 Book review:
Create your own Inspiring Wedding Ceremony
Author – Wendy Haynes, JP, Civil Celebrant
I recently had the pleasure of reading this book by Wendy Haynes, an experienced and highly creative celebrant. I first heard about Wendy through her delightful monthly newsletter in which she freely provides many interesting ideas for a wide variety of life ceremonies.
Wendy’s book is available as a paperback or an e-book from her website or from the ACCN Shop. It is certainly a “must have” resource for any celebrant who enjoys working with couples to design a truly personalised ceremony. While the book is primarily written for couples who want to create and write their own ceremony, it is equally useful for celebrants who want to guide couples through the creative thought processes and gain their input before writing a ceremony for them.
The book gently leads the reader through each element of the ceremony by explaining the purpose of that element, providing questions to be considered and discussed and identifying the decisions that need to be made. It would certainly be a great resource for any couple willing to take the time and effort to create every element of their ceremony before having it “polished” by their celebrant.
Even when couples do not want to write all the elements of the ceremony, many express a desire to write their own vows. Wendy’s “Love Letter” exercise provides couples with a way to work through this process and her list of “Useful and Inspiring Words” is just right for helping couples to find the right words to include in their vows.
Almost half the book is given over to examples of actual ceremonies that Wendy has written and conducted. Wendy encourages readers to “pick and mix” from these when developing their own ceremony and there are certainly great examples of readings, blessings, vows, ring exchanges and so on, all shown within the context of highly personalised ceremonies. Simply reading the ceremony words, together with the brief introduction that sets the scene for each ceremony, should show couples how they can create their own perfect individualised ceremony.
For me, as a celebrant who likes to write personalised ceremonies, the book offered inspiration about how to work better with my clients, how to ask more probing questions and how to gain a better depth of understanding about the couple, their history and their hopes for the wedding ceremony and their future marriage. After reading this book I realise that, as well as providing plenty of resources for couples to choose the various elements of the ceremony, I can do even more than I have previously done to challenge them to think about their ceremony and express their wishes more fully.
All in all, I found this book a great resource and I am sure I shall use it often. I shall certainly recommend it to couples who want to get deeply involved in the creation of their ceremony – although I shall think twice about lending it out in case it doesn’t find its way home!!
Review by:
Sonia Collins
Civil Marriage Celebrant
Batemans Bay NSW
www.coastcelebrant.vpweb.com.au
Our thanks to Sonia for her comments on Wendy's book.
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