The big guide on getting married overseas
Anyone tuned into my socials would see that Britt and I spend one to three months a year in countries without a Waltzing Matilda or a koala in sight, for weddings and elopements. Whether it’s a Bali wedding, a New Zealand elopement, or a Canadian marriage ceremony, we’ve got you covered.
In this article just wanted to lay out really simply how the legal side of getting married overseas works when I’m your marriage celebrant.
read moreSeven things you should actually splurge on for your wedding.
There are thousands of articles spread across the internet which list, in great numbers, all the things you can save money on at your wedding. This article is not one of them. I’m going to try and turn the tide a little and encourage you to empty your wallet on a few...
read moreA Duchess’s Dillemma: the aisle
Over my long career creating wedding ceremonies there have been numerous occasions where a parent, or parents couldn’t attend their child’s wedding. At our own wedding it was because some weren’t invited, at others their parents could not be present on the day because...
read moreIs social media destroying weddings?
Instant apologies for the clickbait headline, but lets be honest, if I'd used my original headline "The internet isn't having your wedding, only you are" there was a 50% less of a chance of you getting this far into the piece. And luckily for all of us, that is pretty...
read moreThe importance of inclusiveness
We've all been on the outside before. We've been the person not picked for the sports team, the friend not invited to dinner, the person not thanked in the shopping list of thank yous. It sucks. I hear it from my couples every day, they tell me about how their family...
read moreWhat are weddings for?
What is a wedding for? Is it for getting married? Surely it’s more than that, because the legal simple act of getting married only requires 120 words and five signatures. Is a wedding for the couple? Is it for the family? What is a wedding for? We could keep on asking...
read moreA wedding trend we can all get behind: minimalist guest lists
Like anyone in the wedding industry, I love a good trend. They give us just enough guidance to keep our creativity flowing, with an equal outpouring of freedom so we can find our own way through the noise. So let me present to you a trend I invented all on my own: the...
read moreSwap wedding speeches for on the spot quizzes
Everyone has an opinion on wedding speeches, personally, when they're encouraging and engaging I love them. And so many people asked to make a speech spend the whole wedding flipping out over the fear of making one. Here's an easy and fun way to replace boring, long,...
read moreThe one simple thing you can do to make your wedding speech awesome
Don't thank every single person that you need to thank. That's it. If you stop reading this post now you can move on with your life a little bit wiser. I attend more weddings than the average bear, albeit I'm usually MCing the reception, or performing the marriage...
read moreQuestions to ask yourself for your vows
Stuck writing vows? Instead of trying to construct sentences, print out this blog post and answer these questions. From the answers you'll have, I think you'll have a pretty good foundation for creating some vows. What are the purpose of YOUR wedding vows? Why are you...
read moreWhat is it like to hire Josh?
I go to great lengths to try and tell everyone all about me before they ever hire me, so there's no surprises. So when Will emailed me after Sarah and his wedding I thought his feedback was not only encouraging and helpful internally, it might actually be useful to...
read moreThe demise of the bridal party
Bridal parties exist because of the historical threat of real actual demons attacking weddings. True story. Our ancestors used to be stressed about demons attacking the good things in life, like marriage ceremonies. Now I’m not going to be the guy to downplay the...
read moreHow to budget for a celebrant
A common conversation we have with couples being married is about their wedding budget, and in particular, their budget for a celebrant.
read moreHow much styling do I provide?
I’m answering a very common and innocent question on my blog today: how much styling and furniture do I bring to your wedding?
read moreThe other end of the aisle
Photographer and friend, Kristina Childs, posed this question on Facebook today, and I wanted to answer it in a blog post: What are you supposed to do at the end of the ceremony? So, here's 20 things you can do at the end of the aisle after your ceremony, according to...
read moreFirst look photos: the express train to Calm Town
Photos before the ceremony If you're looking for the simplest, easiest, and most meaningful way to introduce some peace and calm into your wedding day, here's a solution that has been just sitting there waiting for you. 45-90 minutes before the ceremony, as everyone...
read moreDo we need a marriage license to marry in Australia?
