Author: Lynette Maguire

I’ve had a spate of weddings lately that have just made me smile! I love my goth weddings, my Star Wars weddings and anything a bit out of the ordinary.

I’m talking a Harry Potter wedding at the Sunshine Castle, complete with Luna the owl delivering the rings; a Transformers’ wedding complete with awesome photoshopping; and a few super hero weddings (hmm me in lycra might be a problem – is there a middle aged size 12 super hero?)

RSVP – No, I’m not coming to your wedding

So, I was a bit saddened by a recent comment on a bridal Facebook page, something along the lines of ‘some of my guests aren’t coming because they don’t like my theme’ (goth/purple/black).

WTF? You’re kidding right?

Cookie cutter weddings are everywhere – anyone can have one of those – but to step outside the norm and embrace your personalities is the bombdiggity. If people don’t come to your wedding because of it, you don’t want them there in the first place! It’s a real field leveller. Celebrate our wedding our way or bugger off!

Simples!

Because, it’s actually not about the theme or the colour or what dress you wear – it’s about celebrating the bride and groom’s relationship in a way that is important to them. Yes, I know a lot of mothers sometimes interfere and bulldoze their way through the wedding planning but seriously, don’t let them. They’ve had their day, you should have yours.

Here’s ideas – these come from my real weddings

Think about what you both like to do – what defines you in your life and figure out a way to incorporate that into your wedding. If you’re not game enough to do a totally themed wedding – here’s some cool ideas from some of my weddings that might get your creative juices flowing:

Bride dogs
Bride horses
Bride snake (complete with a black tie)
Bride bearded dragon
Bridesmen and Groomsladies
Origami invitations
Bash a Piñata to get the rings (OMG! Funniest thing you’ve ever seen!)
Have the rings delivered in a remote control car, an eagle or an owl
Have a GoPro wedding

Or, Suspend your rings in jelly (yes, really!)
Have shots instead of the traditional champagne toast and start an anniversary tradition
Have your wedding in a theatre or at a football field or a zoo
Have a wedding where everyone sits in a circle – including the B&G and celebrant
Surprise weddings are awesome (surprise for the guests, not the couple, lol that’s illegal)
Spin the bottle to decide on witnesses
Hand out raffle tickets and draw two winners (witnesses)
Beach wedding – the bride wore a white bikini and veil, the groom wore white boardies and a top hat

So, if you have a niggling idea, give me a call or shoot me a message and we can chat through the pros and cons and work out the best way to make it happen. You’d be surprised at the sort of stuff and weird ideas I’ve made happen.

Check my availability

Okay, so first things first – shoot me an email or a give me a call or a text to see if I’m available for your date and time. If I’ve got another commitment on that day, I may ask you if you’re flexible with your start time.

I’ll email you back with some propaganda about what I do and why you should book me, along with my price. If you’re happy with everything, then you have two choices:

1. Set up a meeting (in person, phone or zoom) so we can chat and see if with click
2. Book me sight unseen – this is actually how most of my clients go – it’s all about gut instinct and most couples know straight away if I’m for them.

If you want to book, send me an email

Next, email me and tell me, “Lyn, we’d love you to be our celebrant” and I’ll email you back saying “yay.” I’ll include my booking form which I ask you to complete (the top half only) and then email it straight back so I can get you pencilled in. In my email to you, I’ll include my terms and conditions (they’re pretty standard in the industry, but if you have any questions then please ask)

I’ll also send through the booking fee details – remember that until the booking fee is paid, you’re not locked in – if another couple book your date or pay their booking fee before you, then the booking will be theirs.

Sorry! Basically, it’s snooze and you lose.

I’ll send through an email saying you’re booked in and I always suggest that you join me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest blah blah blah … I’m better on some platforms than others (not enough hours in the day) – this way we can get to know each other so we’re not strangers on your wedding day.

