ADVERTISING FEATURE
A ceremony becomes special when it's all about the couple
Your wedding ceremony is the most important part of your wedding day. After all, it is the part when you actually get legally married.
That's why it is so important to find a quality celebrant who you both get along with.
The ceremony is also the part of the day most couples are nervous about, it can be quite daunting to stand up there in front of all your family and friends and make an emotional and sacred public declaration of your love and commitment, so it's really important to have someone who can put your worries aside and assure you that everything will be okay and go according to plan.
"You are trusting that when the ceremony starts and you are standing there in front of your closest family and friends, your celebrant is going to deliver you a ceremony which is exactly what you have dreamed of," said authorised marriage celebrant Kirk Samuel Goodsell.
Kirk became a celebrant more than 10 years ago after attending a few family and friend's weddings and feeling their ceremonies lacked personalisation, engagement and energy.
"I thought to myself that ceremonies should be a lot more fun, about the couple, upbeat and light-hearted so I went out to do just that," he said. "Any celebrant can stand up there and waffle on about love, marriage and commitment - and that's all well and good but does it mean much to you? Or your guests? A ceremony becomes special when it's all about the couple - It's their story, style, humour and culture. You want to ensure that your celebrant captures and delivers that."
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TED Talks curator Chris Anderson says that 18 minutes (the duration of many of their talks) is long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people's attention.
You can use that analogy for your ceremony. You want it to be long enough to uphold the sacredness of the occasion but short enough to still be fun and engaging.
"I want to make sure the ceremony is a fun, light-hearted and uplifting experience and you walk away from it feeling inspired and ready for the next part of the day," Kirk said.
"I think a lot of couples worry about the day not coming together but it always does and if for some reason it doesn't, it's vital to have professional and reputable vendors that can come to the rescue."
"A good celebrant has a wealth of contacts and relationships within the industry. I can put them in the hands of people who I trust and can vouch for."