All of the details regarding obtaining a marriage license so you can legally marry in Australia with a civil celebrant or religious minister
read moreTop 10 things that can go wrong at your wedding
The Daily Mail newspaper asked me to think back over the past year of weddings and name the top ten things that could go wrong at your wedding. The article is live here but I thought I’d share my answers in verbose here for my bloggies!
read moreA wedding reading from the US Supreme Court
Justice Anthony Kennedy,authored the US Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. He closed his ruling and opinion with one of the most beautiful passages you’ll likely read in a court case. I totally teared up, and it’s a passage I’ll be incorporating into many marriage ceremonies.
read moreI’m leaving the sexist part of the wedding industry
I am putting a call out to the wedding industry worldwide: we need to change. We need to give the sexist wedding industry the middle finger and move into the modern age we’ve been afforded.
read moreHow to get the best out of your wedding professionals (slaves)
Britt spends all day working with wedding vendors, photographers, venues, florists and other professionals as part of her role creating elopements in The Pop-Up Wedding. We figured that her experiences might help you in choosing people to work with in creating your marriage celebration.
read moreA note on wedding frendors (friend vendors) and saving $6000
I just read this article on Offbeat Bride and had to share it. There's some really good points to think about when a friend is doing something, photography for example, that you'd normally pay $6000 for, for free. Read the whole article here, but I liked these little...
read moreCan you drink before your wedding ceremony?
I just met with Stefan and Sarah who wanted to assure me that they wouldn't drink before their wedding ceremony because another marriage celebrant at a different wedding had told all of those bridesmaids and bride at a different wedding that they weren't allowed to...
read moreHow to be a rockin’ wedding MC
You're the funny, loud, guy or gal that the bride and groom asked to MC their wedding reception? I was that guy a long time ago and now I'm that guy professionally. So hopefully I can offer some helpful tips! Don't stress about it too much, it's just a really awesome...
read moreFive things for the groom to prepare
Five things I think every groom should have in mind leading up to the wedding. Please note the list is completely exclusive of all of the normal boring wedding planning tips!
read more“I Like You”, a really cool wedding reading
I'm always on the look out for new and different wedding readings and I love this one! It's called "I Like You" and it's an awesome children's book that fits right in at a wedding. It's by Sandol Stoddard Warburg and you can get it now on Amazon. At Nicole and Lee's...
read moreEverything you need to know about a #wedding #selfie
Social media, be it Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, ello, Google+, LinkedIn, or that new fang-dangled network that wasn’t even invented when this was written, is such an amazing way to share your story. After all, that’s what we’re here for, creating, telling, sharing, an awesome story. Every day is a new page and your wedding ceremony, a new chapter.
read moreThe common problem with wedding ceremony chair hire
A quick survey of last year’s weddings tells me that 11% of wedding ceremonies had enough chairs for everyone to be seated. There’s nothing wrong with making people stand, but there’s a human brain thing that everyone is missing. Read on.
read moreSeven ways you can involve the bridal party in your ceremony
They're the second best looking group of people on your wedding day, why not put all that goodness to work and get them involved in your wedding ceremony! Here's seven different ways you can get your bridal party involved with your wedding ceremony craziness: 1. The...
read moreThe combo-wedding
This blog post could get me in trouble. It's going to shake the very foundation of the modern Australian wedding and question every wedding ever held, this blog post is about the combo-wedding. The mere fact you can read this means that "they" haven't got to me in my...
read moreHow to kick wedding stress to the curb
Everyone jokes about wedding stress, the stress of "making sure everything is right" and the stress of keeping someone's mother at bay and all of those great wedding myths. Today I wanted to kick a few of those myths to the curb, and also throw out the wedding stress...
read moreThere’s 13 other good times of the week you can get married outside of 3pm Saturday
I'm sitting at my desk, typing away at a time I don't think I've had to myself for about a year, it's 3pm on Saturday. 3pm Saturday is the stock standard, status quo, normal wedding time. It's actually quite a good time to have a wedding. The sun is setting, it's a...
read moreThree things you’ll find at every boring wedding
All of those pretty, weird, and wonderful things you will definitely find at a boring wedding … number one is probably a boring celebrant!
read moreThe definitive guide to choosing your wedding songs
This is a guest post from Chris Holland, the song nerd, and an award winning music programmer and radio presenter. Let me preface this article with the disclaimer: Each wedding is unique to the couple celebrating. It's hard enough for two people in love to decide how...
read more20 quick and simple wedding ceremony hacks
There’s always a new and different way for you to make your wedding ceremony yours, a quick and easy way to hack it and make it feel more like you, and your fiance. I would hope that every ceremony I perform would scream the bride’s and groom’s passions and...
