What is your wedding experience like?
Before your wedding:
Easy to follow planning and timeline
From day one you’ll receive a clear timeline from day one with all the planning links and questionnaires in one place, clients only access to the “confetti portal” for lots of helpful tips and advice. This isn’t a set and forget, as throughout the planning process, you'll receive reminders and prompts at the right time, so you always know what's coming next and when it's needed.
Just a simple, step-by-step process that keeps everything nice and simple for you.
The legal bits
You are not expected to know the steps or the information required to get you legally married. I’m here to hold your hand through this process and make it as simple as throwing confetti in the air.
I’ll set out the timeline in our initial correspondence, set you up in the South Australian Birth’s Deaths and Marriages portal at 6 months, to ensure when we get together for our planning meeting (3 to 4 months), the Notice of Intended Marriage is ready to go along with the ID required. All that’s left is the Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage, Certificate of Marriage (x2) and Official Certificate of Marriage – which the great news is I’ll have them all prepared for you when the time is right.
We’ll chat about witnesses, when you’ll sign and what happens after your wedding date.
Support
I’m here to genuinely answer your questions, be that via email, text, phone call or DM. If something is on your mind, flick it my way and we’ll chat it out.
From our first meeting until you're at your ceremony, my job is to help you feel comfortable, confident and ready to soak up every moment.
Creative and a custom run sheet
Let’s work as a team to create a ceremony that you just wait to experience. Everything is on the table – you just tell me what you like, what you don’t like, what you love or what you’re unsure about and with my experience we’ll put together a plan so there’s no surprises or nothing is forgotten as it’s all in your custom run sheet. From the beginning, to music, inclusions, people, pets, meaningful moments, to playful and light hearted, vows, rings, signing up to confetti/ rose petals or bubbles. The choices are yours.
Through our correspondence and meetings, I’ll get a great insight into the humans you are and what style best suits you, ensuring your story is a mix of both of your stories tied together seamlessly to engage all the emotions and senses.
Vows
Whether you're a natural writer or completely stuck, I'll help you create vows that sound like you. Genuine, personal and heartfelt — without sounding awkward or forced.
I’m your hype guy and here to help. From my step-by-step guide, draft feedback and guidance, to ensuring they compliment each other perfectly. We’re not here to hang you out to dry. Quite the opposite, I want you to LOVE both of your vows.
They don’t need to be perfect – they just need to be you!
Meetings
Where possible, face to face is my jam for our planning meeting, so we can sit down and walk through what your wedding day looks like and what little tasks you have to complete.
The week of, we’ll meet at your venue during the day to again walk through, chat about, hype you up and keep those nerves at bay in preparation for your wedding day.
Up next - it’s your wedding day!!!
During your ceremony:
Game day arrival and outfit
I arrive early to set up; sound check and check on the game plan. How are you, how is your team and what is the vibe of the day? This is where the care starts for you both, checking on those nerves, ensuring you’re excited and ticking off all those items on my wedding day checklist – ringbearers have rings, confetti is in ceremony space, VIP’s have arrived, your dog has the required amount of pats, the kids aren’t in a pond – you know the normal wedding day stuff.
I’ll chuck on my aesthetic matching jacket and bowtie to ensure I’m sliding into your wedding day seamlessly.
Communication and co-ordination
I’m your central point of contact and communication for you, your vendors and your venue on the day. I’m here to chat through any questions you, your parties or family members, your vendor team or anyone has. Make plans if something changes (a car or bus is late), the weather changes, a family member is feeling unwell or any of the millions of things we’ve seen on a wedding day.
I will go between or be in contact with both people to ensure you know what’s coming up, when we are starting and what the cues are. I keep it simple and use my voice to clearly cue people and then I will position everyone for the ceremony.
I’m here for you, to make it easy, help with those nerves, check on your breathing and just let you know – you are doing a bloody great job!
Crowd control and energy
Not in the security sense – but just making sure your guests are comfortable, safe and aware of what’s going on. I’ll let guests know when we’re ready to move into the ceremony space (only once both parties are ready) or I’ll keep guests in the shade if we’ve had a little delay, particularly ensuring grandparents are looked after.
Guests feed off my energy and those that are at the ceremony space. I’m going to chat to them on and off the mic, let them know that we’re ready to have a good time and involve them where appropriate.
Wedding (tour) guide
Think of me as your wedding day guide – I know all the great spots (to be positioned), all the locals (your vendors and venue), all the timings (important for starting a ceremony and the cues for your entrances), where to find all the hottest food and refreshment locations (aka canapes, water and a champagne), what exciting landmarks are coming up (or the flow of the ceremony), tell some tall tales and provide some information to the tourists (sharing your love story with your guests), play the pump up tunes (your ceremony music), encourage guest engagement (encourage guest engagement – that ones the same), help with people who become lost (help with vows and nerves), there will be some cheering (announcing you as married before your first kiss – with no guide in the photo), always have a pen (for signing certificates) and finally show everyone the emergency exits (less emergency and more lining up for the confetti at the end of your ceremony).
I’m your wedding day guide so all you need to do is turn up and enjoy the ride.
Party time!
I honestly think your ceremony is the best part of the day. It’s a space where anticipation meets excitement. Where a first look becomes a lifelong memory. Where words create emotions. And for all of this and more I am always so excited to be in that trusted space, to share some lighter moments, to encourage some giggles, to make you feel safe enough to entertain the idea of facing your guests, to woo with excitement that you are married to your love. I’ll look after the flow, and just always nudge you in the right direction. We’ll chat off mic before the vows, rings etc so you know what’s coming up.
It’s important to remember that your ceremony is not a performance but a marker in time, therefore perfection can be left at the door and in its place authenticity instead.
