Brisbane riverside wedding with Celebrant Jamie

on October 13, 2022 · 16 Comments

What an amazing day it was for this Brisbane riverside wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.

The happiness filled wedding of Kristen and Thomas took at Lower River Terrace Kangaroo Point. This lawn that can be booked for exclusive use for couples wedding ceremonies through Brisbane City Council.

The couple enjoyed a happy, relaxed authentic ceremony, delivered perfectly by Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.

Jamie shared the story of how Kristen and Thomas met at work. When Thomas first met Kristen his initial thoughts were:

“She’s hot and I’m going to be in trouble with HR if I talk to her” so he tried his best to ignore her for the first month.

In response, Kristen’s first impression of Thomas was: “I think he might be gay”

They knew they were meant to be when Kristen announced she was going to marry Thomas, despite previously always declaring that she never wanted to get married, and likewise Thomas wanting to marry Kristen despite swearing off marriage forever.

Their ceremony combined heart felt moments, sheer joy and some roaring belly laughs for good measure (a great way to ease any wedding day nerves).

The story of the proposal began with Thomas setting up a lovely night in which he planned to ask Kristen to marry him.

The only thing he was unable to get into his possession was the ring (which they had both chosen, was already bought, viewed and “tried on” many times).

Kristen was in the bathroom on her third costume change of the evening, while Thomas scrambled through boxes on the top shelf of the wardrobe looking for the ring when suddenly, Kristen burst through the door and said:” I’m just going to see what my engagement ring looks like with this outfit”.

So, as they like to put it, Kristen is effectively engaged to herself with Thomas’ blessing.

The happy couple shared their own personalised vows with each other which they heard for the first time during the ceremony, before exchanging rings and sealing the deal with a kiss.

Darcy Walsh Photography was on hand to capture all the magic to perfection while putting the couple at ease so they could enjoy their day and relax and be comfortable in front of the camera.

After they made their way back down the aisle together as husband and wife, guests congratulated them then they headed off to the nearby rocks at Kangaroo Point for these stunning location photos as the sun began to set. Then they celebrated the night away at Riverlife.

Congratulations to the happy newlyweds. What a beautiful day!

Wedding suppliers included:

Celebrant Jamie Eastgate Brisbane City Celebrants

Darcy Walsh Photography

Feeling inspired and liking the look of this ceremony location, you can view more river side weddings at the Lower River Terrace lawns at Kangaroo Point here.

REAL WEDDING at Victoria Park with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate

on June 1, 2020 · 2 Comments

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

Bride and groom– Tramy and Sean

Wedding date – 2nd November 2019

How and where did you meet? We met as friends over 16 years ago through mutual friends. Our paths crossed again 7 years later and we’ve been together since!

Traditional Tea Ceremony

Our wedding day began with a traditional tea ceremony. Being on the same day as the wedding meant our day was very long but filled with many memorable moments! We have a large family and many relatives, so having both of our families come together for the tea ceremony was very special.

Ceremony venue: Our ceremony was held at The Marquee Deck, Victoria Park

Celebrant: Our Celebrant was Jamie Eastgate at Brisbane City Celebrants. Jamie did an amazing job on the day, and made every step along the way so easy! We had the best day and would have to say that the highlight of the day would be that moment we walked down the aisle together as husband and wife, surrounded by our family and friends!

Reception venue: We celebrated our reception at The Marquee, Victoria Park. We had a 3 course (alternate drop) sit-down menu and for bonbonniere, each guest received personalised chocolate blocks designed by Paige Tuzée Designs

Bridal party We had two bridesmaids and two groomsmen – all are our long time friends from either childhood or school.

What did your bridesmaids wear? Dresses by Bec + Bridge

What did your groomsmen wear? Suits by InStitchu

What did the groom wear? Suit by InStitchu

Tell us about your wedding gown: Wedding dress by Jane Hill Bridal – a simple sheath silhouette, off shoulder, full length beaded gown.

Do you have any tips or advice for couples:

As you always hear, the day goes by very quickly (ours did even though we had a long 14+ hour day!), so try to enjoy every minute of it and don’t stress about the little things!

