My husband Michael and I married recently and chose Jeff Newton to be our celebrant, and we can very confidently say that choosing him to conduct our wedding ceremony was one of the best decisions we have made in a long time.

From the moment Jeff contacted us through the website Oneflare to when the ceremony
concluded and the paperwork signed, he was an absolute gentleman and the consummate
professional.

When we first met with Jeff to lodge our Notice of Intention to Marry and discuss our ideas for the ceremony he made us feel at ease with his kind, gentle, warm and genuine nature. We felt as if we had an instant rapport with him.

Michael and I didn't want to have a big wedding or anything fancy, and were initially at a loss as to the style of ceremony we would have liked.

Jeff worked with us seamlessly to create a
beautiful, intimate, personal but relaxed
ceremony which reflected exactly what we
wanted.

Michael and I were very emotional through the whole ceremony, but were very grateful for Jeff's composure and professionalism. Our ceremony was somewhat unique as it was
both the first same-sex wedding that Michael and I had attended, and the first same-sex marriage that Jeff had solemnised as a civil marriage celebrant.

Jeff incorporated into our ceremony an
acknowledgement of the First Nations People of the area in which we met, and also a reflection of the journey that had taken place for LGBT+ people such as us to be able to have the right
to marry the person we love.

Jeff also incorporated into the ceremony a very moving and special Buddhist hand washing forgiveness ceremony, whereby the couple wash and dry each other's hands to demonstrate acceptance and forgiveness of each other before the exchanging of rings.

All together there were 7 people at our wedding ceremony, which we held under a beautiful tree
in a local park.

Jeff's lovely wife Anne came to the ceremony as well and acted as our second witness and photographer, something which we were very
grateful for.

We can't speak highly enough of the service that Jeff provided for our special day, and I would very much encourage any couple looking to marry to strongly consider him for their
special day.

Thank you again Jeff
Joel & Michael Pearce