Outside the Asylum

The main purpose of this blog is to bring you all useful, helpful and relevant information on anything wedding related, and the occasional bit of frivolity or personal bits. Weddings, civil ceremonies and other celebrations take a good deal of planning, time and money, so it's very important that you have exactly the day you want so that you can look back on the whole experience with pleasure and happiness rather than wishing it could have been different.

You may follow a religion and be happy to get married in your regular place of worship, or you may be looking for something a bit different. Some register offices are lovely I'm sure but some are probably rather business like and impersonal and may have a kind of production line feel to them. You might want something a bit more than just a quick register office ceremony but not a full blown religious service, today Rev. Brendan Johnson, an Interfaith Minister, offers some words of help and advice.

Photos, check. Flowers, check. Ceremony…..?

Did you know that you can have a bespoke ceremony, designed to reflect your beliefs, without having to go through the dogma of a service you may not believe in, or the sterility of the Civil wording? I’m a Minister with the One SpiritInterfaith Foundation  and there are nearly 500 of us, and there are lots more Independent Celebrants in the UK. Whilst (at the moment) it is only the Official registrar who can ‘legally’ marry someone, many more couples are finding that they can do the ‘legal bit’ separately, and are opting for a more personalised service (literally!) www.interfaithfoundation.org/unique-wedding-ceremony answers some of the question you might have.

An independent Celebrant is able to work with couples to really work out what they want to say to one another and isn’t limited by one creed or dogma, if you want Hindu Scriptures, Islamic poetry and Bon Jovi, why not? It’s YOUR day! If you want to include any kind of element that you’ve seen elsewhere, you can. Our job is to deliver what you want from a ceremony, so please do consider one of the many Independent Celebrants available. Most couples put a lot of thought into the details of the ceremony, i.e. cakes, flowers, dresses, cars, and so on, but don’t really realise that they can do so much more than just writing a few words of their own to be included in a load of promises to a God they don’t necessarily believe in.

You can see if there’s a Minister near you (and there probably is) by searching here or you can email my wife and I and we’ll be happy to help.

Rev. Brendan Johnson & Rev. Becky Johnson

Sunkissed Ceremonies

Well we've had an extremely dry Spring this year with some glorious sunshine then June arrived, more damp squib than Flaming June! Although the rain is desperately needed for the crops it would be good to get some sunshine and warmth back again - on Sunday evening Mr LG even suggested lighting the open fire, something which the LGs and I needed no persuading about! 

Today I'd like to welcome Julia Tsiaka from Sunkissed Ceremonies to our blog. Julia is a Celebrant on the beautiful Greek island of Rhodes .......

All About the Ceremony By Julia Tsiaka

If you’re looking for a wedding ceremony that’s completely your style and totally unique, consider a Celebrant wedding ceremony on the beautiful sun-kissed Greek island of Rhodes.

Sunkissed Ceremonies is a brand new Celebrant wedding service in Rhodes which creates tailor-made wedding ceremonies, in the English language, for couples who want to make their special day extra special.

Celebrant wedding ceremonies are becoming increasingly popular all over the world because they allow couples the freedom to express themselves in their own way; to celebrate their wedding day in the way they really want, with respect for their personal beliefs and cultures.

You can hold your Celebrant wedding ceremony in Rhodes at any time of the day or evening, you can express yourself freely when you say your vows to one another and you can include elements of any and all religions and beliefs.  You can include readings and music of any kind and mix up traditional and modern rituals.

The exchange of rings, the exchange of vows, the readings, the music and any other ritual held at a wedding is purely ceremonial and can be performed at any time and in any location.  And that’s where I, as a professional Celebrant can help you to make your wedding ceremony unforgettable.

                                                          

Many couples choose to register their marriage with a simple visit to their local Registrar first before jetting off into the sunshine with family and friends to celebrate their “real” wedding ceremony.

Banish any thoughts of not holding your wedding ceremony at exactly the same time as your marriage registration.  After all, you wouldn’t Christen your baby or hold a naming ceremony on the same day that you register their birth, would you?  There are few events that we celebrate at the same time that we register them.  Why should weddings be any different?

As your wedding Celebrant, I will spend a great deal of time getting to know you before creating your personalised wedding ceremony.    The ceremony will be completely unique to you, revolving around the story of your lives, your interests, how you met and how you feel about each other, and moulded around your beliefs and lifestyle. 

You are free to keep as much of the traditional wedding service as you would like and I will suggest some ways to make your ceremony unique with the inclusion of less traditional rituals that might suit your circumstances, like the sand ceremony, the unity candle or the wine ceremony.  See more examples of rituals on my website

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Consider the benefits of having a Sunkissed wedding ceremony in Rhodes. 

• It’s an economical option to holding a full-blown traditional ceremony with a Registrar in attendance at an approved UK venue

• You can choose to have a simple UK marriage registration before or after your Celebrant wedding ceremony in Rhodes or combine your Celebrant wedding ceremony with your legal Greek marriage registration on the island

• You can invite the family and friends that you really want to have with you on your special day – perhaps ask them to splash out on airfares rather than give you a wedding gift.  Ask those guests who cannot join you in Rhodes, and/or the traditionalists amongst them, to your legal marriage registration in the UK.

• You can hold the ceremony almost anywhere you like, at any time of day and there are no time restrictions

• You can style your wedding with a fun or favourite theme, e.g. roaring 20’s, masquerade, wild west, geek, movie stars, Titanic, ancient Greeks, etc. or perhaps just a colour or particular style such as blue and white, ecological, vintage or simply something that fits in with the gorgeous sun-kissed location

• You can express yourselves in any way and with any words, e.g. vows, readings, music, songs, dancing, etc. and stage your own ceremony choreography

• You can include other members of your family in the ceremony, e.g. children, or include a remembrance for someone that is no longer with us

• You can include any religious elements that you like from one or more religions, rituals such as breaking the glass, jumping the broom, handfasting, or even make up some of your own

• You don’t need any documentation, expensive legalisations or translations for a Sunkissed wedding ceremony – everything is in English

• It’s fun and it’s in the sun!

• You can have one heck of a long wedding celebration following your Sunkissed wedding ceremony – it might last until your return flight lands in the UK!

So, if you really want to put some sparkle into your wedding ceremony, come to the Greek island of Rhodes and say your vows in a very special location.

My thanks to Kitty for hosting this article on Celebrant wedding ceremonies in Rhodes.

You can find out more about Julia and the services she provides on her website, email her and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

In April we featured Laurra and Maria Nalty from One Life Ceremonies with suggestions for those of you who would like to do your wedding ceremony where and when you wish, and I'm a supporter of The Any Campaign which is working towards changing the law so that you CAN get married anytime, anywhere - please do visit their website and sign the petition if you think the law should be changed!