Tramy and Sean’s dream team of wedding vendors included:

Venue – Victoria Park

Photographer – Lover of Mine

Videographer – Weddings by Butterscotch Studio / Maker & Made Studios

Celebrant – Jamie Eastgate of Jamie + Cara – Brisbane City Celebrants

Rose Petal Cones – With Love – Brisbane Wedding Decorators

Make Up Artist – Janise Chan

Hairstylist – Paula Maree Hair

Stationery – Designed by Paige Tuzée Designs and created by Acrylics Online

Florals – Elly Fleurs

Candles & Vases – Prop It Pretty

Cake – The Bake Co

Dance Floor & Bridal Table – Staging Creations and Queensland Decal

Plinths – Honeytub Event Hire

Photo Booth – Click Click Photo Booth

Entertainment – Fonoti Brothers

Lion Dancing – LTL Group

Fireworks – Mr Fireworks

If you enjoyed hearing about this real wedding at Victoria Park and you are looking for a Celebrant for your special day, Jamie Eastgate would love to hear form you. Contact Jamie now for more information and to start planning your wedding ceremony.

Loving the dog ring bearer

on November 4, 2019 · 2 Comments

With Celebrant Jamie Eastgate – Brisbane City Celebrants

What a fantastic surprise it was having the couples much loved dog Sasha make a very special appearance and be a part of their special day as the dog ring bearer!

The groom organised for the couples dog to be the surprise ring bearer, and when the Best Man pretended to forget the rings, to everyone’s surprise, the groom whistled and their beautiful dog Sasha appeared from around the corner, and with a little help, made her way down the aisle with the rings.

5 STAR CELEBRANT REVIEW

“Jamie was a great Celebrant for our wedding!

He made personalising our ceremony easy, was super flexible, and offered great advice and support for vow writing.

We had a fun, relaxed ceremony, with lots of laughs which was just perfect.

Jamie was even in on a surprise my husband organised for me, to include our dog in the ceremony, which is one of my favourite memories.

Our guests commented on how good the ceremony was and said it was a real reflection of us as a couple…thanks to Jamie.

Alana and Brett – Sunset Glade, Roma Street Parklands

What a fantastic surprise it was having the couples much loved dog Sasha make a very special appearance and be a part of their special day… almost stealing the show!

Wishing the happy newlyweds a future reflective of their wedding ceremony; full of love and laughter and happily ever after!

Photography: Kate Cornfoot Photography

Wedding Ceremony Set Up – Brisbane Wedding Decorators

Bride and grooms fur baby – Sasha

Thank you for choosing me to be your Marriage Celebrant for your Roma Street Parklands Wedding and also for taking the time to write such a fantastic review and also for sharing your wedding photos with us, particularly the ones of Sasha the dog ring bearer.

If you enjoyed this post and are a dog loving human, looking for a Celebrant for your special day Jamie Eastgate Brisbane City Celebrants would love to hear form you.

Brisbane City Celebrants 10 year celebrations

on February 14, 2019 · Leave a Comment

With Jamie and Cara Brisbane City Celebrants

Being Celebrants we love nothing more than a great celebration, so when ‘Brisbane City Celebrants’ turned 10, we took the opportunity to throw a party and celebrate alongside an amazing bunch of wedding professionals, and thank them for being so supportive of our business over the years.

We decided to become Celebrants after our own wedding in 2008, when we realised the modern, upbeat style of ceremony we would have liked, simply wasn’t available. So with backgrounds in public speaking and a passion to start creating seriously enjoyable ceremonies, we became the change we wanted to see in the wedding industry.

We never expected our Celebrant style to have so much demand, and our little Celebrant business to grow to where it is today.

Reflecting back on what was initially a part-time weekend passion around our office jobs, we still pinch ourselves that we were able to quit our day time jobs to do what we love full-time – celebrate love!

We picked The Orchard function space at Victoria Park for our celebrations as we loved it’s summer vibe, ambient lighting and cheerful yellow theming. Tolix style bar tables and stools from Brisbane Wedding Decorators created a cocktail setting perfectly suited for attendees to mingle, and we loved that guests were greeted on arrival with mojito cocktails.

Brisbane City Celebrants 10 year celebrations wouldn’t be complete without a prize draw, the winner taking home a bottle of 2008 vintage MOET rose, a favourite drop of ours, reflecting the year our business was founded.

We would like to say a really big thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years, from all our amazing clients who trust us for such an important part of their special day, to all the talented wedding industry professionals who we simply love working alongside at weddings. Thanks to all of you we get to do what we love!

Here’s cheers to 10 years! Thank you to all of those who joined us for celebrations including our fellow Celebrants from Brisbane Celebrants Directory & Blog and a special thank you to the following suppliers for being a part of our event.

Photos by Dreamlife Photography

Cocktail Furniture and photo backdrop Brisbane Wedding Decorators

Singer Brett Whitmore

Cookies and Cake Confetti Cake Co

Venue Victoria Park Functions

If you enjoyed this post and Jamie and Cara sound like the kind of Celebrants you are looking for, they would love to hear from you. Head to Jamie and Cara Brisbane City Celebrants website for more information.

