Writing Haiku
A Haiku is a poem. Short and sweet But why haiku on a celebrant’s blog page?
Creative writing
Creative writing is essential for this marriage celebrant. Every wedding ceremony begins with a fresh canvas for me.
I love writing a couple’s love story, finding their specialness, and working alongside them to create an individual marriage ceremony.
How to write a ceremony
Imagine this is your wedding planning. You may not know just what you want when we begin. You will get the tools to identify what is important to you. From this we weave a story for your wedding day, not just any old ceremony, a captivating tale that engages you and your guests, and makes the occasion quite unique and yours.
A perfect ceremony
It is not just the perfect wedding dress that makes your day perfect, but a ceremony that is a true reflection of the bride and groom, enjoyable for all the guests and quite memorable.
And so here is part two of an insight into a creative writing workshop by the marvellous leader Glenda O’Sullivan. And a little glimpse of my writing, when I get creative.
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Creative writing workshop
It was the end of a day’s creative writing workshop led by creative workshop queen, Glenda. I was delightfully tired. It had been a day of challenge and stimulation.
Glenda’s provocative style and generous gifts made the day deliciously productive. The group had written many words. But the end of the day lent itself to the short and sweet.
Writing Haiku
Our teacher reintroduced me to the art of haiku; Simple. Short. Structured. Yet freeing. A little like Tango.
I give you two short Haiku, written in the sultry dusk, lazing on the grass.
Two Haikus
drumming jazz at night
rain on roof on eyelids closed
night rhythms exposed
broody clouds drift grey
wafting words guiding pencil
sunset smiles on dusk
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You may like to read part ONE of this creative writing series
~ with Sunshine Coast wedding celebrant, Kari ~
A row of 12’s looks great on the marriage paperwork.
So good in fact that I just had to create a special 12/12/12 certificate for them… just for fun.
Congratulations to Sandy and Michael for selecting the perfect dozen for their wedding day.
Sandy and Michael told me they don’t need trumpets to declare their feelings for one another. They enjoy the simple things of life. They came to a point in their lives when sincerity outweighs pomp, and intimacy is appreciated more than fanfare. Yet they also acknowledged that there are times in ones life when a ceremony or a bit of ritual can describe what is deep within. They chose an intimate elopement, and wanted to share this sacred moment with their supportive friends.
They have known each other for 6 years, and tell me that despite finding a couple of old warts and the occasional nervous twitch, life has been very good to them both and together. So they selected the most auspicious date for their nuptials, hired a house and together with their friends escaped to the hills of Montville to seal their relationship with a wedding.
At exactly the 12th hour, on the 12th day of the 12th month of the 12th year of the millenium, Sandy and Michael took their wedding vows.
Enjoy the fabulous photos by Marion Jonkers Photography
We do things in ceremony that are profoundly symbolic. It allows the depth of what we feel to shine through. Ceremony or ritual is the visible means for honouring that unseen world that we feel within. I love to create ritual special to each couple. I often ask couples to bring a food, which nurtures their daily life, and a drink to use for celebration. In sharing these things you symbolically foster both daily life and special moments together.
When we spoke together I noticed they both called each other ” darling honey”. So I suggested they use honey as a symbol of their perfect union.
Honey has many sustaining properties. In many ancient cultures honey is a basic food, and can also be a drink. It is often considered a delicious treat. Honey is a symbol of richness and sweetness in all traditions. In sacred texts, honey flows like a stream through promised lands. In others considered the drink of the Gods. In others again, it is equated with the higher self. And we’ve heard of the role New Zealand Manuka honey can play in healing.
We know honey to be natural and sustainable, a gift from nature, needing no further manufacture. Pure honey straight from bees is ready to eat. And we also know it to be long lasting. Honey found in the Pyramids today is still edible. What better symbol for a marriage. Sweet, nourishing, long lasting, and a food to enjoy.
I asked them to feed each other some honey, as a symbol of daily nourishment, yet also representative of the sweetness of life together.
What an extraordinary and yet intimate wedding day.
