There are a hundred and one things that can go wrong. The best strategy for managing them is to maintain your sense of humour and take it all in your stride. The best way to avoid them is to hire a great celebrant and to learn from the experiences of others.

Sex Bomb......

This is a story from my own wedding. I had planned a very simple ceremony and given my tendancy to make list after list I was fairly confident that I had all the bases covered. I had the celebrant, the venue (boat on the Noosa River), the cake, the DJ, the guests and most importantly the groom. It turned out the DJ was my problem area. I had booked the DJ via the internet, had diligently gone through the playlist they had posted to me and returned it via express post. I had also made a back-up copy of the key songs to ensure that there would be no mistakes. I even called them before to make sure that everything was OK. When my husband arrived at the boat he discovered that the original DJ was ill and we had a replacement. He didn't have a copy of my carefully prepared run sheet and play list.  Not to worry my husband simply picked up the phone and called me to ask where the back-up CD was.  Unfortunately I had turned off my mobile phone. There just wasn't anywhere to put it in the wedding outfit! Apparently much panic ensued and there was an attempt to break into our hotel room which failed miserably. Time was up and it was a case of just making do. The song I had chosen to walk down the isle to was Tom Jones' "She's a Lady" the closest Tom Jones song they could come up with was "Sex Bomb".  Well close enough! Needless to say the guests; the folks at the restaurant where the boat docked to collect me; and an accumulated audience along the river all got a great laugh. So did I.

The lesson here is..... it's always good to have back up copies of everything and MOST importantly don't leave them with a nervous (read panic stricken) groom.  Choose a reliable guest or best man for the last minute instructions.

Inspiration......

My first wedding offered me an inspiration I will never forget.  I me an amazing group of people in a situation that I couldn't even imagine having to deal with. The bride and groom were childhood sweethearts; they have been together for 17 years and they have a beautiful 5 year old daughter. While fulfilling a lifelong dream to travel Australia the bride fell ill. They returned home and 13 weeks later were told that she had an extremely aggressive form of cancer that had progressed to the point where treatment was no longer possible. They had to face the fact that they only had a few days left together. On receiving the news family, friends and hospital staff came together to arrange the wedding they had always meant to get around to.  

As the celebrant I was really worried that what should have been a wonderful celebration of their love would be overwhelmed by the tragedy of their circumstances. It wasn't. The strength of both the couple and their families was amazing. The wedding was just what it was supposed to be, beautiful and positive memory. I was motivated and inspired by these wonderful people.

There is no lesson here other than to say - live life to the fullest and treasure every minute and every memory.

Rainy Day..........

Let's face it the whether has been very ordinary for spring.  In the last two weeks I have performed three ceremonies which were all adversely affected by whether.  All of them had a different response.  The first made a decision very early in the morning that their outdoor ceremony would not work and they changed the venue, notified everyone and had an indoor venue immaculately prepared well ahead of time.  The second decided to wait until the last minute and when the rain started as I arrived at the venue we posted a sentry at the park to redirect traffic and headed to plan B with the Groom and Groomsmen in the back of the X-Trail.  The third simply said we love the outdoors and stood with their faces turned upward to the softly drifting mist while guest unfurled the umbrellas and smiled at the fact that this was so typical of this couple (not so great for my PA system but otherwise very enjoyable).

The lesson here is that there is nothing you can do about the whether.  So decide how you are going to handle it and then just go with the flow.  No amount of stress will make the clouds go away..

It's Not Always Glamorous.........

So you think being a celebrant is a romantic, glamorous occupation.  I recently performed a ceremony in an idyllic bush setting near a waterfall on a granite outcrop.  I got out of the car and realised that I would need to carry all of my equip along a bush track for about 5 minutes.  So I slipped on my crocs (always in the bag), stashed the heels and set off.  No problems, everything is set up and I have 15 minutes until the guests are due to arrive.  The waterfall trickles and I suddenly realise that the nearest ladies would require me to walk back to the car and drive 5 minutes down the road to the park.  I can't leave the equipment and the paperwork unattended in the middle of the bush.  On go the crocs and I do what any country girl must in such a situation.... stockings and all.

The lesson here - always travel with sensible shoes and never drink a full bottle of water near a waterfall

My New Title.............

I am thinking of giving myself a new title as the gumboot celebrant.  The weather being what it is I have now performed multiple ceremonies that required me to treck through mud well beyond the capabilities of even my sensible shoes.  I was so grateful when at a recent ceremony the bride offered to lend me her extra pair of gumboots.  We held a beautiful ceremony all suiably attired in very practical wellingtons.

No lesson - just alot of fun