The 3 Mistakes I Made After My First Client Meeting (& How I Amended Them)

Mistakes are meant to happen! It's not about beating yourself over them, it's about making them, acknowledging them, amending them then moving on 💙

I met with my first client a fortnight ago and these are the three mistakes that I made and how I amended them. In my previous blog post, I wrote very clearly about how I prepared to meet my first client and even created a client meeting checklist. However, no amount of preparation could have prepared me for what only experience could teach me:

1. I left the signed client service agreement 

   
   

I know that more seasoned celebrants have service agreements created by lawyers. This is something that I would like to look into in the near future however due to financial restraints (thank you to my berry loving toddler and my Sydney mortgage), the client service agreement that I have created will have to do. As it is an agreement that I have created with the assistance of research and my tutors, it’s not something I wish to share publicly but if you are a newbie and really struggling with creating yours, I’d be happy to help. Just use my contact details and reach out. However, my client service agreement includes:

• Celebrant Services

• Service Exclusions

• Agreed price to include

• Payment Terms

• Client Agrees

• Work Health and Safety

• Privacy and Confidentiality 

• Media and Photography Consent

Anyway, back to storytime, I had my bundle of paperwork prepared and had my client service agreement to go through after my invoice. I was happy with how I went through my client service agreement in the time frame the client gave me. Residing over an hour and approximately 74 kilometres away, my couple arranged to meet with me before they had a family event in Sydney and said they had to leave in about 40 minutes. We met at the groom’s mother’s house which was around the corner from one of my favourite bakeries (shoutout to Sim from Voglia Di Pane). With their two young children around, I felt the pressure to get things done as thoroughly and efficiently as possible. 

We read through it, they agreed and even signed the media and photography consent (yay). Though their ceremony is just a slightly upgraded version of a legals only wedding, I was excited at the prospect of taking photos to include on my social media. However, my social media presence has not been consistent and I think I might rethink how I do social media. I am enjoying blog posts more than trying to fight presence in the algorithm. I am considering sticking to blog posts as it seems more genuine to me.

As I was gathering my paperwork to leave, I did not think to take the client service agreement. Please do not ask me why. My logic, at the time, was “oh but they need it”. I should have at least taken a photo of it! Or better yet, take it with me and send them a scanned version. I will ensure that next time, I will do this.

So how did I fix this situation? I sheepishly asked the bride if she could send me a photo of it a week later to which she obliged. Thank you, Bianca*. 

2. I took a photo of a certified copy of the birth certificate and not the official document

So, luckily I remembered to take a photo of Bianca and Bernard’s birth certificate and passport. In my payment terms, I let Bianca know that I will not enter the data for their NOIM until I receive my booking fee to which they obliged. Upon inspecting Bianca’s birth certificate, it took me by surprise as her birth certificate’s registration number was not at the top, which I was accustomed to. Instead, her registration number was at the bottom. 

I asked her if it was the full version and it had not been cut and she said yes. Me, knowing I have The Celebrant Society as a brains trust, continued with the NOIM process but had in the back of my mind that I would confirm with them that this was an acceptable birth certificate. Bianca said that she has used this certificate for her mortgage so she believed that it was the full version so I once again obliged. I had a busy day planned but I quickly posted the question to The Celebrant Society Members and they informed me that it was in fact an older version of an official birth certificate (phew).

With this in my mind and this curveball thrown, I inspected Bernard’s birth certificate, wrote the details down for the NOIM and took a photo. Except, I took a photo of the certified copy of the birth certificate instead of the original. In my photo, to which I zoomed in, I could see that the certified copy was in front of the birth certificate. I quickly looked through my Certificate IV study notes and everywhere I had written “official copy only - not certified copy”. Somewhere I read “4 years gaol” and I was certain that I was going to gaol for taking a photo of the wrong document.

I let my nerves ruminate for a few days in the pit of my stomach as despair and dread continued to rise like a sourdough starter. Then, I decided to be a big girl and drafted a text to Bianca, as I had other questions. As I said earlier, when we first spoke on the phone, I thought they were after a legals only wedding so I quoted them my haiku package, plus a little special consideration as it was my first ceremony. When we met, they mentioned that they wanted to do personal vows and as I was drafting their ceremony using a standard marriage script I found on the Victorian BDM website, I came across the ring ceremony part and a possible reading. So I wanted to find out if they wanted a ring ceremony and for a reading. Here is what my text said:

Hi Bianca,

I hope you had a lovely weekend and are having a lovely start to the week. I began working on your ceremony over the weekend and have entered your NOIM into LifeLink. I have a few questions that I will send via text but please feel free to advise if you prefer a phone call.