Here’s what Sandy & Michael said:
Getting married and finding the right Celebrant, words and ceremony is certainly not easy, even second time round. We found Kari’s approach easy and open and felt very comfortable discussing our thoughts for an intimate elopement ceremony. Kari not only listened to our thoughts but, found those little things that really mattered to us both and individually. Considering our thoughts, Kari provided some excellent suggestions which made it easy to find the right words and ceremony, along with the legal requirements we had to provide and complete prior to getting married.
We wanted something simple, formal, intimate with some involvement by our close friends, Kari achieved this and more, telling our story with some lovely touches, (Honey and passing the Rings) Kari can explain!
All our friends including ourselves felt privileged to be part of our wonderful day, a day and a moment in time we will always treasure.
We thoroughly recommend Kari and her professional Celebrant services.
Regards Michael & Sandy Clark
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Creative writing
This story will be about a dance, eventually. But it starts as a story about creative writing, something as a marriage celebrant I do all the time for my couples. Every wedding ceremony is unique and new written just for two people. Often I seek ways to hone my writing craft.
Creative writing is key to a great wedding ceremony. As your celebrant, I practise writing to hone my skills for your wedding.
Recently I attended a creative writing workshop with marvellous teacher, Glenda O’Sullivan.
Writing Workshop
A few months ago, a dear friend of mine and an inspiring workshop queen, ran a creative writing day. Glenda invited several budding writers to gather. She invited us to open our minds and let loose our pens.
I don’t usually call myself a writer. Perhaps I imagined one has to be pumping out novels, or contracted to a magazine to claim that title. Of course there are many more writers in the world than one would imagine.
On reflection, I realised I do write. Every day in fact. I write this. A blog, a collection of stories really.
I write wedding ceremonies. I write eulogies. I write for couples. I write for families. I write for people.
Yes, I write every day.
So, with a little trepidation, I went along.
The gift of writing
Glenda gave the group a wonderful gift that day. She took us along the road to writing creatively. She began with simple tasks to get our pens sliding over the paper. Then she upped the ante, interrupting our train of thoughts with unusual stimuli; a gesture, a flower, or a compulsory word or two. As the day progressed we played word games, wrote lists, turned the lists into prose, the prose into poetry, and back again. Each time we had to produce a piece of writing on the spot, on paper, and on time!
I’d like to present some of the pieces I wrote that day.
Word Games
We played a word game. The game produced a list of words.
Write, she said, using all the words on your list … and she gave us 10 minutes…. Speed writing is very creative writing!
So I wrote.
my darling, my darling, my love
A necklace for your sanity … my darling, my darling
Your neck will just surrender … my love
Relegate sizing to your tailor … my darling, my darling
Measure your team of suitors … my love
__
I salivate with surprise … my darling, my darling
Your tears send a sinuous shiver … my love
Lean to my sincerity … my darling, my darling
Tenuous yet necessary … my love
__
Undulate, manipulate .. my darling, my darling
Ululate the timing … my love
Sing your man a lullaby … my darling, my darling
Be my eager minstral … my love
__
Round and round the duckpond … my darling, my darling
Mad as a team of yabbies … my love
Eat my words on Sunday … my darling, my darling
And tell me that you love me … my love
*****
Writing wedding ceremonies
Some couples might wonder just how I create unique wedding ceremonies. I draw on creative writing skills to achieve a perfect marriage ceremony for you. I chat with you and we laugh. I get to know you. We talk about life, meaning and wedding wishes; about family and feelings. You tell me your stories. I tell you mine. You get to know me, and feel comfortable with me as the person who will conduct the ceremony on your wedding day.
From all this I weave a tapestry about you, your love story and your wedding day. You also get chances to alter and change, delete and add.
Creative writing workshop
The poem above, is by no means part of a marriage ceremony. It was written within a different context; a creative writing workshop.
If your wedding celebrant can write creatively, you know you can expect a truly unique ceremony, all about you, and your ideas on your marriage. Not just any old ceremony with your names slotted into the gaps.
You want something that is a reflection of you.
Something meaningful, to you.
Something memorable for your family and friends.
