Bride and Groom: Chani and Lindsay
Wedding Ceremony Location: Newstead Rotunda, Newstead Park, Brisbane
Tell us about your ceremony: We wanted a ceremony that would reflect our personalities, very casual and welcoming. Short, funny and loving was our brief. We had 50 guests plus the ‘Four Weddings Australia’ TV crew. Yes, we were one of the contestants in the show!
Chani and Lindsays Newstead Rotunda Wedding Ceremony as featured on ‘Four Weddings Australia’
Reception Location: The best pub in town – The Breakfast Creek Hotel.
Tell us about your reception:
Beer off the wood, great steak and a live band – it doesn’t get any better than that!
What we loved:
We loved arriving on the bus together, walking down the aisle together when we arrived and just sharing the whole day with some of our closest friends and family.
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants:
Our experience with Jamie as our Celebrant was so perfect, it is hard to find the words. Jamie did everything he said he would, but most importantly he listened to our story, he understood what we were trying to do and he delivered. He made our ceremony fun, got a few laughs and kept the atmosphere to that of a true celebration!
View a short clip of this winning wedding here: Winning Four Weddings ceremony at Newstead Rotunda with Jamie Eastgate – Brisbane City Celebrants
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
My only advice is to do it your way. That’s what we did, we didn’t follow any ‘how to’ guide or even listen to any well meaning
advice givers. At the end of the day I think that’s why we won on the Four Weddings show, because our wedding was true to our personalities and style.
To see more of Chani and Lindsays winning ‘Four Weddings Australia’ ceremony, click here (click refresh if the video doesn’t show immediately)
Newstead Rotunda Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant, Jamie Eastgate.
Image: Boots Photography
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Bride and Groom: Kelly and Patrick
Wedding Date: 10th of September 2011
Wedding Ceremony Location: Broadway Chapel, Woolloongabba
Tell us about your Ceremony:
We chose the Broadway Chapel for our ceremony location. It is a beautiful old converted chapel that provided wonderful photos opportunities both on the inside and the out. Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants was our chosen celebrant for our special day. We first saw him on the Four Weddings Australia TV show performing a wedding and we knew his easy going personality was exactly what we were looking for in a celebrant.
Jamie made the process leading up to our wedding very easy. He was always willing to provide advice for us on how things would best run on the day.
Reception Location:
Our reception was at the United Service Club of Brisbane (on the corner of Wickham Tce and Upper Edward St, Spring Hill).
Broadway Chapel Wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate
Image: Ruth Ryan Photography
Tell us about your Reception:
The United Service Club is an amazing, heritage listed building which provided a quality of service that surpassed our expectations. The food was exquisite, the staff were extremely professional and the classical old features of the building intrigued our guests right throughout the night.
What we loved……
I’m not sure how to sum up all of the things we loved about our wedding day. Let’s just say that if it weren’t for our loving family and friends being there with us, the day just would not have been the same. We also loved our choices in wedding professionals.
From our amazing Marriage Celebrant Jamie Eastgate to the flowers (Ballinger and Shaw Botanics), the custom made dress (Penny lane Bridal), the amazingly delicious cake (Sweet Fix Cupcakes), the fun loving photographer (Ruth Ryan photography) and Videographer (Gary Ratchford Filming) and of course both the ceremony and reception venues, our day was definitely one which we will never forget.
Describe your experience with Jamie Eastgate from Brisbane City Celebrants:
Jamie Eastgate is a highly professional, easy going Civil Marriage Celebrant who took the time to sit with my husband and myself in order to
make our day exactly what we wanted it to be. He was very adaptable and was always willing to suggest options that might have suited our day a little better.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Relax and enjoy! (Well, try to relax and enjoy). My husband and I don’t regret anything
that happened in preparation for our wedding, however we only wish we had the time to enjoy our engagement and the planning of the wedding a little more. Unfortunately for most brides and grooms, families tend to put a lot of pressure on planning a wedding. Just make sure your wedding really is YOUR wedding!
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Bride and Groom: Samantha and Wayne
Tell us about your ceremony: We had our ceremony placed under the trees on the grounds at Northshore facing the river. The weather was amazing and the sun had gone behind the trees so all the guests were in shade. We set up a laptop on Skype and called our family in the UK. Our ceremony was a very simple, classic and traditional. It was short and sweet and perfect!
Reception Location: The wedding reception was also held at Northshore Riverside Cafe in Hamilton.
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants:
From our first meeting with Jamie he made everything seem so straightforward and he was so passionate about being a part of our special day.
It was so refreshing to talk to Jamie as he was also so eager to help with any questions we had. Jamie was so prepared and sent through oodles of information to help us make our day about ‘us’.
We went with traditional vows, and it was a comfort to have Jamie standing there with us on the day to ease our nerves, and make sure the ceremony ran smoothly.
Tell us about any of your wedding suppliers that you were impressed with and why:
Photographer – Dear & Tine Photography; AMAZING! Chaddy was like part of the family on the day.
Florist – Brisbane Wedding Flowers; Cassie did the most beautiful job on both the bouquets and tables! It far exceeded my expectations. She was on my page from the first meeting.
DJ/MC – Brisbane Wedding DJ; Andrew was fantastic and made sure the night ran smoothly. He just went over and above!
Cakey Creations – Leanne did the most superb job on our cake pop cake!
Northshore Riverside Café; Bec and the staff – went over and above to make sure everything was perfect!
And of course, Jamie Eastgate from Brisbane City Celebrants.
