Anita Revel, Modern Celebrant: Helping couples achieve their ceremony goals since 2008
2019-20: the year I married two Celebrants, did a Beltaine wedding, got soaking wet on a beach, witnessed one of the most spine-tingly-hair-raisingly-beautiful ritual ever, and so much more…
I decided to become a Celebrant when I wanted to get married myself, and couldn’t find a modern Celebrant anywhere. Back then the ceremonies were one-size-fits-all, and very little tailoring / personalising went on. Also, the number of Celebrants were capped, so they got to call the shots on wedding dates and times.
I ended up running away to be married by Elvis in Vegas, and that was it — I would become a modern Celebrant and fill the niche that modern couples were looking for — something less formal than ceremonies of the past.
I was authorised in 2008, and have been conducting light-hearted ceremonies ever since.
Given how busy I am, it appears I identified a gap in the market accurately!
Here’s a recap of my weddings of the 2019-2020 season, including that one event that would have to make it the weirdest (but still wonderful!) wedding season ever!
1 Casey and Rebecca. As often happens with the winter weddings, my 2019-20 season kicked off with a beautiful elopement at Losario Retreat. The couple did everything they would have done with a regular big wedding — the dress, the luxury accommodation, the photographer, the decadent celebration lunch — only, it was just for them.
2 Kristy and Daniel. As it turns out, this was one of the last weddings to be held at Pearl River Houses. And wow what a send-off. Kristy’s dad stood up from his bed to walk his daughter the last few steps down the aisle, and mannnnnnnn, there was not a dry eye in the house. Normally I’m discreet about any tears I might have, but Em (Zephyr Digital) sprung me baaaad). It was such a mix of happy tears and outright laughter — when Kristy appeared at the top of the aisle, she busted out a solo, singing “It’s a whole new world…” I remember thinking, “What? Is she going to sing the whole thing?!” but then she stopped and laughed and said “Just kidding” — it was an in-joke between her and Daniel, that he completely missed because he was too overcome with the sight of her.
3 Ian and Ari. Baby when it’s cold outside, go jazz up the barrel room! Check out the beautiful job this couple did of creating a magical space at their winery.
4. Mathew and Narelle. These cruisers took advantage of the full-day elopement experience, and drove around the Margaret River region in the famous teal kombi, Klara. They stopped in at Boranup to tie the knot, then mosied their way north via a couple of wineries, lunch at The Beer Farm, then home to Busselton. Super memorable, fun, and easy!
5. Ben and Alisa. Totally cruisy — they booked and paid for the ceremony before even speaking with me! They got my vibe, and boom, I was the lucky one to marry them. We wandered into the private forest at Margaret River Heartland, said a few words, and wham-bam, married! Just the way they wanted it.
6. Hannah and Buddy. This pair of spunks have an enormous fig tree growing in their backyard, so when it came time for their wedding, they chose a property with an equally big fig tree, to bring in energy of “home and family”. They also DIY’d a stunning backdrop with potted plants and flowers instead of an arbor. Looked amazing! Photo: Ingrid Kjelling
7. Kenneth and Debs. Debs must have the smiliest eyes I’ve ever seen — and boy did they do a lot of smiling at her lakeside wedding in Balingup. With the wedding going for the entire weekend, and with family and friends camping and keeping it easy, no wonder she was smiling. (As well as the fact she was marrying her gorgeous guy!)
8. 
Jacinta and Mitchell. When the dog is the ring bearer… Yessss!! Cali did the perfect job — carried the rings to her people, and behaved ever so well during the whole ceremony. (image: Kevin McGinn)
9. Drew and Lauren.
Gaaaaahhhhh!!!
Did someone say, “Beltaine wedding”??
Hell yeah, these two sure did!
Beltane is the pagan season that honours Life. It occurs in the peak of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earth energies are at their strongest and most potent. All of life is bursting with new energy and fertility, and at this point in the Wheel of the Year, the potential becomes conception. By weaving ourselves through ceremony into the rhythms of Gaia, we work with the energy of the Earth and bring a grounding-yet-invigorating energy to a union.
With the energy so magical at this time of year, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to celebrate something special. So, I created a Beltane Wedding Day for couples who wished to honour their Pagan traditions and incorporate them into a pop-up wedding style ceremony.
