Courtney Kissel Ceremonies

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Courtney Kissel Ceremonies

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Courtney Kissel Ceremonies, Wedding planning service, Newcastle.

Hunter based Civil Celebrant
Whether you're welcoming a new life, beginning a new life together, celebrating the end of a life well lived, or any milestone in between- I wish to share that with you and work with you to make it memorable and enriching.

05/03/2025

Venues I Love - Part 2

Some more home-grown ceremony favourites, including a luau engagement party turned surprise wedding, a quick chat at the dining table, the rolling countryside of the family farm (it's impending sale jump-starting wedding plans), and grandma's living room.

23/02/2025

Venues I Love- Part 1

Recently, a cele-friend asked me what my favourite wedding venue has been so far.
I've always said I'm so glad I got married before becoming a wedding celebrant because the choice would be near impossible - we are so lucky in the Hunter Valley to have so many down-right stunning and awesome venues, such an array of natural surroundings to choose from and modern backdrops; and one of my favourite things of this gig is seeing a couple's personalities come through by the venue they choose!
I hope that wherever couples choose to hold their big day is perfect to them...
But my personal favourite venue?

The family backyard.

There's just something so warming, so special and so personal to be able to make your wonderful commitment to each other in front of all your family and friends, at home. It's a place with so much connection - not just to the couple but to many of the guests also. It adds to the tapestry of the collective memories it houses.

Brian and Kezron were married last April at Brian's family home: once the home of his grandparents, his own parents moving down the road, and now the home of his nephew and his family. It was such a joy to witness the buzzing, joyful chaos of all hands on deck the day before the wedding to bring the day together (and after a massive flooding storm too! 🫣).

And speaking of deck... It was a stunning place for us to stand, in front of the arbour*, near to the hanging photographs of Brian and Kez's parents wedding days, overlooking the back yard and seeing all the smiling faces of their loved ones gathered from not just down the road but from literally ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

And the cheers they all gave! My goodness!!
I suspect they resonated all around the world too! 🥰 🌎

(*I mention the arbour for my own amusement as Brian's first description to me of their ideal wedding was: No arbour, No ABBA, No aisle. 😆 Not sure if they also caved and had a Dancing Queen moment later that night 😂)

22/02/2025

❤️ New Year of weddings to welcome!
🩷 New "uniform" to swoosh in! 😏
💛 New tech to use in ceremonies but also to create some fabulous new resources!
❤️ New venues and ceremony sites to explore!
🩷 New vendors to meet and make magic with!
💛 But most importantly - NEW COUPLES for me to bask in all their joyful, wonderful, hopeful, meaningful, heart-bursting love-filled moments as their marriage gets Sealed With a Kissel!

Yippee! ❤️🩷💛

20/01/2025

Your smiles make me smile! 🥰

I want your wedding day to be your happiest day ever - and just the beginning of your happily ever after.

If I can add to that happiness in even the smallest way possible, I am beyond thrilled. I will always do whatever I can to make it that much more special and to get you grinning as big as this gorgeous groom Sam!

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13/12/2024

See ya 2024!!
This week saw me wrapping up all my weddings for the year. It's been such a dream! So many gorgeous venues, amazing vendors and simply THE BEST COUPLES! ❤️🩷💛

Thankyou all so much for having me play a part in your happy day and I hope you have the merriest and most magical of Christmases for your first one married!

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08/01/2024

Like getting wrapped in a great big squeezy hug, coming home to this message and some happy snaps from one of my 2023 couples was an absolute DAY MAKER ☀️ (and I got to pat a beagle puppy today soooo...that's saying something!)

It is ME who is eternally grateful to be part of so many beautiful love stories ❤️🩷💛

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10/11/2023

Three ways to have an ultimately YOU reception?
- Kombi van photobooth
- Zooper Dooper canapes
- Audio Guestbook

Lucky for you, I can help you out with one of these! 😆

An Audio Guestbook is a fun way for your guests to leave you unforgettable, moving, hilarious memories and messages (or prank calls, taxi requests, karaoke voicemails...) to treasure long after your big day is over!

You can send me a DM, message me through my website www.courtneykisselceremonies.com or call me (😜) to enquire about including one at your next event!

