editor, Author at Brisbane City Celebrants

Recommended Wedding Celebrant – Hillstone St Lucia

on January 28, 2015 · 12 Comments

Recommended Wedding Celebrant – Hillstone St Lucia

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

Being based in Brisbane’s inner West we have been fortunate enough to perform many weddings at local wedding venue Hillstone St Lucia over the years.

Every Hillstone’s wedding is completely unique reflecting the individual love story of each bride and groom and Renee and Ben’s wedding was no exception, full of smiles, laughter and love.

Renee and Ben were kind enough to send through the following photos taken by the lovely Deanne Eastwood with the message:

“We absolutely loved having you as our celebrant. You made the day so special for us.”

The newly weds also provided me with the following a 5 star review and feedback. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to continue to receive such lovely feedback from my couples.

This is their wedding, the most special day of their life and to hear that everything went so perfectly for them is the best feedback a Celebrant can hope for.

Hillstone St Lucia Wedding Celebrant Review

Hillstones Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.
Images: Photos By Dee

The happy couple arranged for their families to assist by arriving early and decorating the Hillstone St Lucia Courtyard with an abundance of intricate decor to compliment their light blue colour theme.

Congratulations Renee and Ben and thank you for choosing me as your Celebrant for your Hillstone St Lucia wedding, and a huge thank you for taking the time to send through your photos and write such an amazing review for me, it makes me so happy to hear that you had such a fantastic day.

If you are looking for a recommended Wedding Celebrant for a Hillstone St Lucia wedding or a wedding anywhere in Brisbane, please contact Brisbane City Celebrants. They would love to hear from you.

Brisbane City Celebrants 2014 Highlights

on December 31, 2014 · 11 Comments

With Brisbane City Celebrants

2014 WOW! What an incredible year and for so many reasons which make us so happy. So here goes in no particular order here are Brisbane City Celebrants 2014 highlights:

QLD CELEBRANT OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

It was such an honour to be approached by Wedding and Events of Australia (WEOA) and recognised as the industries elite. To go on to be recognised as a QLD Finalist at the black tie awards night was beyond our imagination! For more on this check out our post on the QLD WEOA awards night.

WEOA Awards Night image by Milque Photography

Brisbane City Celebrants Finalist in the 2014 WEOA awards

BRISBANE CITY CELEBRANTS WENT INTERNATIONAL!

When we first became Celebrants the thought that we would one day be in demand for overseas weddings never even entered our minds, so when Danica and Jerry contacted Jamie and said they absolutely had to have him as their Celebrant for their wedding at a winery on New Zealands beautiful Waiheke Island we were completely blown away!

Jamie performed an incredibly upbeat and happy ceremony that had the guests cheering through applause, it suited the couple perfectly and was a huge hit! Here is what the newlyweds had to say about their experience with Jamie:

“Jamie was brilliant from start to finish, from the helpful advice and guidance right up to the ceremony itself, Jamie was such a pleasure to deal with.

We weren’t sure of how to plan a ceremony and he was just brilliant at talking us through the process, giving us ideas and suggestions and then helping us finalise the details. It was all made so easy, even with us being based in New Zealand.

On the day both of us were pretty nervous but Jamie was able to help us relax and enjoy the ceremony. It was delivered with lots of warmth and joy and there were smiles and laughter from everyone!

It was an absolute pleasure to have Jamie be part of our special day and all our friends and family have commented on how much they enjoyed the ceremony and how perfectly it reflected us as a couple. We wholeheartedly recommend having Jamie Eastgate as a Marriage Celebrant.”

Jamie Eastgate Marriage Celebrant performing a celebratory and upbeat Wedding.

BRISBANE CITY CELEBRANTS FIRST SAME SEX WEDDING

Paul and Paul celebrated their commitment in an elegant black tie soiree at Cloudland earlier this year. We were so excited when we received their enquiry and even more excited when we met and they booked us. I say ‘us’ as in an unprecedented move we gave them the services of both of us leading up to their wedding with Jamie performing the ceremony on the day.

