real wedding
Camille Abbott
Alex and Tom's Mandalay House and Garden ...

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.

Alex and Tom's Mandalay House and Garden Black-Tie Wedding
wedding planning, wedding advice
Camille Abbott
How to Change Your Name After Your Wedding in ...

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!

How to Change Your Name After Your Wedding in Australia
real wedding
Camille Abbott
Alana and Peter’s McLaren Vale Micro wedding

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.

Alana and Peter’s McLaren Vale Micro wedding
real wedding
Camille Abbott
Emily and Sam's Romantic Adelaide Hills Wedding

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. 😅

Emily and Sam's Romantic Adelaide Hills Wedding
wedding planning
Camille Abbott
EVEN MORE unique wedding ceremony readings

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.

EVEN MORE unique wedding ceremony readings

Amicus Strings

Amicus Strings

One of the most uplifting, and yet sometimes subconscious, first impressions a guest has of a wedding ceremony is conveyed via the music they're greeted with. The atmosphere live music creates at a wedding can be emotional, calming and magical.

Enter Amicus Strings; a professional string quartet founded in 1996 by Carolyn Lam. I've worked with the girls at several wedding ceremonies over the years and have admired their professionalism and polished performances. 

Carolyn and I got the chance to sit down for a chat last week about what sets Amicus Strings apart from other quartets and how couples CAN afford live music no matter what their wedding budget.

Short and sweet - Kailah & Ben

Short and sweet - Kailah & Ben

Ben and Kailah's wedding was held at the beautiful Glen Ewin Estate in the Adelaide hills. Like many of my couples when we first meet, they didn't have a clear idea what they were wanting for their ceremony. But as they were engaged in January 2013 and their wedding wasn't until late 2015, they had plenty of time to work it out.

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Thoughtful gift ideas for loved ones

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Thoughtful gift ideas for loved ones

I'm all for a minimalistic wedding; just the two of you, your nearest and dearest, some food, drinks and music. There are lots of traditions and new trends, that I seriously think should be given the flick. 

But I do believe that there is still room to thank people (like your Mum and Dad) for their love and support with a little token of your appreciation.

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Weddings with a social conscience - why it's cool (& easy) to give back

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Weddings with a social conscience - why it's cool (& easy) to give back

I've watched weddings change and evolve markedly over the last few years. Consider, for example, the relatively new (and 1st world problem) of coordinating unplugged weddings (ie. a ban on the social media upload of guests photos). 

One of the trends that I have noticed and think is super cool, is the concept of giving back in the planning stages, the execution (there's got to be a better way to phrase that) and/or clean-up of a wedding. And the best part is that you don't need to be a paid-up member of Greenpeace, chain yourself to a heritage listed building or march in the streets to make a difference.

Here are some of the great new ways you can share the love of your special day with those less fortunate.

Classic elegance - Miranda and Michael

Classic elegance - Miranda and Michael

Interstate and overseas family and friends converged on Ayers House Adelaide for Michael and Miranda's chic wedding ceremony and reception. The theme was elegant, yet relaxed which was emulated throughout their ceremony with their traditional vows and sprinklings of gentle humor. They are simply an utterly delightful couple.

Photos were taken by the lovely Carly from Stirling Photography.

Enjoy!

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South Australian Winery Weddings

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South Australian Winery Weddings

Some of the most visually stunning and relaxed wedding ceremonies that I have had the pleasure of officiating have been held in South Australia’s world-class winery venues.

South Australia boasts seven spectacular wine regions and hundreds of wineries, many of which include restaurants and function facilities purpose-built to cater for both intimate elopements and grand-scale, luxury wedding celebrations.

We're engaged, now what?

We're engaged, now what?

By the time my couples get around to hiring me to officiate their wedding ceremony, there have already been dozens of decisions made, promises sealed with handshakes, expectations set and dollars shelled out. Generally, couples will set a date, book a venue, and start pulling together a guest list long before we talk about their ceremony. And THAT part is okay – everyone’s priorities are different. The part that mystifies me is when brides and grooms sit in my meeting room and bemoan their own decisions…as if they weren’t their own. Their wedding is already not what they wanted.

Because, very early on, they felt the weight of (family/friends/social) expectation and caved into it before they listened to their own instincts.

But what if we turned the wedding planning thing on it’s head?

Light and fun - Kim and Will

Light and fun - Kim and Will

When I met with Kim and Will in 2014 about their 2015 wedding, the aim for their wedding day was already pretty clear; they wanted to keep it real, relevant, light-hearted and fun. They had several friends travelling from overseas to celebrate with them and didn't want to subject them to a long, monotonous ceremony; they had a reception to get to! 

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Golden rules for a great winery wedding

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Golden rules for a great winery wedding

In my job I hear both the glowing and the snide comments whispered by wedding guests. And although you don’t want your wedding day to be an anxious rollercoaster-ride-of-people-pleasing-pain, if you didn’t care about your family and friends, you would have had your ceremony at the registry office, yes?

There are 3 pesky details, the same annoying issues, that come up for my winery wedding couples time and time again. If you can plan ahead and follow the golden rules, it is much more likely that your guests will remember your wedding for all the right reasons.