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..
Fun, funny and oh so memorable; I think that these photos from Be Frankie Photography say it all..
And although Lucas and Claire's family and friends were supportive and got into the spirit of things when the big reveal was made, there was a lot of groundwork that went on behind the scenes to make it all look easy and effortless on the day.
Here are a few key points that you need to address and/or consider to ensure that your surprise wedding is just as successful and doesn't fall flat.
After almost 8 years as a celebrant in Adelaide, it's rare that I get the chance to visit a new wedding venue. But when Kat and Matt first met with me and told me about their ideas for an outdoor extravaganza of activities and dancing at The Oaks in Hahndorf (2202 Mt Barker Road), I was excited to check it out.
It's a beautiful, undulating property with lots of trees, a little stream and several open grassed spaces for marquees. The owners are lovely and accommodating too which just added even more ease and goodwill into Kat and Matt's unconventional celebration. I mean, the confetti cannon fist bump when Matt collected Kat from the top of the aisle was just the beginning!
I could try describing their wedding to you, let alone the beautiful and generous people they are, but I think these shots by Akil Madan Photography do the job so much better than I ever could. Congratulations again, Kat and Matt ox.
Enjoy!
When your husband-to-be vows to protect, care for and love you just as much as he loves North Melbourne, you know you're special (and that he has a wicked sense of humour).
Nicole and Rick have a wonderful attitude to life - they laugh with each other, at each other and regard the complexities of life with curiosity and enthusiasm. It was an absolute pleasure to get to know them a little over the months that we worked together on their ceremony. With Rick and Nicole being very clear about what they wanted, we created a gorgeous and very personalised celebration that all of their guests enjoyed as well.
Photos are courtesy of Courtney of Macfarlane Photography.
Enjoy!
Elyce and Patrick are one of those warm and immediately friendly couples that, after meeting them for the first time, make you feel like you have known them for years. When I chatted with them in 2013 about their vision for their Golding Wines wedding, they described it as vintage/rustic with a relaxed atmosphere and the end result did not disappoint. It was, in fact, a DIY extravaganza which I would try to deter other couples from even attempting (DIY vs Delegation; a cautionary tale). But true to their tenancious yet caring natures, Patrick and Elyce pulled it off with aplomb.
Shots courtesy of Emma Sharkey Photography. Enjoy!
Chris and Steph live and breathe an authentic, genuine life and their wedding day was simply a concentrated dose of that. Almost everything was DIY and they decorated, crafted, created, and baked their way through around 16 months' worth of planning to make the lovely Barristers Block in Woodside their own particular brand of heaven for a day. The result was awesome, as you can see from these beautiful shots from Photography by Michelle Harkness. Enjoy!
Once upon a time there was a savvy, no nonsense bride. Let's call her Jackie* (*bride's name has been changed to protect the overly ambitious). Jackie was planning the wedding to the man of her dreams on a pretty tight budget, but she knew what she wanted and figured; "hey, I'm a pretty smart/creative/resourceful woman. Why should I pay an arm and a leg for some things if I can learn how to do them myself AND get the satisfaction of having worked hands-on on our decor/flowers/signage/invitations/midnight snack boxes/hot chocolate spoons/limoncello cocktail favours etc.?"