Paul and Pauls wedding at Cloudland. Images by Studio Impressions Photography

When they first contacted us, they asked what experience we had with gay weddings, and with the exception of Ciara being a bridesmaid at a wedding for 2 girls several years earlier in Auckland, we had never had the opportunity to officiate a same sex wedding, so it meant so much to us that they trusted in us for their big day.

Our first gay wedding was a huge success. Here is what the grooms had to say.

“Jamie was wonderful! He was professional, warm and caring. His ability to speak in front of everyone was perfect and eloquent.

Communication between us and Brisbane City Celebrants was regular and genuine. A personal and sincere interest in your life and how your wedding plans were coming together was apparent and appreciated during our correspondence leading up to our special day.

We were so, so, so happy we went with Brisbane City Celebrants!”

For more on Paul and Pauls wedding, check out their Real Wedding.

Thank you Paul and Paul, we are so grateful that we had the opportunity to be a part of such a special day.

BRISBANE CITY CELEBRANTS BECAME REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS FOR AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST WEDDING BLOG – POLKA DOT BRIDE

Throughout 2014 we have had a number of our articles published on Polka Dot Bride. This is a real honour for us as it not only confirms we know our stuff when it comes to weddings, but it also gives us an opportunity to share with brides and grooms all over Australia some Celebrant insights, tips and ideas. We believe that being informed with a wealth of insider knowledge and ideas, can assist couples to take their ceremony to a different level and above all else ensure it reflects them as a couple.

Brisbane City Celebrants article featured on Polka Dot Bride

Thank you Polka Dot Bride for always being so supportive and publishing our articles and thank you to the wonderful photographers who have been so kind to provide us with images to accompany our blog posts so perfectly.

For more check out Brisbane City Celebrants articles on Polka Dot Bride.

BRISBANE CITY CELEBRANTS FULLY BOOKED IN 2014

Demand for Brisbane City Celebrants DOUBLED in 2014 from the previous year (lucky there’s 2 of us!) resulting in us being FULLY BOOKED for the first time ever! Best of all we feel so lucky that all our clients have been nothing short of amazing to work with, we truly feel blessed to have met and married so many incredibly lovely people.

It’s been amazing watching our business grow so quickly over the past 6 years and to reach capacity is such a huge achievement.

We attribute this success to all our amazing clients, guests that have attended our weddings and the wedding vendors that have seen us in action, who have all been so kind to recommend us to new clients that they just know we are the right ‘fit’ for. We LOVE referrals!

We are so grateful to each and everyone of our clients who have booked us and trusted us with such an important role on their big day, regardless of how many times we get to do this, it is always a huge honour and we truly believe we get to work with the best clients we could ever hope for!

Brisbane City Celebrants FULLY BOOKED for 2014

A special mention also goes to Google for the fab little spot on the front page that they have allowed us to call home for the past 5 years.

That’s a wrap, thanks to 2014 for our best year yet and we look forward to another amazing year in 2015.

Cara and Jamie – Brisbane City Celebrants

Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.

Animal loving Celebrants bring Christmas cheer to the RSPCA

on December 29, 2014 · 6 Comments

With Brisbane City Celebrants

As most of our clients know we are animal loving Celebrants and we get so excited when our couples bring their beloved pet along to the ceremony, usually as the ring bearer. After such an amazing year the Brisbane City Celebrants duo decided that this Christmas more than anything we really wanted to ‘give back’.

We contacted our local RSPCA in Wacol who provided us with their Christmas ‘Wish List’ which included a variety of household goods, cleaning products and of course pet toys, harnesses and treats!

We spent the weeks leading up to Christmas working though our wish list checking off items until we had an abundance of pet goodies! Plus some tasty sweet treats for the hard working caring RSPCA volunteers who give so much time, love and companionship for the animals in their care.