read moreWedding ceremony processional/aisle and recessional/exit songs
A massive playlist of songs to play in your wedding ceremony. Please don’t judge my taste!!
read moreWhy most weddings are boring, and how to make sure yours isn’t
The famous line from Henry Ford, that also applies to weddings, is “You can have any colour you want, as long, as it’s black”, and I feel like the wedding industry has been ran the same way, even though it doesn’t have to.
read more10 Gaelic wedding traditions you could use
When you start searching for a "normal" wedding ceremony or a "traditional" ceremony most of it's elements have their roots in Christianity and Catholicism. The Gaelic traditions tend to lean to the civil and worldly side of the marriage ceremony spectrum....
read moreWant a different wedding? You need a different celebrant
If you want a different wedding, you have to start with a different celebrant. I’m a young celebrant and almost everyone that sits across from me as we meet for a coffee, usually on a Sunday afternoon, tells me that they want a different wedding. They’ve been dreaming...
read moreHow to: use your iPod for wedding music
Even if you're hiring a DJ or a band for your wedding, some songs, particularly songs for the ceremony in many cases, need to be played off iPod/iPhone/iPad/MP3 player. Here's my tip on how to playlist your music so the person pressing play has an easy day and doesn't...
read more13 wedding ceremony layout inspirations
The church pew style of wedding ceremony is so common that the need to break free of it and really make your mark on your wedding day is very tempting. Here's 13 photos of unique wedding ceremony layouts to inspire you.
read more4 wedding ceremony ideas I dare you to try
You're probably a really cool couple and you've already decided that you want a casual ceremony that's a lot of fun, not boring like all those other weddings you've been to. But I bet you're not game enough to try these four wedding ceremony ideas. Make sure you...
read more15 wedding traditions you can forget
If I didn’t tell them, almost every couple I meet would think that there was a master template on how a wedding ceremony should work and if changes were to be made you would need to get Jesus, the US President and a JP to sign off on the proposal.
read moreHow to change your name after your wedding
When I'm meeting with a couple, preparing their ceremony and their paperwork there is always an awkward moment when I ask if the bride will be taking the groom's last name, or vice versa. I'm not touching that issue with a 30 foot stick, you're welcome to talk it over...
read moreFive unique wedding ideas
I'm lucky to talk weddings all day every day, here's five ideas that I or my couples have thought of this week: 1. At the end of the ceremony, instead of saying "you may kiss your bride" your celebrant could say "you may now update your Facebook relationship status",...
read moreEight must-ask wedding venue questions
It's the party of the decade, in your honour, and you need it to be amazing. You're paying three arms and four limbs for it, it has to be special, but most couples that I meet forget to ask these simple, but important questions of their wedding venue. Make sure you...
read more7 things Britt learnt from Kim Kardashian’s first wedding
Seven things Britt, my wife, learned from Kim Kardashian’s first wedding, with a sprinkling of Khloe Kardashian insight as well.
read moreHandfasting or hand tying wedding ceremony
A handfasting ceremony, also known as a hand ceremony or a hand-tying ceremony, is a tradition that is polytheistic but still popular in modern ceremonies. Here's 10 reasons you might want to involve handfasting in your wedding ceremony. Simplicity: Before the 18th...
read moreTen stand-out wedding ideas
Your wedding day, it's your day to shine. There will most probably not be another day that the light shines so brightly on you and you only, so make the most of it and have a stand-out wedding. Here's ten ideas that will take you there. 1. Arrive on a horse. A single...
read moreProblems with wedding vendors and unhappy brides
What do you do if there's a problem with your reception venue, perhaps they are double booked. Or what if your flower supplier gives you late notice that they cannot supply your bouquet. Even worse, god forbid, your celebrant falls ill, dies, or turns out to be a...
read more8 more unique wedding ceremony ideas
Following up on 16 unique wedding ceremony ideas - here's 8 more to inspire you and your wedding ceremony. Design your wedding ceremony with inspiration from how you both met. If you both love Dr Seuss, try these Dr Seuss vows or a Dr Seuss reading. Or if you met on...
read moreDr Seuss Wedding Vows
Vows, inspired by Dr Seuss: Celebrant: With that, I ask you right now, Will you answer me right now, These questions, as your wedding vow? Bride and Groom: Yes, I will answer you right now, Your questions as my solemn vow, Bride: Provided our guests don’t have a cow....
