What do you do when the borders are shut, and your Celebrant can’t make it to your wedding?

20/08/202006/07/2021Weddings

Roses and two wooden hearts overlaid with text from wedding vows, I will show you how much I love you, even when words are hard to find.

Last Thursday, I met the most beautiful young couple, and on Saturday, I married them!

Things don’t normally move that fast, but with the recent closure of the Queensland/New South Wales border, I was privileged to jump in for a Celebrant who was unable to travel to Brisbane for the ceremony. It was time to put the wedding contingency plan in action! He briefed me and forwarded the all-important paperwork, then I took the ball and ran with it.

Even though I met R & M in person only days before their wedding, you could say we ‘crunched the timeline’ in getting to know each other! And we quickly came to an easy, comforting place of trust. R & M knew I had their backs; that was my promise to them.

Our rehearsal gave us the perfect opportunity to check that everything was coming together just as they envisioned, and by Saturday, it felt as though it was always supposed to be this way.

Many details made R & M‘s wedding ‘oh so special’, but three of my favourites were…

💍 Firstly the original poem written and read by the bride’s stepdad. (Goosebumps!)

💍 Secondly, the time we dedicated to one-on-one conversations between myself and the bride and groom at the rehearsal. Those meaningful, honest chats gave me the insight I needed to ‘ghostwrite’ deeply personal vows, just for them. And they delivered them from the heart. (Goosebumps on goosebumps!)

💍 And thirdly, the perfect rainbow that arched across the sky as I was driving away from their wedding. I’m sure that’s a wonderful sign. (Dare I say it, even more goosebumps!)

I’m so grateful for the trust R & M (and their original Celebrant) placed in me. It all led to an uplifting ceremony that flowed with natural warmth, and celebrated their love story in an authentic way.

Big virtual hugs to Shirley and her lovely team at Boulevard Gardens – always wonderful to work with you!

Things happen the way they’re meant to happen.

Weddings on the wave of COVID-19

19/03/2020Uncategorized

Couple kissing while wearing face masks — Photo credit: Daniel Tafjord on Unsplash.

By Lorraine Wright, The Wright Celebrant

Your plans may have changed, but your dreams have not.

If you are planning your wedding, this should be a time of great excitement and joy for you and your loved ones. But the COVID-19 pandemic, which is encroaching on just about every aspect of our day-to-day lives, is now causing genuine concern for engaged couples, their families, and those working in the wedding industry.

If you’re not sure whether everyone will be able to make it to your wedding this year, I truly feel for you. Your wedding is a milestone event in your life, and it’s natural to want to share it. So let’s talk about using technology to livestream your ceremony, so your more vulnerable loved ones can stay safely out of harm’s way, but still witness your “I Do’s” via a screen.

If you’re trying to decide, ‘should we postpone our wedding?’ or forge on, perhaps in a modified format, I understand your dilemma. It’s heartbreaking even thinking about changing your carefully crafted plans. But if your group is larger than the allowed gathering (100 guests at the time of writing), or you’d just rather wait until everyone can be with you on your big day, let’s talk about finding you a new date. I do have availability from October 2020 and throughout 2021, and I’ll bend over backwards to help you.

Or, you might consider having a small elopement-style ceremony on your planned date with just the two of you and your two witnesses, but waiting till later in the year (or even next year) to have your big party. I’m definitely open to helping you reimagine the style and logistics for your ceremony.

Until such time as the Australian government further restricts the gathering of people, and as long as I remain fit and healthy and you remain fit and healthy, I would be honoured to officiate for you. We will adapt to the circumstances, by incorporating social distancing and stepping up hygiene measures, for instance:

no handshaking, hugging or kissing anyone you don’t live with;
spacing out chairs to give everyone more personal space;
wiping down microphones and pens with disinfectant wipes;
liberal use of hand sanitiser;
ensuring no bubbles are blown over anyone;
and importantly, asking for strict compliance from anyone who has been in contact with a known case of COVID-19, or has any symptoms consistent with the infection (fever, sore throat, dry cough, shortness of breath) to NOT ATTEND the wedding.
You could even ask everyone to check their temperature before coming, as an extra safeguard.

