Weddings

“In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.” Maya Angelou

Marriage is a commitment to a life of partnership with two fully engaged adults who have decided to join together to create something bigger than themselves. It’s the start of an extraordinary journey.

Your wedding ceremony is the threshold where the transition takes place. Where you move from “me” to “we”. Where you share your hopes and dreams, your past and your future. Where your family and friends can laugh, cry, applaud, and bless your union.

Your vows

At the heart of your marriage are your vows, the promises you make to yourself and your partner. Well crafted, they serve as the foundation upon which you build the future, and the rudder that helps you set direction and intention for your life as a couple.

To be truly profound, vows need to be your own. Not the church’s. Or the province’s. Or someone else’s from a book. To truly have meaning, they need to be yours and yours alone. Deeply moving to you. Like your word of honour. A sacred place to recommit to every year, be it an anniversary, a birthday or even a safe return from rocky roads. At their best, your vows remind you of what’s at the heart of your marriage.

Vows can be serious: “I promise to support your hopes and dreams” or quirky: “I will never rearrange the spice cupboard out of alphabetical order.”

The joy of a personalized ceremony is that in the design process, you get really clear about what matters most to you and your partner. The most important vows will be added to your ceremony. The rest you’ll keep for yourselves.

Your ceremony

That said, this doesn’t mean that your ceremony needs to be sombre and serious. Quite the opposite. It should reflect who you are.

Your ceremony might be stylish, offbeat, green, traditional, authentic, melodic, fun, spiritual – whatever. The wording can be poetic, whimsical, formal or simple. You can hold it beside the ocean, in a fancy hall, or wherever your heart desires.

You and your love story are the heart of your wedding ceremony. We begin with you, and build from there. There are no standard scripts or cookie-cutter templates. From your stories will emerge a theme, and into that, I’ll weave rituals, readings, and music – all harmonizing with your story: how you met, what you cherish about each other, your hopes and dreams. There’s more! We can add elements not often found in a traditional ceremony:

• If you have different faith backgrounds, we can honour and include them
• If there are children from a previous marriage, we can honour the new family
• If your family is four-legged, well, welcome!
• If you want “spiritual”, we’ll define and design the ceremony to fit your beliefs.
• If you want “traditional but not religious”, it’s do-able
• If you love ABBA, Timbits, or nursery rhymes, we can include them.

There’s no need to compromise who you are or what’s meaningful to you. After all, it’s not every day you get married. And you’re different than every other couple, so why would you use the same ceremony?

Working with you

The ceremonies I design are engaging, personal and one-of-a-kind. You are the centre of the ceremony. Through the process, we will work together to create a script with which you feel comfortable. You’ll be ready to sail through the rehearsal and ceremony with confidence. Your guests and most-loved ones will feel the thought and consideration that have gone into your day.

A celebrant ceremony extends beyond simple delivery. I’ll be there through the process to make sure everything goes smoothly. I’ll show up early for your ceremony. I will brief your photographers, musicians, wedding planners and site staff on the details, so they can do you proud.

I’ll help any readers calm their nerves. I’ll ensure that parents and attendants understand the roles of any children involved. If you have a flower dog, we’ll have a little chat and a liver treat. I can’t remove all the jitters, but I can reduce them and add some humour when things don’t work out precisely as planned (and they usually never do).

Your guests and most-loved ones will remark about your ceremony for years to come.

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Click here to read about a wedding ceremony I designed for a couple with children.