Marriage and Civil Union Celebrant
Celebrating the important moments
- I listen to your ideas and thoughts to create a ceremony which says exactly what you want to convey
- Offer ideas
- Supply readings, poems, vows, sample ceremonies
- Provide guidance about the legal aspects of a marriage ceremony
- Manage your guests throughout the formal part of proceedings so they always know what is happening
- Deliver your ceremony in a clear voice
- Ensure that you have no concerns about the formal parts of your wedding
Developing the ceremony
- We meet face-to-face so I can get to know a little bit about you, what you like, what your ideals are and how you might like those to be expressed in readings, poems, and vows.
- I leave you with resources to look through, then call to discuss what you’ve come up with.
- Write a draft ceremony and email it to you for changes
- It’s important that you’re comfortable with your ceremony, feel that it is truly your own.
- A few days before the big day, I conduct a rehearsal with you and your bridal party. If it’s an outdoor venue we might also rehearse in the alternative indoor venue….just in case!
On the Day
- I arrive at the venue a half hour beforehand and check sound system, photographer, videographer, and other important participants to make sure everything is in place and will flow.
- Conduct your ceremony and make sure the legal paperwork is correctly signed,
- Give you a copy of your signed document, rolled and tied with a ribbon.
- Ensure the paperwork is sent to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages the next day.
Theresa Sjoquist is a registered Marriage and Civil Union celebrant. I am a member of the Celebrants Association New Zealand (CANZ), and I am an experienced speaker and a professional writer. I’m as happy to perform traditional weddings, as I am ultra modern ones. I take much pleasure from joining together in marriage anyone who loves another so much they will give up their singledom to build a life of love together.
Contact Theresa Sjoquist here.
Testimonials
20.12.15 – Thank you so much, the ceremony was perfect. We are really happy, it was as we imagined it. RL & LB
11.1.17 -Thank you so much for doing a superb job as the Celebrant for our wedding. It was perfect. Your understanding for the situation was so much appreciated. We all thought you were a really lovely kind person. NHT & JHT
27.2.19 – Hi Theresa, I hope you are doing well. I wanted to say thank you for the great job you did. And also sending you few photos.- BC
The important moments are the ones that inform our lives, the ones that create easily found signposts about who we have been, and who we are now.
Most often the important moments mark transitions, such as marriage, birth, death, and more in between. The attainment of an education goal marks the transition into greater capacity; the naming of a child is flush with meaning, both in the name itself, and in the word, the sound you will from now on associate with the tiny being in your care. These moments in our lives are usually accompanied by a great deal of thought and preparation and that makes the creating of ceremony, a ritual, of enormous value. It creates a mark, a milestone by which you can later see the choices that have led you to where you stand today.
For most of us our day to day lives roll endlessly from one morning to another night, to the next morning and yet another night, and if we are fortunate enough to be leading relatively happy lives, these days and nights are attended by many small pleasures and joys, as well as the occasional not so joyous things. When we deviate from the day to day and make a great leap into the unknown, having faith that our choice will lead to more happiness, or a better life, then that certainly marks a point to celebrate.
Weddings are the most lovely celebrations. It’s when we say to one another, standing vulnerable with open heart, that we care for and love the other. A wedding is in truth, the celebration of mutual trust, and the acknowledged willingness to move through life together, knowing that the other will always catch you however often you stumble. What a joy to be loved, to trust deeply enough to love in return. No wonder we want to celebrate!
How will you celebrate? How are you going to make this very first act of marriage a unique? A celebrant works with you to find out what your ideas might be, what kind of wedding ceremony will give you the most pleasure. A wedding celebrant can help steer you through the process of creating a ceremony if that’s what you need, or they can provide as little input as saying only the legal words required, ensuring signatures are made, and little more. The legal part of a wedding takes perhaps three or four minutes, not more, and not especially memorable. Work with a celebrant who enjoys creating celebrations everyone remembers with a smile….most of all, the wedding couple.
