Especially For You - Wedding Ceremonies by Taryn - Darwin, NT

08/06/2024

Just putting this out there as it is disappointing there is such dodgy stuff happening in the NT … but rest assured I am fully registered and have been since 2009!

There a full list of registered celebrants on the AG’s website so it is always easy to check if a person is registered or not.

Top End brides and grooms to be have been warned to vet their choice of marriage celebrants after a group of unregistered officiants were reported to the federal Attorney-General. DETAILS 👉 https://bit.ly/45hZjs5

05/05/2024

This photo is my WHY- why I’ve decided to temporarily halt all new wedding bookings.

Wedding season has well and truly kicked off in Darwin, my social media is full of all my favourite wedding vendors doing what they do best… previously if I saw those posts on days I declined wedding bookings, I felt like I was missing out and like I should have been out there doing a wedding… the love/hate relationship with social amplified right there!

Something strange happened yesterday- I saw those posts, liked them all and thought they all looked beautiful BUT I was so appreciative that I wasn’t obligated to be anywhere. We had accepted a last minute play date and dinner invite and honestly as I drove home last night, I felt nothing but happiness that we had been able to attend. 🥰

Weddings will always be a part of what I do but since I’ve returned to my other job, teaching after several years off, weekends with my family have become precious and I want to relish that while our boys are still young and enjoy spending time with us. 😂

Thank you Ashlee cristiani photography and Bec Brown Hair and Makeup for making me feel amazing this day celebrating one of my best friend’s weddings with my family there as well!

30/04/2024

🅲🅾🆄🅿🅻🅴 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆
𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝙸 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚖 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝. 𝙲𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚐, 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚞𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚞𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍!!
🍾🥰
𝐄𝐌𝐌𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐆 ♡
𝟏𝟕𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐙𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄, 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐅

Aww… every wedding is special but marrying friends or family is always extra special! Emma and Craig were due to visit Darwin just as COVID was locking the borders and they never made it, so this trip was long overdue and what a catch up celebration it was!! They turned their family holiday into an elopement!! And what an absolutely beautiful way to wed! It still had all the big emotions and beauty of a wedding but a lot less chilled as it really was just a small intimate party! I couldn’t have been more honoured to be their celebrant, it was such a privilege to have an important role in one of my best friend’s wedding!

Planning for the wedding from a far, Emma locked in some awesome wedding vendors that made the whole day extra special.

What a dream team!!

So lovely to work with you again Ashlee cristiani photography and it was my first time getting the whole Bec Brown Hair and Makeup treatment - such an experience!

18/02/2024

𝐸𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠/𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜 𝑤𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑎𝑡!

This photo was taken on 29.2.2020… it was my last wedding before COVID halted weddings for a bit. (Thank you Sharon Mac Photographics - Weddings)

The wedding that day was a beautiful elopement, the couple and just their chosen witnesses… that couple were well ahead of their time!

It seems appropriate to share as I think post COVID lockdowns, couples have really started to think about what is most important to them and making sure they wed in a way that suits them.

And personally, I have really found a bit of a niche that suits my lifestyle at the moment- I’ve had a real influx of elopement enquiries of late. I’m not doing much advertising at all but beautiful elopement couples are finding me, which I love (including another leap year wedding this year)!

Larger weddings, booked a year in advance, I find a bit daunting to commit to (except a couple of tentative bookings for 2025), I love weekends with my family and don’t want every dry season weekend booked out.

But what I’ve found, that by not having a diary full of the bigger weekend weddings, is that when the smaller, more intimate, wedding enquiries come through (often with shorter notice) I’m free and available to help these couples out!

And I’m loving it and looking forward to the next few months of teaching and marrying lots of love couples!

I’ve found a happy balance at the moment! 🥰

11/02/2024

🅲🅾🆄🅿🅻🅴 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆
𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 '𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝-𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎’ 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚢. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚗'𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚢 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢. 𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚙𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎. 𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚗'𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎. 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚐𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚍, 𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚗!
𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐍 ♡
𝟏𝟏𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐖𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐒

I’m absolutely humbled that Oceana and Dean have written this today, I only just married them this morning! 🥰

And what a beautiful wedding!

It was such a cruisy and laidback ceremony, the real focus was Oceana and Dean, marrying in front of their favourite family tree!

I had a few rough moments last week but this morning reaffirms that I love this role! I meet and marry the best people and am so honoured Oceana and Dean found me and I got to be part of their special morning! I know they have more celebrations planned with family! I wish them an amazing 2024 celebrating their marriage all year!

