Viewing entries tagged
micro weddings

KELLIE + LACHIE: Daylesford Elopement

August 17, 2020

Kellie and Lachie had always planned to have the big white wedding. They started looking at venues and vendors, attendants were chosen and a divine gown purchased. After having a fabulous engagement party in their back yard, they began to rethink their wedding plans and decided to elope to Daylesford for a weekend of celebrations with the chosen wedding party and closest family members – total of nine guests.

They found the perfect rural property, complete with two residences, spacious dining room, olive grove and a dam where a natural ceremony space was created, framed by a willow tree. These two are country kids, after all!

As we gathered under that willow tree, to celebrate their relationship that began at their local footy/netball club, every guest got on board with the ceremony. They laughed. They cried. They interacted. This intimate and beautiful ceremony was at the heart of their weekend celebrations. I was impressed by how every single person there was engaged and delighted to be there. Kellie and Lachie were incredibly happy and calm, and I have never seen a more relaxed bride and groom!

An elopement or a micro wedding is not for everyone, but this authentic celebration was perfect for Kellie and Lachie. The unbridled joy I felt in the telling of your love story on your wedding day and then declaring you husband and wife, is something I will remember always!

And from Kellie:

Sue made our day so special from the first meeting to our intimate elopement with our closest friends and family. It was a pleasure getting to know Sue, and she put so much time and energy into creating the perfect ceremony for us. She wrote a love story about us, that was a surprise for us on the day, and she couldn't have done better! She also incorporated our small number of guests into the ceremony to make it even more intimate for ourselves and our guests. She helped us to write our own vows and we felt so comfortable reading these to each other, having Sue there. The ceremony ran smoothly and will be cherished forever.

Celebrant: Sue Begg

Photographer: Whites & Woods Photography

Videographer: In the Vines Creative

Venue: The House – Daylesford Garden Estate Airbnb Coomoora

Kellie’s dress: Eternal Weddings

Flowers: Vogue Nature

Hair & MUA: The Lounge Hair & Beauty Daylesford

Catering: Peter Ford Catering Ballarat

Cake: Wildflour Cakes by Ranii

Invitations and signage: Atelier Creative

HOW TO CHOOSE A MARRIAGE CELEBRANT

May 26, 2020

It doesn’t really matter what celebrant you get to marry you – they all do the same thing, right? WRONG! This is the thinking that drives couples to choose a celebrant on price alone. Your celebrant is already one of the cheapest items in your wedding budget and here are some reasons to find the celebrant that you feel a connection with, who can bring your ceremony dreams to life.

Sure, all celebrants know the legalities of marriage and how to sign off on them, but a really good celebrant will add so much to your ceremony and wedding day. They will get the party started, get the love vibe happening, have your guests laughing and crying and immersed in the moment (and not longingly glancing sideways at the bar!).

Finding a celebrant that’s right for you can be one of the hardest decisions you have to make when planning your wedding. Celebrants offer an intangible service that can’t be held or seen beforehand, unless you have watched someone in action at another wedding that you loved! You can try on dresses, suits, and shoes. You can thoroughly research photographers’ and videographers’ portfolios online. You can visit venues, view cakes and flowers and taste menus, but how do you know what celebrant to choose from the vast array out there?

We’ve all been to weddings where the same old verses and generic words are rolled out. We sit there politely, hoping there will be something exciting in the wedding vows to engage us! Wedding ceremonies can be so much better than this.

Here are my thoughts about refining the process and finding the right celebrant for you:

1. Ask around. Recommendations from family, friends and work colleagues can be good and we all do this, especially in a regional city. Another source is wedding photographers and videographers who have seen many celebrants in action and know the vibe they bring. Event managers at venues will often have suggestions about celebrants too, but remember that the final choice is always yours.

2. Read reviews. Reviews can be found in many places – Facebook, Google, websites and wedding directories. How many reviews are there? Are there recurring themes in reviews that appeal to you? Do they seem genuine? Are there photos of the ‘reviewers’?

3. Stalk social media (but never in a creepy way!). How someone presents themselves on social media tells you a lot about them. What do they look like when they are working? How many couples do they marry? What sort of couples do they mostly work with? Do they have creative ideas? Do they offer advice and helpful hints about wedding planning? What do they say on social media? Pay attention to this last point, as a good celebrant is a writer and a storyteller. If you like their writing style, chances are you’ll like how they will write your love story.

4. Look at their website. This is also an important tip to let you know about how seriously a celebrant takes their role and whether it is their profession or a weekend hobby. Do they have a modern, professional website that is pleasing to the eye and contains a useful amount of information? Or is it obviously a home made freebie with not much information or conversely, way too much irrelevant (and boring) information? An investment in a decent website usually means that the celebrant has more than a passing interest in doing the occasional wedding for a family member once or twice a year.

5. Once you have done the preliminary work and narrowed your list down to two or three, call them up for a chat on the phone. You may decide here that you don’t want to take it any further or that yes, they are the one! One thing that I know about celebrants is that they are all easy to talk to. Celebrants love meeting new people so chatting is never awkward.

6. A face to face meeting is the next step and it is here that you will know who to choose. If you have done all of the above, the last step is finding someone you both connect with, who listens to you and takes your ideas on board and who you can trust with your wedding ceremony. If they connect with you, it is likely they will connect with your family and friends too. Enjoying hanging out together is also important as you spend quite a lot of time in each other’s company taking care of the legals and planning your ceremony together - ceremony planning should be fun!

7. I can’t stress enough to book your celebrant early (as soon as you have a date) as good celebrants book out quickly in popular months. You will always be able to find someone to marry you, but you may miss out on the magic that a great celebrant can bring to your day. I want your ceremony to be a highlight of your wedding for both you and your guests. In the back of my mind, I always keep a Maya Angelou quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”.

Good luck with your searching! Sue x

Thanks to Wild Romantic Photography for the main image.

DAVID + ALANA - Micro Wedding

January 17, 2019

David and Alana met in the UK while Alana was exploring the world. It was there she fell in love with David, a UK citizen. They knew they were meant to be together, even though they came from opposite sides of the globe. David’s first sentence in his personal vows said it all, really, “when you know, you just know”.

They returned to Australia together for their wedding and put together a fabulous celebration in a matter of weeks. They decided to keep it small, with only their immediate families present. Their ten guests laughed and cried through their beautiful, intimate celebration. The love surrounding David and Alana was palpable as they said their vows to each other in a very Australian setting – by a dam, surrounded by gum trees. The last rays of Winter sun cast a glorious glow.

Congratulations David and Alana! It was such a pleasure to share in your joyful and intimate celebration. I loved every moment and will remember it always!