Lisa + Brent : a totally ‘them’ Rosewood Hotel Georgia Wedding

Gotta say… I heart working with couples who know who they are, honour this, and truly SHINE it OUT!

Lisa and Brent were awesome to collaborate wtih and simply to be with. Those two have fabulous energy.  It ws a highlight of my year to have them share their hearts with me so I could craft a totally custom wedding ceremony that was both beautiful and quirky!

To give you a written portrait of this wonderful couple… This is how they described themselves… (Lisa) – a fun and high-energy woman who’s sometimes blunt, sometimes forgetful, sometimes opinionated but always loyal. (Brent) – a fun-loving guy who has always loved to push the rules…and occasionally, people’s buttons. He’s as comfortable in a suit as he is in a tool-belt.

Totally admired Lisa and Brent’s ability to be themselves… before, during, and after their ceremony! Their custom wedding ceremony was a celebration of the love that exists between them. It was also their chance to honour the love they hold for their amazing and extraordinarily tightly-knit community of friends and family. They simply couldn’t imagine getting married without the people they love present. “Our family and friends are what we cherish most in life. So while “eloping” had a nice ring to it, being married in front of the people we love and respect will give our vows the significance they deserve.”

In the beautiful ballroom of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, before the people they cherish most in life, I shared their own lovely words with each other. “Brent, with you I finally feel like I belong and that I’m home; something I didn’t know I was even looking for until I found you. +  Lisa, I love you and I officially decree a life long commitment to taking out the garbage, checking your car’s fluid levels, keeping your tires at their optimal pressure, unclogging drains, and bringing in all the firewood necessary to keep you warm.”

What a gift to get this note from Brent after the ceremony:

“Michele, You rocked that ceremony big time!!! Lisa and I couldn’t have asked for more and are over the moon with joy.”

Hats off to the fab wedding vendor team:

• Rosewood Hotel Georgia Weddings,
• Alicia Keats Weddings,
• Leanne Pedersen Photography,
• Upright Decor,
• Musical Occasions 
• DJLeanne

Vancouver and Whistler’s Modern Celebrant Michele Davidson works with newly engaged couples to create transformational and totally custom wedding ceremonies. She helps couples expand their vision of their ceremony AND their engagement. It’s a one-in-a-lifetime folks… make it sing!!! Email Michele at Michele@moderncelebrant.ca for Vancouver + Whistler wedding ceremonies.  She also travels internationally for weddings! Bali anyone?

Sarah + Geoffrey’s Winter Wedding at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia

As a professional wedding Celebrant, I am able to craft custom wedding ceremonies for a whole variety of couples. From simple beach wedding ceremonies to Vancouver luxury weddings at the most premier Vancouver wedding venues … entirely secular or deeply spiritual… ritual or no ritual.

Sarah and Geoff’s custom wedding ceremony was held at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, which is definitely one of the most elegant Vancouver wedding venues. Simply put, it is a stunning setting for a wedding, both ceremony and reception.

This couple’s wedding ceremony was their chance to show everyone how much they mean to one another… to share with family and friends the sacredness of their emotional bond. Sarah and Geoff are private people, but they thought that if there was ever a time to share their hearts… it was on their wedding day and especially in their wedding ceremony.

Sarah has a deep connection to First Nation traditions, and she has a heartfelt connection with a First Nation Elder who was invited to be co-Wedding Celebrant with me. I had suggested to the couple that we do a Directional and Elemental Blessing as part of their custom wedding ceremony. They loved the idea.

To begin, Sarah and Geoffrey cleansed their hands in water scented with fresh cedar. I used a sacred ceremonial abalone shell to scoop the water over their hands. The First Nations elder led the directional turns, while I sought the blessing. Everyone in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia’s stunning ballroom rose and joined Sarah and Geoff in turning to the four directions. Truly, it was an amazing sight to see.

I’m pretty sure it was the first Directional Blessing held in that grand hotel!

For this wedding I had the chance to work with such a fine team of professionals.

