Diary of a Humanist Wedding Celebrant
The first contact with any couple can come from many different and sometimes unexpected sources!
When a couple are starting to plan their wedding, once they’ve decided that they want something very special and completely personal to them, they’ll usually make their first port of call the Internet.
When they find the Fuze Ceremonies site, they have everything they need at their fingertips, from choosing a celebrant to getting a full wedding package!
The site also has a myriad of other very useful information and planning tools.
Personal recommendations also come from couples we’ve married and from their guests that have seen our beautifully crafted, bespoke and very memorable ceremonies.
Also, other suppliers in the wedding industry, like venues and photographers, who see us in action and like what we do, frequently give their recommendations to couples.
Fuze Ceremonies regularly attend a number of Wedding Shows and Open Days, throughout Scotland, where we get a chance to really engage with couples and give them ideas about how we can create their dream ceremonies.
This is when the seeds are sown and they realise that they can have what they want and that there’s no limit to their dreams!
My first step is always to have an early meeting with a couple, just so that I can gauge their initial feelings about what type of ceremony they want.
Every couple is so different and I never assume anything.
This way, they can get to know me a little, but more importantly, I get to know them too!
Once they’ve completed their booking to secure their date, we’re up and running and I give them lots of ideas and suggestions to think about, before our planning meeting.
This usually happens about four months before the big day and that’s when the real hard work starts!
Working together at the planning meeting, I’ll take lots of information and we really chew the fat, so that I can then go and compose their draft ceremony.
This, of course, is always a “work in progress” until they are completely happy with it!
By getting to know the couple well, I can then make suggestions for readings, music and symbolic gestures that I feel may suit their personalities.
The excitement builds to a crescendo when we have the optional rehearsal at their venue, usually in the week leading up to the wedding.
This gives all the key players the opportunity to feel what it’s like to walk the walk and talk the talk and iron out any logistical worries.
When everyone’s happy – I’m happy and we just have to wait a few days now!
The big day’s here and I always arrive at the venue in plenty of time before the wedding ceremony, to make sure everything is just right.
The key thing is that they feel comfortable with me by now and they’re confident about everything.
We’re ready to go now and it’s going to be a wonderfully happy day with lots and lots of smiles – and probably a few tears of happiness!!!!
Gillian Phillips is just one of our fantastic wedding celebrants, why not get in touch to find out how Fuze can help create cherished memories of your big day.
