This past week has
been very exciting in the world of secret weddings. It has seen Jennifer Aniston and
Justin Theroux surprise guests with their top secret wedding ceremony in their
home in Bel Air.
And I officiated a
very special wedding ceremony for Carol & Marc who also surprised their
guests that they were getting married.
Photo credit www.thedivabride.com
For Carol & Marc, who are expats enjoying a holiday in Melbourne,
they used the opportunity to invite a group of people who mean the most to
them, to join them at the beautiful Tea Rooms at the European Restaurant for a special catch up
lunch. Marc used his welcome speech thanking everyone for coming
along and to surprise guests by announcing that they had in fact been invited to a
wedding.
Photo credit: www.theeuropean.com.au
Their guests were genuinely delighted and erupted into spontaneous sounds of excitement and delight.
Their ceremony was
deeply intimate and a very personal occassion. Their meaningful vows that they made
to each other were filled with emotion and honesty resulting in free flowing
happy tears from everyone.
Carols vows included
“I promise not to take you for granted, and to have honest conversations, even
when they are tough conversations”
While Marc promised “I
will ask for help when I need it, and offer help to you always”
Photo credit: www.pinterest.com. Photo credit: www.pinterest.com
The last 6 months have
been a little crazy for Carol & Marc. It has seen them live in separate
countries for a number of months and have a jam packed travel schedule for work.
During this busy time,
they didn’t had much time to organise wedding rings. To allow them to enjoy the process and
choose something that each of them really want, after the wedding they plan to
take each other shopping!
In the meantime, the rings that
they exchanged during the ceremony were 2 rings that they had made, on a memorable
holiday in the Philippines a few years ago.
They were holidaying on an idyllic tropical
island where they spent their days diving and disconnecting from the rest of
the world. A local
man with a reputation as the Island Jeweller made these particular rings for
them - Marc’s was ‘hand
forged’ out of a 50 cent coin, and Carol’s out of a 20 cent coin.
So even though these wedding rings didn’t have great
monetary value, their sentiment was priceless.
Photo
credit www.etsy.com
This wedding wasn’t a typical wedding for many reasons. But
it achieved what Carol & Marc wanted – a memorable, relaxed, intimate and
romantic wedding. It certainly maintained the meaning of it being about two people sharing a special day with their closest family and friends –
without the expectations or pressure.
Celebrant Fiona Garrivan
Venue European Restaurant