Wedding – The Big Day

Congratulations on embarking on this fantastic step in your future together. You’ve found each other, made a plan, maybe booked a venue and now seeking the right person to help you with your marriage ceremony.

Whether your wedding is large, intimate or somewhere in-between, traditional or non-conventional, themed or simple – it’s a wonderful celebration of love and friendship, a day to always remember with happiness.

Your love story is told in a unique way within a personalised ceremony woven in a tone that’s true to you and respectful of your style, taking you through the transition to married life in an atmosphere fuelled with joy and excitement. While the memory of the actual words may fade it’s the emotions they evoke and the memories that endure.

We identify what ceremony is wanted, the date, the venue and the time. Arrange a no – obligation meeting or a referral to one or more celebrant colleagues. Discussion of fees and payments occur once brief is clear.

How do we begin?

First Contact

Face to face meeting

We begin by meeting in person or Video Chat. You tell me about yourselves, your relationship, and your vision for your wedding day, including what you don’t want. While we get know to each other, I’ll explain the general outline of a ceremony, offer suggestions of how we can incorporate people, and your ideas into your ceremony, then go over the legal requirements. I require confirmation that I’m your celebrant within 7 days of meeting, together with a non-refundable deposit.

Second meeting

This meeting is the major preparation stage of the ceremony providing collaboration of ideas, reflections, and preliminary plans from you both following our first meeting. Provision of resource materials will be available too.

Ceremony Design then begins by using the information provided, and some questions I’ll have asked you to answer together. I’ll then weave your story, beliefs, and values into a draft ceremony. This will be emailed to you to read, check, approve and/or edit so that you get exactly the ceremony that you both want, and feel totally comfortable with. I’m available in person, by phone, email or Video Chat throughout this process.

Final meeting

This meeting is close to your wedding day, providing an opportunity to personally reconnect. We go over all the relevant details of the day, including checking timings, fine tuning your ceremony if needed, finalising which family and friends are doing what, deciding if you want me to print out any words for you onto cards (eg. your vows), and we talk about social media.

Having this relaxed, private meeting means your rehearsal will flow much more smoothly.

Rehearsal

This is the fun important part of your ceremony planning. You get a feeling of how it will be on the day, and can get over some of your nervousness, and any worries.

While none of the ceremony words are spoken, I run through the choreography of the entire ceremony – how you will enter, where everyone will stand throughout the different parts of the ceremony, what happens during the signing and how you will leave in celebration mode.

Hopefully your bridal party, or some of them are able to attend.Your MC, any readers and/or people with special tasks, along with your parents are all very welcome. Great for calming nerves, a fun time with everyone bonding before the actual day.

If you’re unable to hold your rehearsal at your venue, I can easily organise an alternative.

The Big Day

All that planning and TODAY it all comes together – making for one of the best days of your lives together!

I’ll arrive at least 30 minutes early to check in with all the relevant people (Venue Manager, MC, DJ/Musicians, Photographer, Readers, close Family), and the ceremony set up. I’ll deliver your ceremony in a warm, engaging manner to you both, and your guests. I’ll be mindful of the Photographer, and ensure we catch the magic moments!

Following the ceremony, I’ll seek you both out for a photo with me before I leave. Your Copy of the Particulars with be given to whomever you’ve designated for this important job, and I’ll take a photo of the Copy of Particulars and email to the Registrar.

Aotearoa Wedding

Travelling from overseas?

If you’re thinking of having your wedding in Aotearoa/ New Zealand, on offer are many beautiful venues, indoors and outdoors amongst our incredible scenery, providing stunning settings for your ceremony and celebration.

Whether it’s an intimate wedding or organising  a “Return to NZ from overseas” wedding – I’m the Celebrant for you.

How the planning works?

I’ll work with you, with our primary communication through Video Chat until you arrive in the country. Together we will design a unique, personalised ceremony, I’ll assist you with the legal requirements for getting married in New Zealand.

If you have no family or contacts here, I can arrange flowers, hairdresser, makeup artist, cake, suitable accommodation (for a small fee based on the amount of work required). I can also provide two witnesses (legal requirement) if your wedding is going to be a romantic affair for just the two of you. Alternatively, if a larger wedding, I can suggest a wedding planner too.