- Northshore Riverside wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate
- Images: Dear & Tine Photography
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Bride and Groom: Lauren and Ben
Wedding Date: April 5th 2014
Ceremony and Reception Location: Victoria Park Ballroom Terrace
Tell us about your Ceremony:
Our ceremony was perfect. Rows of white tiffany chairs with small bunches of baby’s breath on the ends, a cream aisle runner leading to a beautiful archway.
Jamie was fantastic at officiating. He kept the mood light and comfortable, shared jokes with our guests and always looked completely at ease.
Vic Park Golf Club Wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image Chris Hall Photography
Tell us about your Reception:
Our reception was exactly as we had pictured it. Large chandeliers, candle lit tables with beautiful Singapore orchids in the centre. We had round tables with black chairs to suit our theme, each table was named after a famous cricketer. This was the Grooms idea.
Victoria Park Golf Club Wedding Reception. Image Chris Hall Photography
What we loved….
We loved the quality of service we had at our wedding. Every vendor went above and beyond to make our day special. Both the ceremony and reception were perfect and every effort was made to make our guests feel comfortable. Our wedding went off without a hitch.
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants:
Jamie was wonderful. From the moment you meet him, he makes you feel comfortable and puts you at ease. He was always organised and more than willing to provide ideas on any aspect of the ceremony.
We found Jamie to be highly professional and very comfortable in front of an audience. We would definitely recommend Jamie and Brisbane City Celebrants to anyone getting married.
Tell us about any of your wedding suppliers that you were impressed with and why:
We had such wonderful suppliers.
Photography- Chris Hall photography. These guys are extremely competent and highly skilled in wedding photography. Justin makes you feel great and seems to capture every moment perfectly.
Cake- Allmixedup cakes. Sonja from Allmixedup Cakes designs and creates beautiful cakes. She delivered and assembled the cake at our reception and sent us images of what it looks like before we arrived.
Dress- Wendy Makin Bridal Designs- Wendy and the team have an amazing ability to make you look and feel beautiful. They catered to my every need and request and were able to suggest suitable jewellery for the big day.
Ceremony and Reception- Victoria Park Golf Complex- Vic Park do the most amazing weddings. We had a clear idea of what we wanted and the girls in the functions department went out of their way to create our perfect wedding. They answered every email and every question we had on any detail no matter how big or small and sort to make our wedding as cost effective as possible.
Victoria Park Golf Wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image Chris Hall Photography
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Be organised. We found that once we got ourselves organised and knew what we wanted suppliers and vendors were able to make it happen. You can’t control everything that happens on the day but having a solid idea of what you want and how you want it to come together helps to make the day run smoothly.
The other piece of advice we found helpful was to take some time to enjoy the day as husband and wife. With everything that’s going on and all the attention people are giving you, time will go very quickly. Try and steal a few minutes after your ceremony or during the reception to spend a quiet moment together and take in the significance of what is happening.
This is a whole new chapter of your lives.
Victoria Park Golf Wedding. Image Chris Hall Photography
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Bride and Groom: Angela and Adam
It was a perfect sunny day, we had a harpist playing the ceremony music and the ceremony concluded with a dove release.
Reception Location: The Botanical, Mt Coot-tha
We enjoyed a nice outdoor deck setting overlooking the Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens with great food and great service.
What we loved:
The day was perfect – nice and sunny! We loved the harpists music and having a dove release during our ceremony. We got some great photos from our photographer, the botanical gardens made the perfect backdrop for our wedding, they were stunning!
The reception was refreshing with great food and service and the wedding cake was very delicious and looked gorgeous. We had a lunchtime wedding reception at The Botanical and the venue and staff were great, we never felt rushed by the staff even though we stayed a little late, which was lovely of them, and most important of all our guests all had a really lovely time.
Describe your experience with Jamie Eastgate from Brisbane City Celebrants:
From start to finish Jamie helped us all the way throughout the process, he made us both feel very relaxed on the day and ensured the ceremony all went completely smoothly. He organised all the marriage paperwork and gave us some great advice for the day, which really helped the day come together so well .
Tell us about any other wedding suppliers that you were impressed with:
Venue – The Botanical Cafe in Mt Coot-tha, our Botanical wedding planner went above and beyond to make sure our wedding reception was perfect.
Wedding Cake – Jennys Cakes, it was the best cake we have ever tasted and our guests agreed too, plus it looked so stunning!
Wedding Harpist – Sally Beaumont was great
Photography – Peta Boardman Photography, the photos turned out wonderful, everyone was blown away.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Think about the difference between needs and wants as the important things are your love for each other and of course your guests as well. Also prepare yourself to be flexible during your planning.
Botanical Gardens Celebrant Jamie Eastgate performing a dove release ceremony.
Image: Peta Boardman Photography
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Bride and Groom: Robyn and Tom
We were at a complete loss when it came time to decide on a location for our wedding. While we really liked the greenery of the hinterland, we really wanted somewhere close to the city. Orleigh Park provided the perfect setting with massive trees framing the river setting and just 10 minutes from the city.
We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect and relaxed setting.
Reception Location:
South Brisbane Boat Club
It was really important for us to have the reception as close as possible to the ceremony. The boat hall was in a great location – right on the river and next to our wedding ceremony location, Orleigh Park.
The inside of the hall provided so much character and provided a lovely setting with the windows opened to make the most of the river views. The best thing about the hall is that we were able to do everything the way we wanted.
