Friday, September 30, 2016

Wedding in your own Backyard


A backyard Wedding can be a simple ceremony with wedding guests gathered informally around the bride and groom, or a formal wedding ceremony which includes a wedding march opened with Scottish bagpipes or a violin quartet.

Here are some wedding planning hints for a wedding in your own backyard.

1. Lay a red or white runner for your wedding march, or outline the path with rose petals, pot plants, glitter.

2. Set up and decorate a wedding arch for the exchanging of your wedding vows and your wedding rings.

3. For an evening wedding have a few spotlights aimed at the important parts of the backyard, such as the table for the signing of the wedding certificate and the marriage register.

4. Decorate your backyard, and even the outside of your house with fairy lights, streamers, colourful balls, flowers, balloons and pot plants.

5. If your wedding has a theme such as a wedding that includes a Handfasting ceremony, emphasise the colours of the cords or ribbons that you use for tying your hands.

6. Include accessories such as brooms for the jumping of the broom wedding ceremony, tartans and swords for the Celtic wedding ceremony.

7. For the comfort of your wedding guests, have portable heaters, insects repellants, and spotlights for them to find their way.

8. If you have pets, no matter how well behaved, for their own protection as well as the guests, lock them away, or place them in a kennel for the duration of the wedding ceremony. Pets, no matter how placid usually, can become stressed at a wedding where they are faced with innumerable people, most of whom they have not encountered before.

9. Always plan an alternative venue such as transferring your wedding ceremony to a veranda or a tent, in case of bad weather.

Interested in conducting Baby Naming Ceremonies? You'll find everything you need to help you create Personalised Ceremonies in my Books and Certificates for Celebrants and those interested in becoming Celebrants.

Check out the different ways you can Celebrate your Wedding and how to begin planning your Wedding Day.

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Sunday, September 18, 2016

Married for 50 years or more?


The Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary has been celebrated for centuries. In medieval Germany husbands, on their fiftieth wedding anniversary would present their wives with a golden wreath. This was said to symbolise harmony.


A more modern idea is to purchase a new set of wedding rings, have them inscribed, and exchange them in a Renewal of Wedding Vows Ceremony. The Renewal of Vows Ceremony might include the warming of the rings by all the relatives and friends present.


The flowers associated with the 50th anniversary are Violets while the Anniversary is symbolised by the gift of gold.


A memorable way to celebrate the fiftieth wedding anniversary is for the couple to arrange a family reunion, inviting relatives close and distant. Wedding memorabilia, together with family history, could be part of the anniversary decorations.


Here is a list of celebrated couples who’ve been marred for fifty years and beyond.

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean – 50 –years

Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman - 50 years 

Mitzi Gaynor and Jack Bean - 52 years

Nancy Davis and Ronald Reagan - 52 years 

Bob Newhart and Virginia Quinn – 53 years

Angela Lansbury and Peter Shaw - 53 years 

Martin Sheen and Janet Templeton – 54 years

Ann Blyth and Dr. James Vincent McNulty - 54 years 

James Garner and Lois Clarke - 57 years 

Larry Hagman and Maj Axelsson - 58 years 

Alan Alda and Arlene Alda – 59 years 

Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens – 62 years 

Lydia Clarke and Charlton Heston - 64 years

Eva Marie Saint and Jeffrey Hayden – 64 years 

Karl Malden and Mona Greenberg – 70 years

Art Linkletter and Lois Linkletter – 70 years

Find 'Celebrating Love's Special Moments'
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Thursday, September 15, 2016

Floating Honeymoon

If canals are your passion you should head for Amsterdam which has around 80km (50 miles) of canals, as well over 1,250 bridges.

The first pleasure cruise in the history of Amsterdam canals took place in 1621 when Queen Elisabeth Stuart of Bohemia was welcomed into the city. Since then cruises have been taken by Winston Churchill, the Beatles, Nelson Mandela, Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, to name a few.