When you fly home, even if your name hasn’t changed on your passport, you’ll know that your “KIWI Wedding” was a fabulous start to your married life together.

Please don’t hesitate to Contact me if you would like to know more.

Elopement

Do you want to get married and are on a tight budget but want something more special and significant than a courthouse registry office wedding?

If this is you, or you need to get officially married now and are planning on having a wedding with family and friends later on, an intimate, simple but heartfelt ceremony may suit you.

I’m a full time celebrant and I’m able to offer registry/private elopement style ceremonies. I work to the same professional standard as for all my ceremonies but in this case without the extensive consultation beforehand. Your ceremony will be uniquely tailored to you both based on answers received from a brief questionnaire that I’ll email to you together with your specific requests. I’ll also guide you both through the legal requirements of a marriage.

This service is available within the Greater Auckland area and beyond.

Note: Travel outside the Greater Auckland area would incur a travel fee

Please don’t hesitate to Contact me if you would like to know more.

 

Funeral

Grief can be consuming. A funeral service, although often difficult during a vulnerable time, is an important part of the grieving process. Reflecting the strengths and milestones of a person’s life is a natural and beautiful way of marking a person’s time on this earth.

It’s an absolute honour for me to be a celebrant to help mark the end of a loved one’s life. In this role I’m committed to working in a respectful, sensitive and empathetic manner to help bring together a ceremony that is personal, heartfelt and a fitting celebration of life.

You’ve personal choices around who you would like your celebrant to be. It’s only right that you should feel comfortable with the celebrant who’s selected with such an important role. Choosing a celebrant is ideal if wanting someone to stay neutral and action any requests regarding eulogies on behalf of the family, minimising pressure if family or individuals don’t wish to talk on behalf of the deceased. My role is to work closely with the funeral home, funeral director and directly with the family.

Being blessed with a strong Samoan/Kiwi heritage I understand the importance of ceremony in a multicultural situation being mindful and respectful of protocols, rites and cultural needs. I also provide ceremonies to those that are non-religious and don’t wish to be involved in “end of life” and alternatively those associated with an organised religion.

Sometimes a terminally ill loved one can get peace of mind by selecting their own celebrant and planning aspects of their own funeral service. Difficult as it may be, it can feel right that this burden is lifted from the shoulders of those they are leaving behind. This is incredibly powerful, making for not only a truly authentic funeral but giving the person peace to focus on family, friends and the moment. I’m available in these situations and work with compassion and understanding to reflect these last wishes with integrity and dignity.

Please don’t hesitate to Contact me if you would like to know more.

House Blessing

Now this maybe something, you didn’t think ever happens or a Celebrant ever does. To be fair, not many are done, however from time to time, people just feel they need to “change the energy” in their house. This can be for a variety of reasons, everyone wants to feel able to, move forward in their life. I simply facilitate this, by working with the beliefs, values and hopes of each person and the practical considerations of the household.

Please don’t hesitate to Contact me if you would like to know more.

Naming Ceremony

With your family and close friends present, a Naming Ceremony is a wonderful way to acknowledge your child as a special, unique person and welcome him/her with love and gratitude into his/her community. Historically, this was often done on the child’s first birthday but any age is fine, as long as you can get your closest family together.

Your child’s naming doesn’t have to follow a prescribed format at all, instead I work with you, taking on board your wishes and providing you with ideas and resources. From there, I create a ceremony that has real meaning for you, your family and is relevant to your child.

Ideas that you may wish to incorporate into the ceremony include

~ Writing a personal message/promises to your child

~ Grandparents reading a poem or a blessing 

~ Lighting a named candle

~ Planting a special tree

~ Releasing balloons

~ Asking everyone to write in a beautiful book

A naming is also a wonderful opportunity to use a family christening gown and establish a new tradition of the gown as a “Family Gown”.

Please don’t hesitate to Contact me if you would like to know more.

Renewal of Vows and Anniversaries

Looking to renew your vows? Celebrating a milestone? Silver or Golden Wedding AnnIversary perhaps?

Similar to a marriage ceremony without the legal requirements or paperwork involved.

This can be an intimate affair with just you present or to a large affirmation with your wider family and good friends invited.

Please don’t hesitate to Contact me if you would like to know more.