Rebels' Guide

I see a lot of wedding vows, I hear even more, and over my 7 or so years as a marriage celebrant I think I’ve become a bit of a ‘vow connoisseur’. On this blog I’ve written about wedding vows, and making awesome wedding vows a few times: one , two , three , along with writing a little vow writing email course . But if you want to shortcut through all of that, and your time is short, here’s the ultimate writing guide: Replace the word “ I ” with “ you “. The vows are for the other person getting married. They’re not for you. The vows are for your bride or groom. Saying “I” throughout makes them about you, but dropping “I” and moving to “you” refocuses the vows on the most important person in your life. Too much “I” can make the vows a naval gazing experience. Even “I do” can get a bit insular. Take your commitment and let it shine toward your favourite human. That...

Ali Solomon has a great article on Scary Mummy today , begging brides and grooms to not invite her kids to their wedding. Solomon says “There seems to be a common misconception that I want to spend every waking moment with my children (probably because I spend every waking moment with my children). Don’t tell me why my kids aren’t invited to your wedding; just don’t invite them. It will be magical.” It’s your day I get a rare night out I don’t want them to upstage you My kids don’t want to be there either Nobody really wants to supervise them It’ll keep your guest list in check You will save a ton of money for me Mummy needs a drink My children have no plans to reciprocate the invite Nothing kills a buzz faster than having to be responsible for the welfare and safety of small children in a room filled with innumerable safety hazards Read the full article at  scarymommy.com . And while we’re talking about kids at weddings, you ought to ...

Han, a celebrant in North Carolina, hosts a podcast about celebrating things , which is something I spend most of my life doing, so he invited me onto his show to talk about why I do what I do, how I do it in part one . We talk about same-sex marriage and marriage law in Australia, and I offer a powerful tip for celebrants and a pretty good piece of advice at the end of the part two for couples planning their own wedding. To listen, follow the links above, or click the play buttons below. Part one http://www.celebrationshow.com/episodes/episode2.mp3 Part two http://www.celebrationshow.com/episodes/episode3.mp3 The photo in this post is by my mate Shane taken at Joel and Nicola’s Byron Bay wedding at Fig Tree !