I have just begun to write the first blog post for I do marry u and I am thinking, what would people really like to know? What would help them as they begin to plan their wedding ceremony and start their quest for a celebrant? I have decided that maybe, just maybe, you would like to know why? Why I became a wedding celebrant.
The answer is simple. I found it really hard to find someone that would marry me the way I wanted to get married. Now some of you, especially those who are on their first wedding and are part of a religious community, may not believe it, but for those who are divorced or not religious the choices can be severely curtailed.
Obviously, if you are divorced you cannot get married in a Catholic church, so for me, that option was removed. I could have a civil ceremony in the registry office, and while that was fine, there really were no bells and whistles. I could not have the ceremony I wanted, with music and poetry and even a reading or two.
I could have had a solemniser of the humanist or spiritualist variety, but I had found neither particularly helpful – they really did not want to listen to what I wanted. At the time I did not know I could have a celebrant, but my search ended when I found a Born Again Christian Minister who said that he would perform the ceremony for us.
John, the Minister, was fantastic, but in the middle of the ceremony, there was a sermon. This was not exactly what I wanted. Maybe it was a miscommunication, and to be fair he did embrace everything else I looked for, but on reflection, it was not my wedding my way (if anyone wants John’s contact details, please get in touch).
Fast forward a few months and once I had settled back into normality I began to explore the world of the wedding celebrant. Google is a great tool, it led me straight to Australia, where Life Celebrants are part of everyday living. The church does not have such a stronghold on the Australian people as they have here in Ireland. In Australia, naming ceremonies, weddings, threshold moments, even end of life celebrations are all delivered by Life Celebrants. I knew this was the path I wanted to follow, to be able to share people’s pivotal life moments is a true honour and I was excited that I could be in a position to do this.
Linda and I have both trained with the Irish Institute of Celebrants (who knew we had one) and received high commendation during our final exams. By sheer coincidence same-sex marriage became a reality during my training, the choices for wedding ceremonies for those in the LGBT community were even more limited as all Ministers step away. I am delighted that the I DO MARRY U team are in the wonderful position to be able to celebrate everyone’s wedding the way they want it.
Being a celebrant embraces all that is good. It allows us to spend time with lovely people who are in love. To be able to do this energizes us and allows us to harness the storyteller within so we can share the couples story with their guests. It allows us to create and suggest meaningful symbolism that not only tells their story but showcases the emotion and the meaning of the celebration.
Life should be celebrated. None of us know how long we are destined to be here for. We should all seek moments that can be meaningful and shared with those we love. What better way to celebrate the love of your life than with a wonderful ceremony? If you are in love and getting married, do it your way.
Remember YOUR wedding YOUR way…give us a call, I am sure that we can set you on the right path to making your wedding dream a reality.
I do Marry U 