Dressed for the Occasion: Personal Thoughts About What the Celebrant Wears for Your Wedding
When you're working through your
style choices and colour scheme for what you and
your wedding party will wear for your wedding, do
you consider how what your celebrant wears will work
with your choices? You should! Ask any wedding
photographer and they will tell you that an
unfortunate choice of celebrant outfit can take over
in your ceremony photos.If you're one of the of couples in Australia who marry in a church or temple, you will have a good idea about what the clergy person who will be marrying you will wear on the day. And you'll also know you'll have no say in the matter. If you marry in a Registry Office or at a Courthouse, you will have no idea what the marriage officer will wear on the day, or even who it will be.
If, however, you are one of the 80% of couples who are married by a civil celebrant, you will have spent some time getting to know one another, so what the celebrant will wear can easily be discussed while you are working on your ceremony. And, of course, there are photos of past weddings!
While I rarely have anyone ask me what I wear when officiating a ceremony, I make sure that I ask what everyone in the wedding party is wearing (not just the marrying couple) and check whether you have any cultural or other preferences about what I wear.
What do I have in my celebrant wardrobe? And how do I decide what to wear on the day?
My wardrobe
- elegant and stylish
- versatile (each piece can be worn
with multiple other pieces)
- well made from quality fabrics in
timeless, muted colours (no one wants a
celebrant dealing with a wardrobe failure in
the middle of their wedding or one who is, as
one of my brides put it, a bright petun
ia that stands
out like a sore thumb)
- comfortable (so I can be 100% focused on you and your ceremony)
- modest (by which I mean no cleavage, no wraparounds that could flap open, and arms and legs covered, all for obvious reasons)
- from an ethical supply chain
As an inclusive celebrant, I take care
that my wardrobe is sufficiently versatile to
accommodate
- all cultural sensitivities about colour
- all cultural sensitivities about modesty
- blending in with what the two of you and members of your wedding party are wearing without competing with it
As a celebrant who believes that keeping my
fees affordable while still providing
top-drawer service, is respectful of
couples on limited budgets, I save time and
expense by avoiding fast fashion. Something
inexpensive that can only be worn a handful of
times works out more expensive in the long run
than a more expensive investment piece.
How I decide what to wear on the day
- I will never wear anything that might compete with or upstage your mothers
- I never wear anything that will draw the eye in photographs
- I never wear anything that might confuse
the automatic focus or exposure on your
guests' phones (that means I avoid florals and
wild prints)
- I do my best to blend in with the men in the
wedding party because that's
the best way to ensure I
don't stand out in the photos
- I dress to the weather
- If the wedding is according to Scots
tradition I will wear an appropriate tartan
sash
- If you ask me to, I will dress to your theme, in an understated way
What about shoes?
And hats?
Why I always wear pearls
The
practical reasons are:- Pearls are understated
- Pearls don't jangle or reflect either the sun or camera flashes
- Pearls never go out of fashion, so they don't date your wedding
The romantic reason goes back more than 3000
years and, based on those ancient traditions,
pearls symbolise everything I wish for you in
your marriage - a long and happy life together
- In Ancient Greece pearls were regarded to be
the gems of marriage. It was believed that
pearls bring happiness for the groom and and
protect the bride from tears (so double that
when you are two grooms or two brides!)
- Aphrodite/Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was born out of the white foam of the sea in a seashell
- In the Rigveda, the oldest recorded examples of Indian literature (12th - 8th century BC), pearls are said to prolong life.
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