It's a Celebrant Thing...

 Why engage me as your wedding celebrant... So...you've gone through step one...you've met your soulmate...fallen in love...decided to make a commitment to each other... Now you need a service! I create all my wedding services in the same way...starting with a blank sheet, an open mind, and a pair of listening ears... Because each wedding ceremony needs to be unique and individual to each couple. Working with a celebrant, there is no One Size Fits All. I do not have a folder full of trusty Great Wedding Services I have Successfully Used in the Past to dust down and recycle. I talk to all my couples and listen carefully to their responses. I can make suggestions, incorporate your ideas, or describe similar elements that have worked in the past.  But the core of the ceremony will come from you...the little 'in jokes' that you share...the level of formality that you both enjoy...small details that underpin your relationship that no one else will know but will make you smil...

 Back in the mists of time, when we got married, everything in Wedding Land was simple. (Not that we realised it at the time!). Most people chose to make a visit to their local church for the ceremony, regardless of whether they were regular worshippers there or even subscribed to a belief in the higher power that they were making their vows and promises in front of. The pictures looked great and elderly relatives were delighted to make a ceremonial visit to the church to witness a 'proper' wedding.  A very small proportion of marrying couples announced that they would avoid a religious ceremony and organised a Registry Office wedding. These were in limited rooms, in Town Halls generally, and rather brief occasions. I was honoured to read a poem at one such marriage, which I did so slowly and deliberately to stretch the ceremony to a whole ...7 minutes...! At the reception, the Best Man commented that the Grand National which set off at the same time as the wedding ceremony, l...