FINDING YOUR VOICE We’re having a celebrant-led wedding ceremony, but neither of us are very good with words, how can we work with our celebrant to make sure the wedding feels like ‘us’? Working with a celebrant is an excellent choice, this will ensure your ceremony is heartfelt, memorable and bespoke to you as a couple. Creating the content is something I specialise in and take great pride in working with couples to do. So how will we do this? I meet couples and put them at ease, we talk about the component parts of the ceremony and begin to build on ideas to reflect you as a couple and your love. I will spend time getting to know you, how you met and your dreams and aspirations for married life. I also ask you to share some of the quirky bits about yourselves, hobbies, interests etc. We chat about if you want to say your own wedding vows, sometimes couples instinctively know what they want, while others are hesitant, but talking it through gives you the extra bit of support and confidence to do this. It’s worth mentioning that this part of the ceremony is a wonderful opportunity for a photographer/videographer to capture these special moments as they happen. I work with you individually to create your own vows and if needed give tips and support to enhance these to give them that final flourish. I would then get you to rehearse them to me via a WhatsApp video call in preparation for the big day, and give further support and advice if needed. I give couples a copy to read on the day, after all, you’re not expected to remember them off by heart! If bepsoke vows are not for you, I can provide you with several ideas of standard examples of vows that you could choose from. We then work on beautiful wording for the ‘exchanging of rings’. In addition to this I speak to you about music, poetry, blessings for your ceremony and ask what your preferences would be and why they are important to you, as these all get woven into your ceremony. As we build on your ceremony and I know more about you as a couple, I talk about short wedding rituals you can choose to add for that extra special moment. Things like, a sand ceremony, handfasting/ hand-tying, rose ceremony and ring warming ceremony. There are many rituals these are just a few examples and this is really your choice whether you want this or not. We talk about whether you have friends or family who maybe want to be involved by reading poems, playing music or even singing. The most important thing to remember with a celebrant-led wedding, is you have your wedding the way you want it, there are no rules and no time constraints. Carol Cranfield | Celebrant | Carol Cranfield Celebrant https://carolcranfieldcelebrant.co.uk https://jeffturnbull.co.uk SNAP SHOT When hiring a photo booth, I quite like the look of the vintage-style designs that are becoming more popular. How do these compare to the original ‘booth-style’ ones. Vintage-styled booths have definitely become the must-have design for their ability to complement a variety of venues. A vintage booth works in the same way as a traditional photo booth, but is similar to the open footprint of selfie-pods. This allows for the use of a backdrop or beautiful flowerwall and is able it accommodate a larger number of guests than the original inclosed oval booth. The warm tones from their wooden construction means they look back to the traditional styling of photography, so can better suit a wide range of wedding themes than traditional booths. Rather than being stuck in the corner of the celebrations, it means that your booth can be front and centre to the entertainment. Helen Prior | Owner Canary Photobooths https://canaryphotobooths.co.uk Getty PLANNING SOS 63
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