While it was a bit more work decorating and organising catering, alcohol and the rest, it was definitely worth it!
Neither of us are very traditional which can be a bit of an issue when organising a wedding. So when we started planning we decided not to do anything that made us uncomfortable (the first dance, bouquet throwing and garter toss all ended up getting scrapped).
We loved being able to surprise everyone by making our day uniquely ‘us’. It was great having a relaxed wedding where there was no pressure, instead the focus was on celebrating with family and friends.
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants:
When it came to planning the ceremony, we really didn’t have a clue what we were meant to do. The only thing we were certain of is that we wanted it to be personalised and short. Jamie was great in helping two absolutely clueless (and slightly stressed) newbies create the perfect ceremony.
Being able to choose the wording we wanted along with the guidance of the ceremony run sheet made planning the ceremony far easier than we thought it would be.
Jamie, thank you for all your help in making our wedding day perfect. We were so pleased to be able to do everything our way and I can honestly say ours was the best wedding I have been to so far!
You really helped to take some of the stress out of the day, it was great knowing that everything was taken care of for the ceremony and all we had to do was show up – which was nerve-racking enough!
Tell us about any of your other wedding suppliers that you were impressed with:
Hair and make up – Locks and Lashes
Catering – Wine & Dine ‘m
Equipment Hire – Freeman’s Hire
Photography – Dreamlife
Don’t let anyone pressure you in to doing what doesn’t feel right. It’s also very easy to keep pushing out the budget. We decided to make budgeting easier by spending the most money on things that would be seen in our wedding photos later on.
The rest of those smaller details (while nice) probably won’t be remembered by your guests when they go home.
Orleigh Park Wedding Celebrant Jamie Eastgate performing a wedding where the best man was the bride and grooms dog!
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Bride and Groom: Katrina & Nat
As we were lucky to be the winners of the Riverlife dream wedding giveaway, we were so grateful to be able to hold both our Ceremony and Reception at Riverlife. The ceremony was held outdoors on the deck overlooking the river on a beautiful afternoon. With all of our friends and family around to witness us announced as husband and wife, it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Also at Riverlife, in the Sunset Marquee.
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Bride and Groom: Cara and Charlie
Wedding Date:9th April 2011
Wedding Ceremony Location: Toowong Rowing Club, St Lucia
Tell us about your ceremony:
Overlooking the Brisbane River on a beautiful sunny afternoon we shared our day with our family and friends. It really couldn’t have been more perfect!
Reception Location: The Shed, Toowong Rowing Club, St Lucia
Tell us about your reception:
All I can say is – FUN! The guests stayed at the Rowing Club while we had photos taken at UQ. Canapes were served on the deck as the sunset over the river. I think it was shortly after the entree was served that the dancing started – and barely stopped for the rest of the evening.
What we loved:
– the weather (it really couldn’t have been more perfect!)
– the location: a beautifully relaxed outdoor setting
– the people: Our Celebrant Jamie, our Photographer Nicole Barralet, the Venue Manager Carol and our Caterer Andrew were wonderful and really made the day. Without them who knows how things would have turned out!!
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants:
We were delighted to have had Jamie as our Celebrant. His friendly and professional personality was evident from the first meeting. He was extremely approachable and helpful throughout the process of designing our ceremony.
His sunny demeanor matched the weather on the big day and really made the ceremony come alive.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Don’t stress. Everything will work out and in the end as long as you are there with the person you love, nothing else matters.
Images: Nicole Baralett Photography
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Bride and Groom: Jess and Simon
Tell us about your ceremony:
We could not have imagined a better ceremony. We had grass, water, sun, amazing views beautiful words, loving family and friends and best of all…….each other.
Reception Location:
Riverlife Sunset Marquee, Kangaroo Point
Our reception began with pre-dinner drinks and canapés overlooking the river. We got everyone mingling early with a game of find his or her ‘pair’, which became hilariously competitive and set a great tone for the evening. After enjoying a delicious BBQ buffet we danced the night away to a great live band and DJ.
Riverlife Parklands wedding with Marriage Celebrant Jamie Eastgate. Image Becc Photographics
We loved everything about our day, but particularly that the majority of our guests traveled interstate to be with us. We were so lucky to have perfect weather for our wedding day, in an otherwise rainy Easter long weekend. We also loved that we were able to create and enjoy the informal, fun and relaxed atmosphere we had intended, which was helped in large part by BenJam band.
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants:
We were so pleased to have Jamie as our Celebrant. From when we first met with Jamie to discuss our wedding he was very enthusiastic and made everything so straightforward. Jamie was always really easy to contact and work with. We loved that we were able to create our own ceremony from the options that he gave us. After the ceremony many of our guests commented on what a fantastic job Jamie did, and we thought so too!
Tell us about any of your wedding suppliers that you were impressed with and why:
BenJam band – Helpful, SO entertaining and went the extra mile
Lush Floristry – Honor offered great advice, knowledge and professionalism
Cakes by Simone – Delivered a beautiful looking and tasting cake that was exactly what was asked, with absolutely no fuss or worry
Becc Photographic Concepts – Becc and Jason were calming, fun and unobtrusive. Becc captured the moments so beautifully.
Think about what kind of atmosphere you want to create for your wedding, and make plans with that in mind. Help each other with the planning. Most of all, enjoy the best day of your life!
- Riverlife Wedding Reception
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Bride and Groom: Louise and Owen
Wedding Date: 8 March 2014
Ceremony Location: Private Residence, Tallai, Gold Coast
Tell us about your Ceremony:
Our Ceremony was personal and intimate. It was in a little garden with a big view.