How weddings have changed over the past 10 years

on February 5, 2019 · 1 Comment

How weddings have changed over the past 10 years

By Jamie and Cara of Brisbane City Celebrants

As we celebrate 10 years as Celebrants, this is an opportune time for us to reflect on how the wedding industry has changed over the past decade, how many marriages are taking place, and what weddings look like now compared to 10 years ago.Image by Dreamlife Photography

INCREASE IN CIVIL WEDDINGS BY 15%

In 2007 63% of weddings that took place were civil weddings (as opposed to church/ religious weddings)

This percentage has increased slightly every year over the past decade reaching 78% in 2017.

While there are likely a number of reasons for this increase, perhaps couples like the increased flexibility of location and ceremony customisation that come with civil weddings.

We have personally had the pleasure of marrying couples that are of different religions and have opted for a civil wedding as a neutral comprise to a religious ceremony.

LESS MARRIAGES ARE TAKING PLACE

In 2017 116,322 marriages took place in Australia, this figure increased fractionally every year until 2013 with a decrease of approximately 5,000 marriages compared to the previous year.

Could this be somewhat related to suspicions around the number 13?

By 2015 the total number of marriages that took place in Australia was just 113,595, and while this jumped up to 118,401 in 2016, 112,954 marriages took place in 2017, which is approximately 5,000 less than the previous year.

In summary, 3,368 less marriages took place in Australia in 2017 than 2007, when you factor in population growth, this suggest a higher percentage of people are choosing not to marry.

UQ Rugby field wedding ceremonyUQ Rugby field wedding ceremony

Image by Raconteur Photography

AVERAGE AGE OF MARRIAGE CELEBRANTS REDUCED

When we attended our first OPD training back in 2009, we were told the average age of Marriage Celebrants was 67 years old. While this stat is no longer reported, it’s safe to say becoming a Marriage Celebrant is no longer for those looking for a retirement job, with Celebrants of all age groups now available.

OTHER INTERESTING FIGURES

There were 6000 Celebrants in Australia in 2007. 10 years later, in 2017 there are now around 9,000 an increase of 50%

The average Australian Marriage Celebrant officiates 10 marriages every year.

The median age at marriage for males in 2017 was 32.years, and the median age at marriage for females in 2017 was 30 years, in 2017, the majority of brides (80.9%) and grooms (79.3%) had not been married before.

Looking at QLD specifically

In QLD 2007 there were 26,000 weddings in QLD in 2017 there were 22,500 a reduction of 3,500 annual weddings.

81% of weddings in QLD are civil weddings performed by Celebrants

If you found this article interesting and you are looking for a Celebrant for your special day, Jamie and Cara of Brisbane City Celebrants would love to hear from you.

View more of their blog posts on the Brisbane Celebrants Directory & Blog, and contact them to confirm availability for your special day.

Michael and Philip’s Sunshine Coast Wedding

on January 29, 2019 · 1 Comment

Michael and Philip’s Sunshine Coast wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants was everything dreams are made of!

With groom Michael well known and acclaimed within the Brisbane Wedding community for planning luxurious events, naturally every detail was thoughtfully planned and designed, resulting in a truly beautiful day full of love, happiness and laughter.

This gorgeous wedding was so special to us. Not only was Jamie given the honour of being the Celebrant for the happy couple, as friends of the two grooms we are invited to stay and celebrate as guests.

Michael and Philip worked with Jamie to design a ceremony that celebrated their love and shared the story of their 13 years together.

Balancing their humour and zest with a meaningful sincere celebration, both the grooms and their guests were laughing out loud one minute, then shedding happy tears the next. Very much the same emotions the guests continued to have later when the epic speeches were delivered over lunch.

One simple point of difference that contributed to the success of the day, was opting for a morning wedding ceremony, followed directly by a lunch time reception.

The two grooms opted for a mid morning ceremony on a week day which took place at Noosa’s Hidden Grove on the foreshore of Noosa beach. Following the ceremony, instead of the guests being separated from the couple for photos, everyone took a short stroll along the beach to the reception at Sails Noosa where the celebrations began with flowing drinks, canapes and even an oyster bar before guests were seated on long tables decorated with soft pink flowers.

To the guests surprise they were invited to choose their own entrees and main from the menu. Everyone was in awe at how delicious every dish was! The service from Sails Restaurant was equally exceptional with glasses always staying topped up with champagne.

After lunch the band began to play and the dance floor instantly filled, with Michael stealing the show (and the mic) to present his own surprise rendition of Nicki Minaj.

