personalising my own wedding ceremony

My husband and I were married in April 2021, in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. Our original plan was to get married in December 2020, but in a very common story for 2020/2021, we ended up postponing and completely changing our plans!

As I have written about on my website, when I first started planning my own wedding, I was most excited about all of the styling and visual elements, and we both really wanted to throw a great party! I had a great time planning the styling - and we absolutely did have a great party - but when the day was said and done, the ceremony was my favourite part of the day, and is what lead to me becoming a celebrant.

The reason I loved the ceremony so much (apart from it meaning I married my husband!) was that it felt so personal to us, which is what had me in tears, then laughing, then back in tears again! So, I wanted to share some of the things we choose to do for our wedding ceremony.

My friend Maddie singing with band, The Bombastics, as I walked down the aisle

Photo credit: Duuet Melbourne

1. A very good friend sung while I walked down the aisle

This was one of the most special parts of the whole ceremony, and something I will remember forever! My friend Maddie sang “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles while I walked down the aisle with my parents. The song turned out to be very fitting, since it rained all day and the sun peeked out just in time for the ceremony.

Having a friend play such an important role made what is already an emotional moment even more special.

I am so excited that later in 2023 I will be the celebrant for Maddie when she gets married, and have the opportunity to make her wedding as special for her as she did for me.

Walking down the aisle in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, with both of my parents

Photo credit: Duuet Melbourne

#2. I had both my parents walk with me down the aisle

It was really important to me to have both parents walk with me down the aisle, as they have been equally important people in my life, and I wanted them to both experience this moment with me.

#3. Instead of a chronological couple story, we asked our celebrant to share memories sent in by our family and friends (and had it as a surprise!)

While the chronological couple story is often shared in wedding ceremonies, I think there is often much more rich and interesting stories and memories to be shared in this time. For our wedding, we asked our celebrant to collect stories, memories and wishes from our family and closest friends. Our celebrant, Joseph, then put these together into a passage, which we heard for the first time during our ceremony.

One of my bridesmaids sharing a reading during our wedding ceremony, which she had written herself to share with us.

#4. My bridesmaid shared a reading that she had written herself

I knew I wanted to include a reading in the ceremony, but I didn’t want something just for the sake of it. My bridesmaid, Jackie, wrote a short piece which she read during the ceremony. In the video of the ceremony you can see me move from laughing to tears (to laughing with tears!) as she speaks. The piece she wrote was funny and heartfelt, and represented us and her perfectly.

I have some more ideas for personsalised wedding ceremony readings on this blog post.

Have another idea in mind that you would like to bring to life in your ceremony?

The sky is the limit when it comes to personalising your wedding ceremony; I would suggest that for each section of the ceremony you question whether it is there because it is meaningful to you, or just because it is tradition. If it is a tradition that you would like to keep, then think about how it can be altered to reflect you as a couple. This is something I work with couples on in both my get married with pip and get married with friends packages.

Get in touch to find out more or to discuss how we can create a personalised wedding ceremony for you.

Title Image: My wedding at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melboune, captured by Duuet Photography