Of course, please refer to the advice of our Chief Medical Officers and the World Health Organisation for specific information on COVID-19, as this is not my area of expertise.

If I am unlucky enough to become unwell and unable to officiate for you, I will reach out to my amazing colleagues and find you a substitute celebrant, transferring the legal paperwork as per our discussion at the time of signing our agreement. Fingers crossed it doesn’t come to that, but contingency planning makes sense right now.

As this is a very fluid situation that is changing by the day, I will be continuing to heed the advice of our Chief Medical Officers and government leaders, in terms of any restrictions imposed on gatherings, in the days and weeks ahead.

But please, if you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to pick up the phone, or send me a message. I’m here for you.

Let me finish by saying, your wedding is going to be amazing. Your plans may have changed, but your dreams have not.

The Magic Art of Writing a Wedding Ceremony

03/11/201906/07/2021Weddings

The Magic Art of Writing a Wedding Ceremony

by Lorraine Wright, Marriage Celebrant

Lorraine Wright wearing a cerise Portmans sleeveless dress sitting at a wooden picnic table in a garden surrounded by pink Bougainvillea flowers holding an ipad and pen and smiling at the camera — Lorraine Wright, Brisbane Wedding Celebrant. Image by Natarsha March.

When I’m writing a wedding ceremony, inspiration is everything. And I take that inspiration from my clients; the two ‘lovebirds’ I’m working for in that moment. I’m humbled that my couples put their trust in me, and I want to live up to that trust, every time.

So my process is very much about focusing on them – the conversations and laughs we’ve had together, the anecdotes they’ve shared with me, and the heartfelt, hilarious and sometimes surprising things they’ve written in their Couple’s Questionnaire. All of these sources combine to give me great insight into who they are as individuals, and as a couple.

Then, with those two wonderful people ‘front and centre’ in my mind, I start to craft their script. And it’s all about creating the right atmosphere or feeling… or to quote that classic Aussie film, ‘The Castle’… “It’s the vibe.”

A great ceremony has a rhythm all its own; an ebb and flow, with moments of sincere, sometimes intense emotion giving way to laughter, and occasional tears… like the best kind of roller coaster. And don’t be surprised if the ones shedding a tear are those who least expected to! The laughter and tears show the depth of feeling they’re experiencing, and that’s what we want for your loved ones on your big day.

bride wearing a white veil looking down while groom looks lovingly down at her — Kate and Gerry – a beautiful moment captured by New Black Studios.

An important part of my role as your marriage celebrant is to help create an amazing experience for everyone who has come together to share in your wedding celebrations, and to set the tone for the rest of your day. Ultimately, you want YOUR wedding to be the best one you’ve ever been to! For me, that’s the goal, every time.

One of my favourite tricks for creating an authentic, conversational ceremony script is to say it out loud; try it again a few different ways; then write it down. By testing it out (my choice of words and phrases, tone and inflection), the smallest nuances then work together to make that script tell a great story.

I also like to use the Notes app on my phone to dictate ideas and snippets while they’re fresh in my mind, so I can come back to them when I start writing. It’s a handy way to keep track of some of the special tidbits you share with me during our conversations, and it means I can give you my undivided attention, rather than trying to write everything down as we chat. Very often, those notes I’ve dictated right after a meeting end up sliding perfectly into the final script. It’s an easy, non-intimidating way to inject your ceremony with your own words.

So there you have it… just a few little insights into the “method in my madness” for writing completely customised, personal wedding ceremonies. I’d love to write yours next!

For more information about my marriage ceremony services, click here, or contact me.

Lorraine Wright wearing a dusky pink top standing behind a white counter holding a pink coffee mug in a neutral kitchen with pale pink flowers and a fruit bowl in the background and a plate of cookies on the bench — Lorraine Wright, Wedding Celebrant. Image by Natarsha March.