Our wedding was quite a large, traditional, family, summer affair, with lots of music, noise, children and brightly coloured flowers. We wanted a ceremony which would be quite fun and joyful, that our guests would enjoy and remember, as well as being personal and special for us.
It was important to us that our guests felt relaxed, comfortable and welcome. Kath immediately brings an easy-going vibe, she knows how to tune into how others are feeling and has that rare ability to put anyone at ease. During the planning, we had a good laugh over whether she should stand on a box! (Matt and I are both quite tall). It set the relaxed tone and we had such a fun start together. This was especially important for us as a couple, as we both felt somewhat self-conscious to have everyone’s eyes on us and Matt isn’t keen on public speaking, but Kath was able to guide us on how to adapt the ceremony accordingly. I think nothing could have prepared me for how emotional and shaky I felt as I walked down the aisle. It was definitely the right start that Matt and I only had to stand still and listen as Kath did the most fantastic introduction for us. Because we had talked this all through during the planning stage, we knew we didn’t have to do anything at that point, so had a bit of time to relax, we really enjoyed ourselves, it just felt amazing!
Apart from a mildly unhealthy obsession with timing the music to the exact right second of arriving down the aisle! I think the rest of the ceremony planning was really very natural and easy for us. Kath had some fantastic suggestions, particularly as we aren’t religious now, but growing up in the catholic faith, there were aspects which I wanted to introduce to our ceremony which I knew would be familiar for my family. Kath had great knowledge of different customs and religions including catholicism. She suggested that we could add in the sign of peace, where our guests offered peace to each other, by shaking hands, this felt so special. I also wanted to add a song which we and all the guests sang together like a hymn. It needed to feel joyful but also a song we thought the vast majority would know, so we sang God only knows, by the Beach boys.
For us, choosing the right music for each part of our wedding was especially important, that helped set the atmosphere for the different parts of the day. Kath completely understood this and helped us match songs and time everything so the ceremony felt perfect. Our guests kept telling us that they absolutely loved the ceremony and that it was the best part of the day!
Kath is the most lovely, caring, skilled and dedicated celebrant for any wedding or life event. She is empathic, open-minded and highly conscientious, we would recommend her in a heartbeat and will always be so grateful to her for making our ceremony feel truly incredible.
Clare & Matt
(We did nickname her our “High Priestess” :)