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Your wedding day is a momentous day that you will treasure for years to come. A ceremony is scared and sentimental so it is only natural to be picky when it comes to choosing your celebrant. If you’re looking for someone professional that is well-versed and experienced on officiating wedding ceremonies, then below are some things you should consider before you seal the deal.

Experience

Many people equate experience in terms of the number of years someone has been successfully doing something. In many cases, this may be true but there are celebrants who have been serving the industry for quite some time and yet are lacking on many things. A good celebrant should be able to give you a personalized ceremony that reflects you as a couple in order for your wedding to be truly meaningful.

Personality

List down the personality traits you want your celebrant to have. Does he/she have to be committed, younger, and open-minded? Do you prefer a male or female celebration? Or do you want to go with any middle-aged and religious person regardless of gender? Discuss with your partner and listen to your gut feeling.

Communication

The way your celebrant communicates with you and your fiancé is also another important factor to consider. Observe how well he/she brings themselves, their confidence, and the ability to make eye contact with you. If they cannot meet all those three things, then you may have to proceed to your next potential celebrant candidate.

Availability

Some wedding celebrants are fully-booked on some days which means they may choose to officiate, say, three different ceremonies in a day. Do you want to take the chance of choosing a celebrant that has other commitments on your special day? If not, then you need to look for one that only accepts one ceremony booking a day.

Rapport

Even if your celebrant is excellent at communicating with you, it won’t matter if you don’t feel comfortable with them. If you don’t feel a good vibe from your celebrant, then it probably means that he/she is not the right one for your ceremony.

Getting married soon? Why not hire a professional celebrant to make your day extra special by contacting Jay today!

It’s completely understandable how many couples want to elope because they want to avoid the stress, however, telling your family your elopement plan is not exactly a pleasant thing to do. In fact, some engaged couples truly struggle with this part.

If you’re lucky, your family will understand and respect your decision and wish you well. But most of the time, you will be left with a burden of hurting them, especially your parents. And having to deal with the anger and disappointment directed towards you is the least ideal way to get married under such a circumstance.

Below are some things you can do when you break the news about your elopement

Tell them as early as you can

As much as possible, do not delay. As soon as you’re ready, go tell them right away before you change your mind. Telling your parents in advance that you’re eloping will at least give them some time to adjust and hopefully, warm up to the idea. If you announce to them right on when you will be eloping that day will only hurt them more.

Communicate your reasoning well

No matter what your reasons are behind your decision to elope, break it to them as gently and as heartily as possible. Let them know how you have struggled to come to your decision but you truly want it and that you believe and think it is the best option for the two of you as a couple. They may not take the idea well at first, but if they hear how sincere and excited you are about your decision, they may eventually come to accept it.

Explain how it is not about them

Most likely, your reason to elope is not to exclude your family and everyone else, but you just want to have your special day with just the two of you. Be sure to explain to your family this and that just because they are not there on your big day doesn’t mean you love them less. Be firm and clear on your stand that it is never about them.

Look for ways that will involve them somehow

To lessen the hurt your family feels toward your decision, find ways that you can include them on some aspects of your wedding. Perhaps you can hold a small gathering to celebrate your elopement, give them tasks for your wedding plans or ask some ideas from them on anything about your special day. Just be sure to make them still feel involved in your relationship so that they won’t feel left out and unimportant.

Getting married soon? Why not hire a professional celebrant to make your day extra special by contacting Jay today!

Deciding to elope with your fiancé while not the easiest decision out there can sometimes be a spontaneous decision for some couples. In order for things to be easier and less stressful for you, here are ten things you have to think about when you elope.

 

The kind of ceremony

Do you want a chapel wedding at the strip? Perhaps, do you want one with the typical Elvis Presley theme? Your input to your wedding is essential as this will make your day even special so make sure to decide wisely. Your big day should be something you can gladly reminisce about when you get old.

The time it’ll take to get to your destination

Give yourself ample time to get to your wedding destination. If it’ll take some time to go there, you may want to go there prior to your big day to avoid possible delays.

Wedding suppliers

Wedding vendors will come to a great help especially if you cannot do your own hair and make-up. There are lots of professionals out there who you can easily hook up with to make you look beautiful in your special day.

Wedding photos

Make sure to take some wedding photos on your special day. You may want to show them to your family and friends once you get home from your elopement. At least, it’ll assuage their frustration and anger from your decision to run away and get married.

Music

Be creative in your choice of music. It’s your day and your parents and in-laws are not there to disapprove your unique taste in music. You can also choose from recorded music or live ones if you wish to.

