is beyond both of those, travel is charged at $1 per kilometre, round trip.
If you're somewhere outside my usual area, please ask. I'll always let you know the travel cost before you book.
Booking
A $250 booking fee is required to secure your date, and it comes off the total cost of your ceremony.
Witnesses
If you need witnesses supplied for your wedding ceremony, I can arrange this for $60 per witness.
Council and venue permits
If your ceremony is being held on a beach, in a park or on other council-managed land, you'll need to check with the relevant council or land manager about whether a permit is required and arrange it directly with them.
Any permit costs are your responsibility and are not included in my ceremony fee.
Official marriage certificate
Your ceremony fee includes a commemorative certificate, which you sign on the day.
After your wedding, I lodge your legal paperwork with the relevant registry. If you'd like an official marriage certificate, you can order and pay for it directly from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the state or territory where you were married: $70 in New South Wales and $58.10 in Queensland. It is not included in my ceremony fee.
Straightforward pricing
No hidden weekend loading, because the weekend price is published beside the weekday one, and nothing added at booking. Just straightforward pricing, so you know what your ceremony will cost from the beginning.
Questions
Questions people ask
- How much does a celebrant cost?
- I charge $950 for a full weekday ceremony, $1,200 on a Saturday and $650 for legals only, no GST, with both columns shown rather than a surcharge added on later. Across the Tweed, Byron and the Gold Coast most full ceremonies sit between $990 and $1,350.
- How much does a wedding celebrant cost?
- $950 Monday to Thursday and $1,200 Friday to Sunday for a wedding ceremony: getting to know you both, a ceremony written to tell your love story, help with your vows, a rehearsal, a PA with a wireless microphone, arrival well before your guests, lodgement of your legal paperwork and your commemorative certificate, with travel within 80 km or an hour and a half of Murwillumbah included.
- Why do prices go up on the weekend?
- Because a Saturday in season is the one thing I cannot make more of: about twenty-six of them a year, one ceremony each. Most of this market charges for it, usually $100 more Friday to Sunday and up to $350 at Byron. My gap on a full wedding is $250, and it is the weekday column that is the discount rather than the weekend column that is a loading. Short ceremonies carry one price whatever the day.
- Is there GST on top?
- No. Best Ceremonies is not registered for GST, so none is included in any figure here and none is added at booking. The published figure is the total. Australian consumer law asks that a price advertised to a consumer be a single total figure rather than a base with additions discovered later, and that is what every figure in the table is. There is no separate line at booking and no card surcharge.
- What is the booking fee and is it refundable?
- $250, paid to hold the date, with the balance due four weeks before the ceremony. It comes off the total rather than being charged on top. The common practice across this market is $200 to $300, or a quarter to half of the fee.
- Do you charge for travel?
- Travel within 80 km or an hour and a half of Murwillumbah is included, whichever gets you there. That covers the whole Tweed, the Gold Coast to Coomera, Byron Bay and its hinterland, the Northern Rivers as far as Casino, and Tamborine Mountain up on the range, so almost nobody pays for the drive. Past both rings I charge $1 per kilometre round trip, under the market norm of $0.88 to $1.
- What else costs money on the day?
- Council permits for beach and park ceremonies, where a site needs one: you arrange and pay for them directly with the council or land manager, and they are not included in my fee. Witnesses at $60 each if you need them supplied. An in person rehearsal is $150 and is already in the full ceremony and MC packages. An official marriage certificate is an additional cost, ordered and paid for directly from the registry.
- How does this compare with the registry office?
- The NSW registry charges $482 on a weekday and $597 on a Saturday, in Sydney only. Queensland charges $410.60 and $534 in Brisbane, weekdays only for legals only, four people, no guests. I charge $650 and $750, where you are, with up to ten guests.
- Do you offer packages?
- The published tiers are the packages. I bundle ceremony plus reception MC at $1,850 midweek and $2,350 on a weekend, because that is how the market sells it and because one person doing both means nothing has to be handed over. I do not quote individually, because the tiers already cover what people ask for.
Get in touch
Check my date
Send the date, or the season, and where. I will tell you whether it is free and exactly what it costs. No obligation.
Most days, 9am to 7pm.