I'm not sure exactly where my '20 ceremony limit' for the year dissolved, but 2020 wasn't exactly a year that accommodated "planning". COVID-19 sent shock waves through the wedding and events industry, but I consider myself lucky to have still solemnised the marriages of 28 beautiful couples.
I've truely enjoyed the increase in small ceremonies, elopements and legals only ceremonies. It's been a unique experience to have guests present on iPhone screens, or delivering ceremonies to no guests at all. I'm not a destination celebrant by any means, but I got to perform ceremonies all the way from Sydney to Byron Bay. I think my friends are pretty sick of me recounting all my new wedding experiences, so I'll vent in this post.
On a personal level, alongside my full time job and Becky Married Me, I spent 2020 fostering rescue animals for Dog Rescue Newcastle. I "accidentally" adopted another dog... and a cat. I met a beautiful kind man, who now lives with me and enables my borderline animal hoarding and I bought a house.
I'm going to be honest with you - I included that paragraph above so I had a segue to include photographs of my animals....
Being a celebrant continues to be a great source of enjoyment and fulfilment for me. It's more than a "job", or a "side hustle" - its a hobby for me. Activities I indulge in for enjoyment.
So, without further ado, as is tradition here at Becky Married Me, here is a recap of the couples who can now say, "Becky Married Me (in 2020)!"
Note: Included below are reviews left by couples on public platforms including Facebook and Google. Many other couples send me kind follow up texts and emails, which I will not publish here - but please know how happy your words make me. Thank you all xx
25 January - Steve & Thuy - Tramway Reserve, Newcastle East
2 February - Matt & Cherie - Matt's Mum's House
Cherie's Google Review (that I will never ever get over) - "AMAZING CELEBRANT
10/10 WOULD WANT HER TO DO MY 2ND & SUBSEQUENT WEDDING CEREMONIES."
22 February - Amy & Rory - Murray's Brewery, Bobs Farm
"What can we say about Becky, she was calm and relaxed responding quickly to any questions I had. Becky made the ceremony full of fun and laughter and we couldn’t have asked for a better celebrant. All of our guests commented on how amazing Becky’s ceremony was and different from many others they had been to.
Thank you Becky for being such an important part of our special day we’re so happy you were able to be part of our special day "
29 February - Cayley & Wade - Merewether Surfhouse
"Our Wedding somehow made it into the Hunter and Coastal Lifestyle Magazine in the Winter edition released this week. As you were our awesome celebrant, you got a mention 🤗
7 March - Kelsey & Mitch - Peppers Creek, Pokolbin
"Friendly, fun, relatable and relaxed describe both Becky and the weddings she officiates. I put off looking for a celebrant because I didn’t know how to answer the question “what do you want from your ceremony” I had no idea what I wanted and neither did my fiancé. When we met Becky that didn’t seem like a problem and we sat chatting about random all things dogs! With very little direction from us she managed to put together the perfect ceremony that represented us as a couple!
She felt like a friend we have had forever, which put us at ease on the day in front of everyone. Our guests are still telling us how amazing our celebrant was and how much they loved her!
It was an absolute pleasure being her 50th wedding! We highly recommend this legend to any couple."
14 March - Renee & Dave - Magenta Shores Resort
15 March - Michael & Akinyi - Caves Coastal Bar, Caves Beach
21 March - Sam & Tim - Just A Vine, Stroud
22 May - Emelie & Beau - John Tucker Park, Paterson
13 June - Nas & Kate - The University of Sydney, Camperdown
"Dear Becky,
We cannot thank you enough for helping to make Saturday an absolutely perfect day for us. It was so much better than we had even imagined, and just so exactly what we wanted - a wonderful relaxed morning with those very closest to us, that you managed to make feel calm, lighthearted and funny, but still so very special.
Thank you for your positive vibes right from the beginning of our plans to still tie the knot mid global pandemic (!), for being so easy-going and flexible, and for keeping us on track with all the legal bits and pieces!
