By Shelby Brooks
Celebrating life’s ups and downs is something Narre Warren North’s Sharon Osman feels honoured to do as a celebrant for the last 13 years.
Born and raised a Catholic, Sharon said she knew nothing about celebrants until she attended a friend’s wedding in 2007 and witnessed a celebrant conduct the ceremony.
“The whole experience was eye opening, heart warming and soul lifting,” Sharon said.
“It ignited something within me and with encouragement from my dear friend I persued it and was appointed by the Attorney General’s office in 2009. Since then it’s been an absolute delight.”
Sharon said it can be deeply fulfilling, humbling, fun and an honour to be a part of a couple’s special day.
“Every single day of work for me is a celebration of love and it’s extremely rewarding in every way!
“To meet people from all walks of life, learn about their traditions, cultures and tailor a ceremony to suit them, allows me to feel satisfaction that I’ve left a true mark on people’s lives.”
While celebrants can officiate all types of life moments, Sharon said she is presently drawn to the joy of weddings.
“Love is the most powerful emotion in the world and being a part of that union is by far the most rewarding feeling,” she said.
Sharon said the most important skill was to be able to naturally create a safe space for people of all ages, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds and sexual preferences to feel comfortable.
“Officiating multicultural weddings has expanded my knowledge of wedding customs and traditions including religious and cultural aspects,” she said.
“My background as a professional life coach has also equipped me with valuable skills like, transparency, client focus, speaking in public confidently, having the right tone of voice while keeping everyone engaged and interested. The ability to deeply interact with the couple, their family and their friends requires unique and sound people skills.
“With a flair for writing, over the years I’ve mastered the art of creatively putting together a narrative of a couple’s love story, that is not only authentic and meaningful, but captures the attention of their guests from start to finish.
“I believe that having a easy going and lighthearted approach to life is just as important as reliability, responsibility, dedication, professionalism, punctuality and graceful presentation. Offering unlimited support and step by step guidance and treating every single wedding with the utmost importance.”
With the support of her family, Sharon said her journey as a celebrant has been nothing less than magical, however the occasional hiccup has occurred.
“One time the groom forgot the USB with music and my husband saved the day… luckily he had a USB in the car with a variety of music on it. It wasn’t their choice but it was appropriate and they were happy,” Sharon said.
“One stressful yet funny occasion was when the couple changed the venue a day before and forgot to tell me. So I’m there looking for them only to find another wedding party. I ended up ringing to discover that I was 40 minutes away. Because I always arrive early, it wasn’t too bad. I got there 30 minutes late to a very apologetic couple but it all went smoothly and they got married.
“On one occasion the bride was two hours late because she didn’t like her make up and had it redone, during which time one of the guests went into labour and got rushed off to have her baby. I did a wedding on a beach and the couple wanted us to stand on a small rock surrounded by where they first kissed and I almost lost my balance and fell into the water but someone grabbed me.
“Another beach wedding the certificate flew off the pier and landed in the water.”
Sharon said 2020 and 2021 with Covid-19 restrictions was hard on the industry, but in particular the brides and grooms whose weddings were disrupted.
“The sad part was the number of weddings cancelled a day before due to Covid-19 snap lockdowns,” Sharon said.
“The stress, disappointment and money the couples lost was heart breaking.”
Sunday 20 November was National Celebrants Day.
