Sweet.Petite.Treats

A very busy weekend of weddings! Friday, Saturday and Sunday..........it is that time of year.

I come across all sorts of "bonbonniere"/"wedding favours" etc. but the best ever was at a super cool wedding on Saturday at lunch time. Gorgeous couple, Eric & Kinae, had a very relaxed ceremony at Table for 20 in Surry Hills. The restaurant looked fabulous - two long tables of 20 very stylishly decorated and a couple of lovely gifts for the guest at each place setting - an interesting looking candle the groom had made and a little box of macarons - three macarons beautifully packaged. They gave me two boxes as I was leaving. My step-daughter and her husband were over for a casual dinner on Saturday night and we had the macarons with some lovely fruit at the end of the meal. They were sensational. I have tried the famous macarons around Sydney at present and also some at a cafe in Woolahra and I have to say these were better. The flavours were Vanilla with Cracked Pepper, Salted Caramel and Lemon. All fabulous, but the Salted Caramel was my favourite. Check out the blog - http://www.sweetpetitelikemetreats.blogspot.com/

A good woman

I have to say that just about everyone I marry is lovely! But, now and then you come across a really special person. Ann-Marie is one of these people.

I had the great honour of conducting the marriage of Ann-Marie and Sean recently. It was a very small, intimate ceremony on a Friday morning..........the couple, their two witnesses, the photographer & videographer. Ann-Marie and Sean had a great story to tell and the emotion during the ceremony was palpable.

We all assembled in the Botanic Gardens, the weather was perfect, the bride arrived in a vintage Rolls. A terrific ceremony and then after photos and more video time they celebrated across the road at Aria Restaurant. Perfect.

Warmest wishes Ann-Marie & Sean and I hope our paths cross again some day.

Inexperienced celebrants

An Australia wide survey of Marriage Celebrants conducted in December 2009, by Celebrante gave some surprising results:

(1) Just over 89% of marriage celebrants were appointed between 2004 & 2009.

(2) 85.6% of celebrants are part-timers with other occupations.

(3) Just over 11% of celebrants performed no weddings whatsoever in 2009 and 50.8% performed between 1 and 10 weddings in that year.

So, the end result is that it is a fact that the majority of celebrants are extremely inexperienced!

Just because you know someone "who knows a celebrant" it does not mean that celebrant will be good. Because they are a "really nice person" also does not mean that they are a good celebrant. Couples need to really do their research. You have only one chance for the ceremony to be right and well orchestrated by the celebrant.

Food for thought.

Busy Weekend

Such a busy weekend of weddings.................all went well, with the rain playing havoc with one. Gorgeous couple, Kim and Dan, had planned a ceremony at the spectacular Bradley's Head, but the weather was not on their side. A last minute change of plans to their reception venue in the city meant the ceremony ran late by 40 minutes! But I have to say they were terrific and took it all in their stride. The atmosphere inside Simmer on The Bay was fantastic. A beautiful bride and a groom who could not have looked happier, so all good in the end.

Bride & Groom from China

Have just been sent this photo from a gorgeous couple. Elena is living in Sydney and studying at Sydney University and her partner, Ding, flew in for the wedding. They had a small intimate ceremony overlooking beautiful Sydney Harbour on a perfect day.

A Challenge! - 16/10/10

A very busy weekend of weddings - Friday, Saturday & Sunday. All went well, but Saturday was a challenge. Gale force winds make delivering a ceremony very difficult. But.........the bride wanted to be married outdoors so this is what we did.We were standing at the end of the wharf at QStation - a wonderful venue. Not the easiest of condtions. It was difficult standing, let alone holding a ceremony folder and microphone. But we persevered and it all went well. A really gorgeous couple, who were just so happy - David and Natalia were a joy to work with.

My daughter's wedding

I recently had the great pleasure and honour to conduct the wedding ceremony of my beautiful step-daughter. She has been in my life for over 25 years and I love her dearly.
It was such a fabulous wedding, but I was quite worried the emotion of the moment would overtake me! I needn't have worried. It all went perfectly.

The ceremony was so reflective of Jacki and James and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We had a fabulous night. The ceremony was on the balcony of Aqua Dining Restaurant at Milsons Point. The view was sublime................it was a beautifully clear night and the views across the harbour, over North Sydney Pool and Luna Park were amazing.

They chose a cocktail reception. The food was incredible and the staff at Aqua Dining were wonderful...........so accommodating and nothing was a problem. The drinks flowed, the speeches were all terrific and the night was made with a fantastic 6 piece covers band from Melbourne, which my son-in-law's boss had arranged for them. All in all a fabulous night.