On Christmas Eve we arrived at the RSPCA with our hamper of goodies where we were excited to be greeted by our names etched in the entry pavers in recognition of our previous support to RSPCA QLD.

We were welcomed by some very thankful volunteers and after handing over our hamper they invited us to have a wonder around the facility which we eagerly accepted.

Animal Loving Celebrants Ciara and Jamie with a special Christmas delivery for the RSPCA

Animal Loving Celebrants Cara and Jamie with a special Christmas delivery for the RSPCA

With an ‘only child’ type cat who is a former RSPCA resident, and two rescue dogs we already have a full house so unfortunately we aren’t in the market for adopting any more fur babies, however that didn’t stop us falling for many of the puppy dog eyes that stared back at us.

Jamie had a big soft spot for a ginger adult cat who greeted him with a ‘Meow’ and continued to appear to converse with him, responding to his chatter at regular intervals with several more ‘Meows’.

I was particularly taken by the highly entertaining kittens, especially the playful little fella that climbed right to the top of the netting, enticing his buddies to follow suite.

If you are thinking of getting a pet, we highly recommend getting a rescue animal. The love they have to show you for giving them a better life is truly infinite!

Thank you for reading and letting us share our love for animals with you. If you are getting married in Brisbane and you love the idea of including your pet in your ceremony and are looking for a Celebrant that loves animals and will embrace your love for your fur or feathered friend, we would LOVE to hear from you! Contact Brisbane City Celebrants.

Wedding Ceremony Trends 2015

on December 22, 2014 · 6 Comments

With Brisbane City Celebrants

With an increasing number of brides and grooms moving away from tradition in favour of doing things ‘their way’ we have never been so excited about the year ahead! We envisage 2015 to be full of unique, highly personalised modern wedding ceremonies, that are truly reflective of each individual couple, their quirks, passions, humour and of course their very own love for each other.

Throughout 2014 we have become regular contributors of articles on Australia’s biggest wedding blog Polka Dot Bride which is such a huge honour, so we were particularly chuffed to have had our article on 2015 wedding ceremony trends featured on Polka Dot Wisdom.

Polka Dot Wisdom article by Brisbane City Celebrants

Of course this article wouldn’t have been possible without the creativity, imagination and inspiration of all of our brides and grooms, past and future. If you are one of our couples, you may well spot some of your own ideas, or ideas we have discussed together here.

The article covers the various modern day options for the ‘giving away of the bride’, unplugged weddings, social media bans on guests photos and bride and grooms location shoot before the wedding.

We also discuss why couples are opting not to have readings and instead creating a relaxed ceremony full of love and laughter while sharing their special connection.

We talk about the shift from posed photos during the ceremony (e.g. pretending to sign the certificate while grinning at the camera) in favour of natural journalistic capturing of the special moments which brides and grooms are feeling more and more strongly about and we agree the results of this approach are simply stunning!

Finally, we discuss the increase in brides not taking their grooms last name. With the occasional groom even opting to take the brides last name which we were interviewed about in an article from MX magazine here.

Eves on the River Wedding with Ciara Hodge of Brisbane City Celebrants. Image by Vellum Studios.

Eves on the River Wedding with Ciara Hodge of Brisbane City Celebrants. Images by Vellum Studios.

We are truly grateful to the fabulous team at Polka Dot Bride for allowing us to share our insights of wedding ceremony trends 2015 on their blog and we look forward to contributing more informative and inspirational articles throughout the new year.

Special thanks also go to Vellum Studios and the lovely bride and groom pictured who were kind enough to provide us with these images from a nontraditional wedding ceremony performed by Brisbane Celebrant Cara, which we felt suited the article perfectly.

Head on over and view the article here and feel free to leave a comment, we would really love to hear your thoughts on 2015 wedding ceremony trends.

If you enjoyed reading this article and are looking for a Celebrant for your Brisbane wedding, the Brisbane City Celebrants duo would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.

