“My First Wedding: Love, Nerves & a Very Honest Beginning”

I’m sitting here trying to process the fact that I actually officiated my first wedding. It still feels surreal - like I’m replaying someone else’s memory but feeling all the feelings as my own. But no, it was me. AB Celebrancy finally stepped into the real world, sandal strap slightly crooked, clipboard in hand (more on that later), under a giant oak tree on the grounds of St Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church.

And the couple? Matt and Dani. A decade of love. Two beautiful little humans they created together. And now, finally, the “legal bit.”

It was an intimate ceremony - just their parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. No crowds, no fuss, just the soft hum of family and the kind of warmth you only get when everyone present has truly lived alongside the couple’s love story.

Standing there with them felt… natural.

Not effortless  because nerves are very real. But natural in the way that your heart recognises a moment as important even before your brain catches up.

There were tears. Dani’s voice cracked, and Matt tried to blinked his emotions away. Their parents wiped their eyes in that quiet, understated way that says, “We’ve waited a long time for this.” Even I had to discreetly (or not-so discreetly) swallow a lump in my throat.

And then there were my own little hiccups - the kind that make a first wedding exactly that: a first.I brought a clipboard, insisting that I was still old school and could read off a paper script. Surely it would be fine? What could go wrong?

My ageing eyes, the tiny text and the giant clipboard made it a little hard to project my voice past the leaves and the breeze. There was a moment where I had to reposition myself awkwardly just to catch the light and read properly. But honestly? No one cared. Not even me, once I remembered to breathe.

Because despite the small imperfections, the love was so loud.

Louder than nerves.

Louder than any technical glitch.

Louder even than my inner critic who tried to whisper, “Are you sure you’re ready?”

But I was ready.

Maybe not polished, but present.

And maybe not flawless, but full-hearted.

When I pronounced them married, something in me clicked, a quiet, steady knowing that this was exactly where I was meant to be at this moment. Not just reading words, but witnessing beginnings. Holding space. Honouring stories that already existed long before I arrived.

Matt and Dani’s ceremony wasn’t just their milestone; it became mine too.The perfect start to my celebrant journey. Imperfect, emotional, grounding and full of love.

And as I walked back to my car with oak leaves crunching under my feet, clipboard tucked against my chest, I whispered to myself:

“This is real now & I can do this.”