Sneak Peek – Rebecca & Geoff’s New Year’s Eve Wedding

The glamorous Fairmont Hotel Vancouver was the setting for Rebecca and Geoff’s warm-hearted New Year’s Eve wedding. What an inspiring way to close a year and begin a new one. This was one of my favorite wedding ceremonies of 2011.

Think…. Details + Polish. Personal narrative + Time-honoured Traditions.

If you look closely you will see the Chuppah that the couple (and their friends) made for the ceremonial space. Rebecca in her beautiful French gown and Geoff most dashing in his tuxedo were a sight to behold. We cried as they circled, made their vows, listened to the seven blessings, and  closed the ceremony by breaking a glass.

Everyone LOVED hearing the couple’s story. It was a time of heartfelt connection – pure and real.

Scott Johnson of Contrast Studio is working his magic with the photos. I think I can just barely wait to see them.  He’s kindly given us a sneak peek.

And in the meantime: MAZEL TOV to Rebecca and Geoff.

Wedding Professional Colleagues were:

Photographer: Scott @ Contrast Photography

Wedding Planner: Corinne @ Dreamgroup Productions

Videography: Mac and Erin @ Hello Tomorrow Wedding Films

Florals: Flower Factory

Real Weddings: Alexandra and Madhavan

“Thank you so much for such an extraordinary ceremony. It was more than we ever imagined.You captured the heart of it all, and the love between our two children. Everyone commented on your service and thought you were so wonderful. With your grace and poise you reminded me of a high priestess! Its amazing what the power of a wedding brings up – the past, the present and the future all are there in the room on the one day. It takes a very special person to bring it all together and you did that with such eloquence.”

I am so honoured by these words from the bride’s mother!

When I welcomed guests to the beautiful and sacred space of their wedding ceremony, I truly meant it. Artists Alexandra and Madhavan are both from creative families. Alexandra’s mother is one of North America’s most talented textile designers and Madhavan’s mother sang a sacred love song during the ceremony. Madhavan is from India where they know how to do weddings! Hilary Miles created extraordinary floral designs to highlight the sacred Indian art and antiquities of Alexandra’s family home. Words fail me really to describe the setting… lush and heart-opening come to mind.

Alexandra was dressed in a beautiful sari with hair ornaments, jewelry, and makeup to match. What a transformation! Vancouver beauty to Indian Goddess. Madhavan too was in a fine traditional Indian suit. Alexandra and Madhavan are deeply connected to each other, and their regal wedding attire elevated what I already had come to know of them over the past months of interviews so I could create their ceremony. I designed a wedding ceremony that was a perfect reflection of them (and the family they so adore). For one of our interviews we did a potluck Indian dinner at their place. Yummy! I really enjoy making meals for or with my clients. Doing an interview over dinner is a wonderful way to get to chat and get to know people better.

But back to the wedding.  In the first photo you see the rose petals laid out so carefully at the entrance by Hilary’s team. The second photo doesn’t do justice to the extravagant draping of richly hued textiles and flower garlands. Modern Celebrant was so HAPPY! And so were the guests. Everyone loved the sacred space. It lent dignity and beauty.

I began the ceremony talking about how we don’t have many collective moments these days. And about how historically the elders of our communities found a suitable marriage match for their children. But times have changed and Madhavan and Alexandra have chosen each other. Some things do not change though… as with most couples Alexandra and Madhavan’s hope was for their union to be supported wholeheartedly by both sets of parents — as happily as if their elders had chosen the match themselves. And so it certainly was.

That Alexandra and Madhavan came together from two countries and two cultures and for their relationship to be so enthusiastically encouraged by their parents was the best wedding gift of all. As Alexandra so wisely says, “Our ceremony will be the glue that seals our families together forever.”

It was wonderfully appropriate that the hearts of the Bride and Groom were entrusted to each other by their mothers and fathers.

This was  ceremony consciously designed to involve everyone in the couple’s storytelling and transformation – from parents, to their global family, right down to the guests who shouted “Mazel Tov” at the KISS.

The Wedding Professional Team

Custom Ceremony and Storytelling by Modern Celebrant (nudge nudge, yours truly)  at www.moderncelebrant.ca

Flowers by the fabulous Hilary Miles Flowers at www.hilarymiles.com  Click here to see her blog photos of the wedding.

Catering by Susan Mendleson’s Lazy Gourmet Catering at www.lazygourmet.ca. As they say Come. Taste. Enjoy!

I was so moved by the comments from Alexandra and her mom.

Alexandra: “It was the best day of my life. I can’t imagine anyone other than you doing our ceremony!”

Real Weddings at Nita Lake Lodge

Quite possibly Greg and Leah’s wedding was the warmest and truest I’ve ever officiated. Maybe because she’s a prairie girl and he’s from the Maritimes. Those places seem to bring down to earth, authentic people into this world.

The wedding ceremony and reception were at the Nita Lake Lodge, my new favorite get-away-place from Vancouver. When I saw the bathroom in my suite, with it’s huge tub and separate shower, I nearly knelt and kissed the slate slab floor.  Oops. I digress.

It was a warmish day that called for an outdoor ceremony. Leah was so beautiful and full of excitement that I cried when she walked in, with her eyes only for Greg. There is something about this moment of a ceremony that touches me profoundly. It is a moment of hope, of beauty, and it is a moment where everything but love is suspended. Every one present feels it.

