Laurie Gibbs Marriage Celebrant Ballarat

Laurie Gibbs Marriage Celebrant Ballarat I am so privileged to be a Celebrant, enabling me to be an important part of people's lives & all their celebrations. They are all special.

21/01/2024

Hello again Facebook followers and I trust you are all going great. I have been out of action for a while after a foot operation that has confined me to a wheelchair and minimal gutter crutches use, and these crutches are not the most stable things to try and hop with. :)
I have a couple of weddings coming up towards the latter end of February and I'm looking forward to those.
I was just reflecting on what sometimes seems to be the hardest decision making that the Bride and Groom seem to have to make for their Ceremony and that is coming up with their own personal Vows.
I help with suggestions of course and the variety is certainly amazing as fellow Celebrants would agree.
All the way from very simple ones, such as..............
"I love you to the moon and back and will continue to do so till the end of my days".
To slightly more elaborate ones, such as.............
"For being the wonderful person you are, I admire you.
For being the most beautiful light in my life, I desire you.
I promise to give you the best of myself,
and to ask of you, no more than you can give.
I promise to share all things with you and grow along with you.
I promise to always love you, the only way I know how,
completely and forever.
Today and always, my heart belongs to you".
To something with a bit of humour that suits them both............
"I call upon the people here present, to witness that I, Ashley,
am proud to take you, Michelle, to be my legally wedded wife.
You’re my best friend, my lover and my favourite pest.
You’ll always be my number 1 – except during footy season.
Then it’s a draw.
I promise to be better at changing the toilet roll when it’s empty,
refilling the sugar bowl, closing the garage when I’m finished
and eating the rest of the banana bread.
Most importantly, I promise to love you, respect you, take care of you, laugh and cry with you, for the rest of my days".
Whatever may be said by the couple to each other, it is so wonderful to see their smiling faces as they share their special words with each other, sometimes even keeping them secret until the actual day.
Just another great part of being a Celebrant, helping the couple to have the best Wedding Ceremony they can possibly have.
Keep on celebrating always...... Laurie :) xx.

16/01/2024

Hello everyone out there in the Facebook world. I hope life is treating you kindly.
It has been a looonnng time for me between posts that's for sure. 🤪🙂 I am still alive and kicking, just a few health issues.
I will be so extra proud and happy to be a Celebrant, when I get the absolute joy of performing the Wedding Ceremony for my beautiful daughter and her partner Jay in April this year.
No I won't be escorting her down the aisle this time, her two girls, my gorgeous granddaughters will have that honour.
It will be at their home with their closest family and friends in attendance. It will never get better then this !!!
Really looking forward to April.
Keep on celebrating always. Laurie xx.

10/01/2022

Hello to everyone and what a crazy couple of years we have had. My heart goes out to all the couples who during this time have tried to plan their wedding and indeed anyone else trying to plan any special occasion for that matter.
Most weddings have naturally deferred to 2022 thinking that would be a safe bet, but now who really knows ???
All we can do is try and do the right thing, get vaccinated and pray that restrictions won't prevent everyone having the celebrations they deserve.
Please stay safe and healthy and if we can "keep on celebrating always"
All the very best.... Laurie

22/06/2020

Hi everyone and I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during our troubling times. When we were looking at things getting better, the few seem to falter and make it worse for the many and now restrictions that affect us all as Celebrants, are to be kept in place for the moment.
To think that people are so ignorant about the seriousness of this situation, that they would find out they are positive for Covid-19 and then proceed to visit other families defies belief.
I have had a few weddings understandably defer to next year, which makes perfect sense for the couple to have the day they want to treasure and remember forever.
I have done a few funerals, (not virus related) and even they have been challenging for the families involved.
Although I did have a chuckle with one family which stated that the number restrictions imposed were a bonus, as then they were not obliged to invite so and so to the funeral, whom they really preferred not to attend. So apparently there is some good during a crisis.
It is a crazy time for everyone and we are a long way from coming out the other side and who knows what the other side will look like when we get there.
Hang in and do the right thing, that's all we can do to protect everyone. But remember you can always keep on celebrating,,,..... Laurie

Hi everyone. It is so nice looking back on weddings already done. Allison and Jarratt had a lovely wedding day in Decemb...
06/05/2020

Hi everyone. It is so nice looking back on weddings already done. Allison and Jarratt had a lovely wedding day in December last year, in their parents backyard. I really think sometimes that a family property is even more special a place to celebrate your big day, than a paid for venue.
It was a lot of work for all involved, but the day was beautiful weather wise, not as beautiful as the bride of course, or as handsome as the groom, and the setting was very romantic, resulting in the Ceremony being perfect for them both.
I will never tire of seeing the heartfelt looks of love in the eyes between special couples, as they hold hands and show everyone how much in love they are, as they celebrate their wedding day with family and friends.
Love being part of special days like this !!!
"Keep on Celebrating Always"............Laurie

Hi everyone. There is not much to display currently, so I thought I would wind back the clock a little bit to November 2...
30/04/2020

Hi everyone. There is not much to display currently, so I thought I would wind back the clock a little bit to November 2019, and remember when a beautiful couple Maria and Jairus were married opposite The Lake View on the foreshore of Lake Wendouree.
They were both lovely young people, who were definitely in love and the beautiful Maria could not stop her infectious smile all during the Ceremony, with only their two witnesses and my Sharon in attendance.
A lovely spot to get married in Ballarat and they invited both us to join them afterwards for lunch. Very chuffed about that honour !!
Don't forget to 'keep on celebrating always' ...... Laurie