read moreEight unique examples of giving away the bride
Giving away the bride, or not giving away the bride is a very modern issue. Explore some options in this blog post.
read moreAll about the NOIM – The Notice of Intended Marriage
Everything any sane person has ever wanted to know about the form you need to complete one month before your wedding
read more12 ways to honour the deceased in your wedding
Death is that big taboo that no-one dare talk about. But for many of us it’s a fact: someone we loved passed away and we wish they were at the wedding.
read more8 tips for wet weather wedding planning
Rain is an outdoor wedding's worse enemy! But you can plan for it. Here's a few tips to help your wet weather wedding planning! 1. The first thing to note when you're thinking about wet weather options, or if you're a few days out from the wedding and the forecast...
read moreWriting your own vows, and making them meaningful
Are you thinking about taking the personal approach to your wedding ceremony, writing your own vows? It's something I recommend because it involves you and your partner in a very creative, personal and meaningful way in your ceremony. But many people get stumped as to...
read more16 unique wedding ceremony ideas
Here’s some crazy wedding ceremony ideas that will hopefully bring a unique and ‘different’ feel to your awesome wedding.
read moreExample wedding vows: Our vows
Britt and I decided to write our own vows for our wedding, and share them so everyone looking for example wedding vows. It’s a process I recommend everyone goes down, though of course you don’t have to.
read moreMy wedding
The happiest, most momentous day of my life was the day that I asked Britt to be my wife. I actually asked her to "stay with me". Because I really liked it when she was around. Just under nine months later we were wed at the Gold Coast Botanical Gardens in Benowa and...
read moreThe bare minimum
Your wedding ceremony can be as long winded, extravagant, special and ceremonial as you could ever desire. Let your mind wander, start dreaming, and that 4 hour epic adventure of wedded love can be yours! But many couples ask me what the bare minimum is. What is the...
read moreWho to invite to your wedding?
The task of creating, adding to, culling, then pruning and finalising a wedding guest list is one of the most stressful tasks you'll undertake in the early days of your wedding. For my wedding I know Britt and I started with a mammoth list, then slowly, due to social...
read moreWhen to get married?
There’s 13 other good times of the week you can get married outside of 3pm Saturday
Venue questions
Eight must-ask wedding venue questions
All about the NOIM
All about the NOIM – The Notice of Intended Marriage form 13 (the form you need to do more than one month before your wedding)
Wedding related stress
How to kick wedding stress to the curb
Problems with wedding vendors
How to deal woth problems with wedding vendors and how to prevent unhappy brides
iPod wedding DJ
How to: use your iPod for wedding music
Wet weather backups
Eight tips for wet weather planning
Wedding music selection
The definitive guide to choosing your wedding songs
Changing your name now you're a Mrs
How to change your name after your wedding
How to choose!!
How to decide who to invite to your wedding
Ways to make it your ceremony and not someone elses
- 20 quick and simple wedding hacks
- The bare minimum required for a wedding under Australian law, a good starting point
- Why most weddings are boring, and how to make sure yours isn’t
- 10 Gaelic wedding traditions you could use
- 16 unique wedding ceremony ideas
- Eight more unique wedding ceremony ideas
- 12 ways to honour the deceased in your wedding
- Eight unique examples of giving away the bride
- Ten stand-out wedding ideas
- Handfasting or hand tying wedding ceremony
- 16 unique wedding ceremony ideas
- Ways to involve your bridal party
- Seven things Britt learnt from Kim Kardashian’s Wedding
- A crazy idea: the combo wedding
- Five unique wedding ideas
- 15 wedding traditions you can forget
- Four wedding ceremony ideas I dare you to try
- 13 wedding ceremony layout inspirations
- A little sneak peek into my and Britt’s wedding – our pics and Paul Bamford’s pics
Vows and readings for your ceremony
- Writing your own vows, and making them meaningful
- Examples of traditional wedding vows
- The vows from “The Vow”
- An example of a wedding ceremony (which you can totally ignore if you like, it’s just an example!)
- The Art of Marriage
- ‘Union’ by Robert Fulghum
- Dr Seuss Wedding Vows
- Dr Seuss’ Oh the places you’ll go
- Love on the Internet
- All I ever really needed to know, I learned in kindergarden
- That new reality …
- Britt and my vows that we wrote to each other