Note: I will not ‘add’ you or send heaps of emails or messages because that will just make me ‘stalker celebrant’ – not cool! But you’re welcome to spam me as much as you like 🙂

Getting your legal stuff out of the way

Next on the ‘to do’ list is getting the pesky NoiM done – and to do this I’ll ask you to enter your details into my software and this generates all your legal paperwork – do it early and get it out of the way. I’ll also need to sight some original ID – usually drivers’ licences, birth certificates and divorce/death certificates if relevant and you can scan these through which is cool.

The ceremony design meeting

About 2-3 months prior to your wedding we catch up for a ceremony design meeting which is always loads of fun. I’ll bombard your inbox with examples of vows, some homework, and a heap of other stuff so you’re up to speed with ceremony stuff and you’re clued up for when we meet. The meeting can take between 1 to 1.5 hours depending on how decisive you are or how chatty we get lol.

I’ll teach you how to write kickarse vows. Truly! Kickarse 🙂 Even people who say they can’t write, end up proud of their vows 🙂 It’s not hard when you know how – and my job is to teach you.

If I don’t have all aspects of your ceremony (eg. vows, readings etc) by a week before your ceremony, I WILL start stalking you 🙂 I’ll send you a confirmation email a week before your wedding running through what we’d spoken about at the ceremony deign meeting and seeing if anything has changed (it’s usually cool if it has.)

Rehearsals

Rehearsals: Yep, they’re available, but I find most of my couples don’t particularly want them. If you’re having a huge bridal party, it’s probably best to have one. It’s more about where to stand, rehearsing with the music, etc than actually reading your ceremony, so you can do it all without me. Let me know if you’d like a rehearsal! If I an’t get to your venue when you want a rehearsal, you have the option of facetiming me in, or meeting me somewhere close to where I live for a rehearsal in a park.

You get married and have the best day of your life

Next you get married and have the best day of your life.

Applying for your Marriage Certificate

If you’d like me to lodge the Application for a Marriage Certificate into Births Deaths and Marriages for you, you’ll need to complete the form and give me back the original before your wedding (they won’t accept a scanned copy or photocopy). If I lodge it with your registration papers you won’t need to supply the ID they ask for (they trust I’ve done all that) – if you forget, then you can apply at any time but you’ll need to attach a certified copy of your driver’s licence and other ID (it’s all on the form).

Okay, so there’s lots of legal stuff to get you married in Australia, but luckily we’re one of the easiest countries in the world to marry.

Here’s a step by step guide to help you along the way …

• Firstly, you must give at least one month’s notice of your intent to be married (I can email you a form – but if you book with me you’ll complete the form through my software).  If you’d like to marry on 17th October 2024, I need to have received your completed and signed Notice of Intended Marriage (NoiM) before 17th September 2024. But, this is something you can do early – like up to 18 months early! Do it now – get it done and avoid the stress.
• You must sign the form in front of an approved witness such as a Justice of the Peace, Celebrant, Solicitor, Doctor or Police Officer (the category of person approved is listed on the Notice).  If you’re outside Australia the witness must be an official at the Australian Embassy or Consulate OR a Notary Public (again, check the form).
• A few changes happened because of Covid – until the end of 2023 you can sign your NoiM in front of me via Zoom – yiha. Makes life for my couples so much easier.
• You must show me the original ID documents required to prove your date of birth, place of birth and identity before the ceremony starts (example is driver’s licenses and either birth certificate or passport) and these can be scanned through to me.
• You must prove through original documentation that any previous marriage has ended and you are free to marry again (for example divorce certificate or death certificate of previous spouse).
• You will need to have two witnesses over the age of 18 present at the ceremony.  Don’t panic though, if you’re planning an elopement I can arrange witnesses on your behalf. Your witnesses can be family.
• Consider whether you are both able to understand the English language.  If this is not the case you must provide a registered official interpreter (hint: not your cousin – unless they’re a registered interpreter).

