Just like developing and maintaining a healthy relationship with anyone, there are no magic shortcuts to getting to know, and working well with, your celebrant.

It takes time, it takes at least 3 people to care, and the couple getting married have to be willing to be open and honest with each other and the person they choose to conduct their ceremony.

Not that anyone is deliberately or intentionally deceitful, mind you.

But if one of my couples doesn't disclose to me what they value most, what their fears are, or any potential issues that may crop up with their family or the venue etc., I am only working off half of the information available to me.

I can't do the best job possible because I am too busy trying to navigate all of the core stuff.

Does that make sense?

Tysen and Kelly's ceremony is a great example of what can be achieved when there is trust and consistent and open communication. Right from our first meeting, around 13 months before the big day, they knew what they wanted and better still told me all about it.

The vision was a warm and intimate, pared-back, but still elegant celebration inclusive of their best friends and family. Kelly's skills as a graphic designer were going to be at the core of the fresh and romantic aesthetic.

We worked through several drafts of their ceremony script to make sure that their bridal party were honoured, their parents were included equally in the giving away, their family and friends who had passed away were discreetly acknowledged, the closing reading was relevant and not too soppy and the story of their relationship-so-far was coloured with the irony and sense of humour that they share.

It was also with an indescribable sense of relief and happiness that I teared up while reading the newly changed Section 46 of The Marriage Act 1961 at their ceremony, which now states: "Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of two people, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life."

The momentous shift to acceptance and peace that I felt within myself when I got to say those words for the first time, is a feeling that I will remember for the rest of my life. I was so thrilled that I was able to share that special moment with Kelly and Tysen who have several friends to which the change to the Marriage Act meant a great deal.

Maraya Verdonk from SoCo Photography did a beautiful job of capturing the prettiness at Howard Vineyard.

Special mention to the lovely Vicky from The Turquoise Rose, Floral Designer for her a-mah-zing work and also to Escapades for the tunes - very smooth and soulful.

Enjoy!