with Kari – theme dressed, Sunshine Coast wedding celebrant
Themed Wedding
Congratulations to Anna and Bryn, who chose a 60’s beach theme for their wedding day.
Whenever I met up with Anna and Bryn, they seemed to have just come from some amazing fitness activity. I was impressed by their approach to organising their wedding, too. Casual, down to earth, and real.
Married at the Beach
They did wish to marry at the beach, Point Cartwright in fact. They chose this particular headland for the memories of their first date there. But also for the connection to place, for the intimacy that we felt gathered in a group, looking out over a beautiful and vast ocean, looking far into the distance. And I guess it is a perfect metaphor for marriage. We are also looking into the far distance, the distant future of two peoples lives, a life chosen to spend together, with a shared vision of future.
When I first met Anna and Bryn, they both described the other as fun but strong willed. They also described the adventurous spirit they both share. They love to seek new experiences. On this, their wedding day, they chose a theme to help everyone have fun, and get into the spirit.
Surfboard Signing Table
When they talked about their wedding theme, beach 60’s, I immediately asked if they had considered a surfboard for a signing table. They instantly took this idea on board. (!!!).
Ceremony reading
I appreciated their choice of ceremony reading, The Desiderata. Reading it now one would never believe it was written in 1927, by Max Ehrmann
It counsels:
Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
This is what they said;
Kari is a truly special person and made our ceremony very special too. Her choice of words, and affinity with nature and the ocean are unique and was exactly what we were looking for. Working with Kari pre-ceremony was a lovely experience. She is thorough and competent but relaxed with never a stressful moment. We cannot recommend Kari enough. Many of our guests came up and specially complimented us on Kari’s service asking for her details. We feel extremely lucky than we found Kari – she is just brilliant.
Anna and Bryn
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We do not live by bread alone, and we cannot survive without salt. In Russia there is a wedding tradition….
But first a story.
I remember from childhood a story about three sisters, the daughters of a king. He asked of them, “How much do you love me?”
One replied, “Father I love you like all the diamonds in your crown.”
Another said, “Daddy, I love you as much as all the gold in your vault.”
The third thoughtfully and simply said, “Dad, I love you like salt”.
Unfortunately the king did not appreciate this sentiment, and banished his daughter from his kingdom.
Many years later, during his travels as an ageing man, he stumbled across another far away kingdom, and was welcomed by the royal family. Not recognising his long lost daughter at the head of the family, she served up a banquet with no salt. The food was tasteless and terrible, and he spat out the food saying it was inedible.
So she brought to the table a bowl of salt and asked if he wished to add this to the food. “Father, I still love you like salt. I meant that life is not only tasteless without you, I can not live without you.”
There is a Russian wedding tradition of bread and salt. And it is Alex and Scott who introduced me to this tradition.
So in love
So congratulations to Alex and Scott married with such joy at Maleny Manor.
Alex and Scott were a delight from day one. They are so in love, and out to have fun, yet are very comfortable with their respective heritage.
In recognition of Alex’s Russian background she chose to honour a tradition passed down the line of women in her family. And what women! Her Mother and Auntie came out from Germany and Russia to make it happen!
Bread and Salt
There is a Russian wedding tradition of Bread and Salt.
“Bread is the head of everything”. This Russian proverb explains the importance of bread in Russia for many centuries.
Bread is life and bread is hospitality.
Salt is a symbol of wealth and prosperity.
The night before the wedding day, Alex’s Mum, Marina and Aunt Ira baked a special bread with salt in the centre. At the completion of their wedding ceremony, Alex and Scott broke the bread, dipped it in salt and shared this gift of food with each other. It was a touching moment, a nod to family and a sweet (or should I say tasty) completion to a ceremony.
This tradition symbolises that they’ll never be without the necessities of life and they will always take care of each other. And I trust that in this case they always will.
This is what they said:
From the very first meeting we were sure that our ceremony was in good hands with Kari.
We felt an instant connection and understanding by her of who we are and what our relationship is all about. The writing of the ceremony was painless, easy and just wonderful, including many personal touches and a great flow. Communication was effortless and we had the most wonderful ceremony reflecting who we truly are. We received many compliments from our family and friends on our ceremony and it will be a treasured part of our magical wedding day.