What a Celebrants website can tell you about them

on September 25, 2014 · 5 Comments

What a Marriage Celebrants website really tells you about them!

When beginning the search for the right Marriage Celebrant, most ‘soon to be wed’ couples will find themselves on a Celebrants website, but aside from finding out what the Celebrant costs and what that includes, how else can you determine if the Celebrant is the right fit to perform the wedding for you and the love of your life?

With Celebrant Cara Hodge of Brisbane City Celebrants

We were thrilled that Polka Dot Bride published our article providing some great little pointers to help couples with what to look for in a Marriage Celebrant. It’s amazing what you can learn just from a quick visit to their website.

Click here to view the article by Brisbane City Celebrants. Enjoy!

Big shout out to Nick Evans Photo for kindly providing these stunning timeless images to accompany the article, and also to the gorgeous bride and groom Emma and Nick for starring in the article.

Eves on the River Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Ciara Hodge

Eves on the River Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Cara Hodge. Image: Nick Evans Photo

Emma and Nick's Eves on the River Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Ciara Hodge. Image Nick Evans Photo.

Emma and Nick’s Eves on the River Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Cara Hodge. Image Nick Evans Photo.

Cara sharing in the excitement of the day with the proud mother of the groom at Emma and Nick’s Eves on the River Wedding. Image: Nick Evans Photo

If you enjoyed hearing these tips and are looking for a Celebrant for your Brisbane wedding, Cara would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.

Broadway Chapel Wedding Celebrant Testimonial

on September 25, 2014 · 12 Comments

Broadway Chapel Wedding Celebrant Testimonial

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

It doesn’t get much better than opening your inbox to find this kind of awesome feedback and photos from a recent Broadway Chapel Wedding.

“Thank you so much Jamie for being our celebrant! We are especially grateful to you for your patience and help with all the various details and preparations given we were organising everything from outside of Australia.
You made everything so easy and stress-free and our ceremony was just how we wanted it. Thank you!”

Marg and Jeff, Broadway Chapel Wedding with Jamie Eastgate, Brisbane City Celebrants

Broadway Chapel Wedding Ceremony with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Images: Brian Rogers Photographics

Cara and Jamie have performed many weddings at this lovely Chapel, so we know this venue well and would love to hear from brides and grooms to be that have chosen this excellent venue to say their ‘I Do’s’ and become husband and wife.

Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information.

An interview with Brisbane City Celebrants

on September 7, 2014 · 7 Comments

With Celebrants Cara and Jamie of Brisbane City Celebrants

Here’s a transcript of Brisbane City Celebrants recent interview with a bridal magazine. Special mentions to Eves on the River bride and groom Amanda and Tim for being kind enough to send us the beautiful images that accompany this post and to the very talented Anthony Hoang for capturing these images.

How did you get into the wedding game? Quite simply we LOVE love and believe it should be celebrated!

Following our own wedding we both trained and became Celebrants with the mission to be the best we could be and to really ‘get’ what each individual couple envisages their day to feel like and to deliver exactly that.

What is your celebrant style? Modern, calming and thoroughly enjoyable.

Eves on the River Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.
Image by Anthony Hoang

Do you support same-sex marriage? HECK YES!

Favourite Brisbane venue

There are so many it really is too hard to choose. We feel very privileged to be Celebrants in Brisbane, with such a diverse selection of amazing venues and an all year round wedding season, Brisbane brides and grooms are all very lucky indeed!

Tell us a little about your journey since being appointed to today

At the time we were appointed as Celebrants in 2008 Brisbane City Celebrants were amongst the youngest Celebrants in Brisbane!

We launched with a bang at a huge QLD wedding expo and now 7 years later, having followed our core principle of ‘your day – your way’ Brisbane City Celebrants have grown to become amongst Brisbane’s most sought after and most referred Celebrants by brides and grooms.

We have simultaneously become highly respected by the Brisbane wedding industry and also by fellow Celebrants which is such a huge compliment to us.

