Civil marriage celebrant Kristie Poole (centre) likes to create a relaxed, light-hearted wedding ceremony.
Civil marriage celebrant Kristie Poole has a focus on creating modern, contemporary ceremonies for couples who are willing to try new and different ideas that reflect who they are as individuals and as a couple.
“Over a coffee, I conduct a sort of ‘mini interview’ with the bride and groom to really get to know them and then I write a ceremony that is specific to them and their story,” Kristie said.
“I would like to think that my specialty is my ability to make people feel comfortable enough to express their truest selves leading up to, and of course during their ceremony.
“Not just the bride and groom, but the guests too. I try and create a light-hearted, relaxed atmosphere with a no drama attitude and sense of humour that will allow people to be themselves. To celebrate, cheer if they like, shed a tear or not worry too much if things don’t go exactly as they’d hoped.
“I often joke with my clients that they don’t automatically become British royalty once they’re engaged, so it’s ok to throw as many ideas as they like at me so I can create a relaxed, heartfelt and intimate ceremony that reflects them perfectly.”
Kristie has worked full-time as a vocalist for 10 years, performing at hundreds of weddings, and as such, understands first hand that no other single element of a ceremony has the power to move people, and engage the emotions of all in attendance the way music does.
“My experience in choosing the right music for a ceremony goes way back and as well as having a database of experienced, funky, talented and fun musicians that I can refer my clients to, I am also available as part of my acoustic duo ‘The Late Set’ to provide lounge music as guests are mingling after the ceremony,” she said.
Although Kristie wanted to study to become a marriage celebrant years ago she had to wait until the Attorney Generals department lifted the cap on the amount of celebrants on the register. She finished her studies in April last year.
“After performing at countless weddings as a vocalist I noticed that not only were the same celebrants officiating at most of the ceremonies, but they seemed to all be repeating the same generic scripts,” Kristie said.
“I have always been moved by the emotion of a beautiful ceremony and so I became a celebrant so that I could offer couples choice and a fresh perspective from a creative point of view. I get a real kick out of educating couples on the diverse ways in which they can celebrate during their ceremonies and love meeting couples who are open to thinking outside the box.
“One particular trend that I am loving at the moment is the ‘love letter capsule’. The idea being that the bride and groom write each other a love letter before the ceremony and seal it up without showing one another. During the ceremony, they place it in a capsule/wooden chest along with a nice bottle of wine, and a copy of their vows, maybe even some hand written notes from guests at the ceremony, and should they fall on hard times down the track, they sit down together and open the wine, read the love letters and the vows and remember why they were married in the first place.
“However, it’s not all champagne and pavlova! There is a little bit of paperwork required before the ceremony, which is all included in my fee. The legal age to be married in Australia is 18 and a Notice of Intention to Marry must be lodged with me a minimum of one month prior to the wedding day.”
From the lodging of all the legal documents, to helping couples write their vows with her ‘vow worksheet’, to interviewing the bride and groom and everything in between, Kristie works very closely with every couple and is always available via phone and email as well as of course for a rehearsal.
For more information contact Kristie Poole on 0423 183 582, email: altaryourthinking@hotmail.com or go to www.altaryourthinking.com
