I’m writing this from a café table in Rome and I’ve just finished a cappuccino that would make my local barista cry if she knew how good she was doing on a global scale, and I’m watching locals do life like it’s performance art. Because it is. Because everything is.
And I’ve been thinking about how much of what we do as celebrants is actually art. Not “artsy”. Not poetic fluff. But actual, capital-A Art. Being a celebrant isn't – as someone artfully described on Threads this week – just Schrödinger's unemployment; it's the dance of putting your skills, worldviews, beliefs, and your art into the public arena and hoping it resonates with couples getting married.
Pulitzer-winning art critic Jerry Saltz once said, “art is simply embedding your thought in your material.” That’s what you do every time you write a ceremony. Every time you step up to the front of a wedding, trembling slightly, and invite two people to breathe their marriage into life. It’s performance. It’s craft. It’s storytelling. It’s theatre. It’s ritual. It’s legal documentation masquerading as magic.
You’re not just a service provider ticking off legal boxes.
You’re an artist.
You work in the medium of moments.
You carve out space in time for two humans to say the most important words they’ll ever speak. That is not nothing. That is everything.
On this first day of June, I want to remind you that your job is weird, wonderful, and wildly important. You are not a form filler. You are not a template reader. You’re an artist.
And the world needs your work.
Now let’s talk AI, plus what’s on at the Celebrant Institute this month.
All this AI noise isn’t a fire alarm, but we should be listening
There’s a lot of talk – and fear – out there about artificial intelligence, so I wanted to share some thoughts and let you know how I’m using it.
- Everyone’s tinkering, few are embedding it into their every day. ChatGPT hit 100 million users in two months, yet most small business owners are still copy-pasting prompts rather than wiring AI into daily processes. You’ve got a chance to get ahead.
- Cheap models are arriving monthly. Open-source LLMs from Meta and Apple mean you won’t be shackled to one pricey subscription forever.
- They hallucinate. Treat AI like a bright intern who needs a second pair of eyes. Don’t trust them blindly, but give them heaps of work.
It’s just software in the end – the same way Excel once seemed intimidating until we found the SUM button. AI is just computer software.
That said, couples are already using ChatGPT and other tools to plan their weddings. Are you showing up in their results? Are you ready to play in a post-search-Google world?
Want me to cover more of this? Reply and let me know.
Here’s a few things I’ve done this week with AI:
1. X-ray your workflow or customer journey for leaks
Copy your real enquiry-to-booking steps into ChatGPT and ask:
“Spot any manual, repetitive or error-prone steps; suggest one automation or template for each.”
Typical leaks it uncovers:
- Chasing details or IDs. Auto-reminder email + Airtable form.
- Payment nudges. Scheduled SMS with invoice link.
- Rehearsal bookings. Suggested Calendly with buffer times.
Think of AI as a cheap process auditor – faster than covering your whiteboard in Post-its.
2. Patch the gaps in your stories & ceremonies
Couple questionnaires come back patchy? Prompt:
“Summarise this story, flag contradictions, list unanswered questions an audience would care about. Write an email to the couple requesting clarifications or additions.”
In ten seconds, you learn they met either on Bumble or at Splendour (not both), Dad’s name is missing, and no one has mentioned the proposal date.
3. GEO is SEO for when couples are planning weddings inside ChatGPT
A Zola survey last year found 52% of engaged couples are happy to off-load at least part of the planning to automation.
Meanwhile, Google’s AI Overviews are rolling out globally, pushing answers (and sometimes your content) above the blue links – and 58% of searches in Europe now end without a click at all.
What shifts:
| Old world | AI-first world |
|---|---|
| Rank for keywords | Become the cited source inside the AI answer |
| Meta descriptions | Natural-language FAQs & schema |
| Backlinks | Consistent brand mentions, E-E-A-T signals |
4. GEO Quick wins for this week
- Write posts in Q&A format. Start with the literal question couples ask (“How much does a celebrant cost in Darwin?”). Brainstorm with AI, then move to your writing software for polish.
- Add FAQ-schema. Even one JSON-LD block can land your answer in AI Overviews. Don’t know what that means? Run your site through Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool, then ask ChatGPT what to fix.
- Review hygiene. Check your GMB (Google My Business) listing, Easy Weddings/directories, Facebook, etc – AI scrapes authority from there. Ask past clients for fresh reviews.
- Publish mini-guides. AI loves structured lists. Example: “The legal docs every Tasmanian elopement needs” or a local best-of guide.
5. AI tasks you can try today
| Task | Why it helps | Prompt starter |
|---|---|---|
| Draft-to-polish email | On-brand replies while you’re driving | “Rewrite reply: warm, clear, UK English, 120 words.” |
| Ceremony run sheet | Visual cue list for the team | “Turn this script into a run sheet.” |
| Questionnaire summary | Story on one page | “Bullet key facts; list gaps.” |
| Blog ideas | Fill your content calendar | “10 blog titles ≤55 chars an Adelaide celebrant could publish in June” |
| Social captions | Consistency without clichés | “Caption for ring-exchange photo; no clichés; 35 words.” |
| Legal wording check | Compliance sanity-check | “Does this script meet Aus Marriage Act Section 45?” |
| PA gear checklist | Cut on-site surprises | “Packing list for beach wedding, 80 guests, no power.” |
| Voice warm-up plan | Save your pipes | “10-min vocal warm-up for outdoor ceremony, include breathing.” |
| Payment reminder SMS | Fewer awkward chases | “Polite, firm SMS: invoice due tomorrow, 160 chars.” |
| Review request | Build social proof | “Email asking couple for Google review, casual tone.” |
Marriage law change survey
There's a new survey for all marriage celebrants to complete about the changes to the marriage laws that we're advocating for.
It’s six yes/no questions with an explainer if you’re not sure. It should take less than a minute. The submit button only appears once all answers are “yes” or “no” – if you leave one as “I don’t know”, it won’t submit.
🖱️ Join the 2025 Marriage Law Change Survey
On the Celebrant Institute this month
Five articles to read this month that will help you be a better celebrant and run a better business:
- Should You Pay to Be in a Wedding Directory? + bonus reminder of the article, The wedding directory is dead, long live the wedding directory
- My 22 Rules On How To Be A Celebrant
- Add a Celebrant Institute membership badge to your website to increase authority in SEO and GEO
- Sarah got a new gadget and she reviews it: The Remarkable tablet
- Fix pricing not prices
Need help or got a question?
Paid members can always access celebrant.institute/ask for help and mentorship on all marriage celebrancy topics.
I'll see you on the socials, or in my inbox – unless you're planning to be in Amsterdam this month, in which case I'll see you there instead.
“If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader, sell ice cream.” – Steve Jobs
Cheers,
Josh
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