Something just a little different, pitched right. Your style in words.
Contact me if you’d like a ceremony written just for you.
And to finish this article, here is another piece I wrote under time pressure that day…. about the dance.
*****
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Tango Lily
The floor is smooth. Wooden floor boards polished by feet. Slide together after every step. Bring the left together with the right, across the boards. Smooth the timber. Caress the wood. Foot does not leave floor. Slide… together…slide … together. Ready for whatever may come. There is no past. No future. Just now. Just this moment. Just this step. Then that step. That’s Tango.
She tucked a lily behind her left ear. Not the right ear. It would get in the way. She wore a flower on the right once. Never do that again. Well it was a fake rose anyway. But it tickled and scratched his face when he took her into the close embrace. He fluffed and blew it. She had to throw it away; out of her hair, onto a chair, to dance.
The flower was on the left. A lily; simple, plain, a tiny bit jaunty. Like the tango. She was the lily. And the lily was the dance. Subtle but with intent.
This year I have begun to learn Tango. I may never finish learning Tango. I relish the opportunity to let go of control; to release, to stop helping, to simply allow someone else to lead the way. To follow the lead, to rest my head on a shoulder and allow my steps to follow.
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~ with Sunshine Coast Hinterland wedding celebrant, Kari ~
Spring warmth fills the air, and purple fills my eyes. Everywhere I go the jacaranda blossoms are falling, creating carpets on the road, the footpaths, the lawns. It makes one smile just to move around. What is it about that colour, the colour jacaranda? It’s not purple really, not mauve, not lavendar…it’s jacaranda!
And who could resist including this jacaranda colour for styling a wedding day? Many don’t resist of course.
- Walk into Spicer’s Clovelly Estate, and you are greeted by the flowers falling on the green grass.
- Take a visit to another wedding venue, Coolabine Ridge, or House of Laurel’s and feast on the flowers and the freedom there.
- Sunday drive around Palmwoods, and all the roads have patches of jacaranda carpet.
- But out of season, simply include the colour in your wedding dress, your bridal bouquet, your groom’s shirt.
- Or hire a local photographer who can make art from your day like Luke Going
It’s all possible!
Designing your wedding around a colour is fun. And jacaranda is splendiforous.
Many weddings this year have included this gorgeous colour in one way or another.
Choose a wedding date for spring when the jacarandas are in bloom and go for it with relish.
Images by Kari, Luke Going, Marion Jonkers and others
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Who shall be the ring bearer?
At your wedding, who do you choose to be the ring bearer? A charming little nephew? An eagle? The Best Man? The Best Woman? Mum? Or your pet? Congratulations Diane and Patrick, for choosing Ruby. They married in the charming pergola at Tiffany’s, looking out over the Glass House Mountains from the Maleny Ridge. They wanted a creative, fun and relaxed wedding. They chose Tiffany’s for the view, for the incredible feeling you get when gazing out over the vista of the Glass House Mountains. What an extraordinary place on the edge of the ridge, what a splendid sunny day. AND what a charming ring bearer! More of her later….
Planning a memorable wedding
Diane and Patrick wanted their wedding to be memorable, unforgettable in fact, and a bit of fun for their guests. All they wrote on the wedding invite was a date, a time and ‘surprise location’. The guests had no idea where they were going and what to expect. A bus collected them all, to take them to Tiffany’s. The bus was there again to continue the adventure to Clovelly Estate for a classy reception banquet. What fun! Everyone arrived at the ceremony full of intrigue and with smiles already on their faces.
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Diane arrived in retro style in the divine Red Kombi. Just bride and her parents. A gentle and relaxed bride, Diane just glowed on the way to meet her Patrick. She arrived on the arms of both her parents, one on each arm. It is a tradition that is very heartwarming, when a parent accompanies their daughter to her wedding day. In these modern days of equality we still have room to remember an ancient custom, that of a bride being accompanying to her wedding.
Diane chose to arrive with both her parents. In this way we know that father and mother are supportive of the bride and groom and their decision to embrace marriage. And indeed there is room too to thank the parents for the Groom for all they have done to bring their son to his wedding day too. Diane and her parents brought a charming tradition into the modern world. But what about Ruby? The other important family member.