There are a few myths about marriage in Australia, so let’s clear some of them up

• One of the couple must have reached the age of 18, no two people under the age of 18 can marry.  If one party to the marriage is under 18, parental consent will be required.
• Same sex marriages are now legal in Australia, so if you’re part of the LGBTIQ+ community, marry away <3
• You do not have to buy or obtain a Marriage  License as these are not required in Australia
• You do not need to have a blood test
• You do not need to have a pregnancy test
• You do not need to fulfil any residency requirements (you can get married the day you arrive from overseas)
• You do not need a special type of visa – you can be married if you’re visiting on a tourist visa or a work/business visa

There are no rules about when, where, or how you marry

• You can be married at any time on any day of the year (365/24/7)
• You can be married indoors, outdoors, in a park, on a beach, by a lake, in a hot air balloon, on a boat, in a wedding chapel, a restaurant, historical building, vineyard, lookout, or surrounded by kangaroos, koalas and other Australian wildlife, in fact anywhere you like.  Often you will need to obtain approval of the local Council to marry on public land and I can help with this.  Many venues will charge you if you’d like to be married on their private premises.
• You can wear what you like, too.  Don’t think you need to wear a bridal gown and veil.  You can wear a bikini if you like.
• You do not legally need to exchange wedding rings.
• The smallest legal wedding will contain five people:  the Celebrant, the couple, and two witnesses.

Want more information? Contact me now, I’m happy to answer questions 0400 595 679

There’s loads of gorgeous choices for chapel weddings on the Sunshine Coast. Chapel weddings are divine – they’re elegant and formal and usually beautiful. Many people discount having a chapel wedding because they’re not religious – the lovely thing is though, that chapels (by and large) don’t have the vibe that churches often do. Take The Chapel Montville for example.

The Chapel is a beautiful contemporary chapel with gorgeous pews, a whale tail signing table and all the stained glass windows. Air-conditioning in summer is a haven on hot days, and the many tiny details, each included with consideration make it just perfect. Oh, and the view … did I mention the view? Stunning, and a photographer’s dream.

So for an elegant wedding on the Sunshine Coast, I really do recommend checking out the The Chapel Montville in the hinterland.

Tell them I sent you!  🙂

Yes, I sure do.

I went to a funeral recently and frankly, I was so disappointed by the Celebrant – zero public speaking skills, zero personal  presentation and care factor?  You guessed it – Zero.

The person everyone was there to say farewell to? Well, she deserved more than that.

Tell me, when you pass away, do you want some random up at the lecturn just saying the “same ole same ole” about you and your life?  Of course not?  And your loved ones don’t deserve that either (even if you didn’t get on.)

The person you’re farewelling is three dimensional – more than just a mother, father, brother, son – everyone who sits in that chapel, or who stands on the beach, has different memories and reasons for being there.  Let’s capture THAT.  Let’s try to truly capture that life.

So, my promise to you is:  If you book me for a funeral or life celebration, I will deliver a sincere, loving and honest funeral service – we’ll unfold and explore a life and we’ll get all the guests remembering the good times, the not so good times, along with those embarrassing moments (we’ve all had them) and just have a good old heartfelt and caring ceremony.   We’ll laugh a bit and cry a bit and we’ll keep it real.

Did you know you don’t have to have a funeral?  It’s true.  You can skip the chapel and head to your loved one’s favourite place – the pub, the beach, the hinterland … and have a farewell service or wake. 

I’ve married a 100 year old gent who had an amazing life, a still born baby who didn’t have a chance at this life, suicide victims, drug overdose victims, cancer victims, prisoners – you name it, I can help give your loved one a wonderful and loving send off to the next part of their journey.

For funerals, wakes, ash scatterings on Bribie, North Brisbane or Sunshine Coast, give me a call.  I promise I will not do boring and and I will definitely give you, or your loved one, the farewell you deserve.

Some funeral ideas requests I’ve had – just to get you thinking:

“Lynnie, after the service I want you to run out the front and hose the guests as they’re leaving”.

“Harleys.  Give me Harleys … oh … and strippers!  Make sure there’s strippers.”

“No tea and biccies for me.  I want whiskey and Irish music.”

“Play Somewhere over the Rainbow for me – because that’s where I’ll be.”

“Lynnie, I want Christmas carols played and my casket to be wrapped in tinsel.”

“Make sure I’m actually dead.  Stick a pin in me or something.”

Capturing their essence!  That’s what I do.