FAQ

Q. do you only marry people in Newcastle & the hunter valley?

A. Absolutely not! I am happy to marry you wherever you want to be married! Whether that is in your back garden in New Lambton, a hot air balloon over Pokolbin, a warehouse in Sydney or exotic destinations in far flung places of this beautiful land. I will happily travel far and wide to stand by your side. After all who doesn’t love a good road trip (cue the playlist, pack the snacks and I am all in).

Q. How far in advance should we book a celebrant?

A. In all honesty as soon as you know. When you find that one person who truly gets your wedding vision and is as excited about it as you are, then book them in as soon as humanly possible!

This is especially true if you are planning a Saturday afternoon ceremony in peak wedding season. To get your pick of celebrants you should be looking at booking 18 to 24 months in advance. If you are more flexible on timing then I would still recommend 12 months out. Some couples even chose their wedding date around their celebrants’ availability.

Q. what if we don’t know what we want in our wedding ceremony?

A. This is actually much more common than you might expect. I often meet with couples and I ask them how they imagine their wedding ceremony. I can also guarantee that 8 times out of 10 they exchange awkward glances and say they haven’t really thought about it. And that is perfectly okay!

Any celebrant worthy of booking will be able to help you to work out what you are looking for in your wedding ceremony. It is human nature to know what you don’t want first but it can take a little more time to work out exactly what it is you do want. Whether you decide on a classic and timeless wedding or a laid back and fun ceremony, a great celebrant will be able to guide you in working it out and then bring it to reality.

Q. how long will the ceremony go for?

A. As a general rule your ceremony will go for approximately 30 minutes. 15 to 20 minutes of that will be taken up with the spoken parts of your ceremony. The other 10 to 15 minutes is used up by the processional (wedding parties’ entrance), the recessional (wedding parties’ exit), signing the marriage certificates as well as all the other little moments that make it your amazing, wonderful, brilliant wedding day.

Of course, as I only offer personalised wedding ceremonies, if you tell me you want it all taken care of in 10 minutes then that is exactly what I will do. The opposite is equally true if you are wanting to linger in those precious moments a little longer.

But in my experience 30 minutes is the sweet spot. It is enough time to feel like something substantial has taken place but it is not so long that it becomes arduous for you or your guests.

Q. do you provide your own public address system?

A. Yes, included in my fee is the use of my PA system. It is battery operated so it does not require power and it comes with a wireless microphone. It is powerful enough that no matter if you are having 50 or 250 guests, they will be able to hear every word. It also has the capacity to play music, which you are very welcome to access.

Q. We are planning an outdoor ceremony. do we need a plan b?

A.  The vast majority of the weddings that I perform are outside and for good reason, the Hunter Valley offers some pretty darn fine backdrops! However, I do recommend considering a back-up plan and not just in the event of rain. Any celebrant will tell you that the fastest way to kill the good time vibes on your wedding day is to have your guests standing out in 40+ degree heat or blasted by arctic winds. While a great celebrant will do their darnedest to keep your guests engaged, there will still be a little part of them wanting to get the heck out of there.

I also recommend that you don’t leave considering a back-up plan to the week before your wedding, when the forecast is already looking dicey and everyone else is doing exactly the same thing. Instead do it when you are locking down venues. Does your venue have an option available (that doesn’t have Keno screens or worse in the background), can you decorate another option so that you are nearly as excited about it, as you are about your first option or do you need to book another venue just for the ceremony?

And if you are still feeling a little bummed about an indoor ceremony… I can absolutely guarantee you, that some of the most stand-out amazing weddings that I have ever performed have been indoors!