It was important to us for our guests to feel relaxed and involved, and upon reflection, we achieved that (and more!) with the help of Jamie Eastgate our Celebrant, it really felt like “us.”
- Relaxed and fun wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate: Image Andrew Sun Photography
Reception Location: Private Residence, Tallai, Gold Coast
Tell us about your Reception:
Our Reception was at the same venue as our ceremony, however, the reception was held on the (huge!!) deck overlooking Surfers Paradise.
Our main aim was for the reception to feel relaxed and happy. We didn’t have any formalities, so the evening just flowed perfectly from beginning to end.
What we loved:
We honestly just loved that we were surrounded by our loved ones on our special day.
The less people you invite, the more intimate and relaxed the day is. We had approximately 55 guests, which was perfect for us as it was just close friends and family. We felt so loved.
Describe your experience with Jamie Eastgate from Brisbane City Celebrants:
Jamie was perfect. He told ‘our story’ so well and he really helped put us at ease!
He even called the day before to iron over any last minute issues/ concerns, which really helped ease those ‘pre-wedding worries!’
He truly has an aura of love and happiness. Throughout the reception, our guests commented about what a great job he did. We can’t thank him enough.
- A relaxed and intimate wedding ceremony with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.
Image: Andrew Sun Photography
Wedding Suppliers we were impressed with:
We hired all of our furniture, glasses, urn, bins etc through Gold Coast Events and Party Rentals. They were fantastic. They were very reliable and they gave us a great deal.
Also, I can’t praise Amelda Webster from CloseUp Makeup and Hair enough! She was fantastic and really put me and my bridesmaid at ease. She was happy to do a trial prior to the wedding to make sure we were happy with everything. She made us look and feel beautiful!
Our Advice to Brides and Grooms to be:
Relax and enjoy it! Don’t sweat the small stuff – it’s just not worth it. If you can get away with inviting less guests, we would definitely recommend it, as it really helps to provide that intimate, personal vibe.
Also, just accept that you will cry during your ceremony – don’t try to fight it!
- Congratulations to the lovely newly weds married at a private residence by Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.
Beautiful images kindly provided by Wedding Photographer Andrew Sun Photography
“Jamie, you were very professional on the day and I really enjoyed working with you.” Andrew Sun Photography.
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Bride and Groom: Tanzih and Grisha
Wedding Date: 14th November 2009
Wedding Ceremony Location: The Brisbane Marriott Hotel
Tell us about your Ceremony:
It was a civil wedding ceremony which we personalised with our own vows, poems and song choices. As soon as I met our Celebrant Jamie I felt at ease because I knew that he would handle everything perfectly – and he did!
Tell us about your Reception:
The reception was held in the Grand Ball Room of the Brisbane Marriott Hotel where we witnessed speeches, took our first dance and enjoyed the ambiance and cuisine provided at the Marriott.
Brisbane Marriott Hotel Wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate
What we loved:
We loved the ceremony – it was truly magical. The reception was also great and a fantastic way to unwind and relax – the dancing and cake cutting where especially fun. It was great seeing all my friends and family enjoying themselves and we could truly feel the love and support from all. I also really enjoyed the service provided by the wait staff at the Marriott.
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants
Jamie was a fantastic celebrant! From day one we felt incredibly comfortable with him. He was very professional, friendly, kind and genuine. He also took time to meet us prior to the wedding and answered all our email queries promptly. Most importantly however, Jamie was so enthusiastic about the wedding – which was great and really made us feel excited about the big day.
It is very important to have a celebrant who really cares and Jamie certainly did. He also took care of everything so we didn’t have to worry about a thing and gave us great tips on how to organise our ceremony and vows to assist us in creating a very personalised and beautiful ceremony which we will remember always. Thank you so much Jamie, the day wouldn’t have been the same without your help and support!
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Plan things way ahead of time even if you do a little each week as things get incredibly hectic right before the wedding.
Brisbane Marriott Hotel Wedding with Celebrant Jamie Eastgate
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Bride and Groom: Vanessa and Michael
Wedding Date:6th December 2009
Wedding Ceremony Location: New Farm Park Rotunda, New Farm, Brisbane
Tell us about your Ceremony:
We eloped with a small party of family and friends to say our “I do’s” on the beach of Wananavu, Fiji. For those who could not make it, we reaffirmed our vows in a simple but romantic ceremony under the rotunda at Brisbane’s New Farm Park.
Reception Location: New Farm Park
Tell us about your Reception:
We decided to forgo the traditional wedding reception – after all we’d already had one – and opted for a picnic in the park. Guests brought a plate to share and everyone enjoyed themselves – including the children who were able to really let their hair down at the park.
What we loved:
After having our wedding in Fiji, it was really nice to relax and just enjoy the day we reaffirmed our vows. Great company, great food – it was a beautiful day for all who attended.
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants:
Jamie was lovely; he suggested some readings and prepared a lovely ceremony for us. We chose to use our own vows from our ceremony inFiji, and we had some guests singing for us during the ceremony. Jamie fitted these personal touches in to the ceremony very nicely.
We would definitely recommend Jamie.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Don’t sweat the small stuff – you’ll miss some really wonderful moments. Enjoy each other and your special day.
A New Farm Park ceremony followed this bride and grooms elopement in Fiji.
