Wow what an Experience… I have NEVER known a feeling like the one I have at the moment.
Home from our Very Sacred Wedding and Honeymoon, and I MUST thank Anita Revel CMC for Being Celebrant of a Lifetime for us.
We could not have been better supported through the behind the scenes choices, editing of my words from “this is what we want to say” to legible expression, everything in its place, sacred words, prayers that fitted us perfectly and the Smile of a lifetime that held us up through the whole event.
So very Honoured to have you with us.
Oh and the short fly in trip from Western Australia to be here for us in the Wirrawilla Rainforest. YAY!!!
Mary-Ellen and Peter
~ Married in the Toolangi State Forest, Victoria
Welcome to Country
A “politically correct” custom in Australia is to acknowledge our land’s original custodians at the start of every gathering. This is being particularly encouraged by the Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation organisation (ANTaR), and is referred to as Acknowledging Country, or a Welcome to Country if spoken by an indigenous person.
Mary-Ellen and Peter chose to include a Welcome to Country in their wedding ceremony. It went like this:
This ancient Wirrawilla forest we stand in has been here for thousands of years. It withstood the fires of Black Friday 1939 and Black Saturday 2009, and more local fires since.
We are here where Myrtle creek meets Sylvia Creek, they join and flow into the Yea River, which flows to the Ovens river, Murray River and finally to the ocean in South Australia. This is a conservation area and the water is drinkable.
Mary-Ellen and Peter love visiting this place, and the Singing Gardens once owned by C.J. Dennis. As such, this is a special point in which the couple has chosen to start their journey together.
We offer Sacred Prayer and recognition of the land on which we stand. We recognise our Indigenous peoples and Traditional Owners/Custodians of land and country. This is a Sacred Space of untouched beauty.
In this moment in time we call to the Ancients of the land to watch over us and recognise the Sacred Union of Mary-Ellen and Peter. We thank Bunjil (our indigenous name for God) for allowing this moment and Sacred Ceremony to take place here.
Linking “Place” to “Ceremony”
The couple were holding their reception at the Singing Gardens, once owned by the poet, C.J. Dennis. As the “place” had significance for them, I found some prose that I could incorporate into their hand-fasting. Being a somewhat depressing sort of a chap, I had to paraphrase him to make it more positive-sounding, (and more appropriate for a wedding!) I ended up with this:
When life’s a weary track to travel, full of ruts and stumps, let this purple cord remind you to take your joy in lumps.
And let this white cord remind you, when you have a bob you’ll wet it, and a glad joke or two you’ll crack, for now you’re married and forever more, on the Homeward Track.
Shine on!
Anita Revel