Real Wedding: Hayley & Sam’s My Celebrant Buddy Experience
How Monica’s Pa married her and her partner, Sam.
The details
Couple: Monica and Sam
Location: 25/09/2026
Celebrant Buddy: Monica’s Pa
Location: Port Macquarie.
I asked Monica what it was really like…
Me: What made you choose your Pa to lead your ceremony? What was it like having someone you knew and trusted up there?
Monica: "When we decided to get married (no flashy proposal for us), we know we wanted a non-traditional wedding and to involve our family as much as we could. We loved the idea of a closest people contributing meaningfully to our day. Choosing Pa to be the celebrant was a no brainer. He's not an outwardly extroverted fellow, but we knew he would create and run a really special ceremony. We just hoped he would say yes! When we asked, he responded 'I think I'm up for the challenge'. And he certainly was! Having him by our side during the ceremony just put a huge smile on our face. We have truly special memories which we will hold on to forever."
Were you nervous about how they’d go? If so, what helped? How did you find the My Celebrant Buddy process and support?
"We weren't nervous about his performance at all, particularly given the support provided through the My Celebrant Buddy modules. Pa also felt supported with this, he seemed confident knowing how to create a ceremony with the right sections, etc. He planned out his whole speech and we were able to customise it (we did a shout out to everyone present and had our dad's make a speech during the ceremony). We had a couple of emails back and forth to get it right (I think he was nervous), but really the ceremony went so smoothly."
What did your guests think?
"Our guests loved it, particularly Foss (Pa's wife) and Shane (his son; Sam's dad). While we had a small party anyway (about 40 people), I think involving Pa made it even more intimate for our guests too."
Looking back, would you recommend it to other couples? Why?
"Highly recommend this service. If you have the right person in mind, it's really moving to watch them flourish with the task. It was an honour for us to ask Pa and for Pa to be asked to be involved as the celebrant. We chose to have the legal ceremony earlier in the day. Emily, our legal celebrant, was fantastic. We met her once a couple of months before the wedding and immediately clicked. On the day, we chose to have the 'bare bones' legal ceremony. It took about 10 minutes; all pressure was off and we had one of our favourite songs playing in the background. Looking back, it was one of the most memorable parts of the day with just our witnesses and a few family members. We shared a really nice moment with them before the big part of the day started. And it felt like we got to get married twice in one day! We went and had photos taken in between the legal ceremony and our guests arriving, so we really got to be in the moment and party the rest of the day!"
