It is a HUGE decision and it is often left to the last minute when planning a wedding after you are engaged.
For the majority of couples it is first…the RING, you want to impress the love of your life with your proposal.
Then VENUE, maybe PHOTOGRAPHER…some people may be so relaxed they have organised everything BUT not thought about their ceremony needing a Celebrant.
This situation actually happened to me and certainly has happened to other celebrants.
I was contacted on a Sunday evening to be the marriage celebrant at a wedding on the Saturday... yes, Saturday, as in 6 days later!
I was able to help the couple, blindly thinking I was taking over from another celebrant, because they were sick.
I meet the couple 3 days prior to the wedding & found out they had forgotten all about booking a celebrant and they had had a reception booked for 90 people in a rural town 90 minutes out of Perth!
After I got over the shock, I said it was going to be a very expensive party as they can NOT be legally married…so we signed the NOIM together and arranged a date to meet the following month with their 2 witnesses.
Two days later we had a fantastic Commitment Ceremony with family & friends!
At their ceremony, it was made very clear to family & friends it was NOT a wedding ceremony but a Commitment Ceremony.
So it does happen!
Book your Celebrant as soon as you set your date and booked venue.
A question I often get asked is, Do I have to write my own vows?
No, you do not BUT let's not mix up Legal Vows with Personal Vows.
Legal Vows are what everyone MUST say, by law…
I call upon the persons here present to witness that I, XXXX, take you ZZZZ to be my lawful wedded husband/wife/spouse.
Personal Vows, can be from a published list or something are you have written from your heart or a bit of each.
I have two pages of personal vows, that sometimes couples choose a vow from or use them as a baseline to write their own. There is no right or wrong.
Some of my couples, may have chosen one from the list and the other partner may have written their own…so remember there is no right or wrong.
Till my next blog, contact me if you would like to meet and have a general chat...enjoy the ride, stress less and have fun!