South West Wedding – Wendy Grace Hendry

Summer Elopement

November 27, 2019wendygracehendry

If you’re thinking of running away to beautiful Margaret River for an elopement I offer Short and Sweet Ceremonies which are perfect for such intimate occasions.

My role as a Marriage Celebrant is my main vocation which means I’m available for small mid-week ceremonies and elopements, as well as big or small weekend weddings and celebrations.

rings — Exchanging Rings – photo by Zuzu

No matter what size or shape your ceremony will take, I give a personalised service, putting the same amount of time, professionalism and care into my ceremonies, and the wonderful couples I’m working for. Check out My Services page for information on my ceremony inclusions. Read more about Elopements here.

If you want to run away with the one you love for a summer elopement there are still dates available for January, and a few precious weekend wedding dates left in February. Just remember you need to give a minimum one month notice of intent to marry.

Why not contact me for information and pricing?

Jess and Dan Margaret River beach elopement Wendy Hendry celebrant — Jess and Dan’s Margaret River Elopement at Rivermouth Beach

Wildcroft Wedding – Kelly and Hayden’s Margaret River Region Winter Wedding

September 17, 2019September 22, 2019wendygracehendry

Kelly and Hayden were married on the last day of winter at their property near Yallingup named Wildcroft, surrounded by an intimate gathering of family and friends.

After first meeting back in high school, it took another decade and the help of Facebook from opposite sides of the country for these two lovers to reconnect. Since then life has taken on an awesome direction of togetherness, sharing adventures, making plans for the future, with their beautiful children being the centre of it all. They live on a gorgeous property which has two old cottages onsite which they have inspirational future plans with.

It was one of these cute cottages that were part of their wet weather plan B. They had originally planned the ceremony to be outside on the property, however with the weather looking a little unstable they decided to quickly make the necessary repairs to the cottage to enable to ceremony to take place inside.

Wildcroft Cottages – photo by Wendy

Inside the cottage – photo by Wendy

And what an amazing location it turned out to be, perfectly scrubbed up and styled. You can tell by the photos so beautifully captured by Freedom Garvey Photography that it was unique, cosy, and simply gorgeous! I don’t do many ceremonies indoors, so it was such a wonderful novelty being in this wooden cottage, warmed by the old fashioned wood stove in the tiny kitchen.

Wendy Grace Hendry Marriage Celebrant. Margaret River Wedding Celebrant — Telling the Story – Photo by Freedom Garvey Photography

The ceremony was relaxed, intimate, and full of love. Kelly and Hayden arrived together in their Datsun 1600, and walked in arm in arm through the back door and up the aisle of delighted guests. During the ceremony their beautiful children Spencer and Emily felt completely at home interacting with the events taking place with Mum and Dad.

Thanks Kelly and Hayden for inviting me to share in this special day with you and your gorgeous family. It was an honour and a joy to be your Celebrant!

Wendy x

Enjoy the gallery of photos below by Freedom Garvey Photography – https://freedomgarvey.com.au/

Check out Wildcroft Cottages on Instagram @wildcroftcottages

Kelly and Hayden’s arrival – Photo by Freedom Garvey Photography

Exchanging Rings – Photo by Freedom Garvey Photography

Signing the Register – Photo by Freedom Garvey Photography

Kelly and Hayden in the magic light – photo by Freedom Garvey Photography

Presenting the freshly married couple! – photo by Freedom Garvey Photography

Wilcroft Wedding Ceremony – photo by Freedom Garvey Photography

Donnelly River Wedding

May 22, 2019September 2, 2019wendygracehendry

Autumn can be such a beautiful time of year in the South West, and the day of Erin and Greg’s May wedding was no exception. Donnelly River Village is an historic mill town nestled in the South West Karri forest between Bridgetown, Nannup and Manjimup. It doesn’t take long to spot the local wildlife, with kangaroos and emus casually strolling around the grounds on a regular basis. During our wedding rehearsal a few kangaroos came to check out what was going on!

The clearing up to the left of the village as you drive in is where the ceremonies usually take place, there is a nice winding path that takes you there, perfect for a beautiful wedding party entrance, and a gravel clearing for the ceremony with some gorgeous tall karri trees surrounding the area.

Erin and Greg’s wedding had some wonderfully unique styling and elements which made it perfect for them. Check out the amazing arbour created and styled by the couple, complete with ‘his and hers’ sheep skulls adorning the top!

To mark this step on their journey together they also asked me to incorporate a Handfasting ritual in their wedding ceremony. ‘Handfasting’ is the ancient word for a wedding and was traditionally recognized as a binding contract of marriage between a couple before weddings became a legal function of the government or the church. Today, it is more of a symbolic ceremony to honour a couple’s desire for commitment to each other, and to acknowledge that their lives and their destinies are now bound together.