1.I seem to have taken a photo of Bernard’s certified copy of his birth certificate instead of the official copy./ are you able to send me a picture of the official birth certificate for my record at your earliest convenience?

2.Would you like to include a reading for your ceremony? It is not a mandatory part of a ceremony but you may wish for someone or myself to read out a passage or a poem.

3.Would you like to include a ring exchange as part of your ceremony?

Many thanks,

Ange x 

Bianca requested a phone call and we set up a time. Both Bianca and Bernard are super easy and chill and she let me know an arvo she was free and told me to call her any time. However, I hate having to wait for a phone call so I set a time to call her. Because I am quite forgetful, I set an alarm to call her after my day job as a teacher. 

As part of my service agreement, one of my conditions is: client agrees to provide all required original documents no later than 48 hours after request. Over the phone, Bianca sent through Bernard’s birth certificate. We spoke for a while about the ring ceremony and what a reading would entail. Bernard sounds a little like a poet and a reader himself so Bianca said she will confirm if Bernard wants to do a reading. After having spoken for about 15 minutes and sharing with her the draft ceremony script, I hung up relieved that I have for my records a picture of his official birth certificate.

Then damn. How can I be sure that I have all my basis covered? Sheepishly, again, I video called Bianca and asked if she could hold up Bernard’s official birth certificate so I could view it remotely. 

3.  Spelt names incorrectly

Bianca & Bernard was a 1977 Disney Movie. Fun fact, I also named my first pets (budgies) after them)

Unless you are a millennial, you may not get the Bianca and Bernard reference. Obviously, to preserve their anonymity, my client’s names are not Bianca and Bernard. Without giving away too much, the groom has an ethnic surname and I spelt it phonetically in my notebook that I brought to meet with them. I shared Bianca into a live version of the draft ceremony and the document name had the phonetic spelling of Bernard’s surname. So for storytelling purposes, let’s say his name was Rescurer. The draft ceremony document name was Reskooerh Ceremony. 

Bianca asked if she wanted me to read the draft ceremony while we were on the phone. Hearing her little ones in the background, I knew our time was limited. I told her I was happy for her to read it when it was convenient to her and to give me feedback later. That evening, she spelt out the spelling error. However, I spelt Bernard’s surname correctly in the ceremony draft script (which I double checked).

Although it seems like a non-mistake as the spelling was correct everywhere but the draft script, with it being the document title and standing out, it looked unprofessional to have had it spelt incorrectly. And, as I said earlier, although Bianca and Bernard are really relaxed people, I do not want them to think that I do not pay attention to detail. 

Bianca also pointed out that I had their child’s name spelt incorrectly in the script. Again, to preserve the anonymity and yes they are ethnic, their child has a unique name that I have never come across (even as a teacher!). Again, I spelt it phonetically as I heard it on the day and Bianca messaged me that evening, separate to correcting my spelling of Bernard’s surname.

How could I have avoided spelling their child’s name incorrectly? I should have confirmed this spelling on the day that we met. Although these spelling errors would not have any serious ramifications, I would like my clients to have full confidence in me. I know it’s only human to make errors, but I do not want them to think that I can make a big boo boo that would make their marriage void!

So these are the 3 mistakes I made after meeting my first client. Although I was well prepared, these mistakes are mistakes that only experience could have prevented. 

Their wedding is in November so I still have a few weeks away. Even though I checked, double checked, I often have that despair feeling again in the pit of my stomach thinking that I have the dates wrong as I have a friend’s wedding over the October long weekend. I keep thinking that they are happening simultaneously and need to revisit Bianca’s original email.

What I will be practicising before then are:

• Reading the script clearly, paying particular attention to the monitum and legal vows

• Using my hubby to help me rehearse the legal vows. I think I will have him repeat it like:

  • I call upon the 👏🏽persons here present 👏🏽to witness that I 👏🏽 Bianca Retriever 👏🏽take thee, Bernard Rescurer 👏🏽 to be my 👏🏽 lawfully wedded spouse 👏🏽

• Ensure the paperwork I need on the day of their ceremony is prepared and ordered. 

I will probably create another blog post for when I start to get ready for my ceremony. As a NSW school teacher, I will be on holidays starting Monday. However hubby has some time off with me then we are going to get ready to travel to the long weekend for my friend’s wedding. I hope to get started preparing for the ceremony on Thursday.