Thank you Kari! You are all that we ever wished for and more!
Alexandra & Scott
Thank you to Talitha and James from Artography for the wonderful images.
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~ with Sunshine Coast wedding celebrant Kari ~
Congratulations to Douglas and Melissa, a gorgeous and fun loving couple, married at The Little White Wedding Church in Maleny.
Both Melissa and her parents are from Paris, and key wedding guests were coming from France especially for this divine wedding. So they sought a celebrant who might be able to weave in a little French to make all the guests feel at home.
What they didn’t know at the time was that even some French ritual could also be woven into the ceremony. So when I suggested the white ribbon ritual, Melissa jumped at the chance for some fun in her ceremony.
In France it is a tradition for a town’s children to stretch white ribbons across the road down which the bride travels. She must cut the ribbons to make a path.
These are symbolic obstacles created for them to overcome together and thus pave a common path in their new life together.
On her wedding day in honour of Melissa’s background we stretched white ribbons across the aisle before she entered the church following the Bridesmaids.
As she strolled down the aisle, she had to cut her way through the “obstacles” to get to her guy. She laughed as she commented that she’d do anything to get to the altar where he was waiting. We hoped she had scissors with her tucked into that bouquet!
And she did.
And what story about a french wedding would be complete without some French Poetry;
Read by her sister and bridesmaid, Savita. Durant l’hiver by Célia Germinario
Durant l’hiver on s’est rencontré,
Amour, gentillesse, beauté à mes yeux tu es,
Mon coeur, mon corps et mon âme je t’ai donné,
Il ne peut rien t’arriver,
Eternellement prêt de toi je serai,
Nos coeurs sont mêlés à jamai
During the winter we met,
You are Love, kindness, beauty to my eyes,
my heart, my body and my soul I have given thee,
there is no more life can bring
Eternally ready for thee I will be,
our hearts mingled forever
What a fun day it was. Thank you to the delightful and subtle Matt Rowe for the images. He is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, capturing each moment, each smile. Thanks Matt. And checkout his new cover image!!!
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A Mc and a Mac
When McNamara married MacKinnon, there was bound to be somescotsman around somewhere!!! And what a lovely use of tartan. And what a choice of place! Congratulations Sandra and Jason, married at Gardeners Falls, Maleny. Unique, different, touching, romantic and down to earth, their DIY wedding was simply perfect.
A Scotsman and a Nymph
When Sandra and Jason first met in Canada they recall talking about travelling Australia and the food they both missed. Jason proceeded to load up the juke box while Sandra picked most of the songs and introduced him to her love for disco. Not less than two days later Jason had to leave Canada!! Mere hours before his flight took off they were enjoying their first “date”. The conversation flowed easily and touched on so many subjects that they would have forgot to order food, if the waitress hadn’t kept reappearing to ask if they were ready to order. Jason’s friends were worried he was cutting it close for time to catch his flight. There was really no time for eating!
It was not long before they were together again, in Australia.
Sandra describes Jason as her calm in the storm. Jason describes Sandra as his down to earth rock. No wonder it threatened to storm on their wedding day. But come the right time, they stood on a rock mid stream, with not a drop of rain.
They relish each other’s company, laugh at each other’s jokes and make fun happen every day. These are qualities that will sustain a relationship. They are also great qualities for planning an extraordinary wedding.
Dressed in wedding Tartan
They turned up to their wedding dressed as Scotsman in family tartan (complete with sporan I may add) and forest nymph. They wanted something quite unique and intimate for their ceremony, and yet grand in meaning. Choosing Gardeners Falls, a small out of the way place, with running creek and rainforest all around, they created a wonderland.
Wed Over Water
Sandra and Jason asked if they could be wed on the water. We took off our shoes and stepped onto a rock in the stream. Guests gathered on a larger rock close by. They chose a hand binding ceremony to seal their vows. In this way drawing on Celtic traditions from ancient times, bringing the ceremony into modern day with our own twist on the promises and bindings. Jason had prepared a strip of tartan for the bindings. For wedding rings they had special rings created, each a combination of an Australian saphire and two Canadian diamonds.
