Welcome to
The magical Waratah, state flower of NSW,
native of the Blue Mountains,
and Australia's equivalent of the
Red Rose of England as a symbol of everlasting love.
If you are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience,
where your special day is etched into the minds of
family and friends, contact us for a customised
and individual wedding ceremony.
Alan Whitehead, registered wedding celebrant,
has a wide knowledge of
the sanctity of marriage from both a symbolic
and a practical viewpoint.
And while on viewpoints;
no other region in
spectacular outlooks and venues for the
couple's special day than the wonderful
ALAN WHITEHEAD, CMC, REGISTERED MARRIAGE CELEBRANT, BLACKHEATH NSW
Wedding ceremonies legally conducted Australia wide,
more specifically in NSW,
and in particular in the beautiful
Blue Mountains west of Sydney
"Dear Alan; thank you for being part of our wedding.
It was a beautiful, enjoyable and important day for us, the first day of the rest of our lives, and one which we will always remember and treasure."
Claire and Athol
What makes a successful wedding celebrant?
The formal training, that approved by the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, certainly does.
Alan Whitehead has been fully trained and hence registered, but there is so much more that is necessary for the person entrusted to join two people together on their sacred day – this quality is life!
Life experience helps provide that seamless confidence so necessary in the performance of a memorable, joyous and trouble-free wedding ceremony. And a rich banquet of life experience Alan Whitehead has, beginning with his own married life. He wed his wife Susan over four decades ago, the couple being blessed with two children, and subsequently four grandchildren.
As well as being a marriage celebrant, Alan Whitehead has enjoyed a diverse range of vocations, including: graphic arts, journalism (both radio and print), school teaching (primary and high) - as well as teacher-training, book author, book publisher, and actor and theatre producer and director.
This last, and others, like teaching, assures that he has a highly refined sense of occasion and theatricality, so necessary in making the wedding day a very special event in the couple’s life. As such, he conducts every ceremony with dignity, eloquence and élan. Above all, he is a listener, being sensitive to the special requirements of each individual couple.
This attention to detail also extends to the legal requirements of preparing and conducting a marriage ceremony.
As an anodyne to the stress that modern life creates, marriage is seen as an indispensable bulwark to social fragmentation. Statistics prove that the relationship between a woman and a man when they relate to each other as husband and wife (two of the most beautiful words in the language) has a greater chance of survival than when the status is merely one of ‘partner’. In virtually all successful cultures on earth, marriage, of one kind or another, in East and West, is central to the integrity of the social fabric.
Marriage is of course the best possible foundation for the raising of children, who surely feel more secure belonging to the family of a married couple.
One under-rated aspect of marriage is the vows one takes. To publicly state ones eternal love, fealty and protection for another person is a sacred vow that, even under the worst strains of life’s perversity, they will never break, simply because they made it – publicly. After all, the word wedding, from the Gothic, means ‘pledge’. On a legal level, marriage is obviously a stabilising element in not only the family, but in society as a whole.
Susan and Alan Whitehead on their wedding day in 1965
Still the best day of our lives!
Alan Whitehead gives the ironclad guarantee that every wedding ceremony will be performed in a professional, unhurried, gracious manner, and if appropriate, with that small but oft-important ingredient, humour.
He is especially well-versed in the nuances and intricacies of the wedding conventions of people from all cultural backgrounds. He warmly encourages a specific traditional component in the ceremony where appropriate.
He especially caters for Rudolf Steiner-based weddings, with each individualised ceremony being imbued with a non-religious but spiritually enriched element.
He also attempts to make the formal process of choosing a celebrant as simple and transparent as possible. At the first contact, usually a phone call, some initial details are taken down. Then a meeting is arranged with the couple. Here certain matters, such as venue, conjugal status etc. can be discussed. In terms of the ceremony location, Alan Whitehead’s wide local knowledge of the virtues of various local sites and situations can be shared.
In this meeting, the first draft of the Order of Ceremonies can be formulated. If there is general agreement at this stage, a rehearsal may be scheduled. At the very least, a second meeting, close to the wedding date, to confirm all the previous arrangements is recommended.
After that, the Big Day!
Alan Whitehead also performs Funeral Services, as well as most other traditional and modern celebrations, including naming. Fees negotiated on application. Marriage Fees: $400 all-inclusive. Non-refundable $100 deposit payable with submission of NOIM (Notice of Intended Marriage) certificate, or when the couple formally accept their celebrant. Additional cost may be incurred for extra travel, or extreme or unusual venues (boats, balloons, etc.!). Balance due seven days prior to ceremony.
Alan Whitehead is committed to adhering in every detail to the
Marriage Celebrants Code of Practice as prescribed by the
Commonwealth Attorney-General.
He is a member of AMC - Australian Marriage Celebrants Inc.
Alan Whitehead
Registered Marriage Celebrant
BLACKHEATH NSW 2785
Phone 02 47875335
Email: goldenbeetlebooks@bigpond.com