Let the confetti fly
I’ll line your guests up, get that confetti handed out, ensure it’s in an open palm and not in a cone, let them know to throw it high in the air with an underarm motion and then it’s time to build the excitement to the moment you are announced and down the aisle you go – confetti here, there and everywhere!
Up next - the magical feeling of being married!
After the ceremony:
Floating on a cloud
That short moment of time after the confetti has fluttered, you look at each other and realise “holy s**t we’re married!”, then all of your people surround you and the buzz is real. It’s important to just live in that moment, don’t rush to photos or anything else, enjoy that connection!
Feeling present all day.
The greatest compliment I can receive is hearing that my couples felt relaxed, comfortable, safe and completely immersed in their wedding day because they knew everything was under control.
Guests raving
"How long have you known Matthew?" One of the most common pieces of feedback couples receive is that guests think I'm an old friend because the ceremony feels so personal, authentic and them.
The legal stuff?
Once the confetti settles and you're off celebrating, there's one final job for me to take care of. Make it officially official!
I'll lodge all of your marriage paperwork with Births, Deaths and Marriages and ensure your marriage is officially registered. We are required to submit the marriage documents within 14 days of the ceremony, but generally I’ll do it within a day or two. You’ll receive an email once I’ve registered your information with BDM and then you’ll receive a follow up email once BDM have registered your wedding.
I’ll send through the registration number along with some information on how to apply for the legal marriage certificate should you wish to change a surname (plus links with how to do this).
And then?
It’s time to enjoy that sweet married life and hopefully we bump into each other again at one of your friends’ weddings!
CELEBRANT PRICING
Enquire for a comprehensive and personalised celebrant quote for any day of the week and anywhere in SA or beyond.
Return travel up to 80kms from Flagstaff Hill, SA. Travel within SA and Australia will be quoted additionally.
Up next - check out the benefits of me sticking around to MC your reception.
THE CELEBRANT TO MC DIFFERENCE
One story. One voice. One epic day.
When I'm both your celebrant and MC, your wedding feels connected from beginning to end.
I've already spent months getting to know you, hearing your stories, understanding your families, your friendships, your sense of humour and what matters most to you. That connection doesn't need to stop once the confetti flies, instead it carries right through to the dancefloor.
If you ask most couples – what is the one thing that stresses you out the most about your wedding? They will undoubtedly say – the run sheet! Well, here’s the added benefit of me being your MC, I’ll create your run sheet for you with just a few simple prompts. This way there is no need for you to worry about what’s coming up as it’s all sorted.
I’ll allow time to mingle, all your important formalities, check in on you when needed, manage the kitchen, communicate with your vendors and of course bring that energy, banter and organisation you and your guests are already used to.
Then there’s the moments that nobody will see - holding the champagne bottles ready for spraying at sunset photos, continued calming conversations when things feel a little overwhelming, hyping up your speech makers and keeping them calm having already built a relationship throughout the wedding day, ensuring your grandparents have the best spots for the key moments, including those little moments into games or general running and getting the Nutbush started.
You’ve done the planning, the day is here, it’s time to celebrate with your favourite people, so take the night off and let your hair down. I’ve got this!
MASTER OF RECEPTION PRICING
Please enquire for a unique quote alongside my celebrant services.
Please note: The MC package is an optional extra and you are under no-obligation to purchase a MC package to guarantee my celebrant services.
Also, I am no longer offering just MC services as a standalone product.
Hey!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading through what your wedding experience can look like. I would absolutely love to be your celebrant and be able to help you celebrate in a way that feels like you.
Here’s the number 1 thing I’ve learnt from MC’ing over 250 receptions, marrying over 100 couples, hosting over 250 quiz nights and interviewing countless people. If I can make someone comfortable, feel safe and feel engaged - this is where the magic happens. This is where emotions can be shared, your nerves ease, those laughs are bigger, the little moments matter and you actually enjoy your ceremony.
These things are not left to luck but instead by building strong relationships and feeling like a mate. I’m so unbelievably honoured to call this my full-time job, and I can’t wait to meet and work with more good humans in the future.
As for what I’m looking forward to, is more engagement with more crowds, making more couples cry with sentimental words, sharing more letters from pets, watching on in awe of the beautiful vows couples write, feeling warm from seeing the connection between people, helping couples breathe when things feel a little overwhelming, bringing more songs that matter to life, watching more champagne sprays and seeing confetti flutter, I just love that.
The promise is to continue to create custom ceremony scripts that are memorable, custom run sheets that are easy, staying out of your photos to ensure your memories last a lifetime and NEVER being in a kiss shot. Simple.
My promise to my future couples is that I’ll be myself if you be yours.
Want to see more of what your wedding day experience could look like?
Check out this 4-minute video below.
Thank you to Joshua Huggett Media for the video footage.
Are you ready to get married?
With thanks to these wonderful photographers (tap on the name to be taken to their Instagram pages)
Joshua Huggett Media, Wilson & Lewis, Rexvil Photography, Tim Day Photography, Blush Wedding Photography, Richard Dibben Photography, Benjamin Wylde Photography,Solemate Studios, Eman Weddings, Katy Durn Photo,Travis & Benny Weddings, James Field Photography, Best Part Films, Gold Light Photography, Off Grid Photography, Sven Studios,MP Visuals, Andrea Laube Photography, Love Wild Weddings, Davish Photography, Richard Dibben Photography, Luke John Photography, Mia Turner Photography, Woodley Photography, Kenzi St George Photography, Luke James Photography, Sebastian Paynter Photography, Robyn Hafkamp Photography, Jakey Vass Media, Hannah Benwell Photography & Paused Love Photography.