Eves on the River Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.
Image by Anthony Hoang

Equipped with a wealth of experience and having been mentored by the most highly perfectionist and honest critic around (each other), we know how to create the atmosphere our couples envisage for their day, while ensuring they are relaxed enough to share that beautiful connection throughout the ceremony, so everyone present can experience a thoroughly enjoyable and seriously amazing wedding.

What is it that you enjoy about being a celebrant?

We love the whole journey with each couple, from meeting and getting to know them, creating their ceremony and sharing and witnessing special moments like;

– Seeing the look on the grooms face (as his heart beats through his chest) when he sees his bride for the very first time;

– The hug the father of the bride gives his ‘little girl’ as he ‘gives her away’ clinging on for those few extra moments, there is so much emotion right there!

– Being a vital part of creating an amazing celebratory atmosphere for one of the most special moments of a couples life;

– Seeing parents and grandparents in the front row beaming with love and wiping away the odd happy tear as we share the couples own unique love story;

– We love when brides and grooms hear each others surprise vows to each other for the very first time on the day, so many crazy beautiful heartfelt emotions;

– And of course when we introduce the new Mr & Mrs followed by the first kiss… when the crowd goes wild! Ciara says “I still get goose bumps every time!”

Eves on the River Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.
Image by Anthony Hoang

Tell us about your favourite/stand out wedding you have officiated?

A recent stand out wedding would have to be the first ever same sex wedding (commitment ceremony) that Jamie recently performed.

There were so many emotions from heartfelt tears of happiness to fits of laughter, all accompanied by a room full of guests beaming with love, the vibe was simply amazing!

It was an incredible ceremony and the feedback from the 2 grooms was beyond fantastic, so we couldn’t be happier.

Any advice for bride’s to be when it comes to choosing a celebrant?

When choosing a Celebrant firstly think about the kind of ceremony that you want and look for a Celebrant that specialises in exactly that.

For example, Brisbane City Celebrants specialise in simple and meaningful, fun and light hearted or short but super duper sweet weddings that are thoroughly enjoyed by everyone present.

If couples are looking to fill their ceremony with rituals or religion we are honest and tell them that we simply wouldn’t be the best fit for them, however there are plenty of Celebrants that are.

A great sign that you have found the right Celebrant is that feeling that they really ‘get’ you, are on the same page, they listen to what is important to you and have the right ideas and suggestions for the kind of ceremony you have in mind.

Listen to your gut feeling, after all you need to feel comfortable that they are the right person to be stood up there with you on the day.

QUICK WEDDING TIP

Make sure you ask your potential Celebrant if you will be able to proof your ceremony before the day, this is simply one of the best ways to prevent some of the things that are commonly heard of going wrong during the ceremony and knowing what to expect will really help to put you at ease.

Eves on the River Wedding with Brisbane City Celebrants Jamie Eastgate. Image by Anthony Hoang

If you enjoyed this insight about Brisbane City Celebrants and are looking for a Celebrant for your Brisbane wedding, they would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.

Grooms taking brides surnames

on August 19, 2014 · 5 Comments

Grooms taking brides surnames, is this a new wedding trend?

With Brisbane City Celebrants

MX Newspaper contacted Brisbane City Celebrants with this question and here’s what we told them.

Approximately 30% of our brides plan to keep their own last name in favour of changing it to their husbands surname.

However we are often contacted by these brides a year or 2 down the track requesting to be reminded of the name change process, as they have had a change of heart and are ready for a change of surname.

One newlywed surprised her husband on their first wedding anniversary with his surname now her surname too.

While the majority of our brides that decide against taking their grooms last name, will commence life as husband and wife with their existing names, a number of grooms have decided to legally adopt their wife’s last name.

MX Newspaper were particularly interested to hear the reasons for this, the most common reasons Brisbane City Celebrants have encountered include:

– With the huge shift in weddings for brides and grooms to do it ‘their way’ and defy tradition, the tradition averse and equality pro couples are simply doing it their way.