We will remember our special day for the rest of our lives We are also so excited for the bigger formal shindig next year!!"
3 July - Chloe & Deepash - Spicers Vineyard, Pokolbin
8 August - Kate & Jye - Carrington Mangroves
"At fairly short notice Becky came to our rescue and helped us create the most perfect, personable & relaxed ceremony out of trying times. Would highly recommend to anyone and so glad that she was able to help us!"
22 August - Casey & Jason - Club Macquarie, Argenton
12 September - Celeste & Wade - Their Home
"Becky was the perfect choice for us, nothing was too much trouble.
Even though we choose to have a legal only wedding, Becky put just as much effort in, plus she loves dogs you should hire her on that fact alone."
19 September - Ben & Hannah - Dudley Beach
19 September - Jasmine & Jay - Centennial Park, Cooks Hill
8 October - Lee & Joel - Piggs Peake Winery, Pokolbin
10 October - Kirra & Ryan - Their Home
"We would recommend Becky 100%
She made the day perfect and exactly how we wanted it to be. She has an amazing personality and we all felt very comfortable around her!"
10 October - Charles & Miranda - Sunset Beach, Soldiers Point
"We are more than happy with not only Beckys service, but her communication leading up to our special day.
She was always there to answer any questions we had and made our ceremony the complete opposite of boring.
Her quirky nature and personality gave us exactly what we wanted for a ceremony.
We would 100 and 50% recommend Becky Married Me!"
10 October - Kristy & Jordan - RidgeView, Pokolbin
"Becky was so helpful from when we started planning our wedding right through to the day of our wedding. There was nothing too hard and she was very accommodating to every request/change we had. Becky was also very understanding during our postponements and date changes due to COVID. Becky's method to understand us as a couple was thorough and that really showed in our ceremony, which was classy, dignified and hilarious. We can't recommend Becky highly enough!"
17 October - Luke & Madison - Peterson House, Pokolbin
17 October - Alex & Brendan - Sascha's Retreat, Pokolbin
"Best celebrant ever! She is the most warm, friendly, charismatic chick! Her ceremony had every single guest impressed. We laughed, cried and smiled together. It was so personal and real. I would 100% recommend her to anyone looking for a celebrant to bring life and warmth to the ceremony. I couldn’t have asked for more"
24 October - Grace & Alex - The Bath House Garden, Oakhampton Heights
"I would absolutely recommend Becky The whole time working with Becky was completely stress free and such a breeze.
The ceremony, I am still in absolute awe at how amazing it was. There was so many emotions throughout and there is not a thing I would change.
Becky, you are such a beautiful person inside and out. Alex and I will forever be grateful for you and having you apart of our special day. x"
8 November - Adrienne & Jordan - Moby Dicks, Whale Beach
"I originally enquired with Becky for my wedding however she was already completely (and understandably) booked out. Due to COVID and a funny story for another time, fate brought us back together and she took on the role of our celebrant two weeks before the wedding and all I can say is WOW. The delivered THE MOST AMAZING ceremony which was so welcoming, humorous and personal. Becky had my husband and I in absolute stitches. All the guests commented how amazing she was. Would not look twice for another celebrant."
14 November - Emma & Spence - Usher Tinkler Wines, Pokolbin
"Could not have asked for a better celebrant to help us pull off our "legals only" ceremony. Beck made it so easy from start to finish and we can't thank her enough!!"
15 November - Robbie & Amy - Robbie's Mum's Backyard
"Best Celebrant Ever"
21 November - Bella & Jackson - Byron View Farm, Ewingsdale
"As soon as we started planning our wedding, we knew we wanted Beck to be there for this special moment as our celebrant. I can’t explain how incredible it was to have her guide us through this experience, making everything so easy and stress-free. On the day, Beck made us feel so comfortable with her beautiful words and humour which was able to break up the extreme happy tears, with laughter. We can’t thank her enough for her support during this incredible time in our lives. Cannot recommend enough."