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Ruby the ring bearer
Diane and Patrick wanted their special family, Ruby, a black Labrador, to be part of their special day and found a a way to include her in the ceremony. Their dear Ruby was a feature guest for the day. Sporting a ribbon on her neck, most of the guests just thought she was there for the ride. She was the perfect ring bearer.
Ever thought you’d be able to have your pets at your wedding?
At this wedding, it was the Ruby the ring bearer who stole the show. When the wedding bands were called for, Ruby bounded down the aisle towards her favourite people to deliver the rings. She happily sat while Patrick took the rings from her neck, to place on the finger of his bride. 
Ruby stuck around for photos and I’m sure would have enjoyed the canapés, but she had other treats in store.
Kylie from Lovable Pets arrived in chic sporting attire. Ruby was whisked away for a long walk on the beach and a sleep over at Kylie’s. Lucky Ruby. To top off a beautiful afternoon, Di and Patrick invited their guests to the divine and classy Spicers Clovelly Estate for a three course banquet around a continuous table. Beautiful plant arrangements by A Sculpted Leaf, the boughs of the Jacaranda tree hanging down beside the pavilion, and an array of sumptuous food from the Clovelly French styled chefs. You may think Ruby was wondering who got the best deal. She didn’t even know, as she frolicked on the beach with Kylie, or perhaps by now she was snoring on a large cushion. It was an important day for Ruby, delivering the rings to the ceremony on cue! She deserved her rest. Peek into other moments from their wedding day. Photos by Tania Stanley.
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A Tiffanys affair
Congratulations Alison and Graham, married at Tiffany’s, on the Sunshine Coast Range.
This is a story about a place really; a place of extraordinary beauty for a wedding. A place that is old and is new, that is borrowed for your wedding day and is blue. So every bride can fulfil the traditional rhyme for her wedding day.
This is a place to treasure. A special wedding venue.
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The view of the Glasshouse
Certainly every time I, as a Sunshine Coast wedding celebrant, arrive at Tiffanys Maleny, it takes my breath away.
Whilst the wedding chapel at Tiffany’s may be quite new, the place is ancient. The spectacle of the Glasshouse Mountains is the backdrop and the main character in this story. Unions have been made on this ridge for millennia, so it is apt that couples choose this magnificent view as the backdrop to their nuptials.
The new Tiffany’s wedding chapel frames the view through huge glass panels, as the backdrop to a couple for their wedding ceremony.
Alison and Graham chose this place for their wedding, a place of unusual splendour, and a magical quality to lend to special occasions such as this.
Flowers by Kelly and her team complemented the chapel, with a bright coloured floral scheme chosen by the couple.
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A special area
On a personal level this place is very special to Alison and Graham.
- Every time they have driven to this area has been a special occasion, a time of personal celebration.
- They had their first picnic outing together at Mary Cairncross Park just down Mountain View Road along the ridge.
- They were engaged close by in Montville.
Their wedding day was a day of extra celebration and sharing with the people they loved. And no-one could be missed out, so they filled the chapel brimful of their friends and family. Every chair
and pew was filled so they could be married at Tiffanys with their closest.
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Tie the knot at Tiffanys
As part of their ceremony they chose to “tie the knot”.
When I asked Alison and Graham their favourite colour they both answered blue. Then Graham clarified his choice as navy blue, and Alison as ocean blue. It is very fitting, that whilst they have much in common, the two blues symbolise that two individuals are also different. Their marriage will be strong from their similarities and gain further strength from their individual differences.
Using two cords, one of navy blue, and one of ocean blue, Alison and Graham tied their lovers knot after the exchange of rings. May their knot never come unravelled.
And that is how they were married, at Tiffanys looking over the magnificent view.
Todays’ story is accompanied not by photos from a professional wedding photographer, but some snaps I took on a glorious day, as they left the Chapel for official photos.[/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1714442880624-c2cd1b8c-75fe-0″ include=”40355,40379,40378″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
