So it is Christmas, and what have you done?
Christmas season, festive season, the silly season, in the eyes of a Celebrant also equate to WEDDING SEASON!
A time of year when “normal” people celebrate the joy of giving and share weekends with their loved ones, work Christmas parties and count down til the man in red climbs down the chimney!
But for us Celebrants, we are counting down ’til Winter!!!!
This is our busiest time of year – school teachers get married in December and enjoy their school holidays while honeymooning in Tahiti and Bora Bora. Everyone wants to get married in Summer, when (apparently no one told Mother Nature as we are yet to see proof of this) the weekends are warm, the sun is shining and everyone is in happy spirits celebrating nuptials with a glass of bubbles in their hand.
Christmas and Weddings also have a few more things in common – FAMILY, FRIENDS, LOVE & TRADITION.
I love Christmas when I get to see my family, just purely enjoying being in their presence, with usually an obscene amount of food surrounding us, torn wrapping paper on the floor and kids running around on a sugar high, while parents try sneak in an afternoon siesta. (Yes Hubby, I am referring to YOU!)
But what I find so interesting is that every weekend, when hundreds and thousands of couples get married, little do they know it, but they get a little bit of that Christmas spirit bundled up in their very own Wedding Day!
Family marvel in the love between the Bride & Groom, friends celebrate and reminisce over stories of old, traditions are kept alive by the cutting of the cake, Bridal Waltz, Father/Daughter dance, signing the guest book and finally the circle farewell.
The spirit of Christmas can be found every Friday, Saturday or Sunday (even Monday – Thursday too sometimes!) in gardens, venues, private properties, Churches and backyards, all over the world. And I get to be a part of this joy!!!
The magic of a family, the love between soul mates, the traditions that we remember as kids and carry into our adult years can be found world-wide in every Community on the same day every year – Christmas Day. But I am thrilled to have found snippets of this in every Wedding I do too!
So for anyone reading this, enjoy the festive season, but try to find that joyous spirit in the everyday. Dinner with your kids, a walk with your dog, an hour long phone call with your BFF from Primary School – be grateful for the small blessings in your life and share the large ones if you can!
I’m thankful with every Wedding that I do, that I have been chosen to be a part of something extra special – and I am thankful every Christmas for my small beautiful Family and the very best of friends, that I was chosen to live this life – be a Mother, be a Wife, a Daughter, a best friend, a Celebrant.
Thank you to all my Family and friends for your love and support of me, always.
And thank you to my Brides and Grooms, and their loved ones – for including me in your memories.
Merry Christmas, Nicole. xxx