Wannabe marriage celebrants queue for licence

By Paul Dykes
Roger Magee's been trying to marry people in the Bay for seven years.
The 62-year-old from Ohauiti, is a funeral celebrant seeking to add marriages to his portfolio - but there's a waiting list to become a marriage celebrant in the Western Bay, largely because it's an attractive place to live.
As couples are flocking to the Bay for their weddings from as far afield as Finland and Canada, registered marriage celebrants are moving here as well in search of the good life.
"Personally, I have been on the waiting list for seven years," he said.
"I have applied twice. I have met the registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages and he accepts that I am the right kind of person to gain registration but he said he was bound by the wording of the Marriage Act 1955 - that's Korean War vintage."
Ohauiti is overloaded with registered marriage celebrants with one estimating there are at least 20 people like Mr Magee on the waiting list.
But Mr Magee has a solution.
"My answer ... I am re-locating to an area of demand. I am looking at an out-of-town property in the Bay and the Coromandel."
He said a marriage celebrant is paid upwards of $300 for the service but in areas of high demand such as Auckland, the fee can rise to more than $800.
They must reapply for their licence every year.
Tony Wallace, from the Department of Internal Affairs, says there are 53 marriage celebrants and 17 civil union celebrants in the Tauranga area.
"This number of celebrants meets the public need for celebrants in the Tauranga area," he said.
One established celebrant in Tauranga, Raewyn Weller, who has been conducting marriages for the past five years and is deputy chairwoman of the national celebrants' association, has some advice to those who seek to gain registration as a marriage celebrant here.
"Be prepared for a long wait.
"Unfortunately it goes with the territory, as one of New Zealand's highest growth population regions, that more celebrants are moving into the area to live and bringing their licences with them."
She estimates there are at least 20 people waiting to become marriage celebrants in the Western Bay, including some who have been on the list for several years.
"People choose us for different reasons, we all have our own style. Most of my work is through referrals."
She said she has performed ceremonies for people from Finland, Canada, the US and the UK, mainly people wanting to get away from the big family wedding and do their own thing "as far away as possible".
"About 50 per cent of my weddings would be on the beach - that's peculiar to the Bay. People come here from the Waikato and Auckland because it's so much cheaper."The national celebrants' association is holding an education forum and annual meeting in Tauranga today to promote further education for celebrants, many of whom have turned their interest into a full-time job.