Tartan sash
At the conclusion of the service, Jason draped a MacKinnon tartan sash over his new Mrs MacKinnon, and had photos taken in the middle of the running creek. He carried her across the water. Later that weekend they continued the fun by taking their own wedding photos, with just tripod and themselves.
Here is a glimpse of their DIY wedding day:
What they said:
Kari was an amazing celebrant. She was just what we were looking for, she listened to our suggestions, went with our ideas adding her own input when we knew what we wanted but weren’t sure how to do it.
Kari got a good feel for how we were as a couple and what we liked. She even offered us choices to choose her dress colour for the ceremony and was even willing to go barefoot.
Kari helped a lot making our ceremony just what we wanted and we had an amazing day. Sandra and Jason MacKinnon
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Unusual Readings
This story is about readings for your wedding ceremony. As an example let’s look at the wedding Danielle and Karim, married at Tiffany’s looking out over the Glasshouse Mountains.
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Meeting your love
It is one of life’s richest surprises when a chance meeting of two people on a stairway leads them to love. It is one of life’s finest experiences when this love grows into a permanent relationship. It is a sacred day when these two people realise that they wish to make it forever in a marriage.
And it is joyous day when the wedding arrives and family gather from all over the world to marry on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in the presence of spectacular views from the Maleny Range.
This meeting and this growing are what led to the wedding day for Danielle and Karim, who indeed met by chance five years ago on a stairway in a hostel in Scotland. The pipes may have played for them that day, or the angels sang, for they both knew that they had met someone special. Through being ruthlessly and wonderfully themselves, they fell in love and chose to get married, to begin the journey and ride the waves of life together.[/vc_column_text][dt_gallery_masonry bwb_columns=”desktop:3|h_tablet:3|v_tablet:3|phone:2″ image_border_radius=”0px” project_icon_border_width=”0px” include=”40397,40395,40396″][vc_column_text]
A wedding ceremony in French
Now being French, Karim wished to make sure his mother could understand the service. So when this couple came to me it was with a special request, that their ceremony be in English AND French.
I am always happy to include other languages in a ceremony, and indeed speak French and Indonesian. However I have been known to get training to use other languages in a wedding ceremony.
Readings are often a part of a marriage ceremony. You can choose to have a close friend or relative to read, or indeed ask your wedding celebrant to read for you.
A reading can expand on your reasons for marriage, or describe the feeling of love in a way we may never be able to find the words to say out loud. A reading is a moment to pause in the ceremony and and reflect.
For this wedding, Karim’s mother, Nelly chose a poem for this special day. And of course it was in French! AND of course it is about love (l’amour)![/vc_column_text][dt_gallery_masonry bwb_columns=”desktop:3|h_tablet:3|v_tablet:3|phone:2″ image_border_radius=”0px” project_icon_border_width=”0px” include=”40399,40398,40401″][vc_column_text]
A Poem in French
Éloge de l’amour par Jean de La Fontaine
Tout l’Univers obéit à l’Amour ;
Belle Psyché, soumettez-lui votre âme.
Les autres dieux à ce dieu font la cour,
Et leur pouvoir est moins doux que sa flamme.
Des jeunes coeurs c’est le suprême bien
Aimez, aimez ; tout le reste n’est rien.
*****
Sans cet Amour, tant d’objets ravissants,
Lambris dorés, bois, jardins, et fontaines,
N’ont point d’appâts qui ne soient languissants,
Et leurs plaisirs sont moins doux que ses peines.
Des jeunes coeurs c’est le suprême bien
Aimez, aimez ; tout le reste n’est rien.
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A Reading from Bob
The second reading they chose is from Bob Marley, in English this time:
Only once in your life, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more.
You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful.
There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life. A phone call during the day always brings a smile to your face.
Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and soul mate, who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they will be part of your life, forever.
There are so many beautiful texts to help illustrate a wedding ceremony. I keep a folio of ideas and samples for my couples. I also have several books with unusual readings and quotes.
You may find something from a song lyric, a film script, or written on a graffiti wall that inspires you.
Thank you to Focus Films for the images of Danielle and Karim’s English/French Wedding ceremony.
For other stories on French Weddings:
Something Very French
With a French touch
Totally in French
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