Although I invited Lauren and Drew to include such elements such as hand-fasting, calling in the directions and the gods and goddesses, and maybe even weaving a maypole with your guests for something completely different, they kept it simple with a handfasting.
I also surprised them with a couple of butterflies to release at the ceremony closing — oh my goodness I totally swooned. It was a cool-ish day, so the butterflies were very relaxed about flying away.
The butterflies are ethically bred locally in Margaret River by Butterflies for You.
(The breeder, Trudy, is one of my brides!)
These beautiful images were captured by Shannon Stent.
10. Daryl and Steven. Be still my beating heart! No — don’t be still! Go crazy!! Get EXTRA! These two are just the cutest.
Steven is also a Celebrant (Ceremonies By Steven), so out of respect for him, I introduced myself to the guests, as the world’s 2nd best Celebrant ;-P
The grooms arrived by Kubota, rocking it out to a tune blasting from an on-board speaker. They wanted something “extra” — maybe to arrive by helicopter?
I couldn’t afford a surprise helicopter ride for them (which is fine — the Kubota kicked ass!) So I organised another surprise butterfly release. After the butterfly release with Lauren and Drew the day before, I could help myself — I went straight back to Trudy to get another fix. Divine! It was a warmer day this time, so after whispering their wishes to the butterflies, the beautiful creatures were quick to fly into the trees.
The grooms were over the moon with how much love there was in that forest. Here’s what they had to say:
Yesterday was the most incredible day our of lives. Now, always and until the end of our time I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine.
Our day was more than amazing, it was absolutely dazzling and overflowing with love surrounded by family and friends. There are so so many people that helped us in making our dream a reality but just to name a few…… @truelovelaura, @anitarevel, @driftwood_weddings, @tillerevents, @hire_in_style_wa, @wonderlandtentsandevents, @capeeventsyallingup, @fishbonewines. Thank you everyone for being part of our big day, words really can’t express the love we have for you all.
11. Chris and Qiaoying. Alright, I thought things might settle down a bit after two such amazing weddings in a row. But oh no. Along comes Chris and Qiaoying in their traditional Inner-Mongolian wedding garb! It was a stinking hot down down at the Hamelin Bay beach, but these two looked as cool as cucumbers as they exchanged their vows. (Not kisses though — they don’t do PDA in China apparently!)
12. Tayla and Nick. Aaaaand followed immediately by an absolute tear-jerker — Tayla walked down the aisle to the bagpipes — a surprise for her Scottish mum. So the tears were already rolling…. Then, when Tayla bent down and offered a promise to Nick’s son to be there for him always, well it pretty well finished everyone off — there was not a dry eye in the garden. Yet again I got caught on camera crying too, but I’m not publishing that photo — it was ugly crying LOL.
13. Mark and Dayna. Forget destination wedding — these two did a destination elopement! They travelled with two besties to act as witnesses, and came to Australia’s south west for a week of celebration. They were due to meet up with extended family the following week (for a family reunion), but didn’t want the attention on them. So, they got married on their terms, and will still get the party when they announced their marriage later on.
14. Jason and Denise. Quickest ceremony EVER. Done and dusted in three minutes. I arrived at the park in Busselton at 10.55, and was out of there by 11.05. No readings. No intro. Just the bare bones. They would do all their talking during speeches at lunch.
15. Oliver and Anita. The first thing Anita and I said to each other was, “I knew you’d be beautiful — all Anitas are beautiful.” LOL. There aren’t many Anitas around, but we sure do seem in synch! They married by the lake of a private property, under two peppi trees behaving as a giant natural arbor. So gorgeous.
16. Jayne and Kevin. This Italian with his dreadlocks and crazy sense of humour — it was always going to be a loose ceremony in the forest.
(It’s amazing how for every pot there is a lid, and Kevin has certainly found his rock in Jayne.)
The second they said their vows there was a giant “cccc—rrrraaaaCK!” and a whopping big branch fell down 100m or so away. The echo across the valley floor stopped everyone in their tracks.
“It’s a sign!” someone yelled.
“Of what?” Kevin asked.
“I dunno!” they yelled back. “But it’s good!”