One of the Beatles, John Lennon, went a little bit further. Instead of just a cruise, he and his wife, Yoko Ono, spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam with their ‘Bed-In for Peace’ demonstration in protest of the Vietnam War. The protest lasted for a week and the press from around the world were invited into the couple’s suite to witness their bed-in for twelve hours per day between 9am and 9pm. To encourage the world leaders to think peace rather than war Yoko Ono sent each one of them an acorn - a symbol of peace - in the hope that they would plant them and be reminded that peace could be achieved. From this experience came the classic ‘Give Peace a Chance’ song. 

 For those more interested in discovering what the city of Amsterdam itself has to offer, sailing through the canals rather than sitting in the hotel, is the answer. The canal boat tours allow couples to get off and explore any particular sight they may have decided on, and then get back on and float to the next sight.

One of the major stops is Anne Frank's House, located in the heart of Amsterdam. Visitors come here to see where Anne and her family hid during World War II — and where she wrote her famous diary, ‘The Anne Frank Diary’. The diary itself, together with photographs, official documents, letters, postcards, books and possessions belonging to the Frank family, are on display. 

 Another popular sight is Bloemenmarkt, world's only Floating Flower Market. Its location is the Singel canal which has the distinction of being one of the oldest of Amsterdam's canals, dating back to 1862. The market consists of small shops inside a row of floating barges. In years past, flowers arrived in Amsterdam every day from the countryside by boat.

Since such great artists as Rembrandt and Van Gogh came from Holland, there are museums displaying the works of both, including Rembrandt’s famous and largest painting ‘The Night Watch’ and Vincent van Gogh’s most recognisable painting ‘Sunflowers’. Other artists represented in the various museums include Gaugin, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Manet, and many other, less-recognisable artists.

Based on the book, 'Honeymoon! A Sizzle or a Fizzle'

Find it on Amazon and Smashwords




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Monday, September 12, 2016

Lucky Honeymoon in Russia and Elsewhere

Like Doris Day who sang about her ‘secret love’ no longer being a ‘secret’, thousands of lovers all over the world have done the same. In Huangshan in China couples have attached padlocks to a chain fence around the bridge, and then thrown the key to the abyss below locking their love and luck to Hunagshan Mountain forever. Before doing this, they’ve engraved the padlock with their names, dates and such messages as, ‘You have the key to my heart’.

Other countries where there are bridges where lovers have made their love public and concrete in the same way include Rome Italy, Moscow Russia and Cologne Germany. After inscribing the padlock with a personal message, the lovers attach their padlock to the bridge and throw the key into the river below. Some of these couples return to these cities years later - perhaps on one of their wedding anniversaries - to see how their mature love stacks against the young and new of their honeymoon days.

Then there are those bridges known as meeting places for lovers. Exchange a kiss with your spouse here, make a wish as you do, and folk lore says your wish will come true.

In Moscow Russia, in one of the underground railway stations there’s a statue of a dog which is believed to be lucky. Tourists and locals alike invariably touch the dog’s nose for luck with the result that the nose unlike its body, is shiny and bright.

Based on the book, 'Honeymoon! A Sizzle or a Fizzle'
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Thursday, September 8, 2016

For the Bride's Eyes Only


In the past, lingerie was not something a woman took lightly. And by the time the big day arrived she was very well supplied. Being part of what is called a trousseau, and which had to be sown by hand, putting it together was an ongoing life-long labour of love.

Back in the nineteenth century the brides were advised by the experts that in preparing for their married life they should be aiming for a wardrobe for at least two years in underclothes and one year in dresses.

The underclothing included a dozen chemises trimmed with embroidery or lace, a dozen night dresses, a dozen drawers, a few less petticoats, and one beautifully embroidered special-occasion petticoat. As for the corsets and crinolines, apparently two of each would do.

However, to keep the few highly expensive corsets free from dirt and soil, the wearer was advised to carry at least half a dozen camisoles. Apart from keeping the corsets clean, camisoles were used also to hide corset bones and give a smoother look to the bodice. A bride-to be with time on her hands, would enhance this highly practical item with lace and ribbon trims.

To finish off the trousseau the bride would be required to have half a dozen vests, two dressing gowns, three bed jackets, a dozen pairs of fine-quality Lisle stockings, three pairs of silk stockings and two dozen handkerchiefs.