20/12/2023

While not wedding related at all, if you've followed me for a while then you do know every now and then I will share glimpses into our FIFO lifestyle.

Early in November I was contacted by Hannah Walsh (a journalist from ABC Tropical North) who wanted to chat to me about our FIFO lifestyle (she'd seen I'd commented on A FIFO wife post), I was happy to oblige... and while we chatted for ages about how my husband's FIFO impacts all aspects of our lives; we did chat about how we make Christmas work for us! While Christmas is different for everyone, I'm pleased, over the years, we've managed to make it work for us and keep the Christmas magic alive for the kids even when Dave is away.

Today the article has been published with a focus on FIFO families celebrating Christmas and here it is if you are interested in reading! 😊

And if you have followed me for a couple of years and know we use the same Christmas tree for our photo for every year, the article includes the 2023 photo! 🎄 👦👦🐕🐕

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best in 2024!

Members of families tackling shiftwork and a fly-in-fly-out lifestyle can often miss out on Christmas festivities, but with a little festival season magic, and lot of preparation, these Australians are making it work.

12/11/2023

What a beautiful start to the day, seeing the couple I married last week made front page of the The NT News! It’s great to see a good news story front and centre!

Leonnee and Darren started 2023 being involved in a tragic accident and then they finished the year by becoming husband and wife and what a way to wed! Leonnee and Darren’s plans were simple; invite everyone to Berry Springs Tavern for Leonnee’s country themed “I survived to 50!” birthday party and then surprise them with a wedding!

For these two, it was only natural they wanted to celebrate at Berry Springs Tavern, as it’s their happy place, it’s where they go for all their family celebrations, and they are there every second Sunday for Sunday Sesh with Josh Wyatt Musician. (They actually had two wedding dates in mind but had to confirm Josh’s availability before they could lock the date in!) They also shared their first real kiss at Berry Springs Tavern, so it was only fitting that’s where they shared their first kiss as husband and wife as well!

After meeting Leonnee and Darren in person for the first time, back in August, the more I learnt about this couple, the more blessed I felt; firstly, in getting to know them and secondly, being truly honoured to play such pivotal role on their wedding day, bringing so much joy in their lives as they became husband and wife.

While creating a ceremony for them, I really wanted to ensure that the ceremony was the perfect way to start their marriage and I think we nailed it. It was full of their personality and all the fun stuff but also reflected on how tough this year has been and they’ve managed to get through it together by always being there to support each other.

What a high to finish the 2023 wedding season off with!

You can actually read NT News online for free this weekend, head over to their page to get the details and you’ll be able to read all about Leonnee and Darren’s remarkable recovery and see more of Aleyshia McGrigor Photography gorgeous photos.

22/10/2023

ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ sᴇᴇɴ ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴇᴇᴋ’s ᴇᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ The NT News’ ɴᴇᴡ ʟᴏᴄᴀʟ ᴄᴏʟᴜᴍɴ, ᴄᴏᴏᴇᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴛ?

If not, check it out (link 👇) - there’s an article about yours truly in there!

Early last week, I got a phone call out of the blue from Jen Shand, NT News reporter, they’d seen my recent post about being a civil celebrant for 14 years and just wanted to chat about my role as a celebrant. She was lovely to chat to and I think she’s done a great job of summarising our long and detailed phone conversation into a short article to share.

Taryn Hicks
Especially For You - Wedding Ceremonies by Taryn - Darwin, NT

You may have heard of mum guilt, but what about dad guilt?

08/10/2023

♡ ℂ𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝟙𝟜 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕔𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠𝕕𝕒𝕪. ♡

14 years ago today I became an authorised civil celebrant, easy to remember as it coincides with my mum’s birthday- happy birthday mum!

While the number of weddings I’m doing is decreasing, the good times aren’t!

