Sometimes it's the way they arrive.
Celebrant, Vlady Peters, Redcliffe, Qld.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Most Famous Bride of them All
Brides spend a lot of time wondering how they can make a spectacular wedding entrance.
Sometimes it's the way they arrive.
One bride, copying Lady Godiva's famous ride, decided to arrive on horseback, riding side-saddle on her favourite horse.
Unlike Lady Godiva, this bride was fully clothed in a traditional wedding gown of white satin and lace.
But is the story of Lady Godiva, which this bride was copying, really true?
Well, once upon a time, back in 1043, there lived a couple by the name of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and his good wife, Lady Godiva. Very powerful and very rich, the couple were noted for their generosity to religious establishments.
Not satisfied with this, however, Lady Godiva constantly nagged Leofric about the heavy taxes he imposed on Coventry, asking them to be reduced.
Becoming totally exasperated, he decided to shut her up once and for all by suggesting that he would reduce the taxes if she rode naked through the crowded marketplace.
Undeterred, the lady did just that, her long hair, however, covering everything but her legs.
True to his word, Leofric freed the town from all taxes, except one. No doubt being a little bit peeved, he continued to demand taxes on horses.
And while I've never heard of it, here is a movie poster of the film, 'Lady Godiva', starring Maureen O'Hara.
Sometimes it's the way they arrive.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Naming Certificate Fonts
It is my normal pracice, when I conduct Renewal of Vows, Commitment Ceremonies and Baby Naming Ceremonies, to hand out certificates at the end of the ceremony.
In the case of the Vows Renewal and the Commitment Ceremony, the certificate is for the couple as a memento of the day.
For the Naming ceremony, I hand out Certificates to everyone involved in the ceremony - baby's older siblings, Godparents, Grandparents, special people in the baby's life like great grandparents, and lastly to the baby.
To make the certificates even more decorative, I use special fonts which I download free from the Internet. Here is a list of some of them. In some cases I will use only the Capital, while using a more plain font for the rest of the word.
Check out these Free Fonts and download them for your own Certificates and Programs.
In the case of the Vows Renewal and the Commitment Ceremony, the certificate is for the couple as a memento of the day.
For the Naming ceremony, I hand out Certificates to everyone involved in the ceremony - baby's older siblings, Godparents, Grandparents, special people in the baby's life like great grandparents, and lastly to the baby.
To make the certificates even more decorative, I use special fonts which I download free from the Internet. Here is a list of some of them. In some cases I will use only the Capital, while using a more plain font for the rest of the word.
Check out these Free Fonts and download them for your own Certificates and Programs.
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Monday, April 29, 2013
Home Wedding
The last couple of weddings I conducted took place in a private home.
When I first became a celebrant, weddings took place in the home more often than not. Sometimes the wedding vows were exchanged in the lounge room itself. If the wedding ceremony was viedographed, we would have an immediate replay as we sat down after the ceremony and watched outselves on the television screen!
If the wedding took place on a property, apart from the wedding guests, we would have neighing and moowing, clucking and hissing from uninvited but interested spectators.
Afterwards there might be a barbeque which ranged from the familiar sausages and rissoles to the less common pig on a spit. Handling the catering could be anyone - from a relative of the couple, to a highly trained caterer dressed up like Jeeves.
These wedding were inevitable happy, friendly occasions as everyone felt at home - even if this was their first visit to the home.
Here is a photograph of the latest bride, accompanied by her bridesmaid. The theme was black and white, and the bride looked extremely elegant in a grecian style frock.
When I first became a celebrant, weddings took place in the home more often than not. Sometimes the wedding vows were exchanged in the lounge room itself. If the wedding ceremony was viedographed, we would have an immediate replay as we sat down after the ceremony and watched outselves on the television screen!
If the wedding took place on a property, apart from the wedding guests, we would have neighing and moowing, clucking and hissing from uninvited but interested spectators.
Afterwards there might be a barbeque which ranged from the familiar sausages and rissoles to the less common pig on a spit. Handling the catering could be anyone - from a relative of the couple, to a highly trained caterer dressed up like Jeeves.
These wedding were inevitable happy, friendly occasions as everyone felt at home - even if this was their first visit to the home.
Here is a photograph of the latest bride, accompanied by her bridesmaid. The theme was black and white, and the bride looked extremely elegant in a grecian style frock.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Earn $100,000.00 a year selling E-Books
---------------------------------------------------
Smashwords website became the seed I wanted to grow from my own website.
Instantly
I converted the books I’d written into e-books. This process is very simple.
First register with the website Smashwords to become a member. Once this is
confirmed away you go and publish you book/s. Mark Corker (owner of Smashwords)
has written a book to help authors publish their own material and upload on the
website.
Once the book is published, click on the
affiliate section to have your book distributed by Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Diesel
and many others.