– Grooms may have a surname they aren’t too fond of or the brides surname may simply be considered to be a better name by the couple.

– Grooms choosing to disassociate them self and any future children from an absent father, or a father that they choose not to continue the name of.

Thanks to Kellie from MX Newspaper for raising this interesting point and for asking for Brisbane City Celebrants input.

MX Newspaper interview with Brisbane City Celebrants

If you found this article interesting, you may be interested in hearing more about the Celebrants behind it. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.

10 Questions to ask your Wedding Celebrant

on August 13, 2014 · 6 Comments

Wondering what questions to ask your Wedding Celebrant?

With Brisbane City Celebrants

We have put together a selection of 10 Questions you absolutely MUST ask your potential Wedding Celebrant

We did quite the happy dance when Polka Dot Bride published our article!

We are so passionate about being professional and raising the bar in the industry, so when we realised all the ‘questions to ask your Celebrant’ lists that are floating around the net only have the very basics like ‘how much’ and ‘are you available’ we knew these aren’t going to assist couples in securing quality suppliers and mitigating potential risks of things going wrong.

So we put together our own list of 10 MUST ASK CELEBRANT QUESTIONS. We are chuffed to bits that Polka Dot Bride loved this enough to publish it.

Brisbane City Celebrants article featured on Polka Dot Bride

You can read our Polka Dot Bride article here. Please note this article was published in 2014 so some information may have changed since then.

We hope our article will help equip couples with what questions to ask their Wedding Celebrant and help them ensure they find the right Celebrant for them.

A special thank to Andrew Sun Photography who allowed us the use of his images from Louise and Owens breathtaking garden wedding ceremony to accompany our article.

Wedding at Luxury Private Residence with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Andrew Sun Photography

We previously featured on Polka Dot Bride when Cara was the Celebrant for a ‘surprise vow renewal’ ceremony, which was a collaboration between some amazing and generous wedding vendors to give a former bride and groom the wedding photos they never received from their actual wedding.

All a complete surprise to the bride and groom who thought they we’re just having a little photo shoot. Read more about this feature here.

If you are looking for a professional Brisbane Marriage Celebrant that provides modern and thoroughly enjoyable wedding ceremonies, Brisbane City Celebrants would absolutely love to hear from you.

Please visit the Brisbane City Celebrants website for more information.

Cara & Jamie – Brisbane City Celebrants

Sirromet Winery Wedding Photos

on August 13, 2014 · 13 Comments

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

Brisbane City Celebrants were so happy to receive these Sirromet Winery Wedding Photos from a sweet and heartfelt wedding ceremony at the Arbour with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.

A huge thank you goes out to Kelly Adams Photography for capturing this wedding so perfectly and being kind enough to send us these lovely photos.

Sirromet Winery Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Kelly Adams Photography.

The groom remaining calm and collected as he spots his bride arriving at this Sirromet Winery Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Kelly Adams Photography.

The bride arriving in a classic car at the Arbour, Sirromet Winery Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Kelly Adams Photography.

The bride with her proud father arriving at her Sirromet Winery Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Kelly Adams Photography.

The flower girl leading the bride down the aisle at Sirromet Winery Wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Kelly Adams Photography.

Sirromet Winery Wedding ceremony with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Kelly Adams Photography.

Wedding at The Arbour, Sirromet Winery Wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Kelly Adams Photography.

Just Married! at Sirromet Winery Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Kelly Adams Photography.

The happy newlyweds at their Sirromet Winery Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Kelly Adams Photography.

Lovely feedback for Celebrant Jamie Eastgate from this Sirromet Winery bride and groom.

Congratulations to the happy couple and thanks again to Kelly Adams for allowing us to share these beautiful photos.

Jamie Eastgate – Brisbane City Celebrants

If you enjoyed viewing these Sirromet Winery wedding photos, and are looking for a Celebrant for your Sirromet Winery wedding, Jamie would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.