vendor reviews: ministers & officiants

For this local wedding officiant your wedding day celebrates life and eternal love

Interviewing Christina Brighton, Chaplain, Celebrate Love

 

Whether you'll be exchanging vows in a hot air balloon or having an inter-faith ceremony that  incorporates your children, Christina Brighton wants to be the one to celebrate your day with you. Chaplain of Celebrate Love, Christina believes that love is eternal. She makes sure that each couple she meets knows how important their wedding day and their future is to her. "A wedding is not one day to me or to my bride and groom. It has meaning. It is one of the few days that will last forever. It's a celebration of life itself."

 

Personally speaking...

Christina Brighton was originally licenced by the Association of Unity Churches Canada five years ago. She now spends her time performing wedding ceremonies of all kinds and teaching part time in Etobicoke. "I consider myself a high-energy person... I get a high when I'm speaking on a Sunday and when I'm performing a wedding." But it's the weddings Christina has performed in recent years that seem to have mapped out the direction she sees her future taking.

 

"There's nothing more beautiful than the meaning in and behind a wedding day," says Christina. It's not just her religious beliefs that explain her faith in marriage itself. Her appreciation for weddings also stems from the fact that she was married herself. "My husband passed away but the love we shared is eternal." It's this sentiment that Christina wants to offer to her couples.

 

Celebrating love on your wedding day

While Christina likes to have at least some mention of 'the spirit of God' in each ceremony, the one thing that always remains the same is that the day is about the bride and the groom. "I'll honour their day and do what they'd like me to. Ultimately, it's their day and I'll respect that. I'm there to bless the wedding day." This not only includes incorporating your spirituality and wants, but a ceremony completely tailored to you as a couple. "With Celebrate Love, you get me and you get a completely customized service. That's what is most important to my couples and to me."

 

 

In other words...

"Christina was very easy to get in touch with. About a month before our ceremony she came to our house and we planned the ceremony together. As we were getting married at the hall on a Friday night, we didn't want a very long ceremony and we came up with one that was very memorable that lasted about 15 minutes. I have had many relatives comment on what a great ceremony we had... We were supposed to be married outside, but it started pouring half an hour before the ceremony and had to change to an indoor wedding. She was very professional and easy to get along with. I wanted a spiritual ceremony that wasn't overly religious. Christina had the perfect blend of both. We were able to choose from some items she had and blended in items that were important to us. She also supplied us with a copy of the ceremony after the wedding. I would most definitely recommend Christina. She made our wedding ceremony very special. I have already been asked by some guests at our wedding for Christina's number." - Wayne & Angela, married May 27, 2005

 

"I’ve known Christina for about 10 years and during that time had the pleasure of being influenced by her genuine loving and giving spirit. So much so, that when my husband-to-be and I decided to get married we chose to pay the cost, if Christina consented, to fly her out to Vancouver Island to be part of our ceremony... and it was well worth the ticket. Christina went over our vows with us, word by word, to make sure everything was to our liking, or more so, aligned with our beliefs about what 'marriage' meant... about what our union was all about.

She made sure, in every way, that we were completely comfortable... and more than that, that we were proud in the statements, or promises, we were exchanging with each other. Our ceremony was very loving, spiritual, touching... to name a few words. Some of the comments we got from our family after was that my husband and I looked very serious!! Looking back at the video I can see why they say that... the promises, vows, that we created with Christina were so poignant and true to us that we looked immersed in the moment. We’d do it again this year if we could... and have Christina once again. I’d recommend her services 100%." - Jan & Jay

 

If nerves start to build up before the ceremony on the wedding day, Christina says that she helps the couple draw a breath and take a moment to relax and take their time. "Brides are the centre of attention on their wedding day. Sometimes they need reassurance that it will all be beautiful, that she'll be beautiful... I encourage them not to worry and to just enjoy the day." Describing herself as easy-going, Christina uses her experience as well as her assuring attitude to keep nerves under control on the big day.

 

From your backyard to a British Columbia beach

With Christina, your wedding day can be in British Columbia, a traditional church setting, or your Kitchener area backyard. Christina has performed ceremonies at Grey Silo, Bingemans' Pavilion, chapels, and a variety of outdoor locations including backyards of homes. Recently, she was flown out to British Columbia by a couple for three days, just so that they could have her marry them. Most of her weddings to date have come from referrals by those who know her or who've attended one of her weddings.

 

Her specialty in traveling anywhere you need her to go for a ceremony that's tied in to a special location. And wherever Christina's ceremonies take her, she takes her personal touch along with her. "I offer flexibility in the service, the location, and the words... And I offer me as a person. I guess I try to put a unique, personal touch on services."

 

Offering options...

Christina offers a 'Marry the Children' service for those couples who have children coming into the marriage. This unique and often emotional service offers absolutely beautiful wording that includes your children in the day. This reading is called 'Promises' where the father or mother of the child states that they, "Promise to walk with you through all things!"

 

One unique ceremony includes an 'Apache Wedding Blessing' at the end that describes the couple as two people with one life before them. "Now you are two persons, but there is one life before. Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your togetherness... and may your lives together be blessed with love... and may your days be good and long upon the earth."

 

Another option is to incorporate a 'White Rose Service' into your ceremony with the white rose as the first gift the bride and groom give each other as husband and wife. This white rose can then later be uses to symbolize or remind the couple of their wedding day, when they come across difficult times.

 

Walking you through your ceremony

When you first contact Christina, you'll set up a meeting to get together. She will come to your home or meet you to chat over coffee - whatever makes you and your fiancé most comfortable.

 

The first meeting is often one to one and a half hours and is a general get-to-know-you meeting where she outlines her services and your options. It's also at this meeting where Christina likes to find out more about you as a couple. "I like to know how they met, what made them fall in love...," she says. "I love listening to their love stories. Then I take parts of that and incorporate it into their ceremony."

 

If you choose to have Celebrate Love officiate your ceremony, you'll be in contact by email and phone in the months leading up to your wedding. There is no limit to the number of questions you can ask or changes you can make, even up to the night before the wedding day.

 

Pricing it out

Wedding ceremonies by Celebrate Love are done for a fee of $250. This covers all meetings, consultations, and services within Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. It also includes the spiral-bound copy of your wedding ceremony that Christina provides you with at the end of the day.

 

If you need Christina to travel further outside of the K-W and Cambridge area, she is happy to do so for a small additional fee. Rehearsals are an additional $50 and can be done if time permits. A deposit of $100 will allow Christina to hold your date for you and get the design of your ceremony started.

 

detailsdetailsdetails

• Christina comes to you for your first consultation.

• Celebrate Love can perform ceremonies in a wide variety of locations.

• They offer flexible ceremonies.

• Christina provides each couple with a spiral bound book containing their service.

• Christina will wear a skirt and blazer in black and white (or a robe upon request).

• Ceremonies most often range from 15 to 20 minutes.

• Christina allows couples to write their own vows or use a customized service.

• She will do rehearsals and wedding days, depending on your needs and budget.

 

For more...

To contact Christina Brighton, Chaplain at Celebrate Love, call her at 519-574-5540. She's happy to give you more information, answer questions, check her availability for your wedding date, and help you get started planning your personalized ceremony.

 

- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca

* Prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by Christina Brighton of Celebrate Love.