17. Ben and Danielle. The couple met in the navy, but there was nothing nautical about their day — (apart from the “sea of tears” by the groom before the start, booom boom ;-P). Even the groomsmen had to “take a moment” during the vows, which were written by the couple themselves. I remember taking an empty seat in the front row as the vows were quite long, and crying along with everyone else!
18. Sandra and Trevor. These two knew each other for many years, but fate has only decided in their recent history to bring them together. Although the groom was waiting in one part of the Boranup Forest, and she in another, destiny says they were meant for each other — they managed to find each other in the forest after half an hour of looking!
19. Thomas and Geneva. This couple took advantage of my bespoke pop-up wedding packages, and got married on the grounds of Voyage Estate. After family photos, they enjoyed a 12-course degustation with matching wines… Their first date was to Voyager, and it was also where Thomas proposed (avoiding dropping fully to one knee as the grass was wet), so it was precious that they could marry there too.
20. Laura and Mitchell. They organised their small, intimate wedding, all the way from England. I met them just minutes before their ceremony, but having been referred by another one of my couples, I felt I knew them well. The couple that referred me acted as witnesses, and I got to meet their brand new baby. (Anyone that knows me, knows I’m ga-ga for babies!)
21. Cody and Gemma. Back to the Boranup Forest I went, for my fourth and final wedding of the day. The couple’s family had a little vintage drinks cart set up, while the bride finished getting dressed in the car. It was very relaxed, and lots of laughter.
22. Gregg and Marina. A first for me — a sunrise wedding! We all met at Meelup Beach, (where I did a livestream to Facebook), and I couldn’t believe it — it was blowing a gale and there were WAVES. Meelup never has waves! So after some discussion, photographer Kelly Harwood suggested we reconvene to Sugarloaf Rock — we should be able to find some protection from the wind there.
We didn’t, but also, it didn’t matter. They faced each other and exchanged vows, hair whipping in their faces and the wind snatching the words from their mouths. Afterwards, we celebrated with Baumkuchen or Baumstrietzel (German wedding cake, or the closest cake to that idea that Marina could find in Margaret River), and Polaroid snap-fest by the bride. Such an amazing way to start the day!
23. Hannah and Rick. The couple married on family property in Yallingup. When they cleared an area for the ceremony, scraping the ground flat with a tractor, they realised the guests would be uncomfortable with a sandy patch in the forest. (That sandy soil is typical Yallingup.) So they went deeper into the forest and collected hundreds of buckets and leaves, and hand-spread them in the ceremony area to create a soft, earthy, warm experience for their guests. You can see by this photo how much work that would have been! Of course their guests were none the wiser to this … Until I told them of course! I think they held the couple in all-new-awe levels after hearing that!24. Dominic and Amy. Married in front of the landmark “doors” at Solitaire, it was a very impressive setting for family who had arrived from England to witness the nuptials.
25. Todd and Candice. These two cuties… hearts as deep as they are real. 💙 I was delighted to arrive on site and see their home-made arbor — a complete circle decorated with fresh flowers picked from the property. I was excited because I’d been making a round sculpture for the Castaways Sculpture Awards in Rockingham. Circles are IT baby! Forever-ness. No end-ness. A portal to a timeless spaceless place-ness! Such good energy!
26. Heidi and Brett. We organised this wedding while we were all travelling. I was in Victoria for Xmas, and they were taking a much-needed break. Everything got handled by phone and email, and it couldn’t have been easier. Married barefoot in front of their chalet at Redgate Beach Escape (which I helped build, incidentally! Literally — I had a toolbelt and all!)
They followed the ceremony with a simple lunch with those present, and then toddled off to have their “wedding rings” tattooed by Cory Wesley (handpoke style) at Artful Ink Tattoo Studio in Margs. They incorporated the unique palindrome date 20-2-20 into their design, which you can see here.
And here, I’ll give you an insight to my next 48 hours:
2 rehearsals, 4 meetings, 4 weddings;
home in time to wish my daughter a happy 12th birthday before bedtime.Don’t worry, I’ve got this!
27. Adam and Bonnie. She wore cowboy boots! What a spunk!
28. David and Helen. All he wanted was a photo in front of the little church in Cowaramup, so we decided that they would marry there too, in the park with the church in the background. These two couldn’t have smiled any harder throughout the entire ceremony, and who could blame them? This was the culmination of decades together already!