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Bride and Groom: Liezel and Maxwell
Wedding Date: 13th November 2011
Ceremony Location: Mt Ommaney Hotel Ceremony Gardens
Tell us about your Ceremony:
It was very emotional from start to finish, we loved that we could include others in our day by adding a reading (poem read by a bridesmaid) and by having our Celebrant Jamie share our journey about how we met and became engaged.
Wedding Reception Location: Mt Ommaney Hotel
Tell us about your Reception:
We can’t even begin to describe how amazing it was, the attention to detail was incredible John from Mt Ommaney Hotel created the perfect reception. The staff were lovely the food was divine and the buffet selection was outstanding.
Mt Ommaney Hotel Wedding. Bridesmaids dressed in purple as the Maid of Honour performs a reading.
What we loved:
We loved being with family and friends and how everything flowed perfectly from the start of the ceremony right through to the end of the reception.
Describe your experience with Jamie Eastgate of Brisbane City Celebrants:
Jamie Eastgate was wonderful to deal with, he was great at guiding us through everything, Jamie took the time to make us feel comfortable and prepare us for our day. We would highly recommend our Celebrant Jamie Eastgate to everyone.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Plan Plan Plan! Don’t leave anything till the last minute, don’t forget your wedding is about YOU be sure to add your own personal touches.
Mt Ommaney Hotel Wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate.
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Bride and Groom: Erin and Leigh
Wedding Date:6th March 2010
Wedding Ceremony Location: Elephant Rocks, Currumbin Beach, QLD
Tell us about your ceremony:
Not long after we got engaged we went for a family holiday to Currumbin Beach. When we saw a ceremony set on the beach, it instantly felt perfect. Our ceremony was small and intimate with around 50 people. Our ceremony site was on the beach and was beautifully decorated with Bali flags and an aisle of rose petals.
We wrote our own vows and tailored the ceremony to include our son which was really special to us. Thanks to Ciara and Jamies handy hints we created our own special ceremony which was truly magical and the highlight of our day.
Reception Location: Currumbin Surf Life Saving Club, QLD
Tell us about your reception:
We opted for a cocktail party as it suited our guests and worked well with the relaxed atmosphere of the club. With panoramic views of the beach and coastline the room was decorated very simply with lanterns and tall vases with orchids inside. Keeping with the relaxed feel, we entertained with an acoustic guitar player. It was the best way to finish off such a perfect day.
Erin and Leigh’s beach wedding with Marriage Celebrant Jamie Eastgate
What we loved:
The ceremony was the best part of the day, even though we had some rain! LOL! As we had tailor made our ceremony, it was so special for us to share this with each other and our loved ones.
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants:
When we first met Jamie, we knew straight away that he genuinely cared about creating such a special day for us. The variety of wording options and step by step guidelines made it so easy to design and create our own ceremony. Jamie was so helpful and easy to talk to throughout. We could not have picked a better Celebrant.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Everyone will tell you this and it is so true. Enjoy every single moment because the day is over so fast. Don’t forget to take a moment to take in the surroundings you have.
Currumbin Beach Wedding Ceremony with Brisbane Celebrant Jamie Eastgate
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Bride and Groom: Bronya and Shane
Wedding Date: 6th February 2010
Ceremony Location: Beerwah Hideaway, Beerwah, Qld
Tell us about your ceremony: Small simple ceremony with close family and friends. Informal and personal.
Reception Location: Beerwah Hideaway, Beerwah, Qld
Tell us about your reception: Small venue, organised and decorated by Beerwah Hideaway, BBQ dinner, was a great night. Lots of fun. The singer Richie Williams was excellent and gave the night a personal and cosy feel. very informal with one small speech, cutting of the cake, and mingling.
What we loved: The venue was fabulous and well organised, the ceremony spot was beautiful. Great location for photos as well.
Describe your experience with Jamie from Brisbane City Celebrants: Jamie was fantastic, we really enjoyed his approach with us and he delivered the ceremony nice and clearly. He had us well organised before we started and was easy to approach throughout the whole process from start to finish.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be: This is your wedding day, relax and enjoy every moment!
Beerwah Hideaway Wedding Celebrant Jamie Eastgate performing a garden ceremony.
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Bride and Groom: Melissa and Robert
Wedding Date: 2nd June 2012
Wedding Ceremony Location: Hillstone St Lucia
Tell us about your Ceremony:
Despite the rain starting five minutes before our ceremony was due to start and having to move everyone inside at the last minute, we could not have asked for a more perfect ceremony! There were quite a few tears (and not only from the ladies!) as it was such a happy, heartfelt moment in our lives.
Wedding Reception Location: Hillstone St Lucia Reception Room
Tell us about your Reception: Our reception was fantastic. Delicious food, fantastic music and most importantly great people!
Describe your experience with Ciara from Brisbane City Celebrants:
Ciara made planning our ceremony from a distance a breeze. As we were based in Darwin the first time we met Ciara was three days before the wedding and she was the perfect mix of easy going and organised and was just a great personality to be around. We can’t express our thanks enough to Ciara for being so integral in making our ceremony such a special memory.
Tell us about any wedding suppliers that you were impressed with and why:
Tom Hall Photography – For capturing truly precious images and adding to the fun of the day
Hillstones St Lucia – For incredible food and coordination of our suppliers
Mood Music Entertainment – For hassle free organisation of a string quartet for the ceremony, a jazz duo for pre-reception canapes and dinner music, and a seven piece swing band for after dinner dancing. A very professional and experienced group of people!
