Waiheke Wedding Celebrant

14/06/2023

Sneak preview of the venue for our next wedding on the front lawn/beach.

22/10/2022

Congratulations Nico and Romina. Beautiful wedding in the viaduct tonight.

03/09/2021

The good news with moving down to Level 3 is that marriages can go ahead. 💍 💍 💍

But you will have to ensure you follow the guidelines. So, what are they?

💍 Gatherings are limited to ten people, including the celebrant, couple, witnesses, children and vendors. Guests can attend the gathering if in the same or neighbouring region within the Alert Level 3 area.
💍 Masks are required, and you will need to keep to the social distancing, which is a minimum of 2 metres.
💍 Contact tracing is compulsory. The celebrant will require a QR code if around or close to the celebrant's property. If at the couple's place or another location, pen and paper to record names, time and contact details. Check our FAQ on Registry Weddings and Covid restriction.
💍 Sanitise both entering the space and leaving the area.
💍 Use separate pens for each individual and use sanitiser after signing.
💍 Celebrants might suggest other sensible measures to help keep everyone safe, such as not embracing to congratulate the couple, handling food and beverage and no singing.

CANZ advice is to follow the Covid 19 website and to comply strictly with all regulations.

https://covid19.govt.nz
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

16/03/2021

Does this describe your relationship?

04/12/2020

Couple die of coronavirus within same minute: The husband and wife had spent over 47 years together, and after almost half a century of sharing everything – from children, to grandchildren and great-grandchildren – the couple have taken their last breath together. Read more: https://o60.me/ELZUfy

12/04/2020

After the recent 'lockdown wedding' there have been questions from many people especially us celebrants. Was the ceremony 'essential?' Answer - NO. The following IS the advice which we will adhere to from the Registrar General, Births, Deaths & Marriages:Message from the Registrar-General:

Tēnā koe – hello.
I’ve had a number of you contact me today with concerns about whether weddings are essential during the Level 4 lockdown, and the Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, also received questions today from media during the 1pm briefing.
Since that briefing I have issued a media advisory, and provided the same information to the Director-General.
Rare situations where marriages may take place during the lockdown
The first thing to emphasise is that the Ministry of Health guidelines prevail. They provide that gatherings and celebratory events normally associated with weddings must not take place.
That said, there are some rare situations where the guidelines and advice we have all been following could be adhered to, and a marriage solemnised during the Level 4 lockdown. I expect these circumstances to be very rare.
The obvious situation is that mentioned by Dr Bloomfield at the briefing where the celebrant is already in the same bubble with the couple and two people who could act as witnesses and the wedding takes place within the bubble.
There may also be some situations where a marriage needs to be solemnised urgently (e.g. due to the terminal illness of one of the parties, or there is urgency for religious or legal reasons.) and can occur without requiring non-essential travel or risking the integrity of the celebrant’s and couple’s respective bubbles.
In these very rare cases, my advice to you remains that you must consider carefully whether the marriage needs to take place at this time, and only go ahead if the Ministry of Health guidelines can be faithfully observed, and risks are minimised through:
Any ceremony has the minimum of people present, the 2 parties, 2 witnesses and the celebrant
No non-essential travel takes place,
The celebrant nearest the couple conducts the ceremony,
Parties maintain the integrity of their bubbles, observe the physical distancing, and handwashing requirements (and consider using PPE where necessary – e.g. if an urgent ceremony is needed in hospital where someone is terminally ill.)
The ceremony is short as possible – i.e. each party should say to the other “I AB, take you CD, to be my legal wife or husband” (http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1955/0092/latest/DLM292325.html)
Dr Bloomfield also raised the possibility that a wedding ceremony may have been held virtually.
I have confirmed to him that, while the licensing and registration is now fully online, virtual weddings cannot occur as the Marriage Act requires the celebrant to solemnise a ceremony at a particular place, in the presence of the couple and two witnesses. Part of the reason for this is that one of the roles of the celebrant is to ensure that the marriage is not taking place under duress, and being physically present helps this to be assessed.
I appreciate this is a stressful and difficult time for all of us, including celebrants and couples who have long been looking forward to their weddings.
Kia pai tō rā (Have a good day)
Jeff

Every marriage solemnised by a marriage celebrant shall be solemnised at a place described in the marriage licence issued in respect of that marriage.

28/01/2020

A US psychologist has come up with a list of questions to figure out if your partner is really "the one".
Gary Lewandowski Jr. is a professor at Monmouth University in New Jersey, who finds the most common question he's asked is "Am I in the right relationship?"
"When they try to determine, they don't always know the right questions to ask and focus on the wrong thing."
Devising a list, Lewandowski based his questions on the Keltner list, a method created by baseball statistician Bill James to determine whether a baseball player deserves to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 15 questions are designed to aid the thought process and be fairly easy to answer.
Lewandowski claims that if you respond "yes" to the questions below, which rely on both scientific data and intuition, then your relationship is worth staying in.
But on the flip side, answering "no" to any of them means your relationship might not last.
1.Does your partner make you a better person, and do you do the same for them?
2. Are you and your partner both comfortable with sharing feelings, relying on each other, being close, and able to avoid worrying about the other person leaving?
3. Do you and your partner accept each other for who you are, without trying to change each other?
4. When disagreements arise, do you and your partner communicate respectfully and without contempt or negativity?
5. Do you and your partner share decision-making, power and influence in the relationship?
6. Is your partner your best friend, and are you theirs?
7. Do you and your partner think more in terms of "we" and "us," rather than "you" and "I'?
8. Would you and your partner trust each other with the passwords to social media and bank accounts?
9. Do you and your partner have good opinions of each other – without having an overinflated positive view?
10. Do your close friends, as well as your partner's, think you have a great relationship that will stand the test of time?
11. Is your relationship free of red flags like cheating, jealousy and controlling behaviour?
12. Do you and your partner share the same values when it comes to politics, religion, the importance of marriage, the desire to have kids (or not) and how to parent?
13. Are you and your partner willing to sacrifice your own needs, desires and goals for each other (without being a doormat)?
14. Do you and your partner both have agreeable and emotionally stable personalities?
15. Are you and your partner sexually compatible?
Even if you responded "no" to any of the above, Lewandowski says this isn't necessarily a bad thing, because "if you're in a mediocre to bad relationship, getting out frees you up to get into a great one".
"Staying in a bad relationship is the worst possible thing for you."
He added that "learning good stuff about relationships is no threat to good relationships".