29. Elle and Marc. Rain threatened to dampen their parade, but they slid into home base just nicely. The kids rolly-polled around their feet, and kept it as relaxed and sweet as could be.
30. Wesley and Sitri. The couple love to fish off the rocks in Augusta, so placed the arbor right on the water’s edge …. This looked great, until a “king tide” wave came in (3cm for Augusta 🤣). The entire bridal party picked the entire ensemble up in one instant, and moved it higher up the beach. Talk about teamwork!! At the end of the ceremony, we all followed the bridal couple back to the house, where they signed the paperwork, cut the cake and made speeches all in one hit. It worked a treat — more time for celebrating.
31. Jessica and Hayden. A Leap Day wedding — yes! I’ve always wanted to do one of these. I knew this ceremony was going to be a doozy when I rocked up and the groomsman was busy folding tissues for everyone in the bridal party. They knew they would need them after hearing the couple had written vows to each other’s child. And sure enough, my goodness, there wasn’t a dry eye when Jess and Hayden made promises to the kids. The kids couldn’t care less, (kids, LOL), but us adults knew how intensely beautiful this gesture was.
32. Nathan and Carmen. A simple beach ceremony, which despite blowing a gale, spoke volumes about the couple’s priorities — keeping it simple, sweet, and real. I literally gulpy-cried for a second when the bride requested that everyone cheer and clap as she walked down the aisle. It was soooo powerful. I loved it.
33. Sean and Brigitte. And a pinch-punch-first-of-the-month wedding on an amaaaazing private property in Karridale. The property belongs to a friend, who LOVED hosting such a beautiful occasion. (And yes! Another butterfly release 😍
34. Gina and Chris. At this time, we are finding ourselves on the cusp of this “Coronavirus thing”, where social distancing is being talked about, but not really actioned. Which was just as well, because when Zac Webb (Wadandi cultural custodian, Undalup Association) asked if the couple would like to do the rainbow serpent dance as part of their ceremony, I got super excited. What an amazing experience — not just for Aussies, but also for all the guests visiting from England.
So during the certificate signing, I got the couple’s permission to include this spontaneously into the closing of the ceremony, and stood back as Zac took over. What I witnessed was one of the most spine-tingly-hair-raisingly-beautiful ritual ever.
I wrote to Zac that evening, to express my gratitude for his sharing his culture so beautifully with us… He replied:
It was such a great afternoon Djook (Sister). Thankyou for all the work you do to make these Gnwirri (Beautiful) emersion of such Quabba (good) energy on Boodja, Boodjaara (Country)
I am a huge fan of Zac. His Welcome to Country is a powerful way to open a ceremony. You can request Zac’s service via the Undalup Association.
35. Justine and Gabrielle. And here I go, head-first into another high-season weekend. Starting with Justine and Gabrielle, who were having destination-wedding in Margaret River, from Melbourne. They’d invited immediate family, and although a small and intimate ceremony, had a heck of a wedding day. Beautiful gown for her, beautiful suit for her, three bridesmaids a-piece, super thoughtful and detailed vows, a tailor-written Acknowledgement of Country, and I didn’t get to see the other bells and whistles because I had too many love hearts coming out of my eyes.
36. Genine and David. Back to Busselton for a beachside wedding, with the Queen Mary cruise ship gracing us in the background. It’s Genine and David’s photo featuring at the top of this post, actually, so you can see by the smiles on their faces how much fun we had in this ceremony. Genine is also a Celebrant (Genine Houston in Fremantle), so I got to use the same intro as I used with Steven (the other Celebrant that I married this year, his story is above): “I’m Anita Revel, and I’m the world’s 2nd best Celebrant.“
It’s interesting that in 99% of my ceremonies, couples choose to say only their first names, or sometimes their nicknames, in their vows. And they almost always use the legal line, “I call upon the persons here present, to witness…” during the ring exchange.
But Genine and David chose to use their full names in their vows, and they chose to use the legal line at the end of their personal vows. I was surprised the “weight” this gives the vows. It tells us that these are very deep, serious and meaningful words. It tells us that this is the moment when each other’s life has been pledged to the other. Food for thought!
