August 2017 - Wedding Ceremonies In Mallorca

August 16, 2017August 16, 2017

Your Perfect Wedding Ceremony

What makes your perfect wedding ceremony?

The answer to this is of course the both of you, The Bride and Groom…Add to that your family and friends who are all with you with love in their hearts, you are in the most beautiful and carefully chosen location for your wedding, you are looking fabulous and you are surrounded by flowers…. So all of that is already perfect!

But what helps to make that half an hour of your ceremony extra special?

My first question when I speak to couples is what would make Your dream ceremony. Many times the answer is “hmmmmmm we don’t know” And so we begin to get to know each other. I love everything about weddings but actually taking time to get to know my couples before the big day is really important… How could I possible build your perfect wedding ceremony if I don’t know you! So amongst other things I will ask… how you got together? How long have you known each other? What makes your relationship tick? What makes you laugh together? Why Mallorca? Tell me about the journey that has brought us to today? And over the months (sometimes a year or more) leading up to your big day we will have got to know each other quite well.

Wedding ceremonies are a little like telling a story with a beginning, a middle and a happy ever after. The skill of a good celebrant is to tell YOUR story whilst reflecting you as a couple and making sure your guests are fully engaged and making sure that it is a magical half hour that everyone will remember for years to come.

There is a format that works especially well and I often use it as a skeleton when building your ceremony and it goes a little like this;

Guest Reading/Poem

Introduction

Vows

Rings

The kiss

Certificate

Guest Reading/poem

Enhancement

This format ensures that the words weave waves of emotions… We make your guests laugh a little, Smile a lot and shed the odd tear of joy, there are moments of intense emotion such as the brides arrival and your vows and moments of lightness when maybe we describe how “The Question” was popped. For example; I recently did a wedding for a couple which was held in the same restaurant where the groom had popped the question exactly a year ago to the day! Then add an enhancement for the real “AWWWWWW” factor. And soon you are walking, skipping or dancing back down the aisle as Mr and Mrs

If you would like help from an experienced celebrant for your perfect wedding ceremony then please do contact me by phone +34676333065 we can skype or wassapp, drop me an email at [email protected] or we can chat on facebook https://www.facebook.com/weddingsinmallorca/

Thank you to Aimeekphotography for the wonderful photos

August 11, 2017August 12, 2017

A Vegan wedding experience in Mallorca

Yesterday I had my first vegan wedding experience! It was held at a fabulous Restaurant here in the north of the Island called Restaurant Bellaverde (if you have never tried Vegan food please go and visit them for an incredible food experience) I have been an on and off veggie for many years… and rarely eat meat or fish to this day for many reasons… firstly, I hate the cruelty involved in animal farming and the way we are raping our sea and secondly we actually do not need to eatthe quantity of animal products that are currently “sold” to us as essential for a healthy diet. However I have never personally ventured into being a full vegan. …all that aside.. I live and work at making beautiful wedding experiences in Mallorca.. and have some very tried and tested fabulous suppliers too.

I decided to contact them all to chat about vegan weddings and their understanding (and mine) of what was really involved in caring for vegan clients and giving them the best day possible whilst ensuring that their principles and values were given 100% consideration.

What I have discovered is that there are so many things to be thought of for a true Vegan experience… from the silk in wedding dresses to the special jewellery that couples choose to buy for their wedding through to the wine that may be included in the enhancements for one of my ceremonies.

So here are some of my tips:

Wedding dresses:

You have to be careful as many dresses include silk… however on the upside there are some fabulous alternative such as taffeta, chiffon, lace and sateen… just check the labels. House of Tammam has many animal friendly and stunning bridal dresses and even some hight street stores such as Coast and Monsoon

Grooms Suits

We are lucky here in Mallorca as the weather in summer is hot, hot, hot! So not many people would choose a woollen suit but you still have to look out for silk or cashmere. The perfect suit for our climate here is of course linen and cotton… so our vegan grooms can not only look amazing but not swelter in the sun. A little word on ties…. It is actually really easy to find a rayon or polyester equivalent to the silk tie… or since we are in Mallorca …. ties are really not needed!

Shoes

I think most Vegans are usually quite accomplished at finding shoes made from man made products… but of course we always have to be aware of the glue! There are some great companies in UK who make beautiful shoes without the use of any animal products, check out Beyond Skin

Jewellery

I think mostly we need to be aware of pearls… pearls are made by inserting an irritant into the oyster which creates the natural pearl … there are so many oyster friendly alternatives… I even have a friend who makes Vegan watches for that special touch!.. take a look at their page at HurtigLane.

