- Jan 22, 2023
- 3 min read

A relaxed and informal Perth CBD lunchtime wedding

M + B wanted a relaxed and informal ceremony to compliment their Long Chim Perth courtyard lunch; to celebrate in style with good food, great friends and family.

This is how we made it happen.

Sally Bruce Celebrant is holding both arms out while holding a microphone in one hand and an iPad in the other. She is smiling at the crowd. We see the smiling faces of a bride and groom, both in white, and the backs of heads of family who are watching the ceremony. Some guests can be seen reflected in the window to the right of the couple. — Relaxed wedding ceremony in full swing at Long Chim Perth

Couple's Portraits before the ceremony

Photographer Kat from Red Eclectic and I met M + B at their CBD hotel, where they were getting ready together.

We signed the final pre-ceremony legal document and I went on to Long Chim to set up the space for the ceremony.

A bride in a white sleeveless dress and a groom in black pants, white shirt and a cream jacket are posing in front of a wall painted with lots of graffiti. The are both pulling their sunglasses down from their eyes. — One of the couple's portraits captured by Red Eclectic on the way to the ceremony

A bride and groom smiling in front of a textured white wall — The CBD has lots of great backdrops for photos, if you know what you're looking for

Meanwhile, photographer Kat walked with M + B through the CBD streets from their hotel to Long Chim, getting their portraits on the way.

Having their couple's portraits done before the ceremony meant that straight after the ceremony they could immediately celebrate with their best people, without having to leave for photos.

Enter the space together

Coming into the ceremony space together helped to calm any nerves. The guests were all cheering and clapping which set the celebratory tone of the ceremony from the beginning.

A groom in a cream jacket, white shirt and black pants walks down a set of black stairs holding the hand of the bride in a long cream dress with a matching headband. They are both smiling. around them are white walls and three colourful parasols suspended from the ceiling.

A couple walks through a crowd smiling with delight - the guests are all smiling too

You can see from the delighted faces how fun it can be to come into your ceremony space as a couple!

They chose a favourite song to come in to - "You Make Loving Fun" by Fleetwood Mac. But to be honest, the sound of their people cheering them on was so loud it nearly drowned out the music...

A short, but meaningful ceremony

Look, we've all been at weddings where the ceremony is waaaay too long.

My ceremonies don't go for a set amount of time. I work with my couples to make sure they are just the right length. There's no padding! I question everything my couples want to include to check it is absolutely lighting them up - if not, it doesn't deserve to be part of their ceremony.

A wedding - Sally Bruce Celebrant is speaking into a microphone, a groom is holding his bride, guests are watching and everyone is smiling

All the feels - laughter and tears - are welcome in my ceremonies.

Wedding guests are smiling and one is wiping tears from her eyes

Drinks handed out during the signing

Signing the marriage paperwork is an important legal requirement for marriage ceremonies, but it can turn into dead time for the waiting guests.

A white wall in a courtyard painted with a large green fish. Some vines are growing over it. At a large wooden table Sally Bruce Celebrant and a bride and groom are signing legal marriage documents while two witnesses watch — We used a table already in the space as the signing table

If possible, I suggest getting drinks in the hands of your guests while the signing is happening, ready for a toast as soon as you're legally wed.

Toast and speeches straight after the ceremony

A toast can be the perfect way to transition between the ceremony and the reception.

Guests dressed in colourful outfits raise their drinks in a toast under suspended colourful parasols

A family member stepped up to propose a toast to the newlyweds straight after the ceremony.

A wedding toast. A man in a white shirt and black jacket holds a microphone and some paper notes. He's watched by a smiling bride and groom who are holding glasses of champagne.

The couple responded with their speeches, and that was all the formality done before the 'reception'.

Celebration time!

They are married, formalities done, couple's photos done...

nothing left to do now except celebrate with their best people and enjoy the excellent lunch served cocktail-style at Long Chim.

A group of people smiling and holding drinks at a celebration in a courtyard

A food serving tracy holds six individual serves of a fried snack on a skewer

M + B said:

"We were looking for someone to help us celebrate in style with good food, great friends and family. We wanted a relaxed and informal ceremony to compliment our Long Chim courtyard lunch.

Sally pulled it all together perfectly from start to finish. The challenge was we were in Sydney organising a Perth wedding. Sally made the process very easy and supported us the whole way. Our day was smooth and exactly like we'd hoped.

She is a wonderful celebrant and delightful person. We loved Sally's mindful and socially conscious approach and it's a pleasure to provide our recommendation. Thanks Sally for helping to make our day memorable, we feel lucky that you were a part of it."

All photos on this post by Kat from Red Eclectic.