Erin and Greg chose to have four ribbons as part of their Handfasting. Their children brought forward three of the ribbons, and then I placed the final ribbon over their joined hands, and tied them, along with some specially chosen words of course. The final tied knot created as they pulled their hands apart can be seen on the signing table photo, which is now a lovely keepsake for them to remember the day by.

Erin and Greg Handfasting Wendy Grace Hendry Celebrant

I loved helping to create this special ceremony for them. Each couple, and ceremony is special and creates wonderful memories for me to reflect on. Have I mentioned how much I love my job?! If you would like to know more about ceremony rituals you can find some more here – CEREMONY RITUALS

Thanks to Erin and Greg for asking me to be a part of your awesome wedding day! Wishing you much love and happiness into your future.

Wendy x

Some photos used are from Henderson Photographics, and some are my own.

The Wedding Party – photo by Henderson Photographics

Wedding Rehearsal Kangaroo Visitor – Wendy Grace Hendry Celebrant

Equal Love

May 27, 2018November 27, 2019wendygracehendry

Yesterday was the second time I’ve had the joy of saying the new ‘Monitum’ wording with two wonderful women in front of me as they prepare to marry. It is such a simple changing to the wording – “Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of two people…” but those simple words ‘two people’ represent so much to so many who have been waiting for this change for such a long time.

My wedding yesterday in Margaret River was between two people who had been together for a fabulous 20 years, and were finally able to be legally married in front of their family and friends at their home. They were able to celebrate the amazing discovery of unconditional love, and the joy of life shared with their soulmate and best friend. What a wonderful moment it was to speak those new words to this couple, confirming that their love is equal in the eyes of the law in Australia. I must confess, even though I’ve been saying these words for a few months now, I got a little emotional reciting the Monitum this time – I’m only human!

Hopefully I will have some photos to share of this beautiful day soon, but for now take in the simplicity and power of this line of the Monitum:

Family Unity Puzzle

April 5, 2018April 5, 2018wendygracehendry

When I plan a ceremony with my couples I offer a set of resources which includes some ideas for wedding ceremony rituals. This is not everyone’s cup of tea, so if that’s the case we skip over that part and move onto the next. However for some couples, the idea of marking the moment in time with a special action or ritual brings an extra element to their wedding that they were hoping for. I like to encourage people to be creative with this, and find something that is going to suit. A great example of this is the Love Notes.

Lisa and Mark wanted to find a way to include their three children in the wedding ceremony so I was delighted when Lisa contacted me with the concept of the Family Jigsaw Puzzle, or Family Unity Puzzle. At a special time in the ceremony, each person in the family would take a piece of the puzzle and place it together to make the whole picture. I loved it! And so I set to work writing some words that would suit. There is such lovely symbolism in the idea of each person being a special part of the family, and having a unique connection with each other.

On the day at Arimia Winery in Margaret River, the puzzle was set out on a table, ready to be put together again. It was particularly special that Lisa had made the puzzle herself, giving it an extra uniqueness, and a wonderful keepsake for the family for years to come. When it came to connecting the pieces, the family gathered around the table and placed the pieces together on the frame, completing the picture, and marking that special moment in time.

I love working with my couples to find the best way to express their uniqueness in their wedding ceremony. Sometimes it’s simply in the style of ceremony, or in the personalised vows, or choice of poem, and sometimes it’s in working together to find new ideas of symbolising and celebrating that moment in time .

Thank you to Lisa and Mark for giving me permission to share their idea with everyone.

Wendy x

Arimia Winery Margaret River - Wendy Grace Hendry Celebrant — Arimia Winery Wedding, Margaret River

Bridgetown Wedding

January 25, 2018September 22, 2019wendygracehendry

Tucked away just out of the picturesque town of Bridgetown is a property called Bridgetown Gardens. It was here, under a beautiful tunnel of Wisteria that Jessica & Travis became husband and wife.

Jess and Travis have known each other since high school, first meeting on the school bus, and their wedding was a celebration of these sweet beginnings, and the bright future that lies ahead of them.

A few lovely highlights – as we were setting up, the wind was a bit strong at times, blowing across the ceremony space, so the groomsmen kindly decided to stand on the opposite side to the rehearsal so the bride and bridesmaid’s hair wouldn’t blow the wrong way (so thoughtful!); as the littlest flower girl made her way down the steps she took their time admiring the scenery, and looking at the flowers, so a bridesmaid (who happened to also be her Mum) scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way; Jess and Travis exchanged surprise personal vows, having everyone in both tears and laughter; and finally, their Mum’s had the honour of being their witnesses for the paperwork, which I’m sure was a lovely moment for them both.

Thank you to Jess and Travis for inviting me across to Bridgetown to share in your beautiful day, and for sending me these lovely photos by Victoria Baker Photography who captured the whole wedding so well (set up photos by me).

Wendy x

As a side note, if you ever see me wearing my extra large wind sock on my microphone, it’s to stop the rushing wind noise being amplified by the speaker – it works a treat on windy days, but doesn’t look quite as pretty!

