I am a civil celebrant who makes ritual and ceremony for rites of passage and other transitions of whatever kind, in tune with my clients.
Based in Brisbane, Queensland, I regularly work within a three hour radius of Brisbane, to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Maleny. I am happy to go farther afield and often work in rural areas and interstate on request.
I have a deep interest in rituals, from the small habits that make our days more pleasurable to the ceremonies that mark significant transitions in life. Ceremonies are a way of clarifying what really matters to us in our life passages and bringing together the people who matter to mark them. My own experience – and my observation of others – is that ceremonies enrich our lives in celebrating the joys and coming to terms with the painful experiences such as loss and grief which are part and parcel of being human.
My life’s work has been in creating structures to help people grow as individuals, live better together and celebrate life in all its aspects. My work as a celebrant is influenced by my previous career in community development and with individuals and groups to solve problems and work together productively and harmoniously. I’ve held positions in a range of community organisations focusing on women, housing, neighbourhood centres and youth. My responsibilities included team building, strategic planning, conflict resolution, celebrations, group supervision, leadership development, individual supervision and coaching.
I have trained and practised in Sociodrama and Playback Theatre for personal and professional purposes for over twenty years.
In 2018 I published A Celebrant’s Notebook, to share what I’ve learnt through the work, a constant apprentice to the form.
In praise of the book, Christine Cuskelly, a Monash graduate, wrote: I have been looking (waiting) for this book since I first knew I wanted to become a celebrant – it offers so much more than the practical celebrant ‘tool kits’ and resource manuals. This work goes to the essence of celebrancy and the transformative and connective power of ceremony. Anna’s gentle, loving, listening spirit inhabits every page as she steadfastly puts ceremony, ritual, spirit and meaning at the heart of what we, as celebrants, aspire to in our secular, multicultural, multi-ethnic communities.
Richard Rawlings, environmentalist, tutor and support for settlement families, wrote of A Celebrant’s Notebook: “Anna brings an added dimension to any event that she creates. Even apparently simple events such as a luncheon with a guest speaker. It is always a much richer and deeper experience when Anna has orchestrated the event. … this is a very user friendly book written in such a way that it takes the reader on an evolving journey of secular celebrancy in Australia and intertwines it with the Anna’s development as a self apprenticed celebrant and her ever deepening practice.”
I qualified as a celebrant with a TAFE Cert IV in Marriage Celebrancy and furthered my development with a Graduate Diploma Arts (Civil Ceremonies) from Monash University. My additional qualifications are:
BA University of Sydney
Dip Ed Goldsmiths College, University of London
Advanced Trainee, Queensland Training Institute of Psychodrama
Accredited Practitioner, International Playback Theatre Network
I am more than happy to elaborate on my experience and qualifications, or answer any questions you might have about my work, in person.