37. Hannah and Adrian. Soooo another day of potential rain. But deep down knowing that we wouldn’t escape it today. It’s just a matter of chin-up, and reminding the guests that rainy-day weddings are lucky because, in “tying the knot”, wet knots are harder to untie than dry ones. Anyway, we got most of the way through Hannah and Adrian’s ceremony. It started raining in the last couple of minutes of the ceremony. I checked with the couple if they wanted to pause while guests got umbrellas, or close the ceremony. Hannah, to her wild-hearted credit, asked me to keep going — no rain was going to ruin her day!
38. Phillip and Justin. And these two, oh dear. They flew from England to marry on Redgate Beach, because all they wanted for their wedding day was to feel the Western Aussie sun on their faces and their feet in the sand. What they got was wind and rain. We decided together that we would go ahead and do the beach wedding — in the pouring rain — (and it was pouring!) — after all, how often do you get to dance in the rain with your besties? Woo hoo! There was a delightful reading — an excerpt from a Tim Winton novel — that talked about the Western Australia air in summer, so we got a hint of a vibe of summer… ;-P They were such good sports about it. And the random dog that kept crashing the ceremony for a pat. (And the group photo afterwards too LOL.)
39. Martin and Janene. In my final wedding for the weekend, I had enough time to sit in the venue with the couple until we felt confident we could go down to the sand and conduct the ceremony. Family had flown in from Scotland, so it was important they got to experience an “Aussie beach wedding”.
40. Jake and Vanessa. What a difference a week makes. “Social distancing” is now a real thing. I’m packing alcohol wipes in my kit, and wiping my mic and pen each time they change hands. Guests choose to leave the chairs empty, preferring to cluster in their friendship groups. I’m instructed to let the guests know that although Jake and Vanessa would love a hug when congratulated, they respect each guest’s choice to practice physical distancing. I’m a hugger, so had to fight every physical urge to give them a hug. But despite the challenges, the couple were all smiles throughout. The groom even had the presence of mind to tell me, mid signature, it was the best ceremony ever. Bless 💜
It was practically hours after this ceremony that we went into full coronavirus meltdown. The big upset that makes this the weirdest wedding season ever. My phone did not stop ringing all week, with postponements, panic, and even some cancellations. My husband and I commenced self-isolation, and kept our daughter home from school. Crikey, what a time to be alive! One couple elected to keep their date though…
41. Andrew and Leticia. “4” is a lucky number for Leticia, so there was no way she was going to give up her 4-April wedding date. To achieve this, though, the couple had to compromise. There’d be no travelling down south for their ceremony — only five people (including me as the Celebrant) could attend the wedding anyway. So we held the ceremony in the courtyard of their home, with two witnesses present to operate the bank of screens. Guests had tuned in via zoom and Facebook Live, and the ceremony was being recorded for posterity.
And then…. I went back to self-isolation and took stock.
The beauty of having my calendar become suddenly empty, was that other opportunities and priorities started popping up.
I got to finish unpacking all our boxes (from when we moved house earlier this year). I got to teach my daughter Japanese, and get her to a stage where she’ll fast-track Year 7 Japanese. I became addicted to dressing up to put the bin out…
And, amazingly, I got to paint two murals!! (Small brag coming on…)
- “Birds of a Feather (Flock Together)” is on a private home in Fremantle. (The flamingo mural story is here: Flamingo Mural Gives Hope During Coronavirus)
- “Aunty Joan’s Dolly Mix” is the entire 50m2 facade depicting a Victorian dollhouse scene. (The mural is in Esperance, on a building which will house a doll museum.)
So although it was a drastic and heart-wrenching way to finish the 2019-20 wedding season, some good things (personally) have come from it too. I hope you have a story to tell about good things that have come from bad situations? If so, I’d love to hear it! Let’s all lift our spirits together! Comments are open, here.
Perhaps more small covid-19 weddings are yet to come before June 30 — if so, I’ll update them as they happen. If not, that’s fine also — I’ll take this time to recharge, re-set, and get all ready for the 2020-21 season! (Currently it looks like it’s going to kick off in September.)
See you from September onwards, most likely! Au revoir, and shine on beautiful people,
Anita Revel