Bridgetown Gardens Wedding – photo by Wendy

Bridgetown Gardens Wisteria Hedge – photo by Wendy

Bridgetown Gardens Wedding – photo by Wendy

Bridgetown Gardens Wedding – telling their story – photo by Victoria Baker Photography

Signing the Register – photo by Victoria Baker Photography

Jess and Travis’s Bridgetown Wedding – photo by Victoria Baker Photography

Summer Elopement

December 4, 2017November 27, 2019wendygracehendry

If you’re thinking of running away to beautiful Margaret River for an elopement I offer Short and Sweet Ceremonies which are perfect for such intimate occasions.

My role as a Marriage Celebrant is my main vocation which means I’m available for small mid-week ceremonies and elopements, as well as big or small weekend weddings and celebrations.

No matter what size or shape your ceremony will take, I put the same amount of time, professionalism and care into my ceremonies, and the wonderful couples I’m working for. Check out What I Offer for information on my ceremony inclusions.

Why not contact me for information and pricing?

Yallingup Foreshore

May 8, 2017August 4, 2019wendygracehendry

PHILIP & NATASHA – 25 March 2017
We gathered on the grassed area of the Yallingup Foreshore for Phil & Natasha’s morning ceremony overlooking the ocean. The day started out cloudy and overcast, and as our ceremony began the skies cleared and the sun shone down.

It was a beautiful heartfelt ceremony to be a part of which included a Sand Unity Ceremony involving all of the children. Often marriages not only unite the bride and groom, they unite families. The sand ceremony was a beautiful way to symbolise this new beginning for them all.

I was delighted to receive these gorgeous photos by In Sight Photography from the couple so I could share their beautiful day with you.

Much love and light to Philip, Natasha and thier family as they continue on into married life together! xx

P & T Wedding – Photo by In Sight Photography

Yallingup Wedding P and; T Wedding – Photo by In Sight Photography

P & T Wedding – Photo by In Sight Photography

Yallingup Wedding – Wendy Grace Hendry Celebrant P and T Wedding – Photo by In Sight Photography

P & T Wedding – Photo by In Sight Photography

Wendy Grace Hendry P & T Wedding – Photo by In Sight Photography

My Commitment to You

February 16, 2017wendygracehendry

It seems the cogs of change are slowly turning across our country, and the possibility of marriage equality is becoming more hopeful. Many people are waiting, or know of family or friends who are waiting for their love to be equal.

However I can understand for many people, the wait is too long. You’re in love, you’ve found your soulmate, and you want to declare it to your family and friends now in a beautiful ceremony.

It’s been almost 10 years now since my partner and I chose to celebrate our love and commitment with a wedding. It will always be my heart wedding, and I’m glad we decided not to wait – it marked a special moment in time, and we have beautiful memories to look back on now. One day we hope to have the opportunity for a legal marriage.

So my commitment to you, while we wait for those cogs to move a bit faster, is this:

Book me as your Celebrant for your Commitment Ceremony now, and together we will create your dream wedding. When the laws change I will conduct your legal marriage ceremony free of charge.

Together we will celebrate love!

Read more about Same Sex Weddings here. The second ceremony will be a ‘legal’s only’ one within my ‘Short and Sweet’ guidelines. Contact me for more information and to tell me your plans so we can begin to imagine, laugh and create together.

Wendy x

My wedding day

Wedding - Getting Ready - Wendy Hendry Celebrant

A Family Centred Ceremony

February 4, 2017wendygracehendry

bush-chapel-willy-bay-resort-wendy-grace-hendry-celebrant — The Bush Chapel at Willy Bay Resort

The day of Amy and Ethan’s summer wedding was warm and bright, perfect for their outdoor ceremony in the bush chapel at Willy Bay Resort in Metricup. With an intimate gathering of close family and friends, the presence of children in the bridal party and among the gathered guests helped set the scene for a relaxed family friendly celebration of love.

amy-and-ethan-sand-ceremony-wendy-grace-hendry — Sand Unity Ceremony – photo by Kendra Benson Photography

To involve their young children in the day, and to acknowledge the important step they were taking as a family, Amy and Ethan chose for them to take part in a Sand Unity Ceremony. Each jar contained something special to symbolise the individual – a special colour, sand sourced from a favourite beach, and even a jar of tiny shells for little Evie. As they poured the sand into their central jar, with a few spills and laughter along the way, we all felt we had witnessed a special moment of memory making for the family. Once combined, the grains can never be completely separated – the newly created jar of blended sand and shells will now be a keepsake in their home to remember it by.

Having shared the sand ceremony together, they stood as a family under the bush chapel arbor as the couple were pronounced as married, ready to take on the next chapter of their lives.

“Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life.” Lisa Weedn

It was a pleasure getting to know this beautiful family as we planned their special day together. Wishing Amy and Ethan much love, joy and laughter into the future.

With thanks to Kendra Benson Photography for use of her beautiful photos from the day!

Wendy x