In the last 12 months I’ve been loving the variety of all the wedding stuff I’ve been doing! Here are the highlights, in no particular order:

▪️my first visit to Barramundi Adventures Darwin what a fantastic wedding venue! The perfect spot for this couple, that call Darwin home, to welcome all their guests from interstate and across the globe to celebrate their wedding in Top End style! 🎣
📸 Ashlee cristiani photography
▪️my first time to the beautiful Tropical Oasis - Holiday Home - Darwin NT (lucky I got one visit in there before it was sold!) and that couple went on to do an underwater wedding photo shoot!! 🌴
▪️a pirate themed wedding! 🏴‍☠️
▪️taking shots with the B&G straight after the signing, from a vintage bottle of rum the groom had been saving for the day he got married! 🥃
▪️an emotional, intimate, wet season wedding inside the air conditioned Botanic Gardens Event centre, just the B&G and their parents, live-streamed to the UK. 🥲
▪️my first shortening of time ceremony at the Royal Darwin Hospital, while challenging circumstances it was still such a beautiful moment for this couple and their family. 🏥
▪️officiating the wedding of the son of my hairdresser (of 13 years)! 💇‍♀️
▪️bride arriving on the back of a buggy, perfect for their backyard rural wedding! 🛻
▪️backyard weddings from Batchelor through to Virginia and Berry Springs through to Humpty Doo! 🏠
▪️celebrating National Celebrants’ Day with a few of our amazing local celebrants last year with High Tea at Rydges, Palmerston! 🥂

And while I’m slowing down… I’m still looking forward with a secret nuptials sometime in the future, Humpty Doo shenanigans next year and even a tentative booking for 2025! I just couldn’t say no when this bride rang!

It’s such an enjoyable role, always meeting new, amazing couples, making great friends and acquaintances along the way and being honoured to take such a special place on their wedding days!

05/10/2023

🅲🅾🆄🅿🅻🅴 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆
𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌, 𝚠𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚓𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚠𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎. 𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚢.
𝐏𝐀𝐔𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐍 ♡
𝟐𝟗𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇

From the first time I met Paul and Sharon at Noonmah Tavern, I knew their ceremony was going to be great fun and it definitely didn’t disappoint. It was one of a kind!! Their private themed nuptials started with Paul arriving at Mindil Beach in a dinghy, waving a skull and crossbones flag. I’m so thrilled they loved their ceremony and I loved being a part of their special day! I’ve already asked by others, if I could wear the same outfit at their wedding, so that might not be the only time that costume gets worn!
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📸supplied by couple

14/07/2023

𝘼 𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙉 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙊𝙒 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩…. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚!

THEN (April 2016) - I was a few months into maternity leave, we were a family of three (our first born was just 12 weeks old) and we were relocating back to Humpty Doo and weren’t far off being married ourselves (July 2016)… and then shortly after that I set up this celebrant page.

I had been registered since 2009 but for the first time, decided on a name I liked and finally felt settled in our lives and comfortable in accepting bookings months/years in advance. I didn’t know it at the time but it became a lifeline while I’ve been a stay at home mum.

I loved and thrived upon the couple meetings and weddings, it gave me a much needed social outlet and adult interactions. I’ve met and married so many amazing couples!

Honestly, there have been some that I’ve married and never heard from again but the reality is most are now great acquaintances or even better amazing life long friends. I’ve loved every minute of this amazing journey!

NOW (June 2023) - A family of four (two school aged kids now - 7 and 5), returning from a Victorian road trip after spending some time with extended family in Vic (our first trip down there since 2018), the perfect getaway before I embark on my first teaching job in years. I’m going back to teaching as a primary school Indonesian teacher. My dream job for a return to teaching!

What does that mean for Especially For You - Wedding Ceremonies by Taryn - Darwin, NT?

The reality is full time celebrancy was never really going to be my thing so unfortunately I’m not going to be filling every weekend of the dry with weddings. I have a FIFO husband, two school aged children and will be teaching during the week, the weekends when we are all home is precious family time and I want to cherish that!

BUT I love weddings and will always keep doing them.

Reality is I’ve already slowed down this year and I’m loving it… to quote Luke Combs they’ve “got the best of me.” I love the attention and time I’ve been able to give the couples and the weddings this year have all been amazing! 🥰

I am also realistic enough to know something has to give, I can’t do everything so I’m going to be upfront and say I’m going to let the social media side of things slide. I won’t stress the updates and photos on here because my time and energy will be better spent elsewhere.

So I am not fully disappearing I’m still here just in a different capacity now!

To my family, friends, previous couples’ referrals or random people who stumble across my page and think I’d be a great fit, hit me up and I’d love to do your wedding if I can!🌸

23/06/2023

𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐍 ♡
𝟏𝟎𝐓𝐇 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄, 𝐕𝐈𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐀

Jackie and Aaron’s backyard wedding was an absolute blast and one I was thrilled to be part of!

