Let’s start way back when this Celebrancy idea came about. I don’t know if it’s just me, but when I’ve been to weddings before I tend to zone out within the first 5 or 10 minutes of the service. Does anyone else have that loud voice inside their head that somehow switches off your hearing too?
Inner voice: “Hmm I wonder what time the free bar stops? Will there be pudding and wedding cake or just wedding cake?”
“Should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace”
Ooh, I heard that bit. Really? Is that line not a little archaic now and saved for dramatization in the movies? Anyway, where was I, oh yes, wedding cake….and then the ceremony is over. Surely one of the most important moments of your life should be captivating, entertaining and memorable.
That’s what got me thinking, what if it could be? So, I got researching and found that it could be so. Only if you choose a celebrant led wedding.
So, I started and completed a celebrant training course in 2020. I spent the best part of 2021 building a website and creating social media accounts. I had managed to avoid all social media up until now which ultimately meant that I did lose the whole month of May in an Instagram obsessed haze! I managed to reign myself back in and got my first booking. Whoop.
Ok, so it just so happened to be mine and my husbands’ friends. Nevertheless, the pressure was on, even more so in fact, as I would know most of the faces staring back at me during the wedding ceremony. If I messed this up, I wouldn’t be able to stick around for some wedding cake!
The bride (my friend) said how impressed she was with my enthusiasm and passion for becoming a modern celebrant. That my ideas for personal wedding ceremonies meant that she couldn’t imagine anyone else conducting their service. So, it was a done deal.
We started off with a Zoom interview where I gathered all the necessary information and details that I needed to know. I must admit it was slightly distracting that the two of them were surrounded by the Amazon rainforest! They didn’t know how to switch off the background filter that their daughter had turned on.
We said "cheerio" and I immediately got writing, hot on the heels of all the excitement and material I had. I laughed and I cried writing this ceremony, picturing in my minds eye how their Lanzarote wedding blessing would pan out. Their response after reading the first draft was the same. They laughed and they cried.
There was some editing, and then one final edit a few weeks before the “Big Day” too.
Fortunately, I still have the support from my celebrant trainer and mentor, Penny. Over a video call she listened to my service and with a fine-tooth comb, ironed out any last niggles. Then just like that, I knew it was ready, I was ready. I was confident and comfortable with what I was going to say. I practiced and then I practiced some more.
Then the special day came, eek! I was itching to get started, but the bride was fashionably 15 minutes late, which had my pulse racing and the Groom and Best Man melting in their three-piece suits in the Canarian heat.
The music started and The Lanzarote Celebrant just did her thing. I left my body and she took over, calm, collected, confident, clear and captivating. Everyone laughed and everyone cried. It was truly magical. Not bad for my first ceremony if I may say so myself. There are moments during their nuptials that I will never forget. Although unfortunately, there was one thing that I did forget because of all the excitement, and that was to taste the wedding cake!
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