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
The wedding day isn’t the time to be worrying about everything going to plan, it’s the time to relax and enjoy yourselves!
Bride and Groom: Melissa and Sam
Wedding Date: 28th July 2012
Wedding Ceremony Location: Arbour, Sirromet Winery, Mt Cotton
Tell us about your Ceremony:
We had a simple no frills wedding ceremony set between the grape vines at Sirromet Winery. We received lovely comments from our guests about how much they loved our short and lovely ceremony.
Wedding Reception Location: Barrell Hall, Sirromet Winery, Mt Cotton
Tell us about your Reception: We also wanted just a simple but elegant reception and the Barrell Hall was perfect for this and kept with the winery theme. Good food, good wine and good music all made for the perfect night for our family and friends.
What we loved:
We loved that everything that was organised went perfectly to plan on the day from the ceremony to the photos and the reception. We especially loved sitting back together at the reception when we first arrived, taking it all in. Seeing all our friends and family with us, laughing and enjoying themselves. It’s an awesome feeling when you know they are all there for you.
Describe your experience with Ciara from Brisbane City Celebrants:
Ciara was a great Celebrant! she met with us face to face to figure out what we wanted for our day and explained what to expect. We didn’t feel pressured in to any wedding format, and the ceremony options and readings Ciara provided helped alot.
Ciara helped us with all our documentation and was always on hand for any of our questions, which helped keep this part of planning stress free. We loved having Ciara as a part of our day and would recommend her to anyone planning a wedding, thank you Ciara!
Wedding at the Arbour, Sirromet Winery with Brisbane Wedding Celebrant Ciara Hodge.
Tell us about any wedding suppliers that you were impressed with and why:
Archie Rye (Band) – Planned excellent music and catered for everyones tastes and it helped that they had played at Sirromet many times previously, their set up was seamless.
Kate Dawes Flower Design (Flowers) – Went above and beyond to make my wedding flowers perfect. She helped to tease out what I wanted for my day as I wasn’t sure in the beginning. The centre pieces were especially magical.
Sirromet Winery (Wedding Ceremony and Reception Venue) – Speaks for itself!
Tella Photography (Photographers) – Loved that they went and scoped out the venue the day before at the time that our photos would need to be taken to get the best shots possible. They set up a slideshow during the reception which showed some beautiful photos of the day to include the guests in this part of things, great people to boot.
Paper and Strings (Cake) – Went above and beyond to get the wedding cake of my dreams from Townsville to Brisbane. We received comments from some of our guests that the mudcake was the best they have ever tasted!
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
If you’re getting stressed especially over the little things, try to occasionally take a step back and remember why you’re planning a wedding in the first place! It’s so easy to get caught up in minor details. Some of the best days I had were my ‘wedding free days’ where I didn’t think about or do any planning, just enjoyed some normal things like walking the dog, listening to music or going to the beach with a book.
Also having a little notebook in my bag that I took everywhere with me was good, so that if you do think of something you can write it down straight away before you forget. There is so much going on that writing it down when you think of it can save you from forgetting until weeks later!
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Bride and Groom: Justine and Andrew
Wedding Date: 12th May 2013
Wedding Ceremony and Reception Location: Fix Restaurant and Bar (Port Office Hotel)
Tell us about your Ceremony and Reception:
When we thought about how we wanted to get married, we kept coming back to just wanting a big party with all our family and friends; so to do that, we had an engagement party/ surprise wedding.
We wanted it to feel like a party from start to end, only stopping for a short meaningful ceremony in the middle. Our engagement party was a black and white cocktail theme with a splash of colour. I (the bride) started the night in a black dress and 90 minutes in, I snuck away to change in to my knee length white wedding dress, wearing a pair of electric blue pumps with both dresses. While I was out of the room my then fiance mingled with the crowd, there were enough people there it was assumed I was just off talking to someone else, plus allowing the guests 2 hours until the actual ceremony gave ample time for the late comers to arrive in time for the big surprise.
At 6pm the Wedding Coordinator (who also happens to be my sister) gathered everyone together for the ‘speeches’ to start and asked where I was, but really this was just code for the very few in the know that the ceremony was about to begin. The band started playing Pachelbel’s Canon, I appeared from a door at the back of the room and the guests were surprised and delighted to see the engagement party had just become a wedding. There were lots of gasps, cheers, clapping and a flourish of tears. The reaction was better than we had ever imagined and quite unlike the usual response you normally get to a bride walking down the aisle.
Our actual ceremony would have been around 10 minutes from start to finish, but in that time we included our unique meeting story, some meaningful vows (with a couple of humorous ones thrown in), exchanged the rings, and of course included all the required legal wording. To us, it was just perfect!
Engagement party turned surprise wedding with Brisbane Celebrant Ciara Hodge
What we loved:
The venue was set up superbly, the existing decor is dark leather and wood, and the elegance was enhanced by little lantern lighting placed throughout the venue. To top it off the centre piece of the room was an amazing 3m tall, cherry blossom LED tree – it was definitely a talking point, and a perfect backdrop to the ceremony.
We also loved the laid back feel a surprise wedding had, everyone was having fun from the moment they walked through the door – only helped by the amazing band. We both really loved having kids there too, they entertained themselves for a lot of the night, at one stage the band gave them instruments and had them involved in one or two songs – it was fantastic. But overall my most favourite part was seeing everyones reaction to the ‘big surprise’. I will never forget that!