Writing their ceremony, drafting it with them and then sharing it on the day was all enjoyable! I was given a clear brief; short, sweet and straight to the point but it still had Aaron and Jackie’s personalities stamped all over it!

The highlights included welcoming everyone along to see Jackie wear a dress, asking the guests to say the first “I Do”s with fun vows to set the scene for the day, beautiful personalised vows and then to top it all off, they shared their first drink as husband and wife, with their attendants, at the signing table- shots from a sentimental bottle of rum!

So keeping this post in line with their strict instructions of short and sweet, I’ll use no more words to describe what a fun day their wedding was and just share a photo instead!

Congratulations Aaron and Jackie!!

📸 Lynne O’Meara

29/04/2023

𝘼𝙝𝙤𝙮, 𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨! 🏴‍☠️

Looking for a pirate celebrant… look no further!

Just took this outfit out for its maiden voyage today and what a ride it was!

A lot of good fun, X marked the spot as the bride and groom wed on the beach beside the high sea.

No one walked the plank while I was there but I have no doubt by the end of the day someone might end up in the drink!

📸 iPhone - courtesy of my husband!

07/04/2023

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄…

Recently I had the absolute privilege of officiating a wedding that involved in a shortening of time. I don’t think it’s my place to share that couple’s ongoing journey as I feel that’s too personal and raw but I do want to share some information about the shortening of time process so others are aware that it can happen!

Ordinarily couples need to lodge a NOIM (Notice of Intended Marriage) with a celebrant at least one calendar month prior to their wedding date. In extraordinary circumstances, couples can apply to wed sooner, this is called “shortening of time.”

The reasons for applying for a shortening of time must fit into one of the five following categories:
* Employment-related or other travel commitments
* Wedding or celebration arrangements
* Medical reasons
* Legal proceedings
* An error in giving notice.

If a couple wishes to apply for a shortening of time, they must submit their application, completed NOIM and all relevant supporting documentation to a prescribed authority, locally that’s BDMs NT. There is no guarantee the application will be successful and each case is individually assessed.

Thankfully, for this couple, their application was successful and 10 days after lodging their NOIM with me, they wed with an intimate ceremony at RDH, in front of a handful of their nearest and dearest. Definitely one very special ceremony, that will forever hold a special place in the hearts of everyone who attended. 🌺

Photo courtesy of Gayle, Up Here Photography, another vendor who felt just as honoured to be present for this special ceremony.

04/03/2023

𝕀’𝕞 𝕤𝕠 𝕖𝕩𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕕!!! 🥰

I just uploaded my first wedding documents onto the NT BD&Ms online portal!! 👏🏻

To anyone reading this, this may not seem like a big deal but considering I was using an online system in Victoria when I lived there in 2014, it’s pretty fantastic that we can now do this in the NT as well… even if it took us until 2023! It’s just great that we can finally do it!!

And this photo is just to show you how excited I do get when I marry a couple, cheesy grin excitement! I couldn’t have been more happy to be part of this beautiful ceremony for Alexandra and Bradley last year!

𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐘 ♡
𝟏𝟎𝐓𝐇 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐
𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐘

📸 Jenna Kate Photography

07/02/2023

ᙎᙓᗪᗪIᑎᘜS ᗩᖇᙓᑎ’T Oᑎᙓ SIᘔᙓ ᖴIT ᗩᒪᒪ!

I currently offer three different packages to cater for the different ways couple wish to wed and for different budgets.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦:
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙡𝙪𝙭𝙚 𝙋𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙖𝙜𝙚
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 “𝘌𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘠𝘰𝘶.”

𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝:
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘴.

𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫:
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙀𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙨
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

If you’d like any further information about the different packages, the prices or my availability get in touch today!

2023 dates still available!

📸 Joanne Cook Photography - Darwin Photographer

06/01/2023

ᗩ ᙎᙓᗪᗪIᑎᘜ SᑎIᑭᑭᙓT…

Check Charlie out!!

Dean and Alison’s dog loved being part of the ceremony and was front and centre, close by the bride and groom for the whole thing, just chilling out, enjoying being part of the gathering.

For these two, marrying at home was very important to them for many reasons, but one of them was that they’d be able to have Charlie in attendance.

One of the biggest honours at any ceremony is getting to welcome all the guests, acknowledging the efforts everyone has made to be there and the special roles everyone has played in the couple's lives; so of course, at Alison and Dean’s wedding Charlie got his own special mention!

𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍 ♡
𝟔𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐
𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄, 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐊

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📸 Elli Mak Photography