OVERVIEW
If you are getting married on Sydney's stunning Northern Beaches, let's Skype and see if we are a great match! Creating beautiful and unique ceremonies, a reflection of your relationship and love story.
Hello and a HUGE congratulations!!!!
My name is Shelley and I absolutely love being a Celebrant! I am passionate about creating beautiful and unique ceremonies that reflect each couples personal taste and style. Warmly welcoming ALL couples! Yessssss Australia!!!! I believe in equal rights for everyone.
Main points in a nutshell:
*Complete Wedding Guide that I lend to you packed with ideas and wording options
*All the support you need
*An AMAZING PA system
*I take care of all the legals
*No obligation first meet to see if we are a good match for each other - Skype option if you are busy!
Basically I am kitted out with everything you need for a fantastic Ceremony!
Every ceremony is different and uniquely personalised. Whether you are eloping during the week or planning a huge weekend wedding celebration, tell me about your ideas and I will tailor a package for you to suit your needs.
I offer simple elopements on the Northern Beaches of Sydney during the week for $500.
Please don't hesitate to call me for a chat, I would love to hear from you!
Thank you to Scott Surplice Photography and Jessica Ross Photography for the beautiful images on my profile page also to Dicky Bird Photography, Lisa Thompson Photography and Sarah Gray and Ant Ong Images.
About
Hi! A bit about me... Being a marriage Celebrant is an accidental career for me - when friends asked me to marry them I felt a deep rumbling excitement in my belly and I just knew that this was totally right for me!! I married them, I LOVED it, I continued on this path. For me it is such a privilege to get to know each couple, to travel with them on a journey to create a beautiful and unique ceremony , balancing the sacredness of the ceremony with all the love and joy that the day brings.
Mrs Shelley Josephine Tunbridge
Business Owner
FAQ
Absolutely! Whatever you feel you need, we do. Though most of my couples prefer to go with the flow on the day as it can make the ceremony feel more natural. If your ceremony has more complicated apects, a rehearsal can be helpful. I prompt and guide the entire process on the day so everything runs smoothly either way.
Music is a great way to personalise your ceremony, though you do not need to have music. You can choose to have live music or pre recorded.
I have an AMAZING PA/sound system that you can play your chosen music through. I recommend you save your tunes to a USB as MP3 files, but we can also play straight from your phone. There are 3 places in the Ceremony that lend themselves naturally to music:
1. The Entrance song (traditionally when the Bride/Groom walks down the aisle)
2. During the signing of the legal documents
3. The final song when you walk back up the aisle as a married couple!
Some couples also like to have some music playing when their guests are arriving which you can play through my system.
Most ceremonies take around 30 minutes from the entrance of the Bride/Groom/Partner through to when the guests start to congratulate you at the end. Signing the documents can take 5-10 minutes of this time and the spoken ceremony is normally 10–15 minutes. This is a good amount of time to keep everyone focussed and is long enough for the ceremony to be significant.
Your wedding ceremony is also a very special occasion for your family and friends and you might like to include them. There is no limit to how you can involve them, some examples:
Bridal party
Reading / Blessing / Poem
Ring bearer/s
2 Witnesses for the signing of the documents – must be over 18 years old
Usher/s
Sing or play music
Parents can be included in an acknowledgement
Children can be included
A symbolic ritual can be created to involve some of the guests /all the guests
It is a good idea to invite your guests to arrive 15 minutes before the ceremony begins to allow for everyone to arrive, to greet others and to settle. This is particularly important if you have chosen an unusual location that your guests may not be familiar with. It can be helpful for your invitation wording to say something like - Please arrive at 2.45pm to be ready for the Ceremony to commence at 3pm.
On your wedding day I will provide you with an official Commemorative Certificate of Marriage issued by the Commonwealth Government.
If you would like to also receive a Certificate of Marriage from Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW you can arrange that directly with them by post or online for $56 (This is the certificate you will need for a change of name or other legal purposes).
http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/marriages/marriage-certificate.aspx
If you would like me to arrange this for you, just let me know!
A Wedding Ceremony will generally flow in the following order, though it does not have to and many of these parts are optional. There are a couple of sections required by law which are in CAPITALS, the rest can be tailored to suit your requirements, traditions and tastes. I welcome you to think outside of the box and to get creative! Whatever you would like to do, we can do it!
o Entrance of the Bride/Groom/Partner
o Welcome
o Acknowledgement of Country
o Acknowledgement of those no longer with us
o Thanks to Parents / Special People
o Introduction / Personal Story
o Reading
o Giving Away
o Endorsements
o CELEBRANT'S AUTHORITY
o Asking
o VOWS
o Ring Ceremony
o Alternative Ceremonies / Rituals
o Declaration of Marriage and Kiss
o SIGNING OF THE LEGAL DOCUMENTS
o Formal Introduction of Husband/Wife/Spouse
Other legal requirements:
We must use your full names at least once in the ceremony before the Vows are exchanged.
I offer all the support you need! I have created a Wedding Guide which is a collection of resources that I have put together to assist you with ideas so that we can create a beautiful, personal Wedding Ceremony that reflects you, your relationship and love story. I encourage you to think about what is important in your relationship and if there may be symbolic ways to represent this in the ceremony.
The framework and the examples I give you are to guide you. You can choose from these examples or use aspects of them, or can use them purely as inspiration to come up with new ideas, where you can express yourself with sincerity in your own way.
Planning your Wedding Ceremony is a beautiful journey.
June 2018
June 2018
December 2017
Shelley Josephine Ceremonies
Thanks so much Lara and Rhidian for taking the time to write me a review - and a great one at that! Much appreciated! It was such an honour to be involved in your wonderful day, I really loved your ceremony. I wish you a beautiful life together. Shelley xo
Expert Advice
As a wedding professional, Shelley Josephine Ceremonies offers expert advice to help couples plan their perfect day. Ask a question or read their expert advice.
Get Expert AdviceAny ideas for a cool entrance to my ceremony?
Shelley Josephine Ceremonies
Hi - congrats on choosing to marry your love!
To add to the suggestions already made, I have a wedding coming up where there will be a pre recorded announcement through my PA system from an "Air Host" with a friend of the couple standing in the aisle moving through the hand actions of an air host like at the beginning of a flight, it should be hilarious and set a joyful tone for the ceremony, the bride will then enter!
I have also had a groom dance in to his own entrance song followed by the Bride to her song.
Hope these are helpful thoughts!
Shelley Tunbridge - Shelley Josephine Ceremonies
Marriage Celebrant
0431 978 525
how long is too long for a ceremony? and do celebrants charge by duration of the ceremony?
Shelley Josephine Ceremonies
Hello,
I would say that half an hour for the full ceremony including signing of the documents (which takes 5-10mins) is a good time frame. Ideally you want to keep your guests engaged and half an hour works well. I would also say that you don't want your ceremony to be too short either as it is really the heart of your day and it is good to give it some time / not to rush it. Ultimately it is your day and you can do whatever you want, so if it is important for you to have elements included that make the ceremony go for longer than half an hour, then go for it!
I do not charge by duration of the ceremony and I haven't heard of other celebrants doing this.
Shelley Tunbridge
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Shelley Josephine Ceremonies
Thanks Bernadette!! I loved getting to know you both and your ceremony was really beautiful. Thank you for choosing me! and thank you so much for taking the time to write me this fab review!!