Describe your experience with Ciara from Brisbane City Celebrants:
As mentioned earlier my sister is a Wedding Coordinator, so she has seen a LOT of Celebrants in action, so I knew the moment she recommended Ciara to be my Celebrant, that she was going to be fantastic.
I was always imperative from the start that we thought Ciara could successfully help us ‘pull off’ the surprise component – and she was really an integral part. She gave us guidance from start to end, but also allowed flexibility for us to put our own touches in to the ceremony.
Ciara also allowed us to prepare everything in our own time, so we never felt any unnecessary pressure. It really was an easy, stress free experience – and for that we are very grateful!
Tell us about any wedding suppliers that you were impressed with and why:
The following suppliers were exceptional:
– Emma Stephenson at The Port Office Hotel was outstanding even though we are sisters she treated me as she would any client, she was thorough and professional. There was nothing that was not thought of, planned, or executed perfectly. The staff serving us on the night also need to be congratulated.
– Benjam (band) if you ever wanted the most outstanding wedding band in Brisbane these guys are it. They add to, and create the perfect atmosphere. You can choose between having 1, 2 or 3 band members for differing prices, but we went the whole 3, and it was outstanding. You can indicate the kind of music you want, but apart from choosing the ‘walking down the aisle’ song and the ‘bridal waltz’, we left the rest up to them, they really knew what they were doing. The bridal waltz song we wanted wasn’t very mainstream, but they happily learnt it and executed it fantastically.
– LED Tree Hire by Creative Loop, hiring the LED tree helped us add that point of difference to our wedding. The amazing cherry blossom tree stood 3m tall and really became the centre piece of the room. I am still hearing really positive comments about how amazing it was. They came in to set it up and took it away at the end of the night, so all we had to do was enjoy it’s beauty.
– and of course Brisbane City Celebrants Ciara Hodge, she was just amazing.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Our advice is…… a wedding doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out, overly expensive, or stressful affair. If you choose professional suppliers, they will take care of all the stuff that bogs some couples down. We were the hosts of the engagement party/ surprise wedding, but we just showed up and enjoyed it like the rest of our guests. Although we always knew we were going to have a surprise wedding, we only gave ourselves 8 weeks to prepare, but to be honest over 90% of it was organised in less than 4 days.
We would highly recommend a surprise wedding too, there were no preconceived ideas of what should happen, we had no pushy opinions, we saved quite a lot of money and we didn’t need to organise things that often get forgotton e.g. table arrangements, what colour the napkins are, bonbonnieres etc.
We just wish we could do it all again!
Wedding at The Port Office with Brisbane Celebrant Ciara Hodge
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Bride and Groom: Debbie and Michael
Wedding Date: 8 May 2010
Wedding Ceremony Location: Riverbend Terrace, Brisbane Powehouse, New Farm, Brisbane
Tell us about your Ceremony:
Simple and meaningful, we didn’t want to overload anyone with sentiment so the ceremony we selected was perfect for us.
Reception Location: Brisbane Powerhouse, Riverbend Terrace, New Farm
Tell us about your Reception:
Informal cocktail reception, lots of fun! a complete celebration.
What we loved:
Everything!
Describe your experience with Ciara from Brisbane City Celebrants:
Ciara was great with explaining everything and helping us plan the ceremony. The follow up was great because I can be unorganised so I was confident everything would run smoothly on the day. Ciara was also great on the day with helping Michael to work through his pre wedding nerves.
The guidance and information with the name change after the wedding was also really helpful.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Enjoy yourself and don’t get hung up on any little details.
Brisbane Powerhouse Wedding Celebrant Ciara Hodge performing a ceremony at Riverbend Terrace.
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Bride and Groom: Lorina and Josh
Wedding Date: 7th December 2013
Wedding Ceremony Location: Broadway Chapel, Woolloongabba, Brisbane
Tell us about your Ceremony:
Our ceremony was relaxed and personal, we included our children who had their own vows for us, and readings from a couple of the family. We thought it may be a bit long, but the timing was actually perfect.
We didn’t hear each others vows until the day so it was quite emotional and everyone loved it. The bridesmaids walked down the aisle to a jazz acoustic version of Alicia Keys ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ which was played live and then vocals for the song kicked in live when the bride walked down the aisle. “Dream come true!”
Reception Location: The Botanical (Mt Coot-tha)
Tell us about your Reception:
Much like our ceremony our reception was really relaxed and fun; we wanted everyone to mingle and just have a great time. Our guests arrived for a 1.5hour cocktail hour and were treated to an open bar, amazing canapé’s and lolly buffet with the most delicious cupcakes as well!
We had an acoustic guitarist/vocalist playing during the cocktail hour and all our guests got to meet each other and hang out and then we joined in the cocktail hour on our arrival, which was awesome, a great start to a great night!
The reception went through to about 11pm with all guests staying to party. The bride did a surprise traditional dance for the groom and his family that kicked off the party and all guests mixed and mingled between tables between the meals and spent a lot of time out on the balcony all getting to know each other, which was great.
Music was great, food was amazing and the venue did an awesome job!
What we loved:
I loved how great all of our wedding suppliers were; they all went above and beyond and exceeded our expectations. It was amazing to have them, it was such a stressful time for us in the week leading up and our bridesmaids didn’t do the greatest job so to have everything just run so smoothly like clock work was all thanks to the amazing suppliers we chose.
Describe your experience with Ciara Hodge from Brisbane City Celebrants:
Ciara was awesome from start to finish, always made us feel comfortable, kept in contact with us, answered all my annoying questions and really guided us through the whole thing.
