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Chapel Weddings
A wedding chapel offers a traditional-style environment without tying
you to the liturgy of a particular religious denomination. This allows
you to have a fully secular wedding with the look and feel of a
traditional church wedding. Your guests will be seated on pews, the
ends of the pews can be decorated with flowers, ribbons and or swathes
of tulle. The bridal party will be on a raised dais which acts as a
focus for the wedding ceremony and allows your guests an uninterrupted
view of the proceedings.
 Chapel
weddings are growing in popularity and more and more wedding
venues are offering the choice of a standalone chapel (usually a
deconsecrated small wooden 19th century country church that has been
moved from its original location) along with their garden ceremony
sites and related reception facilities.
There are also city chapels which have been deconsecrated and sold.
These have usually been extensively renovated as wedding chapels, while
wedding chapels in historical villages tend to be maintained in
original state.
Brigitte & Ashley's wedding in the Chapel at the Caboolture
Historical Village.
Photo courtesy of Ace
Photographics
Ipswich City Council has a number of Bush Chapels in its parks, as do
some reception venues and forest parks around Brisbane.
Some school and university chapels will allow you to use your own
celebrant and hold a civil ceremony, while others will not.
But do be aware that just because a venue is called a chapel it isn't
necessarily a chapel - spaces under a celebrant's house, a celebrant's
office, or a room at a venue that has been set up theatre style
is not strictly speaking a chapel.
Planning your wedding in a chapel has both advantages and disadvantages
Chapel
Wedding Advantages
- Because wedding chapels tend to be small
the number of guests they accommodate is limited (for some this might
be seen as a disadvantage)
- There is no necessity to have an
alternate venue in case of rain or extreme heat
- The guests are seated, so everyone is
comfortable and has a good view
- Acoustics tend to be good
- The drama of the entrance of the bride is
maximised
- Floral arrangements are shown off to
great advantage
- Because the lighting is softer than harsh
sunlight there are no problems with squinting, harsh lines or
backlighting
- Choir lofts and galleries can give your
photographer opportunities for panoramic photographs
- Music is enhanced by the acousitical
properties of the high ceiling
- Candles can be used to provide a romantic
atmosphere or to great effect in rituals such as the Unity Candle
- You are not limited by the necessity to
have daylight. An evening chapel wedding, particularly if held by
candlelight, can be magical.
- The traditional recessional works
particularly well, and happy photographs of the bride and groom
emerging from the chapel door can be very special.
- A guard of honour outside the door can
add a further touch of tradition.
Chapel
Wedding Disadvantages
The majority of chapels are not
air-conditioned and may be poorly ventilated so, while you and your
guests won't be in direct sunlight, you could be uncomfortable on a hot
day if there is limited cross-ventilation and/or no fans
Most small chapels only have a central
aisle, which may be quite narrow. This can mean
- You many not be able to have both your
mother and your father walk you down the aisle
- Your photographer is hampered in how much
he/she can move around
so may not be able to capture photos of the faces of your guests
interacting with you during the ceremony (this is not so much of a
problem if there is a side door near the front of the chapel and/or a
side aisle)
- Difficulties can arise if you have both a
photographer and a
videographer trying to move around to facilitate capturing good photos
or footage
- The space available for the bridal party
may be quite small
- the length of your booking (and therefore
the length of your ceremony) is quite short
- they only open the doors to allow guests
in and the celebrant
access to set up a few minutes before the ceremony, and
- only provide access to the chapel for an
onsite rehearsal on certain days, with back-to-back rehearsal bookings
of 20-30 minutes (a rehearsal normally takes an hour).
- Some chapels may attempt to restrict your
choice of celebrant by enforcing your use of the "resident" celebrant
(this is
a breach of the Attorney-General's protocols for civil celebrants)
As long as you are aware of the conditions attached to your chosen
chapel and are aware of both advantages and disadvantages before
you make your booking, and you plan accordingly, a chapel wedding
can be extremely romantic and can provide your photographer with
wonderful opportunities to capture traditional poses.
I have officiated at weddings at the Broadway Chapel and the Latrobe
Chapel in inner Brisbane, the Darling Street Chapel in Ipswich, the
Pioneer Wedding Chapel at Tingalpa, chapels
at the Caboolture and Petrie historical villages and at Kholo Gardens,
chapels at several private wedding venues, and most of the bush chapels
in the Brisbane/ Ispwich area.
When you book your chapel wedding with me I will work with you to
develop and create a ceremony that blends the best of 19th century
tradition with the best of a 21st century wedding to create an
unforgettable experience touched by magic and bathed in love.
Your Privacy | Mission Statement
| Contact Me
Jennifer
Cram is a
secular humanist celebrant
in Brisbane
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:
Wedding
Ceremonies including Contemporary,
Traditional, Spiritual, Intimate, Cultural, Inter-cultural,
Buddhist, Celtic, Handfasting, Humanist, Irish, Mediaeval, Military,
Scottish,
Celtic, Chinese, Buddhist, Mediaeval; Surprise, Theme, True-Blue
Aussie, Visa, Green, and Pink Weddings;
Renewal of
Vows; Commitment
Ceremonies for gay, lesbian,
and straight couples; Naming Ceremonies;
House Warming;
Launching; Divorce
and Separation (End-of-Relationship) Ceremonies
Contact Details
Phone: (07)
3378 3005
International:
+ 61 7 3378 3005
Email:
Mail: P O Box
20, Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia
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