Each quarter, first quarter being the end of
March, payment is made to your account and each quarter thereafter. It is then
a simple process of transferring the money from Pay Pal to your account.
Presently I have twelve books published on Smashwords website.
For the
past years since I became a self-publisher with Smashwords, a trickle of money
has been dropping into my account. It’s a pleasure to see when I view the
places my books have been selling, such as Canada, Great Britain, USA,
Australia and Europe. It’s exciting to think some person across the other side
of the globe is reading a book I’ve written and published.
BrianPratt, a fellow author with Smashwords, initially couldn’t get any publisher to
publish his books, so he converted his books to e-books and sells them via Smashwords
website. Last financial year his income was $100,000.00.
How did he
do it? Marketing. Brian recommended once your books are published on Smashwords website to publish them on Amazon website.
Click and
have a look at the books I’ve published on Amazon. At the time of writing my
ranking for an author in Amazon is 20,000 from 1.86 million which I’m happy
with. These figures change within each hour and fluctuate depended on sales of
books.
Marketing
is the key to selling books. Facebook is another pathway to promoting your
books. For instance, each morning I post a page from a book I’ve written under
a group ‘Keeping Up With My Writing’.
If anyone
wishes to join this group - send a message on Facebook to become a friend and I
will include you into this group. If five readers tell five more readers about
my books there are twenty-five more people who will know and you never know
where the wave will end – if ever.
Mark Coker
also mentioned to join Google Plus, Bing and Yahoo – I have. At first I was a
little sceptical – however, what have I got to lose – nothing.
Another
latest website to spread the word about your writing is:
www.patritter.com.au
Article first published on 'Writers Grapevine', April 2013 Edition.
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Thursday, April 11, 2013
25 Vows Renewal Certificates
For the many celebrants who have been asking for Renewal of Wedding Vows Certificates, I have just created 25 Certitficates. Each with a different design, as well as a variety of text to suit different situations and themes.
They come as Word Documents, in the same way as the Baby Naming Certificates.
Whether a couple is celebrating a wedding anniversary, or just renewing their wedding vows to celebrate a good marriage, there is a design or wording to suit the particular situation.
They come as Word Documents, in the same way as the Baby Naming Certificates.
Whether a couple is celebrating a wedding anniversary, or just renewing their wedding vows to celebrate a good marriage, there is a design or wording to suit the particular situation.
They can be can be mixed and matched and then simply printed out on your own printer.
Each certificate is an A4 document that you can edit as you do the letters you write.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Profitable Celebrant E-Book
For those celebrants who are interested in being profitable celebrants, they can now purchase my book 'How to be Profitable Celebrants: Practical Tips on Running a Profitable Celebrany' both as a printed book and and as an E-Book.
While they can get the printed copy here, the E-book can be purchased from Smashwords, and Amazon together with my wedding book for the bride and groom '1,000+ Answers to Your Wedding Questions'.
While they can get the printed copy here, the E-book can be purchased from Smashwords, and Amazon together with my wedding book for the bride and groom '1,000+ Answers to Your Wedding Questions'.
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Saturday, March 9, 2013
Wedding Symbolism - Sharing Wine
At the end of a wedding ceremony some couples choose to share wine to symbolise that from this moment on they will share their lives together - both the bitter and the sweet.
Normally champagne is used. However, some of my non-alcoholic couples have used everything from grape juice to soft drink.
If the bottle is attractive, I ask one of the attendants to open the bottle in full view of the guests, pour it into two glasses and leave it on the table. At the appropriate moment a male attendant hands one of the glasses to the groom, while a female attendant hands the other to the bride.
Then when I say something like, 'Drink now, and may the cup of your lives be sweet and full to overflowing', the couples link their arms and drink.
Instead of the flute, I prefer the old fashioned champagne glass. It's said the saucer shape is based on a Madam Pompadour's shapely breast. In any case, the flute is both less attractive and impractical as far as drinking elegantly is concerned - especially when your arms are entertwined.
Here are the two party girls themselves. Madam and Marilyn.
To find out more about Wine sharing ceremony.
Normally champagne is used. However, some of my non-alcoholic couples have used everything from grape juice to soft drink.
If the bottle is attractive, I ask one of the attendants to open the bottle in full view of the guests, pour it into two glasses and leave it on the table. At the appropriate moment a male attendant hands one of the glasses to the groom, while a female attendant hands the other to the bride.
Then when I say something like, 'Drink now, and may the cup of your lives be sweet and full to overflowing', the couples link their arms and drink.
Instead of the flute, I prefer the old fashioned champagne glass. It's said the saucer shape is based on a Madam Pompadour's shapely breast. In any case, the flute is both less attractive and impractical as far as drinking elegantly is concerned - especially when your arms are entertwined.
Here are the two party girls themselves. Madam and Marilyn.
To find out more about Wine sharing ceremony.
Connect with Me
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