Jesse and Liz made me laugh a lot! They are a beautiful young couple who live in the suburb of West End near the city centre of Brisbane. Our first meeting went perfectly and it was evident how much these guys thoroughly enjoy each others company. Then I soon discovered that they were AFL fans. This gave us a lot in common to talk about since Jesse is Essendon, Liz is Sydney and I am Richmond. So we all had our bit to say about the 2017 season and also got to talk about their wedding too! Now with our initial meeting done, the legal paperwork was underway. But Jesse still had to get his Birth Certificate organised because of a change in one of his names. After a misplacing of his Birth Certificate at our next meeting, we met again in Nerang as they were on their way to the footy at Metricon Stadium. And yes, he had the Birth Certificate which helped to redeem him.
For Jesse and Liz, “less was more”. They were getting married at the Souths Leagues Club which is located alongside the Brisbane River. But a couple of weeks before the wedding, I jokingly contacted them to see if the wedding was still on since the Sydney Swans had just knocked Essendon out of the finals. When I arrived at the venue on the day of the wedding, I saw that the decking area was completely covered by the canopy of a Lilly Pilly tree. It looked beautiful. When Jesse saw me there, it was like he gave a sigh of relief. He was both nervous and excited. And in true Groom fashion, he started to wonder if everything would run as “clock work”. I simply told him that it will be what it will be, and he accepted that.
Liz arrived right on time for the ceremony in a classy red VW Combi Van. Absolutely perfect! I don’t think I’ve seen a bride race up the stairs and walk straight to her position in front of the husband to be and dragging her Dad along for the ride. The ceremony commenced with a “group selfie” taken on my mobile phone. The guests were clearly in the zone and lapped it up. Within 10 minutes, Jesse and Liz became Mr and Mrs Collyer. They sat at the table where we were to sign the certificates and looked at each other quite blown away by the fact that they were now married.
I loved working with these guys. We had lots of laughs (mainly at Jesse’s expense). But once again I can say that I get the best couples to marry. This was proven on the AFL Grand Final day when I received a text message from them after Richmond had just won the game. The message simply said, “Wooooo!!!” Funny that, because that’s exactly how I felt on the day of their wedding!
Peter – Your Gold Coast Marriage Celebrant