Dear Anita,

Thank you for always being cheerful, charming, sensitive and totally professional for my daughter’s recent outback wedding celebrant

Not only did you go the ‘extra mile’ to provide an excellent service in an incredibly remote region of Western Australia, you literally went thousands of extra kilometres out of your way.

You also endured without complaint, a 100 kilometre 4 wheel drive return journey over a very rough track to get to the actual ceremony site, all the while remaining calm, reassuring and smiling.

Your radiant, steady and peaceful presence
calmed the nerves of many.

You showed great respect for the traditional owners of the land, and this was gratefully appreciated.

Anita, you always communicated clearly and your involvement made my daughter’s wedding a truly incredible experience for everyone.

Your compassion, love, joy and professionalism was commented on by everyone! You are the best!

Thank you,
Rahima

How I was able to conduct an outback wedding celebrant with no additional expense to the bride and groom

My home base is in an idyllic corner of the Margaret River region of Australia’s South West. For nine months of the year the weather is fabulous for weddings. During winter, however, it is quite cool so barely any weddings take place.

Up north, on the other hand, conditions in the Kimberley are ideal – beautiful blue skies, warm weather, exquisite sunsets and brilliant night-time stars.

It’s no surprise therefore, that if I’m invited to conduct a winter wedding up north, I’ll do everything in my power to be there! (I love “working holidays”!)

As was the case for Mala and Ismahl’s wedding which took place at Djugerari, an Aboriginal community south of Fitzroy Crossing. Djugerari is the birthplace of the groom’s father of the Walmajarri tribe. The location symbolised the couple’s respect for Ismahl’s heritage, so of course I respected and applauded their desire to marry there.

Logistically, however, it meant:

• three hour road trip to Perth
• three hour flight from Perth to Broome
• five hour road trip to Fitzroy Crossing
• an hour’s 4WD trip to Djugerari
• and back again

Normally these hours, mileage and accommodation would add to thousands of dollars for any professional travelling to conduct any service. However, with a bit of creative thinking I was able to travel for the wedding at no additional expense to the bride and groom.

Here’s how we did it:

• I viewed the trip as a “working holiday” so the hours of traveling held some personal benefit to me – hence, no need to charge for my time;
• I used frequent flyer points for the flights;
• The bride’s family included me in their transfer plans from Broome to Fitzroy Crossing and Djugerari, so no petrol or hire car fees for me;
• Accommodation was provided for me by the bride’s family (for the “working” part of the trip), and the rest of the time (the “holiday” bit), I stayed with family and friends.

Well, the wedding was so beautiful, the landscape so breathtaking and symbolic, there wasn’t a minute of it that I felt like I was “working”…

In fact, I enjoyed myself so thoroughly that the thought of becoming an Outback Wedding Celebrant during winter became very appealing!

So, if you’re planning a northern or outback wedding during June, July or August, get in touch. You never know… together we will nut out a plan 🙂

You can view my favourite photos of this wedding at my facebook page, but I will leave you with this absolute classic and all-time favourite photo… It’s of the grandmothers of the bride and groom… Aren’t they gorgeous?!

Thanks for reading, and perhaps I will hear from you soon about your winter escape wedding!

Shine on,
Anita