Wedding decorations

For the most part, common locations for elopement wedding usually offer the right amount of aesthetics and decors worthy for photographs. But if you want to add some personal touches to make it more special, then you can do.

Your wedding celebrant

A qualified wedding celebrant is especially crucial as they fill many roles on your special day. That person is not only responsible for officiating your wedding but he/she can also help you in processing the legal requirements and your marriage license.

Requirements and/or restrictions vary by state

Find out the legal paperwork and permits needed to comply for your marriage since this kind of things tends to vary by state and locality. So if you want to marry abroad, then things may be a bit complicated, if not too much, for you to handle on your own.

Plan B just in case

Sometimes no matter how much we hope for our day to go smoothly, especially on a huge celebration like a wedding day, life doesn’t just go as planned. This is not telling you to be paranoid on all possible things that can go wrong on your wedding day, but just make sure that you have back up plans in case something happens. For instance, you may look for a backup indoor location if the weather will not cooperate.

A great place to celebrate

Search for good restaurants, lounges, beach resorts, or any place that you can enjoy being at for your post-wedding dinner or celebration. The hotel you will be staying at may also have post-wedding services and discounts you can avail.

Getting married soon? Why not hire a professional celebrant to make your day extra special by contacting Jay today!

I got involved in weddings nearly 10 years when I was living in Noosa – I watched a few weddings after coming out of the surf, as there are so many weddings along Laguna Bay.  It really struck me how ‘formal’ these weddings were. I still think it exists because most people used to get married by religious institutions, they became very predictable and dare I say lacked positive feeling.  These days most weddings in Australia are conducted by celebrants and perhaps they tried to bring the formality of what they’d seen to their ceremonies. In my opinion, everything about Noosa, the coasts and the beach lifestyle says to me ‘chill’ and relax…and anything but super formal.

Couples getting married by the beach or river want their ceremony to reflect that same feeling.  They’ve come from hundreds if not thousands of kilometres away, dragged their best mates and family into to town for 3-4 days of celebration.  Wedding ceremonies should reflect this relaxed beach vibe. Make people feel welcome, don’t try and stray into this formal 30-60 minute ceremony that has been ‘written’ like a nasty school assignment.  Wedding ceremonies should be full of laughs, fun, good vibes, relaxed and open.

When I was at Uni I hated lecturers that simply read the slides that they had created and distributed…I used to think, hey mate, I can read so please add something more to this than what is written down on some slide.  Give me some insight or tell me a story (tell it, don’t read out your school assignment.). This again adds to the ‘formal’ vibes that we don’t want when we’re at the beach.

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Jay

 

 

You have agreed on the date for your wedding so you can’t wait to share this pleasant news to your family, friends, and colleague. To do that, you have to send wedding invites! Wedding invitations are one of the most important and exciting parts of planning your wedding. To make your invitation unforgettable and one of a kind, follow these seven creative ideas below.

Laser cut design

 

 

The laser cut design can come out in various styles like modern, rustic, vintage, or elegant depending on your preference. But one thing’s for sure, a laser-cut invitation will wow your guests on the simplicity on intricateness of the details and shapes of your cards.

Add some ‘pop-up’ factor

 

 

If you want to spice up your invitations by adding an element of surprise, then a pop-up design is probably what you’re looking for. You can make pop-up photos of cakes, churches, or a bride and groom figure.

Incorporate your passions as a couple

 

 

Plenty of couples these days love doing things together like hiking, island hopping, bungee jumping, or any other activity that expresses your passion as one entity. Select one that clearly defines your relationship and you can blend it with the design on your invitations

UV printed invites

 

 

Want to be as have as many colours as the rainbow? You can use UV printing to create your wedding invitations as this allows you to raise the textures of all colors and still able to blend them smoothly.

Inject some shiny shimmery element

 

 

Glitz and glamour themed invitations can be perfectly achieved with some glittery belly bands, card edges, paper, and laser cut wraps. They will give you just the right amount of sparkle you want in your cards.

Take inspiration from your hometown

 

 

Do you have a soft spot for your hometown? If so, then why not take some ideas from your childhood place? You can design your invitations with some elements that represent your city, state, or region and display your pride for your hometown.

Go digital

 

 

If you’re on a budget or you just want to go green, then the best way to do this is to go paperless. In other words, use online tools to create your invites. You get to save the environment and save your money. What’s not to love, eh?

Getting married soon? Why not hire a professional celebrant to make your day extra special by contacting Jay today!