Author Archives: Susanna Jose

A huge thank you to all the couples and families I worked with in 2015. I love my job as a civil celebrant and it’s an absolute pleasure to share in people’s milestone moments – marriages, naming ceremonies,  renewal of … Continued

Nada and JB who are to be married on New Year’s Eve showed me a great idea today. They’ve made up a host of badges using their own photos, their favourite sayings of endearment and their quirky sense of humour. … Continued

‘Unplugged’ means no photographs or electronic devices during the ceremony (apart from those used by the professional photographer). I’ve performed a couple of weddings now, where the bride and groom have made a specific request for people not to take photos during … Continued

I saw a great idea at the recent wedding of Shannon and James.  On the signing table they had placed beautifully framed wedding photos of both the bride’s and groom’s parents. They also had wedding photos of the grandparents on … Continued

Music most definitely adds to the atmosphere of the wedding ceremony. It is a way to really personalise the occasion and these days you can choose virtually anything which means something to you as a couple. Live music can include … Continued

What a fantastic year 2014 was. I absolutely love being a celebrant. It has been such an honour to be part of the special ceremonies of so many wonderful people. No matter how big or how small the ceremony it … Continued

I performed a wedding for a lovely couple last week which was attended by their special canine friends and it worked beautifully. The dogs, like all the other guests, were beautifully groomed. A friend held onto the pair to ensure … Continued

The very fact that people go to a lot of trouble for their weddings can be attributed to the desire to make the ceremony special and memorable. While most weddings are now civil rather than religious, people still want significance … Continued

Preparing to conduct my first Naming ceremony today, I reflected on the reasons why Namings  are important.  A naming is a way of acknowledging the name a child has been given by its family, of talking about the meaning and significance of the … Continued

It concerns me that sometimes people would love to get married but choose not to because of the perceived cost. Having a huge wedding with extremely expensive clothes, limousines, fully catered reception, bands DJs, fireworks and more is a relatively … Continued