Copyright
All rights reserved.The material on this website is the orignal work of Jennifer Cram unless otherwise identified. it is therefore protected by Copyright Law and International Agreements. You may not reproduce any part of this website, even in modified form, without my express permission.The site is monitored by Copysentry which scans the web and identifies copying even where the text has been modified.
My 8 point guarantee
- Simplicity and transparency of fee structure
- A range of service levels to meet a wide variety of needs and budgets
- Service that far exceeds that provided by other celebrants for similar fees
- Open and frequent communication between booking and your ceremony day that enables you to develop confidence in me
- Creative problem solving approach to every request you make
- Your ceremony will be crafted with attention to the impact of the words and to ensuring that the staging facilitates wondeful photographs
- You are an essential part of the process of developing your unique ceremony and the ultimate decisions relating to your ceremony and how it will flow are yours
- Your ceremony performed with warm professionalism and a light-hearted touch
Karen & Laura,
united as partners for life at Riverglenn, Indooroopilly
Photograph courtesy of
Alison Cooke Photography
Just wanted to say thank you for our
wonderful ceremony, everyone loved it, including Karen and I.
- Laura & Karen
The whole experience was easy, organised, with plenty of time to organise beforehand. On the day jennifer made us feel comfortable and relaxed due to her experience and calm nature.
The way she performed the ceremony was very loving, sharing our personal information to guests in a way that did not offend anyone which made us more relaxed. She did a great job! A beautiful personalised ceremony made all our dreams come true!
Ceremonies
Commitment Ceremonies
Baby
Naming & Adult Namegiving Ceremonies
Reaffirmation (Renewal of Vows)
Coming Out Ceremonies
End of Relationship Ceremonies
Commitment Ceremonies
The Marriage Act 1961 refers to marriage as "...the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life." Accordingly, it is not possible for same sex couples to marry under existing Australian law. But that is not a reason to forgo a public ceremony that is an act of love.
While a
commitment ceremony has no legal standing, it is a ceremony that makes
public love your love for each other and your commitment to your
relationship. It is therefore an important
and moral act that will reaffirm your commitment and love and therefore
provide a sense of stability and permanence. Importantly, because you
are acknowledging the uniqueness and commitment of your relationship
and sharing your joy in it with those close to you, a commitment
ceremony will remind everyone present that love is not the sole
preserve of the straight, that lovers committing themselves to each
other is positive and speaks of hope to us all, that private love has
public consequences in that it raises up communities as well as
individuals.
It is reality that many lesbians and gay men do not have the acceptance and support of their families because those families find it hard to accept their sexual orientation. Where a same sex couple have decided to commit to each other for life, a commitment ceremony can be a healing as well as a joyous occasion because a public acknowledgement of your desire to live together in a committed monogamous relationship may help family and friends move closer to acceptance.
The format of
a
same sex commitment ceremony is very like that of a wedding
because the couple's commitments, hopes, aspirations and ideals
tend to be very similar. However, there is absolutely no
reason that it should be virtually indistinguishable from a straight
ceremony except for some minor changes in terminology. My
commitment ceremonies are a celebration of your relationship, not a
standard marriage ceremony with the 'legal bits' omitted.
A commitment
ceremony allows you, as a couple, to make yourself heard, to tell your
truth and your intentions, it allows you to celebrate something that is
really important to you, your wonderful, challenging, loving and
fulfilling relationship, and it gathers your community together, giving
them an opportunity to reflect on your words in a formal setting
and to support your relationship.
The
planning of
your ceremony, in particular the vows you make to each other, is an
integral part of your relationship, so it is important that your
ceremony reflects who you are. using an intensive information gathering
process, I will create a unique ceremony for you, ensuring that
the words,
readings and symbols capture your desire to proclaim and formalise
your connection in a way that reflects what you and
your partner most value. I do so with the following commitment to
couples who love each other, and just happen to be of the same
sex.
I
will not only perform
a commitment ceremony for you, I will be honoured and happy to do so,
and I will spare no effort to ensure that your ceremony contributes a
great deal to a day that is rich with happiness and warm with special
moments to remember.
See
my article
about how to negotiate
the gendered nature of traditional ceremonies
I
offer three
levels of service for your commitment ceremony
Baby naming ceremonies
A naming or namegiving ceremony celebrates the birth or adoption of a child. It is a joyous expression of welcome, both to the family and to the wider community. It is also a reminder of the great responsibility involved in raising a child, and a formal mechanism to recognise and appoint the godparents and other significant adults, such as grandparents, who will have important roles in the nurturing the child and support the child's development. Because I write all ceremonies individually, and do not use preprinted certificates, there is no awkwardness in either the ceremony or the certificates. Your child's family, whether a single parent family, two mummies or two daddies, with or without contact with a birth-father or birth-mother, is acknowledged and celebrated in the ceremony.
more information on Naming Service prices and inclusions ...
more information on Naming Ceremonies ...
more information on DIY Naming Ceremonies ...
