Bronte Price
The Gay Celebrant
Australia’s 1st
Certified LGBTIQA+ Wedding Celebrant
I’m the first marriage celebrant in Australia to have completed the Certificate in Gay and Lesbian Weddings (The Equality Institute, USA). This certification has taught me about the many options that can make up LGBTIQA + weddings. Over the last 20 years, I was a senior executive in state government. The positions I held, made sure I knew how to relate and deal with a range of people and how to keep calm under pressure. Of course, those skills can come in handy on wedding days when people are a little nervous or stressed!
Have a love story of my own
I planned my own wedding
I became “engayged” to my feyoncé, Clint, the night of the “Yes” vote announcement in Australia which laid down the legal path for LGBTIQA + people like us to get married. We got married on our 9th anniversary, in April 2019. Our own experiences in planning our wedding and those of the couples I’ve married in the past all teach us something similar: there’s nothing more disastrous or regrettable than having a wedding that doesn’t reflect your personality, your values, and who and what you are. So, Clint and I had a wedding that mirrored who we are and how we live our lives. We wanted a gay wedding, not a straight wedding. And so, we made sure our wedding day was the best day of our lives. The entire day revolved around our marriage ceremony and focused on the celebration of our love. It was a day that that we and our guests will remember for a long time. I’d love to help you do the same!
Seasoned Microphone Professional
Newsreader at Joy 94.9
For two years, I volunteered as a newsreader at JOY 94.9 – Australia’s only LGBTIQA + radio station – where I wrote and presented the news at noon once a week. Working at JOY put me in regular touch with other members of the LGBTIQA + community, which I absolutely loved.
Co-founder of the Equality Network
Trainer of LGBTIQA+ wedding suppliers
Some (straight) celebrants keep telling me there’s no difference between straight and LGBTIQA+ weddings! Wow! I disagree. I have a pretty deep understanding of how vastly different LGBTIQA+ weddings can be from straight weddings, apart from just the gendered roles that underpin most straight weddings. There are many rituals and traditions that can have an LGBTIQA+ twist or replacement, if couples wish. In 2016, I co-founded The Equality Network to provide LGBTIQA+ inclusion training to organisations such as wedding suppliers, to help ensure that LGBTIQA+ couples get a wedding that reflects their way of life and who they are.
Former Trainer of Marriage Celebrants
I know my stuff. I hold a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment(TAE40116), which qualified me to train marriage celebrants across Australia in 2019 in a range of topics approved by the Attorney-General’s Department. This compulsory training ensured those celebrants kept their currency and registration. I also conduct LGBTIQA+ inclusion training for wedding suppliers, including marriage celebrants. This helps them work respectfully and with members of the LGBTIQA+ community one the day that is, arguably, the most important day of their lives.
Committed Community Member
Community Volunteer
Clint & I are proud parents of our 9 year old rescue kelpie dog, Bingo. We often spend our Sunday afternoons at one of Melbourne’s queer pubs or clubs, catching up with our gay mates.
A natural story teller
Makes for an impressive wedding planner
I love telling stories. And I love writing them! The love story of any couple is often the central feature of their marriage ceremony. There are few things that give me as much pleasure as working with couples to create ceremonies that are authentic, interesting, unique and polished. I always aim to deliver these ceremonies keeping in mind the legalities, sensitivities and wishes of the couple. I’m also happy to help my couples with information about things to see and do and where to stay if they’re travelling to Melbourne from outside Australia.
