Ceremony Blog 

Rebekah and Matty - Ballyscullion Park 

Our First Meeting....

I first met Rebekah and Matty (and Mabel, their gorgeous dog), on an introductory Zoom call in January 2023.

These can sometimes be a little bit awkward, with me trying to sell myself and couples feeling under pressure to ask questions and think of everything they need to know. The internet then wobbles, and I mumble my fee whilst going, ‘ah, I am terrible at this side of things’ and then we log off and I wonder if I will ever hear from them again….

This time though, we had a hoot. We just clicked and chatted away about all things engagements, Halloween, dogs and weddings.

I still logged off wondering if I would ever hear from them again, then within the hour I had an email saying ‘we would love you to be our celebrant – just didn’t want to seem too keen on the call, but we both knew!’. Which is just the best sentence a celebrant can receive.

Ceremony Prep 

We set a date for our planning meeting at the end of March, and I was heading North to meet them in their home. As they were close to the Coast, my wife (Fiona) drove me up and took the dogs to the beach whilst I had the meeting – I waved her off, saying ‘these usually take an hour – see you soon’. 

Fast forward two hours, and Fiona waiting outside wondering if I had been murdered….I finally waved them off with loads of notes, and sore cheeks from laughing so much.

We decided we wanted to do things a little bit differently for Rebekah and Matty. As well as spending the time chatting about their couple’s story and what to include, we also spent time thinking about symbolic acts that we could include that would really make the ceremony personal and represent them. This is one of the main benefits of a humanist wedding, we will make it all about you. 

We went through them all, and imagined what they could look like, and if they would work for them as a couple. After getting to know them a little bit more, and how much they enjoyed socialising and having a laugh, we decided that a unity symbol would be the way to go – but with a twist…instead of candles, or the more traditional Quaich Cup, we would have shots of Baby Guinness! They are also both sentimental, so we incorporated a memory box; one that would be sealed with a special bottle of bubbly, letters and memento’s from the Big Day. This would then be smashed open on their first anniversary….although we are yet to see if it lasts that long….

After the couples meeting - my work really kicks in. I take all of the information, and translate it into a personal and unique ceremony; trying to tie in all of the important parts of their love story, and including loved ones where I can. Couples always get a copy to approve in advance, to make sure everything is accurate – and that we don’t share too much.

The Big Day - September 2023

Fast forward to their Big Day. Their venue was Ballyscullion Park, and their ceremony was tucked away up in the Palace Ruins.

In the age of social media, we are all used to hyperbole – but I cannot stress enough just how stunning this venue is. The whole of Ballyscullion Park is wonderful, and the Palace Ruins is such a private wee corner of the grounds - you come around a corner to the most gorgeous little space under a canopy of trees.

And the best bit….is that you come around the corner in a GOLF BUGGY…..the staff are great and I was lifted and laid all day!

Darren from Northern Lights Event Hire was on hand to make sure the music was just right – and he made sure I could be heard over the rustle of the trees and the September wind. I would highly recommend a DJ for an outdoor ceremony – everything was beat-perfect and clear as a bell for the entrance and exit music - it can make such a difference to the atmosphere of the event.

The ceremony itself was beautiful….and not because of me! The bridal party came down the aisle already in tears – I don’t think I have seen a more teary group, but they were just so happy for their friends and it made for a really lovely start – it was the closest I have come to crying so far. The Unity Shots went down with the crowd as well as we had hoped, and for readings they had the lyrics of a Kodaline song they both love, and a poem that the bride had written herself for Matty – tears ahoy.

Rebekah and Matty were such an open and friendly couple, and it made my role as a celebrant an absolute joy. At the end of the ceremony, I grabbed a selfie – and watched them go off to their reception absolutely glowing with love, and it is such a privilege to be part of such a special day.

We have kept in touch, and they sent me a selection of their beautiful pictures from Tiffany Gage, and also the teaser video from Blank Canvas. As a celebrant I like to take my lead from the photographer and videographer – I am not precious about how/where they work and it leads to amazing footage for couples and families to treasure for years to come.

We had a blast, and I was so chuffed to get their feedback:

I meant to send you those photos, your insta story gave me the prompt I needed!! - there’s a couple of you, but I also wanted to share with you how much fun we had during our ceremony. The reaction from not only us but our guests just shows how well you put it all together and really let our love and laughter shine through with your words, I can’t thank you enough again. It was the most fun wedding ceremony and everyone commented on that. You’re an absolute credit 🖤🖤🖤