The fun didn’t stop there, when the long lunch reception wrapped up at 4pm, the guests headed off to a nearby venue for the optional after party to continue the celebrations, while the grooms made the most of the golden afternoon light heading off to a quiet beach with their Photographer and Cinematographer for sunset shots with their bridesmaids.

What an amazing way to begin your journey in to married life and what a huge honour to be a part of and share in this long awaited very special day.

Congratulations on your marriage Michael and Philip, and to repeat what the grooms said in their speech “Thank you for voting YES”.

If you enjoyed hearing about this stunning Sunshine Coast wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate and are looking for a Celebrant for your special day, Jamie would love to hear from you. View more Real Weddings with Jamie Eastgate or contact Jamie to confirm availability for your special day.

Michael & Philip’s Wedding from Forever Features on Vimeo.

Michael and Philips vendor dream team

Wedding Planning and Concept Design: Michael Taylor Public Relations

Photography: Liz Soda Wedding Photography

Cinematography: Tyrone Forever Features

Marriage Celebrant: Jamie Eastgate Brisbane City Celebrants

Ceremony Location: Hidden Grove, Noosa

Reception Location: Sails Noosa

Ceremony and reception band: Rush Entertainment

Make up: KM Makeup Studios

Suits: Wil Valor

Bridesmaid Dresses: White Runway

Event Styling: Main Event Weddings

Tableware: The Supper Club

Invitations and Menus: September Creative

Accommodation: Fairshore Noosa

Choosing Equality Friendly Wedding Vendors

on July 29, 2018 · 1 Comment

Choosing Equality friendly wedding vendors

Authors Cara and Jamie of Brisbane City Celebrants

At Brisbane City Celebrants we are genuinely honoured every time we are chosen as the Celebrant for a same-sex wedding. We understand many of our couples have experienced difficult times and often lack the support of family members so it’s imperative to us that we are part of creating an amazing and memorable wedding day. Sadly we continue to hear stories from our couples alongside regular press reports of same-sex couples being refused service, treated inadequately and being discriminated against. We have written this post to assist couples with choosing equality friendly wedding vendors.

When choosing your wedding vendors you want to be sure you really ‘connect’ with them and that you’re all on the same page when it comes to the role they will be playing on your big day.

This is particularly important for same-sex couples who will likely enjoy a better experience in the lead up to and on the special day, by carefully selecting wedding vendors that are genuinely passionate and supportive of your relationship.

Do your research

Before contacting your potential dream team of suppliers, do your research and read reviews (Google Reviews and Facebook Reviews are a great place to start). No vendor can describe the service you can expect to receive more accurately than their former clients.

Check their website

A quick scan of their home page, and real weddings they have featured on their website will give you an indication of how enthusiastic they are about same-sex weddings.

The wording of their website will also give you a good indication of if they have you in mind as their ideal client, for example, are they talking to brides only, or to brides and grooms and couples in general.

Social Media

Practically every supplier in the wedding industry has a social media presence and following the recent campaign in Australia for marriage equality, equality friendly vendors will likely be proudly displaying their support on their social media pages.

Needless to say if you spot rainbows and wedding images showcasing same-sex couples, you can rest assured they will be delighted to hear from you.

A question to ask your potential wedding vendors:

What experience do you have working with same-sex couples?

While any experience working with same-sex couples is appreciated and reinforces the vendors support of marriage equality, many vendors simply haven’t had the opportunity to work with same-sex couples.

Having done your research, and carefully selected who you would like to contact, by simply engaging in conversation with the right people, you will quickly realise how comfortable or excited they are about potentially being a part of your special day.

Authors: Cara Hodge & Jamie Eastgate – Brisbane City Celebrants

Creative Team

Photography: Studio Sixty Photography

Celebrant: Jamie Eastgate, Brisbane City Celebrants

Venue: Old Government House

Stylist: Styled Event s

Flowers: Kate Dawes Flower Design

Cake: A Little Cake Place

Suits: Wil Valor

Stationery: Paper Love Invites

Affordable Weekday Weddings

on June 25, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Affordable Weekday Weddings

With Brisbane City Celebrants

Brisbane City Celebrants are so excited to share the details of this affordable weekday wedding package!

We are so honoured to be included alongside the quality vendors, all carefully hand picked by the super friendly and ever organised Janette of Olive Rose Events.

Before we go in to all the fab little details, let’s cut to the chase – how much?