27/04/2020

Hi everyone and I truly hope you are all surviving ok during these very unusual times.
I am in the final stages of putting together a Wedding Ceremony for Peter and Michelle who due to lots of circumstances, have been waiting for a long time to finally get married and have decided to go with the small restricted wedding with the intent of having a big family and friends celebration later on, when all the restrictions ease and they can have lots of people in their backyard.
Other brides are carefully "watching this space" as their plans were made for later this year and I hope with all my heart that their day will go ahead as they have planned.
Otherwise we will postpone the big occasion, until the restrictions are lifted on the amount of people you can have attend your wedding.
It's all so hard for everyone at this time, but if we "stay the course" we will all get through it together, safely and as quickly as possible.
My heart goes out to the families of the deceased, whom I have done the funerals for recently. It is so hard only being able to have a total of 10 mourners at a funeral, when most of the time the respective chapels would be filled with loving family and friends, to give someone a loving and respectful send off. They unfortunately can't be postponed.
Another sad aspect of these troubling times.
Stay safe and healthy everyone and "keep on celebrating always" - well as much as you can at the moment !!!
All the best - Laurie

27/03/2020

Hello everyone. I know I have not posted for quite a while.
Bad boy that I am :(
We had a holiday in Tassie and luckily only recently got back to the mainland on the ferry.
We were a bit worried for a while about getting back !!
I hope all the brides and grooms out there are coping as best you can with venue and other cancellations and now weddings of only the 5 essential people allowed.
I am here to help in any way I can, whether you are an existing couple I have met already, or a couple looking for answers about what they need to do in these crazy times.
I am busy ringing and rearranging ceremonies at the moment to accommodate my couples who have celebrations coming up this year and early next year.
Postponing is not a problem and the best way to ensure that you still have a wonderful celebration with family and friends, albeit a little bit later than previously organised.
Hang in there everyone and we will manage to get through it all and then get on with life and all it has to offer in the future.
Till then take care of yourselves, stay safe and healthy....
Kindest regards, Laurie & Sharon :)

Hello everyone. Wedding venues are so diverse and can be anywhere. The theme behind them in the couple's minds can be ju...
27/09/2019

Hello everyone. Wedding venues are so diverse and can be anywhere. The theme behind them in the couple's minds can be just as varied.
In this case the Lethbridge Cemetery where some of their relatives can be found, but they also liked the idea of a new beginning in their life together, in a place where other lives had ended.
Nice extra touches were the get-away Harley motor bike with home-made coffin inspired trailer attached which held all the flowers for the bridal party and the skull inspired wedding cake.
It all just suited the bride and groom so perfectly and all their family and friends loved it.

Keep on celebrating always. ...Laurie

Hi everyone and I hope you are all going fantastic. I had a lovely wedding recently at The Mercure Hotel Ballarat for Ra...
24/07/2019

Hi everyone and I hope you are all going fantastic. I had a lovely wedding recently at The Mercure Hotel Ballarat for Rachel and Anthony. The venue was one of the lovely indoor rooms at The Mercure and worked well as the weather was very cold and ordinary on the day.
I must give a big well done to Justin the bride's priest, who was gracious enough to do a religious based Ceremony for our couple. He did a heartfelt Ceremony which meant the world to our wedding couple.
My Sharon filmed the whole event on face time for 97 year old grandma who lived in regional Victoria and couldn't attend. Sharon said she saw that grandma had the biggest smile on her face as she was able to be a part of the whole Ceremony - very special !!
I was for the most part a spectator stepping in where required to do the legal bits and having the privilege of presenting our couple with their Marriage Certificate at the conclusion.
It was great working with Justin and ensured that the couple's day and wedding was just how they wanted it to be.
Love this job. Keep on Celebrating always...... Laurie

Hi everyone. I am still alive and kicking :). It is the quieter time of the year for being a Celebrant, but there are st...
06/07/2019

Hi everyone. I am still alive and kicking :). It is the quieter time of the year for being a Celebrant, but there are still lots of enquiries to respond too and of course the odd funeral or two, one of which was a very close friend who died quite suddenly. Always a very tough thing for the family to cope with and a tough ceremony to do when it's someone you know so well.
Sharon and I did get away up north for a while to catch up with our son, daughter-in-law and grandsons who are now in Brisbane, along with catching up with other family, on the way up and the way down.
Had a quick trip to Fraser Island for 5 days with Sharon's sister Deb and hubby Ian and we haven't been there since 1982. The resorts are much bigger and more resplendent, then they were back then. It was funny watching Deb, as we walked around, as she expected a dingo to come out and drag her off into the bushes at any moment. Just be sensible and they are not a problem.
We also got to meet our latest great niece Madelyn, now about 4 months old, who has the most beautiful smile, that just melts your heart.
I have a Wedding Ceremony to co-emcee soon with a Catholic Priest. The bride is Catholic, but the groom is divorced and so they can't get married in the church, but the priest is quite happy to do the Ceremony in a civil setting. I said to him - that was a very nice thing to do for the bride and groom, which will be the next best thing to being in the church.
I will say only a few words and be a spectator for most of proceedings, except for a few official parts.
Always something different, when you are a Celebrant.
Keep on celebrating always.........................Laurie

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