Blog - Brisbane City Celebrants

A sweet Botanical Mt Coot-tha wedding

on February 1, 2015 · 2 Comments

With Celebrant Cara Hodge of Brisbane City Celebrants

A sweet Botanical Mt Coot-tha wedding with guests asking their own fun vows of the bride and groom, the bride and groom surprising each other with fun and heartfelt vows, followed by an evening of celebration and fun!

Botanical Mt Coot-tha Wedding with Marriage Celebrant Ciara Hodge.
Image: Nicole Barralet Photography

This happy couple traveled all the way from North QLD to marry on the spacious covered deck of the Botanical, surrounded by the stunning greenery of the Botanical Gardens which was also the perfect place for their post wedding photo shoot.

Botanical Mt Coot-tha Wedding with Brisbane Marriage Celebrant Ciara Hodge.
Image: Nicole Barralet Photography

When I first met with the happy couple to discuss the atmosphere they envisioned for the ceremony and to bounce around ideas, they were excited about the concept of a light hearted and fun wedding ceremony that was inclusive of all their guests.

Together we created a ceremony that involved not only their surprise wedding vows to each other (which they heard for the very first time on the day), but we also included their close family and friends who before the day sent me their own surprise vows that the bride and groom had to agree to.

The guests vows were a combination of fun promises for the bride and groom to commit to, vows based around the couples future goals and some side splitting hilarious vows!

Botanical Mt Coot-tha Wedding with Brisbane City Celebrants.
Image: Nicole Barralet Photography

I loved working alongside the bubbly and effervescent Nicole Baralett Photography for this wedding. Brisbane City Celebrants have had the pleasure of working alongside Nicole a number of times over the years and she is the kind of photographer that lights up a room with her passion and enthusiasm.

She has an amazing ability to instantly have people relax in her presence and let their personalities shine through which makes for some pretty special photos.

Botanical Mt Coot-tha wedding
Photo credit: Nicole Barralet Photography

A huge thank you to the lovely Nicole Barralet Photography for this beautiful 5 star review.

If you enjoyed hearing about this wedding and you are looking for a Celebrant for your Mt Coot-tha wedding, Cara would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.

Recommended Wedding Celebrant – Shafston House

on January 30, 2015 · 5 Comments

Recommended Wedding Celebrant – Shafston House

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

“Our day was made so special thanks to Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants. From our first meeting, he made us feel so comfortable with the ceremony structure and helped us understand the process of ‘getting married’.

He outlined the legalities of what we had to do and also the bits we could have fun with, which made it all the more personal.The ceremony ran so smoothly and gave us great memories knowing it was all sorted, the microphone worked perfectly and everyone could hear the ceremony music.

If you’re like us, you’ll appreciate Jamie’s relaxing personality and you’ll value his kind guidance even more.

He even gave me a list of things I had to change my name on, just to make becoming a new wife even easier!”

“Thank you Jamie and Brisbane City Celebrants. I wish we could say we’d use you again, so maybe when we renew our vows! Lol” Eleanor and Drew – Shafston House Weddings

I am so humbled to receive such lovely feedback from this amazing Shafston House bride and groom. Thank you so much Eleanor and Drew, I look forward to hearing from you in 5, 10 or 20 years time for that vow renewal ceremony!

Images by the very talented: Sarah Fountain Wedding Photography

The arrival of the bride: Shafston House Wedding with Brisbane City Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Sarah Fountain Photography

Meeting the Father of the bride: Shafston House Wedding with Brisbane City Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Sarah Fountain Photography

A happy and heartfelt ceremony in a circle of roses: Shafston House Wedding with Brisbane City Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Sarah Fountain Photography

The happy newlweds and their happy Celebrant: Shafston House Wedding with Brisbane City Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Sarah Fountain Photography

The stunning bride and groom enjoying Shafston House’s historical grounds: Shafston House Wedding with Brisbane City Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image by Sarah Fountain Photography

Thank you Eleanor and Drew for choosing me as your Shafston House Wedding Celebrant, for allowing me to be a part of such a special day in your lives, for the glowing testimonial and also for sharing these stunning images. Wishing you every happiness for your future together.

Jamie Eastgate – Recommended Wedding Celebrant – Shafston House

If you enjoyed reading this Celebrant review from a Shafston House wedding ceremony, Jamie would love to hear from you. Contact Brisbane City Celebrants for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.

Recommended Wedding Celebrant – Hillstone St Lucia

on January 28, 2015 · 9 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 · 8 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 · 3 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.