I knew nothing about weddings before planning my own but when I hit the steps of the chapel on my wedding day I knew everything, she did a great job and conducted the ceremony really well, she was also amazing with Josh (the groom) who was extremely nervous, he can’t thank her enough!
Lorina and Josh wed at Broadway Chapel in Woolloongabba
Tell us about any of your wedding suppliers that you were impressed with and why:
All of them were amazing, with special mention to Brian Davis our DJ and MC, he
was amazing.
Ciara our Celebrant
Brian Davis our DJ and MC from DJ Davis Weddings
Brent Officen from Decibels – guitarist and vocalist
Laura Swales from The Botanical
The people at the Broadway Chapel
LIMOSO Limousine Services
Scott from Storyteller Films our Videographer
Phil Dalton our photographer and personal friend
Khurim and Kamran from Brisbane Boxing who hosted us for photos at their West End Gym.
Darchiez Cakes – our amazing wedding cake and cupcakes
The Bride Guide – wedding day assistants
Hair by Jo&Co – hair
Celia and Rachel – make up
From Kylie with Love – Original one of a kind bling bouquet’s to keep forever
Jordanna Reagan Couture who designed and made my beautiful wedding dress
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Have a wedding day assistant that has no other job but to assist you. They will keep grumpy bridesmaids at bay and make sure everything is running on time and get those last minute things done and the unexpected things as well, while keeping you cool, calm and collected with nothing to worry about.
You really don’t truly feel the stress until that last week and last few days, and everyone says don’t sweat the small stuff, no one else will notice etc, but that’s easier said than done, you need a wedding day assistant, it will save your day!
Lorina and Josh exiting Broadway Chapel as husband and wife!
View Lorina and Josh’s amazing wedding film capturing their Broadway Chapel wedding and Botanical Cafe reception by Storyteller Films here.
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Bride and Groom: Livian and Edward
Wedding Date: 12th December 2012 (12.12.12!)
Wedding Ceremony and Reception Location: Stamford Plaza Brisbane Wedding Ceremony Gardens
Tell us about your ceremony: We had originally planned to have a small low key ceremony at the Registry Office, however as their only daughter my parents wanted my day to be really special and memorable so we changed our plans to have a stunning wedding at the Stamford Plaza in Brisbane, while keeping the essence of the ceremony simple and short as originally planned.
What we loved: The great location of the Stamford Plaza, the view was absolutely perfect even though it was a little windy on our wedding day.
Describe your experience with Ciara from Brisbane City Celebrants: We really appreciated Ciara’s professionalism and experience, there were a few things we changed right at the last minute and she handled it all perfectly.
Your advice to brides and grooms to be: There is never enough time to do every little thing you would like to do, so my advice is to try and avoid having a really tight schedule to plan your day like we did.
Stamford Plaza Wedding with Brisbane Marriage Celebrant Ciara Hodge.
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Bride and Groom: Veronica and Garry
Wedding Date: 22nd May 2010
Wedding Ceremony Location: Garden wedding at own home in Brisbane
Tell us about your ceremony: We had a beautiful outdoor ceremony elegantly decorated with lilac and pink and with our children in the bridal party. We were relieved to be blessed with gorgeous weather after recent showers.
Reception Location: Our home in South Brisbane
Tell us about your reception: Casual and lots of fun. We decided to have the ceremony and reception at our home and this allowed us to relax and really enjoy the day.
What we loved: Having our family and friends with us to love, laugh and enjoy the day.
Describe your experience with Ciara from Brisbane City Celebrants: As a Celebrant myself I understand the planning and preparation that goes in to each ceremony. I really appreciated Ciara’s professionalism and help with organising the ceremony on the day. It was nice to know that I could arrive and not have to worry if everyone would be in their place and knew what to do as Ciara had this all under control.
Your advice to bride and grooms to be: Try and relax and enjoy it as much as possible, after all the organising the ceremony and reception will fly by.
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Bride and Groom: Lauren & Paul
Wedding Date: 30th September 2011
Wedding Ceremony Location: Bretts Wharf, Hamilton, Brisbane
Tell us about your Ceremony:
Our ceremony was absolutely beautiful. It was everything I had hoped for and more! It all went incredibly smoothly and we couldn’t have been happier with everything. Everyone commented on how lovely it was. We were very lucky.
Wedding Reception Location: Bretts Wharf Restaurant, Hamilton, Brisbane
Tell us about your Reception: Our reception looked beautiful. The hard work I put into decorating our reception area certainly paid off and I was so pleased with how it looked. The night was filled with nice food, good entertainment and great company.
What we loved:
The weather on our wedding day was the most perfect I have ever seen. We were SO lucky – money can’t buy a sky as blue as that! We had gorgeous flowers everywhere which gave it a beautiful spring feel. I loved that we had a relatively small wedding (70 wedding guests) and we were able to spend a good amount of time with each guest. I also loved that we were finally getting married after 12 long years together!
Describe your experience with Ciara from Brisbane City Celebrants:
I can’t recommend Ciara highly enough. She was an absolute pleasure to work with. She was so quick to respond to any emails that I sent her and I found the whole process so easy!! I was beyond pleased with my wedding ceremony. Thank you Ciara!!!
Your advice to bride and grooms to be:
Enjoy every second of your day. After months of hard work and planning, it flies by in an instant and you can never get that time back! Even if things don’t turn out exactly how you’d dreamed them to be it is still the best day of your life, so relax and enjoy!
