Girana & Jed's Wedding

A few weeks ago Girana and Jed were married. And to make this wedding even more special to me, Jed has been a wonderful family friend for too many years to count. He is a wonderful man, warm, caring, soft as butter, funny, smart and handsome. And he met his match in his new bride Giarana. I have watched this relationship grow, and I have watched my friend become just so happy and settled with the comfort of her unwavering love enveloping him. And this makes me happy. Congrats to you both, you are gorgeous x

Sick At Home - YUK!

This week has been a week of feeling sick and sorry for myself. I have man-flu and it has knocked me off my feet. I hate feeling unwell, probably like all of you huh?? At least the weather has been reasonable (at times) and I have been able to spend time staring at it from the couch whilst watching really trashy TV (there is always an upside right, to everything?). It has been nice to be home with the animals though, they bring us all much happiness, and the orchard is coming into bloom.

Iggy and Coco

The Orchard

Remy

The Chooks

Chooks Continued.

A Lovely Wedding Poem

I found this poem online today & I just love it. It's kind of quirky & quite a bit sweet, a bit modern too.

Taking: By Andrea Porter

Is this the part where I say I do?

I lost track somewhere around

us being gathered here together?

I don't recall anyone objecting.

My mind was somewhere else,

I had this image of us both older

weathered by the years, a scene

of us driving to your mother's

every Sunday for roast beef.

Discussions about good gravy,

the dog's arthritis, your sister,

the cost of bedding plants

Do you take this man?

Yes I take him, all of him.

I take his mother, her better gravy,

her hobbling dog, the sucked a lemon sister,

the cost of marigolds and geraniums.

I do, if it's the price for loving you.

Ballarat as a Wedding Destination.

Last night I attended the launch of the Ballarat Wedding Industry Network (BWIN). This not for profit group has been formed to unite as many of Ballarat's wedding industry professionals as possible, to help promote the industry as a whole, which is a marvellous idea, and long overdue. The goal is to provide a possible "one stop shop" for bridal couples, based on the BWIN website. After the official launch we heard from George Sossi, who is the head of Ballarat Regional Tourism, and it was interesting to hear the two entities can merge together to make Ballarat a place to destination weddings. And why not? This is a gorgeous town, with such a rich history, and where this history can be seen and experienced beautifully at a wedding event. I think as people who live in the region we are so lucky to have such great opportunities to marry amongst this all. I wish BWIN all the best, and very much look forward to being a beginning part of this amazing opportunity.

Janine & Troy got married!

Last Saturday I had the honour of officiating at Janine & Troy's wedding. I first met these two at a previous wedding, on an extremely HOT January day. I was struggling to carry all my equipment to the venue & I was wearing stilettos. Troy offered to help me, & as I told Janine at our recent rehearsal, that was the day that I fell a little bit in love with Troy. He is such a caring man, what an absolute gentleman, & she is just a carbon copy of him, a warm, loving & genuinely awesome woman. They took my card, & then contacted me to officiate their wedding. I adore these two, they are so funny together & it is patently obvious how in love they are. We had fun: so many laughs, a few tears but above all there is their abiding love & respect for each other, which made this a perfect day.

They chose to marry at Mount Buninyong Winery, in Scotsburn. What a great venue! This was their first wedding after updating all their menu. It was a beautiful venue, set in amongst the bushland. Please go to have a look yourself, they are lovely people.

The First Day of the "Official" Wedding Season 2013.

Welcome to the first day of Spring, 2013, which is also the first "official" day of the 2013 - 2104 wedding season. I hope that if you are marrying soon, you have the wedding of your dreams, with few mix ups and muck ups, and a long and happy married life with the one you love.

From "THE Irrational Season", by Madeleine L'Engle

"But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. 

Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. 

It is indeed a fearful gamble. 

Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take. 

If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation. 

It takes a lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected".

A Winter Wedding

Last Saturday I had the joyous privilege of conducting Tam and Kenny's wedding ceremony. Gorgeous people, lovely crowd, and I actually knew some of the people attending (nice for a catch up and gossip) so it was all rather lovely. Tam's dress was beautiful, totally perfect for her, being a black full length, with a mermaid tail bottom. It was absolutely spectacular, and they looked beautiful together as a couple.

Their venue was also great, with the wedding ceremony and reception being held at The Plough, in Myrniong. I have never been there and I was just delighted at how intimate the ceremony space was. The sun even came out at the right time, which was a super bonus on the day.

The ceremony area at The Plough

And the best little gems to see and enjoy were the flower arrangements. I just loved them. Simple. Elegant. All mainly from the bridal couple's garden. The use of glass jars just made them all seem so simply perfect and congruent for the area and the couple.

And the impressive thing, the lady who designed the flower arrangements is still a floristry student and what a talent she is. She will definitely be one to watch into the future. Her name is Rachel Leonard, and she can be contacted on 0434 964 772. 

A Quick Catch Up

How slack have I been? I have not updated what I have been doing in MONTHS! Perhaps this is because it has been really busy around here, setting up my new business, which is actually (thankfully) doing pretty well. And for this I am so grateful. It has been a whirlwind of phone calls, meetings, writing, promotion, marketing, and enjoying being able to marry people, to see the joy in their faces. I am also so very thankful for the support of my family and friends, who believe in me and just accept that this is the new me. Thank you.

The following is a wedding vow that I came across recently, and I think it is really sweet. I hope you do too.

"There's lots of things

With which I'm blessed

Tho' my life's been both Sunny and Blue,

But of all of my blessings, 

This one's the best:

To have a friend like you. 

In times of trouble

Friends will say, 

'Just ask...I'll help you through it.'

But you don't wait for me ask, 

You just get up and you do it!

And I can think

Of nothing in life

That I could more wisely do,

Than know a friend,

And be a friend

And love a friend....like you"

- Author Unknown

The Setting Up.

It feels like it has been such a long process to get to this point, but I am finally on my way with this new business venture. What a trek it has been though, doing the course, getting the marks to pass, applying for registration, getting registered, getting an ABN & business name & all the equipment that goes along with being a Civil Celebrant. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying myself immensely, but I am finally HERE!!

I absolutely love my new business cards & I have had some wedding cards made up also, they are beautiful. My client packs are complete & are simply bulging with wedding information & all the legal requirements are included. My Facebook page is up & running & actually has some followers (you MUST join me!) & while you are at it, please follow me on Twitter. So where to now? The big news is: I have my first wedding booking & I am beyond excited :)

So this is the beginning.

Wow. I am now an Authorised Civil Celebrant. This feels like it has been a long time in the making & I am so excited, & yet slightly terrified, by my new awesome responsibilities. 

It has been a long process of waiting for my children to become older & less dependent on me, then doing the training, passing that & then waiting for my application to the Attorneys General Department to be assessed & approved. I have a Business Name (just your basic so that it cannot be confused, I like to think of it as "branding"), I have applied for an ABN & so now I wait again, hopefully for not too much longer. I am dying to get started on this new phase of my life. 

So whilst I wait I try t become well prepared. I have so many ideas, so much to purchase to set up my business & am so keen to begin. Hopefully this blog will assist in the tracking & documenting of my new career, I hope you enjoy the blog & the updates. My plan is to just to chat away about my adventures into the unknown: I hope you stay & join in with me as your feedback will be a valuable resource for me. Cheers!