Sometimes a Celebrant has a wee break away from being a Celebrant and celebrates something special in their own family. Right now, I am celebrating being a granny again. On Saturday our fifth grandchild was born. Welcome to the world Leo Geoffrey, you have wonderful parents in Paul and Roey.
It is a great feeling to become a parent but an even more wonderful one to become a grandparent. We are blessed now with five lovely grandchildren - such a pleasure to watch them grow and know that they are so well loved and being nurtured with such great parents. We are so proud of our children and their partners and their wee families.

Your Celebrant plays a pivotal role on your big day.
Your Celebrant leads your Ceremony and you must feel very comfortable that you have chosen the right person to do this.
Make choosing your Celebrant one of the first things on your wedding planning list so that you have plenty of time to select the person who is right for you. (Good Celebrants are often booked up months, or even years, in advance so that is another reason to be choosing your Celebrant in good time.)

You may like to contact several potential Celebrants via an email or a phone call:

• Introduce yourselves, your wedding date, your chosen venue.
• Ask if they are available on that date and happy to conduct a ceremony at that venue.
• Ask if they are available to meet you either face to face or via Skype.

Their initial response will be your first indication on how you feel about them!!

• Did they respond promptly?
• Did they answer your questions?
• Was their response friendly and helpful?
  

Your meeting will be the second indication and you should then know how feel about working with that person.

• Were they a good listener?
• Do you feel that they understood what your ideas are for your ceremony?
• Did they offer some helpful suggestions towards the planning of your ceremony?
• In a nutshell, did you feel comfortable with that person?
• Were they happy to discuss their fee for the day and do you consider it to be a reasonable fee?

When you both agree on your best choice of Celebrant, contact them to confirm your choice and then, together you can make plans for working together to ensure that your Ceremony is going to be the best Ceremony for you that will leave everyone who is there with the best possible memories of your Wedding Ceremony.

If you contact a Celebrant and decide that they are not the one for you, they will appreciate you letting them know this too. A good Celebrant will also appreciate finding out why you have chosen someone else.

Your vows are your public declaration of your commitment to each other, not a private conversation between the two of you!

The key is to be sincere and talk from your heart.

Wedding vows are the words you speak, before friends and family, of the commitment you are about to make to each other.

Whether you choose to stay with tradition, choose your own, or combine the two, make them special!

It may help to ask yourselves some questions:
• When did you realize you were in love?
• What is special about your loved one?
• What life goals and dreams do you share?
• What have you learned from each other?
• What qualities make your love unique?
• What qualities will keep your love strong?
• How has your life changed since you fell in love?
• What are you looking forward to together?
• What are some special moments in your relationship?

The answers to these questions will help you to write your own vows that you can use at your wedding as your promise for your future.