25/10/2023

I forgot to post an out of office last week...
So just popping on 💍 to say I'm having a jolly holiday and won't be back for a few weeks. I'll follow up any emails then 😘
Stay magical and twitterpated ❤️🩷💛

(This was one of at least 2 proposals we saw today!! 😍)

01/10/2023

I hope your weekend is as full of love and happiness as my Friday was ❤️🩷❤️🩷

29.9.23 🥰 What a dream it was marrying Lily and Sol! An epic love story spanning years and lifetimes - the universe has certainly brought these souls together before.
I don't have words for the amount of magic and love that just radiates from them both!

📸 shout out to - no pressure at all being the wedding photographer for two wedding photographers 😜 Lucky he was trained by the best (i.e the groom) - and what stunning photos and moments Lachie captured!! 😁

29/09/2023

What song kicked off this dancefloor and got everyone up grooving?

Take a guess in the comments, then tap the video for the answer!!

Hint: it's (somehow) 20 years old today! 🤯🎉

27/09/2023

A 'handfasting ceremony' is a traditionally Celtic ritual that we can incorporate into your wedding ceremony as a visual representation of your union. It is a lovely way to incorporate, and publicly acknowledge and recognise some of your values, as well as include some meaningful ribbons or fabric, and it can be a beautiful physical keepsake of your wedding!

But what does it actually look like in your ceremony? Easy peasy!

Step 1 (photo 1): I will braid three ribbons around your joined hands and say some loving words about what each ribbon represents. (These are unique to you!)

Step 2 (photo 2): I will concentrate extremely hard (hehe) as I knot them strategically around your hands.

Step 3 (photo 3): I will ask you to each pull an end of the ribbons - now joined as one rope.

Step 4 (photo 4): Voile! I will smugly announce that you have literally just tied the knot!! (Fun fact: this ritual is where this expression came from!)

Both you and the ribbons are now eternally tied ❤️

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22/09/2023

If you're scrolling my page and wondering if I'm the kind of celebrant who is happy for you to bring your pooch along to your wedding then please know...

I am MORE than happy.

In fact, I completely encourage, and borderline BEG OF YOU - bring 👏 your 👏 fur 👏 baby!!!

Just... Maybe give me a little heads up so I don't embarrassingly squeal with excitement when they show up which may or may not have been what happened when Amy and Ben's gorgeous pup Audrey entered the ceremony ❤️

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23/06/2023

I get to know you so well while preparing your wedding - it's only fair you learn a little about me too!

So here's 10 tidbits about me!

-I consider myself a "serial hobbyist" - I've more enthusiasm than talent, but love to try new things! In my home are tap shoes, rollerskates, cookie decorating kits, papercutting templates & no less than 3 ukuleles... I've actually kept up learning to sew for 3yrs now - my goal is to sew an outfit I can wear to a wedding!

-I love to travel - I've lived in 2 other countries, and travelled to 38. Covid put a spanner in my "40 countries before 30" plan but I hope to hit 40 by the end of 2023! My fav spots so far have been Nepal, Iceland & London

-I'm a musical theatre nut. I was part of the most amazing community in London with the West End Musical Choir - with them I recorded at Abbey Road Studios & performed at some awesome venues, including Disneyland Paris!

-Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the year & next to my parents tree is my happiest place. I even made the front page of the local paper dressed as a Christmas pudding once. In all honesty I looked like a giant 💩 but all publicity is good publicity, right?

-I have a clown alter ego named Chuckleberry Grin. She's done 2 tours with Dr Patch Adams & the Gesundheit Institute as a 'humanitarian clown'.

-Although I love them, I'm terrified of birds! I could listen to the maggies sing all day, but if one is on the path in front of me, I'll cross the road to avoid them!

-At any time you could safely bet I'm thinking about food. Chocolate, especially, is life. Nothing more to say about that… Lol, jks. I'd spend all day talking about food.

-My other job is in mental health social work. I love that both give me the opportunity to meet & connect with people.

-My family mean the world to me & I'm very close to them. I'm the middle child AND the eldest daughter - not sure what that says about my personality 🤪 I live with my wonderful husband & our incredible son.

-I also live with our fur baby: The Dapper Mr Gordon Puddles. He's my sewing supurrvisor and sometimes a little too micromanager-y.

20/06/2023

When your most special witness to your wedding isn't *quite* of legal age to be the official official witness... I will always make sure they have their own "unofficial official" commemorative Courtney Kissel Ceremonies certificate 🥰

Eleanor made sure she did a great job with hers - see pic #2 where she's still signing away! 🤣❤️

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16/06/2023

"...And most importantly, Dan do you promise to always ensure that Andrea has the necessary amount of naps?"

