Over almost 10 years, local celebrant Tracie Kyne has guided countless couples and families through significant milestones, all while building a reputation almost entirely through word of mouth.
In an industry often driven by advertising and self-promotion, Mrs Kyne’s work speaks for itself, through guests at ceremonies, vendor recommendations and past clients who continue to pass her name on.
It is this humble way of working that makes her achievement of being named among the top three celebrants in this year’s Wedding Industry Awards for Bendigo-Ballarat all the more impressive.
Mrs Kyne said it was a wonder she had climbed the finalist ladder with no direct intervention on her part.
“I’ve been a finalist now four years in a row. I was a distinguished finalist, I was in the top 10, I was in the top five, and now I’m third. I don’t know how that happens,” she said.
“I don’t do a lot of advertising. I actually don’t do any social media ... I’m not one of those people that gets up there and says, ‘Hi, I’m doing this today’ — I find it cringeworthy.”
This August will mark a decade since Mrs Kyne became a celebrant, a profession she once hesitated to pursue full-time.
While she has always been a natural at public speaking, her talent as a celebrant was first recognised by others.
She had written and delivered a few eulogies for family members when someone told her, “This is what you should be doing.”
At first, her celebrant work was balanced alongside her job at Bendigo Bank, and she took on only select funerals and weddings, unsure whether the work could support her.
After three years, she finally decided to take the leap and made celebrancy her full-time career.
Today, she has performed about 340 weddings and more than 1000 funerals, sometimes delivering up to five services in a week.
Each service represents a story of love and life, and her role sits between the two, guiding families through some of their most significant moments.
She describes her approach as ‘joyful’, whether it is a wedding or a funeral, choosing not to focus on a person's final moments but on the fullness of their life.
“There needs to be a laugh. There needs to be fun,” she said.
“Even my funerals, there are times to smile and there are times to cry. You hope that people remember a life with a smile.”
Over time, the work has taken her across Victoria and beyond, to Queensland, South Australia, NSW and Canberra.
Beyond weddings and funerals, her work can also extend to naming ceremonies, pet farewells, divorce ceremonies and MC roles.
In a profession often built on visibility, her success is measured in the trust of the strangers who ask her to tell their story.
“I do what I do because I love doing it,” she said.
“There are so many things I've learnt about people and their own roles and places in communities.
“Just when you think you might know someone, you've only scratched the surface.”
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