People who care deeply about the couple and their respective craftsmanship. The always sunny-hearted and uber-calm Alicia Keats from Alicia Keats Wedding, one of the finest Vancouver Wedding Planners… Talented and intuitive photographer Melia Sorenson from Lucida Photography… the phenomenally stylish and incredibly nice team from Upright Décor... stunning floral from Balconi Floral Design Studio... and the most perfect music from DJ Lance and (live) Musical Occasions.

Vancouver and Whistler’s Modern Celebrant Michele Davidson works with newly engaged couples to create transformational and totally custom wedding ceremonies. She helps couples expand their vision of their ceremony AND their engagement. It’s a one-in-a-lifetime folks… make it sing!!! Email Michele at Michele@moderncelebrant.ca for Vancouver + Whistler wedding ceremonies. She also travels internationally for weddings! Bali anyone? 

You just got Engaged! Relish the Simple Pleasures!

A big part of a respectful loving engagement and marriage is enjoying simple lovely moments together. There are ways to nurture romance that require little time or money. In fact, it is most often the small gestures that we see as the true treasures in life, not the big and grand.  A little ingenuity can go a long way to keeping your love alive and well.

For instance, Dan and I do “$10 dates” where one person has to figure out how to take the other on a cool date and spend just $10. We remember some of these dates more than fancy dinners out!  Don’t let tight schedules keep you from being romantic. Get in the habit of making time NOW or you will begin to take each other for granted.

HERE’S YOUR MISSION -

Make a list of ideas of what you could do for your partner. Don’t edit yourself. Use your creativity! Write down as many as you can. Make a goal of filling one entire page with ideas big and small, free, inexpensive and once-in-a-while treats.

Stuck for ideas? Here are some to get you started.

• Create a CD with music your partner likes.
• When your partner comes home from work make them a cup of tea or pour them a glass of wine while you make dinner.
• Write and hide simple love notes.
• Bring flowers for absolutely no reason and put them on your partner’s bedside table.
• Pour your partner a bubble bath complete with candles and maybe champagne.
• Read poetry or erotica aloud to each other. (Nice!!!)

Vancouver and Whistler’s Modern Celebrant Michele Davidson works with newly engaged couples to create transformational and totally custom wedding ceremonies. She helps couples expand their vision of their ceremony AND their engagement.  It’s a one-in-a-lifetime… make it sing!!!   Email Michele at Michele@moderncelebrant.ca for Whistler wedding ceremonies and Vancouver wedding ceremonies.  She also travels internationally for weddings!  Bali anyone?

Different than other Wedding Officiants

Time for Individual Reflection:

Over the years I’ve developed a reflective process that is one of the signature elements of collaborating with me. Seemingly simple questions that are designed to help you express what lies within. Not perfect words but real, honest words. This helps me get to know each of you as individuals. You work on them at your own pace, with lots of time, and send them to me in the way that suits you best.

Getting to Know you as a Couple:

Another part of my creative process is to get together with the two of you for a relaxed in-person interview. It can be at your place or mine, and sometimes I even cook for you! I listen deeply to you, drawing out the most compelling threads of the experiences and feelings you share with me. My gift as a ceremonial writer and storyteller is to weave your words and feelings into the tapestry that will be your wedding ceremony.

Blowing the ‘Same-Old Same-Old’ out of the Water:

Modern Celebrant’s ceremonies are the complete opposite of mass-produced.  I don’t go anywhere near cookie cutter or template ceremonies. Whether it’s in the readings we choose together, the rituals I research and design for you based on your cultural or faith backgrounds, the stories we share, the way we talk about the connection you have with each other, and how we engage your family and friends in the experience — All of it, every word, written for you.

Who do I work best with?

The couples who are drawn to these one-of-a-kind wedding ceremony experiences are couples who want their first step into marriage to be powerfully experienced and collectively remembered. Couples of ALL orientations who value living and thinking outside the box. Whether a ballet dancer, artist, lawyer, boutique hotel owner, cardiovascular surgeon, celebrity chef,  community lawyer, film director, or overseas aid worker  — they share a desire to live a deeper and more meaningful life. (Yes, those are real clients!) Read More >

Rebecca + Geoff’s wedding at the Hotel Vancouver