Dan: I do.

There's no question that your ceremony and vows should be unique to you.
The real question is... What is the necessary amount of naps? 🤔

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01/06/2023

I FREAKING LOVE A GROOM ENTRANCE!!

I always ask my grooms if they're interested in their own entrance - I'm usually met with super excitement and enthusiasm... followed by "nahh I'll just wait at the end of the aisle".

Not this fella though. Jack OWNED his entrance. A total hype man, he was hi-five-ing his guests on the way in, waving to those he couldn't reach and pumping his fists so hard like the rockstar he is!

And his guests TOTALLY met that energy!

SUCH a way to kick off the ceremony!!

Let this be your sign that if you want your entrance, take one! It's your day too and it won't come around again. Live those rockstar dreams, legends!

Big shout out to Mel at for making this moment happen!

29/05/2023

27.5.23 - Emily and Jack ❤️

Both Emily and Jack are very competitive people who love being right. And both are very serious NRL supporters ... of different teams.
So you can imagine that when they first met, and Jack made a bet that if the Dragon's lost that week Emily had to go on a date with him, the stakes were pretty high!

Seeing how perfect they are for each other, and how in love they are - I think the Dragon's loss was maybe Emily and Jack's win 🥰

What a happy and wonderful day ❤️

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28/05/2023

Heading into hibernation now! 🐻

The sun was so lovely yesterday afternoon as a final ceremony send off before a winter break!

I've no more weddings currently booked until September. I have plans to cosy on up by the fireplace, and have lots of sewing plans to fill my weekends over the next few months!

I'll be more than happy to take on some last minute bookings though, so get in touch if you need a celebrant - ESPECIALLY if you're interested in a legals only ceremony at home, warm in our PJs. (They're first on my list to sew 😜)

(Don't forget the minimum one month legal notice still applies!)

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Address

Newcastle, NSW
2300

Website

http://www.courtneykisselceremonies.com/

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Videos

Today marked my 31st wedding and only the 1st time I've returned to the same ceremony location! Woweee. I've always said no two weddings are the same! ❤️🩷💛 👗 @nottooshabbymarkets

That's why her sleeves are so big. They're full of secrets. 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵 Nothing up my sleeve!... Or is there? 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵 I got to take part in my first ever secret ceremony yesterday! And let me tell you... If you need someone to keep it zipped - I'm your girl! I made it through MONTHS of family gatherings, including the high time Christmas season, without letting slip to ANYONE that my cousins engagement party was actually going to be a wedding reception! This is how it went down after the big reveal: My Aunty: Oh, so Courtney, you weren't their celebrant? Me: *stupidly grinning like the proud fool I am knowing I got away with it and could breathe again* 😁 Yes, I was 🙊 My Uncle: You KNEW?!? You bitch! I am always happy to be your bitch if you want to have a secret ceremony! 😆 In fact, however you want your day to go, with who and how you want them to know - I am there! With bookings picking up more than they EVER have for CKC, now's the time to reach out for your 2024 or 2025 wedding 🥰❤️🩷💛 www.courtneykisselceremonies.com

It's Friday... I'm in love! 🩷❤️🩷❤️

There's no place like home 👠👠 ... And there's no place like Maddies of Bolwarra for the most picturesque, intimate garden wedding! You can just imagine the magic of seeing your partner walk down this garden path to you! 😍 And you can imagine the celebration you can have when that's as far as you have to walk to get to the reception too! 🥂 (This is not an affiliate promo or anything 😅 I just absolutely adored this afternoon's venue, and loved giving my glittery Dorothy shoes a twirl 🙃)

You can't even imagine the size of the grin on my face getting this message! 🥰 Every element of your wedding should be memorable in all the best ways, and I feel so lucky to be trusted to created memorable and moving ceremonies for all my couples' special days! (Also, sweetest way to spend your 1 year anniversary!!)

For any of my soon-to-be newlyweds who may have forgotten to make Valentine's Day plans / decided it's a silly commercialised holiday but still wanna be a bit romantic cos you kinda have to ... may I recommend a brilliant at-home date of completing my wedding questionnaire? 😏 What better way to spend the evening than by telling ME why you're so in looooooove with each other? Throw in some candlelight and some vino (save the choccies for your favourite celebrant...🙃) Date night + wedding to-do's= Done💘 You're welcome 😘