Hair and Makeup

We have a wonderful hair and make up artist here who is very sensitive to not only cruelty free products but also to eco friendly products that are of course good for your skin too! Check out Marta’s website Marta Lu La

Catering

This is probably the biggest issue of all, some of your guest may not be vegan or even have any understanding of your personal values… and in reality at your wedding you want to provide scrummy food that your guests will thoroughly enjoy and remember! You may not want to make a big deal of the vegan aspect of your wedding, but on the other hand there are so many ways that you can actually “wow” your guests with interesting and imaginative food choices… encouraging those who are accustomed to meat and two veg to think twice. Here in Mallorca we have some incredible personal caterer’s that are happy to work with you to find the best menu possible and maybe enlighten some of your meat eating guests by showing them just how amazing and versatile vegan food can be.

Wedding cake

We are lucky enough in Mallorca to have an incredible baker who builds miracle cakes in any shape or size that are also vegan…. If wedding cake is not really your thing… there are dessert bars that can be really fun or vegan cookies or cupcakes can look amazing too.

Ceremonies

This is really my area of expertise and as a non vegan it wasn’t until I was asked to be the celebrant at a vegan wedding that I had stopped to think about it ….. what I can include? and how I should dress? Even down to thinking about not using the leather binder that I normally hold my ceremony script in! All it takes is a little sensitivity….. so for this wedding I did not wear leather shoes, I changed my binder to something far more animal friendly… the wine I used for my wine box enhancement was vegan friendly (we checked with the vineyard)

So in conclusion….

Your wedding day is one of the best days of your life….

It is to be celebrated and enjoyed on every level not just for the two of you but also a day your guests will remember for a very long time to come…. As Vegans you can choose to just have parts of your day that your vegan guests will appreciate or you go the whole way and really celebrate your life choices and totally wow your guests with something a little different…. Whichever you choose we can happily provide that level of service here in Mallorca.

If you would like more information please give me a call on +34676333065 or drop me an email [email protected] or I am even happy to chat on facebook https://www.facebook.com/weddingsinmallorca/

August 1, 2017August 1, 2017

Wedding Ceremonies for friends

celebrant mallorca — Wedding for My son in laws sister!

My very first wedding ceremony was for a friend… “Could you officiate at my wedding ceremony” she said. I have a history of public speaking so that part certainly didn’t phase me… but standing up in front of quite a few of my personal friends and being given the responsibility of presenting a script for the happiest day of their lives did feel a little daunting. However we worked on it and it was amazing! both for me and for them. Because of this experience I decided this was where my passion lay and it completely changed my world and I have since presented hundreds of ceremonies here in Mallorca.

Recently I have spoken to a few couples who are also thinking of having a friend present their wedding ceremony and asking me if I can give them some advice. I jumped at the chance … I am up for helping to make every wedding perfect whether it be in the foreground or in the back ground just offering little nuggets of my experience.

So if you are thinking of going this route here are a few essential things that need to be included in your ceremony:

An Introduction – Talk a little about love, Thank the guests for sharing the day. Talk about the couple, why are we all here? what brought them to this point, standing here today in front of all of the people they love?
A reading. – Try to include some other guests by inviting them to say a poem or a few words.
Wedding Vows
Ring vows
THE KISS – Very important moment!
Maybe another reading
Mr and Mrs – It is my great pleasure to introduce to you for the very first time… Mr and Mrs Smith
And remember that a wedding ceremony is a little like telling a story with a beginning, a middle and an end.

Although many of my clients actually feel like friends by the time they walk down the aisle as we will have spent sometimes up to a year planning the big day and it is always a huge responsibility, I am never nervous. Officiating at a friends wedding, if I am honest, always gives me the biggest butterflies!

Yesterday in my in-box I had a lovely testimonial from a wedding I presented last month for a good friend of mine… here is what she wrote:

presenting the ceremony at my friends wedding

I have a confession to make, I already knew Annie when I ‘chose’ her, so I cheated a little – but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Like many brides, I had (and have) the intention of only getting married once so wanted it to be just perfect. The venue, food, flowers, (groom!), all play a vital part, but the ceremony is really what everyone is there for – to see the dress for the first time, the exchanging of rings, the genuine outpouring of love, the laughter, the tears. It’s a tricky balancing act, but I knew Annie had the experience and the enthusiasm to get it just right. Together we drafted, edited, and edited again, until we had the perfect flow of words and emotion. With the Med shimmering in the background and all our friends and family around us it really was a special moment I know I will, and could, never forget Sarah, 15 July 2017, H10 Punta Negra

If you would like any help or advice regarding your ceremony then please feel free to contact me by phone/wassap +34676333065 by email hello@ceremoniesinmallorca or we can chat via facebook too https://www.facebook.com/weddingsinmallorca/