For less than $5k you can enjoy a 3 hour wedding package with up to 30 guests on this gorgeous ceremony lawn with a drinks package. Including professional Photography, a Celebrant (that’s us!) an elegant ceremony set up, dedicated wedding coordinator, flowers, cake, hair and make up plus all completely stress-free with every vendor already picked and everything arranged on the day. Literally all you need to do yourselves is pick your outfits and send out invites! How awesome is that!

Packages can be booked through Event Planner Janette who will liaise with all the vendors for you, making planning your wedding a breeze! Here’s a little more on what you can expect to receive:

Venue: Brookwater Golf & Country Club
3 hour wedding service for 30 guests including ceremony lawn, golf course photography, use of decking and a drinks package. Drinks package includes – 1 x punch bowl, water station and 1x glass of bubbles per person.

Wedding Planner / Coordinator: Olive Rose Weddings & Events
Main point of contact, planning and assistance, on the day coordination.

Photographer: Renee Brazel Photography
2 hour photography session.

Ceremony Decor/Styling: Brisbane Wedding Decorators
Provide and set up ceremony decor hire package of your choice from the Endless Love Deluxe Collection.

Celebrant: Brisbane City Celebrants
Choice of 2 amazing Celebrants (Janette’s description, not ours, isn’t she the sweetest!) includes a short and simple marriage ceremony.

Cake: Cake My Day By Jo
Choice of 1 of 2 packages – (1) Naked buttercream cutting cake with cake topper and single colour roses + 2 dozen plain swirl cupcakes in filigree cups with take home stand, or (2) 2 Tier naked cake with fresh roses.

Bouquets: TN Bloom
1 x Large formal bouquet and 3 x baby’s breath bouquets

Hair & Makeup: The Makeup Ladies
H&MU services (Bride only) – Hair up or down style.

If you would like more information on this package, contact Janette at Olive Rose Weddings who would be only to happy to answer all your questions and help with getting your affordable weekday wedding booked.

If you are looking for an affordable Celebrant for your special day, Brisbane City Celebrants offer a legals only marriage option at a reduced fee, which could be a great option.

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

Gardens Club Wedding

on May 22, 2018 · 1 Comment

Gardens Club Wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

Gardens Club Wedding

Such an amazing day for Emily and Jonathan’s summer wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate at The Gardens Club in Brisbane City’s Botanical Gardens.

Thank you to the happy newlyweds for the 5 star review and kind feedback:

“You were such a pleasure to work with and made the process very easy by sending us the guide to work out our vows and the ceremony run sheet made it easy for us to work out how the ceremony would unfold.

We had a fantastic wedding! You made the guests laugh and the ceremony took just the right amount of time 🙂

I have attached a few photos from the wedding and I also left a 5 star review on the Brisbane City Celebrants Facebook page.”

Emily and Jonathan – Gardens Club Wedding

Congratulations to the happy newlyweds and thank you for sharing these amazing photos captured by Mac Loxton Photography from your very special day.

“Jamie, Thank you so much for being such an easy going, professional Celebrant. You gave us great ideas for the ceremony, which turned out to be contemporary and authentic which was just how we envisioned.” Jono & Emily

Image taken at The Stamford Plaza Brisbane Hotel

I love how Mac Loxton has captured the genuine happiness of the newlyweds, what a feast for the eyes these images are!

Congratulations to the happy couple and thank you for choosing me to be your Celebrant at your Gardens Club wedding.

Jamie Eastgate – Brisbane City Celebrants

If you enjoyed this real wedding feature and are looking for a Celebrant for your Brisbane wedding, Celebrant Jamie Eastgate would love to hear from you. Contact Jamie for more information and to confirm availability for your wedding.

Landing at Dockside Wedding Ceremony

on April 7, 2018 · 1 Comment

Landing at Dockside Wedding Ceremony

With Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants

Congratulations Jamie on receiving such wonderful feedback from your couples.

Jamie tells us, it seriously makes his day whenever he receives feedback and kind words like this from his couples.

“Thank you so much for everything! We could not have asked for better Celebrant” Jon & Mandy – Landing at Dockside Wedding Ceremony

Jon and Mandy’s special day was beautifully captured by Susie Yang Photographer. Susie captured one of the most stunning images we’ve ever seen of the grooms reaction to his beautiful bride walking down the aisle towards him, a truly gorgeous couple!

What an adorable little ring bearer!

There is no doubt from these stunning images that a great day and night was had by all, congratulations to the happy newly-weds.

If you enjoyed seeing this wedding, you can view more weddings with Jamie here.

If you are looking for a Celebrant for your Landing at Dockside Wedding ceremony, or your wedding elsewhere in Brisbane Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants would love to hear from you, contact Jamie for more information and to confirm availability for your special day.