Alex and Tom's wedding was a stunning black-tie event that perfectly captured their fun-loving spirits. The couple chose to write their own vows, adding a personal touch to the ceremony that had everyone in stitches and reaching for the tissues as well. Their main goal? To feel happy and in the moment, with lots of laughs and happy tears.
Their ceremony was a testament to their enduring love story, light-hearted and filled with joy, exactly as they envisioned.
If you’re looking to change your last name after your wedding, but don’t know where to start, you’re not alone.
In my experience as a marriage celebrant, up to 90% of newly-married brides (and a few pioneering grooms and spouses) choose to change their last or family name after marriage and are super confused about how to go about it.
It’s a real process that can take around 8 hours over several days or weeks to complete. This is because every company or institution has their own unique process and is not legally permitted to share your details with anyone else.
The good news is, I can help save you a lot of time and even some money too.
Let’s get started!
Alana and Peter's wedding plans (like so many engaged couples worldwide) were thrown into disarray in 2020.
Between the NSW border closures due to COVID-19 and their original venue in Byron Bay burning down (true story!) Peter and Alana tried for a 3rd and final time to have a super low-key, no stress day just for them and their immediate family.
Something simple, but beautiful, elegant, but without any pretence.
Sam and Emily make time to see their families, to share special moments together, and they love talk on the phone often. They wanted to bring this warmth and appreciation, that had always been shown towards them, into their wedding ceremony too.
With COVID border closures, the tyranny of distance and for those who'd passed away, some of their family were not able to be with us in person, so we incorporated them and their interests as much as we could through readings, a memorial and with a big smoochy kiss right down Alex's lens. 😅
I’m not one for fluffy and OTT poetry and I think it’s fair to say that the majority of my couples aren’t massive fans either.
But I do recognise how the power of a well chosen wedding reading in a ceremony can be instrumental in bringing about a feeling of gratefulness, humanity, and hope.
And a great reader who takes the time to deliver a quote, reading or poem with poise and intention can really lift a modern wedding ceremony above and beyond the ordinary.
But first, you need a great wedding reading.
Hopefully this post, along with 5 Wedding Readings That Aren’t Too Soppy and More Unique & Beautiful Wedding Readings For Your Ceremony, will help you to narrow down the search.
Alex and Tom's wedding was a stunning black-tie event that perfectly captured their fun-loving spirits. The couple chose to write their own vows, adding a personal touch to the ceremony that had everyone in stitches and reaching for the tissues as well. Their main goal? To feel happy and in the moment, with lots of laughs and happy tears.
Their ceremony was a testament to their enduring love story, light-hearted and filled with joy, exactly as they envisioned.
If you’re looking to change your last name after your wedding, but don’t know where to start, you’re not alone.
In my experience as a marriage celebrant, up to 90% of newly-married brides (and a few pioneering grooms and spouses) choose to change their last or family name after marriage and are super confused about how to go about it.
It’s a real process that can take around 8 hours over several days or weeks to complete. This is because every company or institution has their own unique process and is not legally permitted to share your details with anyone else.
The good news is, I can help save you a lot of time and even some money too.
Let’s get started!
Alana and Peter's wedding plans (like so many engaged couples worldwide) were thrown into disarray in 2020.
Between the NSW border closures due to COVID-19 and their original venue in Byron Bay burning down (true story!) Peter and Alana tried for a 3rd and final time to have a super low-key, no stress day just for them and their immediate family.
Something simple, but beautiful, elegant, but without any pretence.
Sam and Emily make time to see their families, to share special moments together, and they love talk on the phone often. They wanted to bring this warmth and appreciation, that had always been shown towards them, into their wedding ceremony too.
With COVID border closures, the tyranny of distance and for those who'd passed away, some of their family were not able to be with us in person, so we incorporated them and their interests as much as we could through readings, a memorial and with a big smoochy kiss right down Alex's lens. 😅
I’m not one for fluffy and OTT poetry and I think it’s fair to say that the majority of my couples aren’t massive fans either.
But I do recognise how the power of a well chosen wedding reading in a ceremony can be instrumental in bringing about a feeling of gratefulness, humanity, and hope.
And a great reader who takes the time to deliver a quote, reading or poem with poise and intention can really lift a modern wedding ceremony above and beyond the ordinary.
But first, you need a great wedding reading.
Hopefully this post, along with 5 Wedding Readings That Aren’t Too Soppy and More Unique & Beautiful Wedding Readings For Your Ceremony, will help you to narrow down the search.
What are your options if you want to include a reading in your wedding ceremony, but aren't a fan of Shakespeare and don't want to have 1 Corinthians 13?
The great thing about civil ceremonies in Australia is, apart from 3 sentences that I have to say from The Marriage Act 1961 and 1 legal sentence you have to say in your vows, the rest is completely up to you. The sky's the limit.
And you can make your ceremony even more meaningful by finding a reading (or two) that you LOVE - rather than something you think is 'just okay'. Readings can come from anywhere; lyrics from songs, quotes from movies or the words from your team's victory song (God help us all..)
Here are five of my favourites..
For many of my couples who want to create a heartfelt and inclusive ceremony, they know that asking a friend or family member to do a reading for them is a smart choice.
The reader feels honoured to be asked to be a part of the couple's ceremony, the couple feels like they have elevated the reader to a more visible role and everyone feels validated.
Until the actual reading needs to be chosen.
That's when it all hits Stress-Town.
If you're on the lookout for something sweet, romantic, a little left-of-centre, then I might have some gold for you right here.
Failing this, there is always the post: 5 Wedding Readings That Aren't Too Soppy
Such a cute photo from Meg Hansen Photography of little April at Tyler and Angela's wedding ceremony, yes? She was telling everyone who she thought that they loved the most; it was an adorable and precious moment for everyone.
What I see in this shot, is how far I have come in 11+ years.
Most of my couples are not dove/butterfly/ferret-releasing kind of people.
Many are a bit uncomfortable being in the limelight on their wedding day and don't want over-the-top, grand gestures or anything said that's too soppy. That's when I tell them about the wine box ritual. I like to think of it as a time capsule with interest.
Let me explain..
It's been a pretty busy week for me, which I'm guessing is par for the course for most celebrants in peak season. When family and friends ask me what I've been up to, I invariably answer 'just busy with work' which is often met with a raised eyebrow and some exasperation. The look on their faces says 'are you really THAT busy, when your job is just to stand at a ceremony and talk for 20 minutes?'
It used to make me angry when people didn't get what I do, but I have learned over the years that many people are simply not aware of what goes on behind the scenes, how much preparation goes into a ceremony and the contingencies that a good celebrant needs to account for.
So in the interests of being open and trying to educate rather than explode, here's a snapshot of what I get up to in an average week.