Adult Naming Ceremonies
There are a number of reasons why
an adult may wish to have a naming or re-naming ceremony. Any or all
can be accommodated in a sensitive and celebratory ceremony.
Reaffirmation ceremonies
If it is some years since your commitment ceremony, a reaffirmation ceremony is meaningful, touching and revivifying, not only for you as a couple, but also for you and your family. It provides a formal and romantic opportunity for you to reflect on your commitment to each and your future. It is also a wonderful example to members of younger generations.
If you've recently been through a particularly difficult time a reaffirmation ceremony can be an act of hope and renewal, a means by which formally to leave regrets and mistakes behind.
Your
ceremony
can be
as traditional or as
creative as you wish. You can replicate your original commitment
ceremony as
closely as possible, or you can do something
different, have the ceremony you would have liked to have had the first
time round, but for various reasons, did not.
You
might like to include a symbolic ritual that emphasises the strength of
your relationship and your ongoing commitment. In
preparing for your
reaffirmation ceremony I will
spend time getting to know you to ensure I create a ceremony
which perfectly reflects your needs, your beliefs, your values and the
specialness that is your marriage. As with all my ceremonies, I will
ensure that the ceremony is inclusive and participatory, and that the
ceremony includes all significant family members and friends.
more information about DIY Renewal of Vows ...
Coming out ceremonies
Coming out is both a one-time event and a life-time process. A coming out ceremony is a rite of passage which celebrates courage, honesty, integrity, a new life and self-knowledge.
End of relationship ceremonies *
The end of a commited same sex relationship is just as painful and difficult as a divorce. To move on one needs to find the path that can lead to a new and better life.
An End of Relationship Ceremony recognises that the end of a relationship, regardless of who made the choice. It is an opportunity for personal growth.
The ceremony is specifically designed to intentionally transform the experience into a stepping stone. It assists in disidentification as a partner, declares your intention to reweave your life into something new and spotlights your personal path forward by means of a formal ceremony in which you close the door on the old, and, with support of family and friends, acknowledge and celebrate your new status. It is therefore as much a ceremony of release as it is an acknowledgement of separation. It helps cleanse past negativity, declares your independence, and promotes acceptance. It does so by marking a significant change: release from deep commitment to the former partner.
It can be a ceremony for one party only, or, where the couple is able to honour each other, even in the midst of crisis, the formal ceremony can be a ceremony which acknowledges the positive aspects of the relationship as well as paving the way for moving forward.
Single-partner
ceremonies can be healing, and these constitute over half of the end of
relationship ceremonies held. However, the ideal ceremony is one where
both parties are present. Not only is there great potential for
positive closure in this latter form, it can also be extremely helpful
in calming fears and assuaging guilt of the children of the
relationship as it can help them understand that while their parents
have agreed not to live together, they are not being abandoned, that
they are loved by both parents and that the breakdown of the
relationship is not their fault.
* As
featured in:
Happily Ever Parted: Surviving Separation and Divorce by Bronwyn Marquandt. Sydney: New Holland, 2006
"Jennifer Cram is a highly sought after Brisbane-based celebrant who conducts touching end-of-relationship ceremonies. She says properly performed ceremonies have a deep, spiritual content, which steer the emotions away from self-recrimination to a celebration of growth and learning....(pp 162-164)
Jennifer Cram is a secular humanist celebrant
in Queensland Australia
Serving all of Brisbane, Redlands, Redcliffe, Pine Rivers, Logan and Ipswich
Ceremonies performed in private homes, parks, gardens, hotels, clubs, restaurants, chapels, function centres, reception centres, wedding venues.
Day or evening ceremonies 365 days a year
Her Celebrant Services include:
Commitment Ceremonies for gay, lesbian, and straight couples, including Contemporary, Traditional, Spiritual, Inter-cultural, Scottish, Celtic, Chinese, Buddhist, Mediaeval; Handfasting;
Renewal of Vows; Naming Ceremonies; End-of-Relationship Ceremonies.
| Payment accepted by
cash, money order, personal cheque drawn on an Australian bank and credit cards through PayPal (3% surcharge applies) |
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