Alison Cleary - Celebrant

17/02/2024

Absolutely honoured to be celebrant for a delightful couple who have decided to start their life together in Westport. Abe and Bernadette - you looked stunning. Westport turned on the sun!

28/11/2023

Sunday’s ceremony was a number of firsts for me!
- first vineyard wedding
- first time celebrant for an ex-student
- first time dog was the ring bearer!!!!

Super privileged to officiate for ex-student, past colleague and friend -
Justine and Dan!

21/11/2023

12/11/2023

Fantastic day on Saturday officiating for my nephew Laurie and Monique.
Bramblegrove was a stunning venue. Weather was fantastic too!

Photo credit: CES photography

09/09/2023

Interesting ‘wee’ read!

Half of all weddings at Gretna Green now involve just the couple and two witnesses. But it’s not only elopements. Many more couples are enjoying stealth nuptials

12/08/2023

A month or so ago I was MC at my nephew's wedding in the Bay of Plenty. It was a fabulous day. Our new niece is from Turkye and she had a whole lot of friends supporting her on the day, as her family could not make it to NZ.

Here's what they had to say -

Alison has great communication and organization skills, and it helped make our big day unforgettable. She had amazing suggestions which we had not thought of before the wedding. She is always accessible and responsive.

Alison wrote a personalized speech for us, we believe she is very gifted at giving speeches. All day and night her attention to detail made it all stress free for us. She is very professional and friendly: we loved how she incorporated three different cultures and made everyone warmly welcome.

She went above and beyond our expectations. Thank you so much for your help as MC to make our special day so incredible!

Tesekkurler

C & M McG

PS cake by Samatha R

20/04/2023

This is a novel idea.

https://fb.watch/k1j3U0_qlG/

10/04/2023

The nature of marriage.

When Rachael Lennon was planning her wedding, she began to question the institution of marriage – was it really for her? Yet in researching it, she discovered wedlock is whatever you choose to make it

15/02/2023

Valentine’s Day - a popular day for romantic ceremonies. Yesterday it was a pleasure and fun to be part of Cel and Dennis’s renewal ceremony.
The weather governors were kind and the rain held off.
Amazingly Cel had saved the cake decorations from the original cake 28 years ago. True romance ! 💕

11/02/2023

Now that’s a wedding car!
Celebrant today for David Ford and Kelly Jeffs Ford https://www.facebook.com/kellyannjeffs at the Kaiapoi Rose Gardens.
The cars were a key feature!

10/01/2023

Super excited to be ‘doing’ the wedding later in the year for this gorgeous couple - my nephew Laurie (Lozz) and his fiancé Monique.

10/01/2023

I love this shot of the classic bridal car at a recent wedding. Who would have thought you could get an empty street in Rangiora on a Saturday afternoon!

Car credit: Richard Smith
Photo credit: BR Photos
https://www.facebook.com/bridgittrobinson

10/01/2023

If you’re thinking of getting married this year put this date in your calendar!

It’s back for another year! Our annual North Canterbury Weddings’ open day - where you get to meet all of our vendors in one place!! This year it’s called All Things Wedding 🌿💃

So, pop Sunday 24 September in your diary for now, and there will be plenty more info along the way.

Weddings for the win!!

14/11/2022

20/10/2022

Love this photo of my colleague Rosemary and her husband Simon.
I loved officiating this ceremony at their home - surrounded by friends, family and the pets!

02/10/2022

This is a great group to belong to - check out the services available at North Canterbury Weddings !

Any occasion, any location. Enlist our new vendors from to make your celebration beautifully unforgettable 💕

The idea behind Unic Picnic & Events comes from a long-term passion for styling and organising events. This has been something that founder Natalie has done for over 15 years and finally decided to pursue as a business in 2022. Natalie is a hopeless romantic and especially loves working with couples to realise their designs for one of life’s special moments. Unic Picnic & Events pride themselves on offering a service that is affordable, stylish and unique.

Find out more: northcanterburyweddings.co.nz/unicpicnic

02/10/2022

My next wedding is in 12 days time - a very relaxed wedding at the family home! Really looking forward to R and S wedding afternoon!
Are you thinking about a home wedding???

Thinking hosting your wedding at home? Here’s all of the inspiration and information you need to throw the day of your dreams in your own space.

20/08/2022

Dozens of wedding vendors from North Canterbury are uniting at Darjon Vineyard, Swannanoa to inspire engaged couples to plan their best day ever!! Event organiser Kineta Booker, who runs North Canterbury Weddings, says “we’ll be offering a complimentary catering samples, entertaining with live music, having a live bridal shoot - including the getting ready process, and there’ll be a beautiful aroma throughout as we burn Hanmer-made candles.
‘Couples will also see different styles of ceremony set-up for inspo, will be offered free couple’s photography so they can get used to being in front of a camera, and they’ll have the chance to win thousands of dollars worth of prizes, and so much more - including having the whole event being painted live by The Wedding Painter.
The North Canterbury Weddings’ Open Day is a free public event - and free for North Canterbury Weddings’ members to showcase their work.
‘We’re so excited about opening our doors on Sunday 28 August to inspire Canterbury couples to plan and look forward to their best day ever,’ she says.
CONTACT: Kineta Booker [email protected] 0274546382 IMAGE: Libby Ellmers Photography

29/05/2022

Super Celebrants PLD at the Sign of the Takahe. Ka rawe CANZ - Canterbury!

27/05/2022

Love historic places as wedding venues.....

Alison finds that when meeting couples for the first time, they generally have some idea of what they want in a wedding service. Mainly from weddings they have attended themselves in the past. Alison relishes sharing ideas as there are a myriad of possibilities that can add that 'personal touch' to a couples' special day!

Whether couples are looking for an intimate service at home; an historic location like Kemp House (pictured) or one with all the hoopla imaginable, Alison will help them find the right words for the day.


https://northcanterburyweddings.co.nz/alisonclearycelebrant/

17/05/2022

A very good piece on why it costs to hire a celebrant:

Depends on thr celebrant - some offer registry weddings for $90 which have certain rules (limit on guests, location, and timings), shorter/elopement ceremonies, and then full on ceremonies. Thanks southernbridemagazine

For the uninitiated, being a wedding celebrant sounds like a great deal. On the face of it, they turn up, do some paperwork, talk for 10 minutes and leave. If that’s all there is to

02/04/2022

Can’t see a date on this book, but look at that dress! And the advice!

I can’t think why this style of wedding dress failed to take off; white is so drab in comparison.

28/03/2022

One of the things Alison has missed over the last couple of years has been those overseas adventures and coming across weddings in unexpected places. From the small towns of central Romania to the stunning palaces of Prague.

Here, in Hunedoara, Romania, the wedding seems to just take place amongst the hustle and bustle of everyday life! Where the bridal party revels in the attention of public passers by.

Wherever in the world the location, no one can help but stop and smile at a bride… and their partner.

Read more about who can't wait to witness overseas weddings again, or our directory:
https://christchurchcelebrants.co.nz/alisoncleary

24/03/2022

Keep up to date with the latest ‘traffic light’ news and how it will affect your plans.

If there’s one thing that’s held up weddings with all your loved ones this season more than COVID-19 itself, it’s the ongoing restrictions at gatherings.

31/01/2022

A quick,clear summary of what’s allowed at the current Traffic Light setting.