The Best Wedding Celebrants in Auckland

Updated 7 September 2021

In this guide, we outline what’s important when choosing a celebrant and what you should expect to pay.  A trusted and respected wedding celebrant brings a level of expertise and professionalism to make your big day relaxed and enjoyable.

The levels of stress during a wedding can be high, so having a celebrant who is experienced in problem-solving and pre-empting your needs and wedding demands is essential. A wedding celebrant keeps your wedding on track from start to end.

Our Auckland Wedding Celebrant guide covers:​​​

• How Much Does a Wedding Celebrant Cost?
• 10 Reliable Auckland Wedding Celebrants Available Right Now​

Wedding celebrants conduct the civil (non-religious) ceremony of marrying two persons. In New Zealand, the celebrant must be registered to abide by the Marriage Act 1955. However, wedding celebrants do a lot more than just ensure your wedding is legally valid. Their services include:

1. Wedding ceremony planning and organisation assistance
2. Wedding ceremony organisation
3. Legal matters and documentation
4. Assisting with vows and speeches
5. Ceremony personalisation

• Marriage celebrants charge largely by time, which will vary depending on the scale of your plans. If you want a celebrant for a simple ceremony in front of a few family members, you could comfortably pay around $300 to $500.
• A full-scale wedding will cost more as the time demands are higher. A celebrant doesn’t just show up on the day and ‘wing it’, they work with you to plan and craft the perfect ceremony, so there is a lot of pre-work that is included in the single fee.
• Before asking for a quote, ask yourself what your needs are. Do you need them for a standard marriage officiation, or do you need them to conduct the wedding from start to end? Deciding on your needs upfront will help you budget appropriately and find an experienced celebrant.

Generally, the following costs apply:

• Wedding officiating $400 to $600
• Wedding organising $800 to 1,500
• Renewal of vows $400 to $600
• Simple wedding ceremonies $300 to $500

Based on our research carried out in December 2019, Auckland Celebrants charge an average of around $100/hr for their services, meaning your service will cost anywhere from $400 to $1,000.

Several factors influence the cost of a wedding celebrant, with location, duration and ceremony type being the most significant. 

1. Location – if you’re getting married in the Bay of Islands, the travel costs will be higher for an Auckland-based celebrant than if your wedding was on Waiheke or in Mount Eden. Celebrants usually have a mileage charge, compensating them for the time they take to get to and from your wedding venue.
2. Duration – Celebrants, like most service professionals, most often charge on an hourly basis or as a package deal. To understand the costs, proposing a couple of wedding plans will show what’s within your budget. If you’re looking to save money, it’s often cheaper to have your celebrant come specifically for the vows rather than plan the wedding with you.  
3. Ceremony – A Celebrant’s main role is to officiate a ceremony. However, no wedding is like another. Do you want your celebrant to be there to help set up your venue? If so, there’s going to be an additional cost. The scale of your wedding and the Celebrant services you agree to will reflect the price.

Important – sticking to a wedding budget is very important, but choosing a marriage celebrant based on price alone may not be the best idea. For a wedding to be the best it can be, you’ll need a celebrant who you connect with. A trusted Auckland celebrant who has the experience in the scale of wedding you’re planning will often be the most appropriate choice.

​Our list below, which is no particular order, covers celebrants residing all over Auckland. We have selected these based on their history of longstanding service within Auckland, location and data extracted from internet reviews on Google Business, Facebook, TradeMe Services, wedding-specific forums and others.

No celebrant has paid to appear on this list, and MoneyHub.co.nz has no relationship with any celebrant below.

Disclaimer: MoneyHub.co.nz has no relationship, financial or otherwise, with any of the wedding celebrants listed on this page. Quotes and final bills for celebrant services will vary, and our pricing guide is for informational purposes only.