Finding a celebrant - how did you pick yours....

Choosing a celebrant is not an easy thing to do by any means.... This person is going to pronounce you husband and wife and start your journey into married life. They are going to help create the wedding ceremony and make sure that it goes to plan. They will assist you if you muck up your vows or forgot the words or are full of nerves. They will at least make you smile in times of stressful planning. They are very very important people!!!

Credit to Robyn Pattison

There are many different types of celebrants out there, and it is rather hard to decide who you would like to conduct your ceremony. Here's a good link with some questions that you should ask yourself and the celebrant when looking for one. We visited a few big expos to look for celebrants and noticed that the expos are jam packed with photographers but hardly any celebrants. I decided to check out some of the smaller expos held in parramatta, sutherland and the stamford plaza near the airport and we found a better selection of celebrants.

Natasha Hill - Celebrant

FH and I decided that we wanted a female celebrant and we made an appointment to meet Linda Marsden, who we'd met a couple of times at the big expos and both liked. And Natasha Hill, who I'd met at one the Paramatta expo and wanted FH to meet.

We made met Natasha in a coffee shop near where she lived. This was a slight mission for me as it involved me driving on one of the big highways in north sydney (I'm on my red p's, slightly scared of highways and FH's ankle was still in plaster). But it turned out to be a very enjoyable experience. She asked many questions and seemed very warm and enthusiatic about her job.She's recently entered the celebrant profession and is lovely to deal with. She had a nice covered registry table with two chairs as well which came with the package. We left the appointment with a good vibe which was nice. 

Linda Marsden - Celebrant

Linda came and met us at our home which was nice as we didn't have to travel anywhere and could relax at the same time. She asked us questions and was very interested in our lives. She's has been performing ceremony's for a while now and is very professional. Linda's registry table was more rustic and shabby chic which was quite pretty. We got a great vibe off her as well. 

So we had an important decision deciding between the two of them. I left it a few days and then asked FH which one he liked the most and it turned out that he was liking the same one as me.... Natasha! So that was a relatively easy decision to make between the two of us. It also helped that Natasha's table fitted nicely into our theme and she also fitted into our budget well.

Natasha's Package includes: 

Credit to Natasha Hill

• Various correspondence - by either phone or email
• Meetings to discuss the day 
• Advice in relation to the order of ceremony, vows, reading and rituals
• discussion on the availability of relationship education services
• through explanation, preparation and correct lodgement of all legal documents 
• a Newlywed Name Change Kit
• an on site rehersal, in preparation for your ceremony
• your ceremony
• a personal PA system to ensure your ceremony is auidble to all of your guests
• a signing table and chairs with crisp white covers, coloured chair sashes and decorations
• all expenses in relation to travel in and around the Sydney Metropolitan area only. Travel outside of this area will incur additional costs.

  I emailed Natasha after we made our decision that she was to be the one, and we booked her in. We've had another appointment in August 2011 in The Rocks, when the Dockside Group was having an open day, at one of the italian cafe's there, and it was another lovely experience. We signed all the paperwork that was required and gave her answers to her questions as much as we could as the wedding was still 'next year'. We finished the appointment with a nice buzz of 'we've definitely picked the right one' and then headed off to see the Open day and see what we could do to the rooms that we'd booked at Waterfront Restaurant. A throughly enjoyable day it was!

Credit to Natasha Hill

Natasha has also been in contact since then, wishing us a Merry Christmas and checking to see that all the plans were going ok.  She gave us a ceremony readings and verses book which is quite handy. I'm not sure whether we are going to have readings as we are only going to have a short ceremony but it is still quite useful for ideas.

It's going to be interesting planning our ceremony and vows. I don't think we will make our own vows, probably something traditional but maybe incorporating the words - for better or broken, a running joke between FH and I ever since he broke his ankle.

I've liked Natasha's facebook page and it is fantastic to see the weddings that she does. It makes me happy to see that we've definitely made the right choice of a celebrant!