A Smile says it all!
“Choosing Your Celebrant”
For one of the most important days of your life, if chosen with care, there is one person above all who is able to make that day one you will treasure forever. YES! It is your Marriage Celebrant.
Many couples are under the false impression that the role of a celebrant is simply to legalize a marriage.
Whilst, yes, the most important role and duty of a celebrant is to legally marry the couple and whilst there are many Celebrants who offer their couples little more than that…. is that what you really want from your celebrant for one of the most special days of your life?
So what do you look for and what should you expect from your Celebrant?
Most Celebrants will offer a meeting without cost or obligation to the couple and it is at this meeting that you should be evaluating the Celebrant.
How much time is the Celebrant giving you? Is that time spent with the Celebrant simply the Celebrant telling you how good he or she is and why you should book their services? OR is the Celebrant taking the time to put you completely at ease, whilst listening to YOU and asking questions about YOU.
A dedicated Celebrant will take the time at that first meeting to do this and gladly spend their time wanting to get to know all about you. How you met, what you love about each other, how you feel you balance one another, about your families……if, for example, you have grandparents who will be attending the wedding or if you have interstate or overseas guests attending the wedding and if you would like to include them in the ceremony. All of this is vitally important for the Celebrant so that he or she is then able to make suggestions, suggestions that you may never have thought of, making your ceremony not only personal and uniquely yours, but one your guest will remember as a meaningful, beautiful and fun ceremony as well.
Your Celebrant should, at that first meeting explain the Notice of Intended Marriage as well as the documentation needed for the notice to be completed. Then, the structure of a ceremony and the legal requirements, as well as the words that MUST BE included and CANNOT BE changed within the ceremony. Additionally, they will discuss with you the vows, and the sometimes scary idea of writing your own vows, and will offer you ample help and guidance if you choose to do this.
Whilst all this is going on you must be establishing a good, warm and comfortable connection with your Celebrant, as the ceremony and the joining of yourselves together in marriage, and the bliss of that commitment is the joy that you will take into your wedding reception that follows.
Once you have booked your Celebrant, the Notice of Intended Marriage is able to be completed by one or preferably both parties of the couple, and then the fun and excitement starts, as you realise that yes! ..this is really going to happen, you have a date set, you have booked a celebrant and all your dreams are going to come true!
Now, once you have booked your Celebrant, he or she should give you not one, but three or more sample wedding ceremonies to take away with you to look through before your next meeting. These ceremonies will reinforce for you the legal words that must be used within the ceremony as well as giving you many ideas of different rituals and readings, poems and vows that can be used and how a marriage ceremony is structured and why.
It is then a week or two later that the work and expertise of your Celebrant really starts, as together you begin to work on creating the perfect ceremony for you, a ceremony that will be uniquely yours and treasured by you.
It is also at this point that the Celebrant should ask you for your choices in the paper you prefer for the Presentation Copy of the Marriage Certificate, your preference of gold or silver for the pen on the signing table to be used for the signing of the Marriage Certificate, and the colours of the bridal party, so the Celebrant can blend in and be appropriately dressed.
Your Celebrant, if you need, should be able to give recommendations of at least 3 different websites for each, photography, florists, hair and make-up, cake decorators, coloured sands for sand ceremonies etc, saving you hours of your time searching different websites. As well, they should suggest appropriate places in your ceremony to have music played, and give you the opportunity of playing your chosen music through their own P.A. system.
The relationship you build with your Celebrant over the months leading up to your wedding is so terribly important, as on your “Big Day” you need to be relaxed and confident knowing your Celebrant has covered every aspect of your ceremony with you.
At the “On Site” rehearsal a week or two before your wedding day, your Celebrant will run you through the ceremony once again, going through all aspects of the ceremony , from how the Groom and Groomsmen will stand – hands clasped in front or behind, the space the bridesmaids need to leave between each other for the photographer to get great shots of the Bride, as well as how to walk so that the bridesmaids and the bride seem to glide into the ceremony rather than racing or seeming robotic, which once again is so important for the photos to show you at your best!
Another important issue to check is, does your Celebrant have a good and reliable PA system. So many times guests are disappointed, being unable to hear the ceremony due to the lack of, or the inadequate PA system, of the celebrant.
“It is your Special Day “, so make sure the beautiful words you exchange to one another are heard by all and remember to make sure when choosing a Celebrant that YOUR DAY should be just as important to him or her, as it is important and special to you!
Again I Say …..
“A smile says it all”!!
As does the following testimonials and photo:
“Dianne Morpurgo is an extremely warm, creative and professional celebrant. Dianne helped us create a unique and memorable wedding ceremony that was a simple and genuine reflection of Duncan and I as a couple. By the time the wedding day dawned, we were looking forward to the ceremony because we knew it was going to be not only fabulous but something that would mean something really special to us and our guests. Dianne was able to give us great ideas on adding little rituals to our ceremony that meant something to us as individuals, including a sand ceremony, Gaelic blessing and warming of the rings. All of our guests and family have commented on how meaningful and enjoyable the ceremony was. It was even more impressive given that almost the entire ceremony was organised remotely via phone and email as we live in Melbourne. Dianne is brilliant and we are falling over ourselves at the chance to recommend her services. She is truly wonderful!”
Love B and Duncan
Dear Di,
“The ceremony was beautiful, and I would recommend Dianne to anyone wishing to get married. Everything you did to help make the day run smoothly beforehand, and the personal touches you suggested for the ceremony made our special day even more special and I can’t thank you enough. The whole experience was so effortless and the result was breathtaking. Dianne went above and beyond our expectations at every step of the journey, again Thank you.”
Kindest Regards
Kat and Julian
