I love this celebrant gig but I’ll be honest, there are things that keep me awake at night with worry and things that regularly appear in my dreams (or nightmares if we’re being dramatic).
Like last night for example…. A regular dream I have is that I’m not prepared… no paperwork, no vow cards, no speaker and time is just flying by while I’m dithering (and all the while keeping calm). I have this dream-mare at least once a week.
But, what happens when the nightmare becomes a reality?
It has happened. And thankfully I’m a classic duck.
I’m going to share with you my top 2 real-life nightmare moments. And these were both completely my doing. And both could have been avoided.
I forgot my microphone!
Yep, probably the most important tool of my trade. My bloody microphone. It was a few years ago now, and of course it was a wedding on the Gold Coast. As I took the exit off the highway (about an hour and a half from home), I had that feeling of dread. I had left the microphone in a different bag. My PA system was no use to me without my microphone. So after I got the panic under control I called a celebrant I knew who lived on the Coast. She couldn’t help, but she suggested the lovely Robyn Wagner. And omgosh, Robyn was so bloody amazing that day. She let me (a total stranger) borrow her PA system that day and seriously, I feel like she saved my life. I will always be grateful for that.
I mixed up the vow cards!
Yep. I totally did that. And Joseph and Tarni took it like the bloody champions they are. Joseph read Tarni’s personal vows first and there I was with my big goofy smile thinking how bloody amazing they were, totally oblivious to the potential disaster unfolding. When I joined them again to swap vow cards, they laughed as they gave me the news. And seriously, all I wanted was the ground to open up and swallow me. But, we got through it. I owned it. Joseph then read HIS personal vows and Tarni re-read hers. Not the end of the world and I’m very lucky they were such good sports about it. But I learnt a very important lesson that day.
When I ask you to check your vow cards pre-ceremony, you know why. I never ever want to experience that feeling of dread/failure ever again!
So there you have it, my nightmare moments in all their glory. Lessons learnt!