How to choose the perfect Celebrant for your Wedding or special occasion!

There are so many things to consider when choosing your Celebrant!

Many people choose by cost or reputation alone, however I've seen this result in quite a few disappointed couples over the years as the Celebrant didn't really fit in with the "essence" of the couple getting married.

It all comes down to the VIBE you are hoping to create for your special day. I know that's a strange description, but think about it for a minute. If you and your partner are hoping to create an uplifting, upbeat, joyous ceremony, but the Celebrant (that was the cheapest in the area) turns up to your meet and greet with a bland personality, monotone voice and frumpy atttire, they dont have any fresh new ideas and no examples for you to create your own. WOULD YOU SETTLE FOR THAT?

You need to find someone who will respect the unique blend of energy that you and your partner share and the way you envisage weaving that into your special day!

I believe its super important for you to have a physical meet and greet with prospective Celebrants. Take note of the way you feel & the initial thoughts that run through your mind when you see them for the first time, this is your intuition and is usually a great indicater of how comfortable you feel with someone.

Ask WHY they became a Marriage Celebrant, does their answer resonate with you?

Make a checklist of what you feel is important that your Celebrant be eg:. professional, relaxed, conservative, vibrant, experienced, young, innovative with fresh ideas, mature, enthusiastic, serious, natural, perfectly presented, organised.....these answers will be different and unique to every one of you.

How easy are they to talk to? Conversation should flow comfortably and as a couple you should feel that the Celebrant is open, flexible and listening to your ideas (not taking over or pressuring you into their ideas). This is super important.......on your special day, when you may already be feeling nervous or anxious, you want a celebrant standing beside you who you trust and feel comfortable with.

Finally find out exactly what their package offers. Does it fulfil your requirements?

Are there any extras and bonuses that others don't provide? Check for additional travel costs. Do they allow for a Rehearsal? Do they have their own PA & equipment? Do they come to you or will you travel to see them?

This may sound like a bit of hard work, however your Wedding is one of the biggest Investments in your life, emotionally, financially & spiritually, so it's important you make an educated personal decision that you feel confident with.

HAPPY CHOOSING!

Shine on beautiful souls,

Caz

How to choose a Wedding Theme?

There is so much to think about when you're organising your special day. This not only applies to Weddings but really any celebration you're organising.

So how do you actually decide where to start? Here are some helpful questions you can ask yourselves that will ensure you choose a theme that totally reflects you as a couple and has meaning to you both and to those who attend.

• What's your budget?

• What is something that you and your partner LOVE to do together?

• Where is your favourite place to go as a couple?

• If you already have a venue in mind, is there a specific theme that would suit that venue?

• What time of year will you be marrying? (This will effect your dress & outfit styles & may affect your colour choices)

• What type of "vibe/feeling" do you want on the day (upbeat, fun & full of laughter or serious & meaningful, OR a combination of both!)

• Do you want casual and relaxed or formal & fancy?

• Who will you be including in your ceremony?

• Are there any special people that you wish to incorporate into your special day?

• Is your theme appropriate for all guests you're considering inviting? (A sandy beach can be tricky for wheelchairs)

These considerations will give you a great foundation list to work from and cut your choices dramatically so you're not wasting time on choices that clearly don't fit with your theme.

As you can see from the photo above and those below, the theme for our wedding in 2015 was casual and relaxed with a beachy/natural theme. We chose this theme because we have had many wonderful memories together with our kids at the beach, we love nature and the brilliance of the sunshine on the ocean and we love the serenity of the beautiful lakes, parks and tributaries in and around Lakes Entrance. We're relaxed, natural and easygoing people so we wanted our wedding to reflect that "vibe".

We wanted the theme to flow through the entire Wedding process, so we started with engraved "thong/flip flop" bottle openers as our save the date option. Being on a tight budget, I made the wedding invitations myself and together with my fiancee we put together over 30 "messages in bottles" and hand delivered them. We enlisted the help of my amazing friend at Digital Devotions Photography to create placecards and labels for our male guest's gift wine bottles and our beautiful daughter made us some soy candles, which we labelled similarly to the invitations, as our ladies gifts.

We were married at "Paradise" which is a stunning 23 acre property overlooking the Entrance at Lake Tyers Beach. The ceremony was outside and the "aisle" was marked with shells & driftwood from our local beaches. Our extremely talented friend Lea spent hours creating the driftwood arbour, which was also made with driftwood off our local beaches.

The Reception at "Miriams Restaurant" was decorated simply with small glass mason jars full of sand, shells, & driftwood & beautiful flowers that blended with those in our bouquets.

Our colour palette was extremely natural with soft pinks, neutral beiges, whites & browns with a hint of soft green here and there. My flowers, which were from the florist in Myers Street Lakes Entrance, were absolutely stunning and really highlighted the golden tones of my dress and the soft pink in the bridesmaids dresses.

To complete our theme, we chose a gorgeous picture of us on the beach and printed a sincere thank you message, sending this out to our guests as both a thank you and a keepsake of our special day.

As you can see, having a plan for your theme ensures that everything flows seamlessly from the first contact with your guests, right through to the reception.

Happy planning.

Shine on beautiful souls

Caz