On 18 March 2025, my friend and industry colleague passed away leaving behind his son, his lovely wife, step-children, his sisters, dad, nieces & nephews, colleagues and hundreds of friends. I was honoured to lead his Celebration of Life on 28 March 2025.I was acutely aware of my dual role in this piece as Celebrant […]
My journey with Larissa “Poppit” Shaw (nee Riddle) Bloody CancerPerth-based Larissa (or, Poppit, as she is affectionately known) married her sweetheart Stevie on February 19th, 2019. They had known each other for 4 years, having met at a CANTEEN camp. Larissa (who stems from Taranaki) was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer in 2014 and […]
WRITING A GREAT WEDDING SPEECH! Top tips from Rose Haskell – Celebrant. Written especially for the Taranaki Weddings Bride Guide So…You’re off to a wedding as a guest or member of the bridal party and you know that you’ll say a speech at the reception. Nice! This thought can often cause a bit of anxiety […]
What happens during a wedding rehearsal? How does a wedding rehearsal go? I attempt to answer these questions by outlining my methodical approach to the very exciting wedding rehearsal! Rehearsals take place between 10 days and 1 day before the big day (wow, that was like a rap!). They are a wonderful way to run through […]
Kia Ora Guys, This is a shout out to those of you who live in another country (other than New Zealand) and are looking to get married in New Zealand. I want to go through the application process and also the subsequent verification process required, so that your New Zealand issued marriage certificate will be […]
In November 2016, a lovely German man by the name of Guido contacted me, hoping to have a Maori experience when he marries his darling Nina in New Zealand, some time (literally) in January 2017. They have, in the past, experienced a great deal of whanaungatanga (kinship) and have a deep respect for Tikanga and […]
I teamed up with my awesome friend Amber Caskey – Celebrant last week to make things happen for the lovely Mr and Mrs Adams. Their Celebrant sadly had an accident, two days out from their wedding and was unable to officiate their ceremony so they got in touch with Amber, who then asked me to […]
Last month, I performed the wedding of a couple who live in the South of France. In their 10 years together, they have grown together whilst exploring the world, they have tasted the world and they will not stop until they have explored everything! They take their young son on their adventures and choose to travel […]
As a mother of two young children, living on a busy stretch of main road bordering the Taranaki Port, my worst nightmare to date is one of my girls getting out on that road and being rolled by a vehicle. We had a near miss in February 2014 when my husband went out to check the mail […]
This week marks six months since the awesome Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Jeff Montgomery accepted my application to become a Marriage Celebrant. In six months, I have secured 12 bookings, of which I have completed five; made lots of new friends and learnt so so much about celebrancy, writing, marketing and even […]