Share your special day with the Whitsunday Times!

My friends at the Whitsunday Times newspaper are proud to offer a “wedding report” on your special day, for local residents of the Airlie Beach region. Simply download the form here or give them a call on (07) 4940 2100 to see if your wedding can get some coverage in the local rag!

Festival of Love in the African jungle…

Back in January I had the honour & pleasure of travelling to Uganda, East Africa, to perform a ceremony for my dear friend, Leyla & her now husband, Pete.

They started their two week-long “festival of love” by gathering all their guests into their army truck and taking them on an adventure of a lifetime, starting with a trip to the top of the Falls in Murchison Falls National Park. It is here I saw my first glimpse of the rushing, powerful Nile River, my first hippo and many other wild & wonderful creatures!

For the next two weeks, we travelled around in the truck, camping, trekking, celebrating. I think I can now say I am tough after camping in a tent in the middle of lion-infested jungle!

The most special day of the trip was of course their (first) wedding day. As we boarded a cruising boat at 6am, we watched the sun rise over the Nile River as we prepared for the exchanging of vows once we reached the base of the Falls. Along the way we saw so much wildlife and, a big “first” moment for me – an Elephant grazing along the bank of the river! Rare I am told, to spot one there. A lucky omen for Leyla on her special day, I thought.

The ceremony was intimate, beautiful, surreal. As Leyla & Pete exchanged vows all we could hear was the roar of the incredible waterfall behind us, their beautiful friend Alex softly playing guitar and the odd giggle or tear of happiness.

Leyla & Pete wrote special promises to one another, and took it in turns of reading them to each other from cards. They also incorporated a Handfasting (Tying of the Knot) ritual in their service. The ribbon came from a friend who could not be there, was made of two colours representing the bride & groom, and was a really nice touch. I highly recommend this ritual to anyone who is looking for something a bit different.





After the groom kissed his bride, champagne was sipped and off we went to start our big safari. Eating cheese & biscuits & drinking red wine on top of an army truck while watching a lion wake up to start is dusk hunting was up there with the most amazing moments of my life. Pretty cool way to spend your wedding night too huh?!

Thank you Leyla & Pete for allowing me to share this awesome adventure with you both. I’m glad I got to be the one that said you may “kiss your bride” before you made it official at the Ugandan wedding registry. Truly an honour.

“Jessica, we would like to thank you for making our wedding such an incredibly happy, love filled day. From the first time we emailed until the day we tied the knot we felt listened to. No idea was too much. Thank you for making so much effort, it was perfect largely because of you! The ceremony was beautiful!! Your input, suggestions and wording were also truly valued and exquisite. Thank you Jessica for caring so much.”

-Leyla & Pete Meredith
January 2013

Doing my bit…supporting animal & wildlife charities.

I don’t condone the use of animals in ceremonies, including rituals such as bird or butterfly releases. Here’s why…

Blue Angel Ceremonies proudly supports the following animal & wildlife foundations…

RSPCA      

(Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

As a life-long supporter of the RSPCA, I took the opportunity in 2012 to get actively involved and become part of the volunteer committee for the first ever Million Paws Walk in Airlie Beach. Many months of hard work paid off, when in May that year we proudly raised over $4000 to help thousands of dogs less fortunate than my two furry kids at home. The event was both a success and a personal journey that will continue for hopefully many years ahead. In addition to my personal commitment to this cause, Blue Angel Ceremonies is one of the many fantastic local businesses that will continue to support the Airlie Beach MPW.

AMCS

(Australian Marine Conservation Society)



I’ve always been intrigued by our great southern land framed by the indigo waters of the Indian & Pacific Oceans. We are so lucky to live on the is beautiful big island that is Australia! But no thanks to pollution and coastal development, our seas are changing, and not for the better. Living at the gateway to the magnificent 74 Whitsunday Islands and The Great Barrier Reef, damage to our oceans and it’s wildlife really tugs at the heartstrings. The AMCS is Australia’s only national charity dedicated exclusively to protecting ocean wildlife and their homes and I am proud to be a supporting Sea Guardian.

UCF

(Uganda Conservation Foundation)

After visiting Uganda in East Africa for a wedding festival for one of my dear friends, I was lucky enough to experience real African wildlife up close and just that – wild! It really was a life changing moment when I saw my first Elephant, walking along the Nile River in Murchison Falls, no doubt a good luck omen to my friends for whom I was about to perform a ceremony for on the river boat. The beautiful baby Ellie was only the first of many I was to see, along with Lions & Lionesses, Giraffes, Leopards and many more amazing creatures. This was on one hand a really happy experience, but also a heartbreaking one, when I was educated by the locals about Elephant & Rhino poaching. I am now a proud supporter of the UCF and hope when I return to visit I hear stories of success for protection of these incredible creatures.

Practicing what I preach…

As you can see, I am an animal lover! It is for this reason that I cannot include any involvement of animals in a ceremony, including such rituals as bird or butterfly releases. I don’t believe birds should be kept in cages, as too butterflies should not be in a state of forced hibernation where they are unable to spread their wings and fly at free will. There are so many other beautiful rituals that can be included in your ceremony and I invite you to explore these with me.



I ask you to appreciate my position as an active RSPCA volunteer and accept my personal commitment to this issue, as I look forward to helping you create a beautiful, cruelty-free ceremony.



(Please note, if your wedding coordinator has arranged for you to have one of these animal rituals in your ceremony, you will need to either perform the release and say the accompanying blessings yourselves or have a friend or family member do it for you. I cannot be involved in any way.)

A stunning Airlie Beach wedding - a testimonial

A beautiful letter of thanks from a local couple...

Dear Jess

I just wanted to thank you for the incredible job you did in officiating our wedding. Your enthusiasm, care, approachability and professionalism to a job you so obviously love was not only proof to us as the bridal couple but evident to our whole wedding party (with many of our guests commenting how clear and wellspoken your delivery was).

Your approach is exactly what a bride is hoping to find amongst the stresses of planning a wedding.

Love and best wishes for a very successful future – Carly and Sam

-Carly & Sam Thomas
May 2012