One fashion expert suggested that if practicable, three dozens of everything would be a good way to start your married life. For the woman who didn’t have to count the cost, twelve dozen of each would be even better.

Included in the trousseau would be the wedding dress itself with all its accessories such as the undergarments, the veil and the jewellery, as well as the going away outfit.

According to gossip, both Eva Longoria, star of ‘Desperate Housewives’ and Katie Holmes, spent a small fortune in pretty lace lingerie sets, glamorous sleepwear, cute bikinis and baby-doll nightwear.

Sending the bride off in style was so important, that when Catherine de' Medici married into the French royal family in 1547, the Pope Clement, her uncle, decided that spending money for all those silks and laces was more important than spending it on the fortification of Florence. In all, Catherine’s trousseau included 3 pounds of gold and 2 pounds of silver which went towards the embroidery of gowns. Her underwear is said to have been made from lace, gold and silver cloth, while the sheets were made from silk.

Today’s woman always complains about the cost of those little numbers that she wears close to her body, that nobody sees and costs the earth. She feels almost guilty buying them. However, if there ever was a time to let yourself go it’s your honeymoon. For if you think those bits and pieces are too expensive for you now, you’ll find them doubly so after you get married. After all, there are much more urgent matters to consider - like electricity bills, rates, etc., So spend. Buy attractive, even if it is expensive.
Extract from 'Honeymoon! A Sizzle or a Fizzle'
Find it on Amazon and Smashwords






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Friday, September 2, 2016

Celebrant Resources

Ceremony Resources for Australian Celebrants
or those interested in conducting Ceremonies

PDF file Books

ABN Number 62 839 985 067

Celebrant Books













Wedding Ceremony Resource Book
PDF Document 214 A4 pages
Suitable for PC and hand-held readers
..........................................................................................................$15













20 Complete Wedding Ceremonies
PDF Document 100 A4 pages
Suitable for PC and hand-held readers
..........................................................................................................$15


Renewal of Wedding Vows Book
PDF Document 113 A4 pages
Suitable for PC and hand-held readers
..........................................................................................................$15


Commitment Vows Book
PDF Document 137 A4 pages
Suitable for PC and hand-held readers
..........................................................................................................$15

Naming Ceremony Resource Book
PDF Document 139 A4 pages
Suitable for PC and hand-held readers
........................................................................................................$15


Funeral Ceremony Resource Book
PDF Document 169 A4 pages
    Suitable for PC and hand-held readers
........................................................................................................$15
House Blessing and Dedication Book
PDF Document 119 A4 pages
Suitable for PC and hand-held readers
.......................................................................................................$15
24 Complete Ceremonies
(8 Naming, 8 Renewal 8 Commitment Ceremonies)
PDF Document 98 A4 pages
Suitable for PC and hand-held readers
....................................................................................................$15

500+ Readings - for various ceremonies
PDF Document 285 A4 pages
Suitable for PC and hand-held readers
.........................................................................................................$15

How to be a Profitable Celebrant:
Practical Tips on Running a Profitable Celebrancy Business
Printed Copy, including Postage and Handling
...............................................……………………………...……$25



Renewal of Vows Certificates

25 Different Vows Renewal Certificates
Different graphics on each one
A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents............................................................…………………….....$15

                                           Commitment of Vows Certificates

25 Different Commitment of Vows Certificates
Different graphics on each one
A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents.........................................................……………………........$15


                             Individual Baby Naming Certificates

17 Different Naming Certificates For the Baby
Each with a different background
A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents...................................................…………………..................$15
Each with a different background
A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents.........................................................…………………............$15
                                 Baby Naming Theme Certificates

A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents................................................………………….....................$15

A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents..................................................................……………….......$15

A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents...................................................…...……………..................$15

A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents.........................................................……………...................$15

                                      Baby Naming Horoscope Certificates

A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents............................................................…………………........$15

A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents..................................................................……………..........$15

A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents......................................................…………………..............$15

A variety of text which you can change to suit the occasion
A4 Word Documents.........................................................………...………............$15
TOTAL..................................................................................................................



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