Man-to-Man: A Celebrant’s Guide To Getting The Most From Your Wedding Day

For 32-year-old celebrant Oliver Thomson, meeting his brides-and-grooms-to-be for the first time is a bit like awkward Tinder dating.

“I don’t have a picture to go by so I sit with a beer and slightly raise my eyebrows at any couple who walks in the door,” Oliver says. “If it’s the couple I’m waiting for, then they know it’s me. If it’s not the couple I’m waiting for, they just think, ‘Oh, what a friendly looking man drinking an ale on his own.’”

After (jokingly, we’re sure!) “falling asleep through so many friends’ ceremonies” and intent that wedding ceremonies deserved more attention, Oliver decided to put his money where his mouth is and registered to become a celebrant in 2014.

“Weddings are the most significant moment in a couple’s journey, where they can say to each other, their closest peeps, and of course the government, that they commit to being one forever more.

“Certainly not a moment to be scoffed at or taken lightly, but this doesn’t mean that we need to go through the same style of ceremony that we’ve all seen all our lives. Why can’t we laugh during this time? Why can’t we cheer? Why can’t we just do something different? The truth is, we can.”

Here are Oliver’s top tips for getting the most out of your wedding day:

1. If you have an idea for the day, make sure you share it. It’s your day too!

2. When choosing your vows, start with a deep search into your own imagination… I usually recommend you just start writing a love letter to your other half and then presto, you’ve got some amazingly personal vows.

3. Get a good night’s sleep the night before. Preferably alone.

4. Pack some mints in your best man’s top pocket. Ain’t nobody want to marry stale breath!

5. Lay off the grog. Celebrants are legally not able to marry you if you’re intoxicated. And if you need to be wasted to marry her, she’s probably not the one!

6. Don’t talk too much about the bucks party at the wedding, for obvious reasons.

7. Embrace each moment on the day. Before you know it, the day will be over.