Greg’s warmth and tenderness as he took Leah’s arm was so I don’t know… chivalrous.  His gesture told us all that Leah is incredibly precious to him.

Their Love Story was so much fun to tell.  It really is worth spending the time to truly ‘get’ a couple.  Makes such a difference to the wedding ceremony. And sets an extraordinarily warm and personal tone to the entire wedding experience… for the couple and their guests.

I began their story with this:

“Leah and Greg kept me laughing with all the twists and turns that kept popping up as they told me how they met and fell in love. Just when I thought I had the story down pat, one of them would casually say something like: “And then I moved to Baffin Island” or “Oh yeah, that was the weekend I went picking grapes in the Okanogan…”

Guests learned things about the couple they hadn’t known, including close family members. And Leah and Greg were held in an important collective moment by people who love them. What a way to start a marriage!

How we did it

Several months in advance, Leah and Greg worked through the reflective process I’ve developed. They shared with me what they bring to the relationship and what their partner does that truly inspires them. Marriage is about deep appreciation and awareness… it’s important to set that intention early on.  Leah and Greg and I also sat down together in their own home so they could share on a more intimate level their stories, hopes, and personalities. It’s an entirely different experience meeting with people in their own homes. Most officiants don’t make time to do that, preferring to meet in their office, but I think that’s a real shame. A home reflects those who live there. It is part of their story!

I’m like a weaver… weaving by hand the personal, true-life story of those I work with. When seamlessly integrated into a ceremony (also written just for them), the many hours spent crafting it is so SO worth it. That’s why I call them ‘labours of love’!

A wedding ceremony is a memory that people hold their entire lives. It’s worth doing well. Very well.

These beautiful photos were taken by Photographer James Stockhorst.

Real Weddings: Custom Wedding Ceremony for a Chinese Jewish Couple

Here in Vancouver BC, multifaith and multicultural weddings are very common, thanks to our extremely diverse community.  It’s wonderful!  Especially for me when I’m wearing my Wedding Officiant ‘hat’.

I love delving into cultural traditions when I create my wedding ceremonies. Wedding ceremonies that are resonate with meaning for both the Bride and the Groom — as well as their respective families and friends.

The wedding this year of Allison and Alon was especially meaningful to me for precisely this reason. Allison is Chinese Canadian and Alon is Jewish.

After some time reflecting and researching, I gave the couple an array of suggestions for how we could create a custom wedding ceremony that would serve on a number of levels. Most importantly of course to set them on the path of marriage in a way that spoke to their hearts.  But also to connect their families and friends.

There are in fact a striking number of similarities between their two cultures. We chose to highlight these. I told a Jewish folktale and a Chinese one… both of which reinforced the belief that two people are born destined to be together and that once joined nothing can break their bond. Guests loved it.

And everyone was moved by the reading of the Seven Blessings by Allison and Alon’s mothers. The Seven Blessings is a Jewish tradition, usually spoken by a Rabbi or even the guests. In this case both heritages strongly emphasize family so I created a multifaith version for the Mothers of the Bride and Groom to read. Definitely not traditional in the languaging, but certainly in intent.

The couple was extremely moved and as their mothers read, I felt the power of ceremony come over us all.  I think of these as ‘portal moments’ when we all step through the thin place between the mundane and the sacred.

Before the wedding ceremony, guests had gathered like-with-like… but afterward I loved seeing everyone happily mingling and exclaiming over their shared values and stories. Such a positive day! One that I’ll remember for years to come.

With gratitude that meaning is alive and well in our modern world.

Celebrant Michele

A Chinese-Canadian Custom Wedding Ceremony

Working with the Asian community on custom wedding ceremonies is a truly wonderful experience. There is such an admirable sense of family and connection that is missing in many cultures today.

When Emily and Michael met with me nearly a year ahead (Emily is a masterful planner), I was so excited that they picked me to tell their love story and help them enter the path of marriage.

The church looked lovely and had a grand aisle for the beautiful Emily to walk down with her father T.K.  He gently pulled back his daughter’s veil before shaking Michael’s hand.  And then Emily and Michael were on their way up the steps.  They looked like film stars!  The sight sort of took my breath away for a moment!

The guests loved that Emily and Michael’s wedding ceremony was different than many other weddings and had so many special elements. “So romantic!” is what many people said afterwards.

Family is an important part of Emily and Michael’s lives.  It made the wedding ceremony even more meaningful to have their mothers Terry and Lily join us for a candlelight ceremony, and Emily’s friend Pastor Lowe  say a blessing in both Cantonese and English.  While we signed the Marriage Register, the couple’s friends  and cousins Kitty and Janet sang and played on the piano a song written especially for Emily and Michael for their wedding day.

Well, Emily and Michael all that you’ve hoped and dreamed of, all that you’ve worked so hard for has come true.  Now you are married. Now you are husband and wife.  I envision you in your new home, surrounded by the happy laughter of friends and family.  What’s next for you I wonder?
Joyfully yours,

Celebrant Michele Davidson, Vancouver Wedding Officiant, Custom Wedding Ceremonies Vancouver and Whistler BC