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Ceremonies by Nikki Kulin, Costa Celebrant - Real Life Wedding Ceremonies Jacob & Susanne from Aarhus in Denmark contacted me through the lovely Jennifer at Spanish Wedding Planner, (www.spanishweddingplanner.com) about being their Celebrant. Our first conversations revealed that the English and Danish ceremonies bore little resemblance and so it was wonderful to be able to work with them to create a unique ceremony by getting to know them and listening carefully to what they wanted Danish Wedding in Spain I discovered that they did not want to exchange rings, say vows (these are said during the meal), or have anyone read as this would appear ‘cheesy’ in the Danish culture. Jacob & Susanne’s story began way back when Jacob believes he spotted Susanne, then aged 8 on Saxild beach outside Aarhus. However, it was not until Susanne returned from Costa Rica that they met again in High School. After a school trip to Barcelona and with the help of a little ‘liquid confidence’, Jacob became more talkative and they believe this is where they really ‘met’. Indeed, it was over a drinking game of Black Jack that they fell for each other. Their love blossomed and remained strong even when, after a trip to Paris in the summer of 2000, Susanne left to go back-packing for a year. Jacob visited her in the Philippines and then went off on a back-packing trip of his own. It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder and they certainly proved this to be true. Their love story, growing from teenagers in love to adults, to parents and to where they both see themselves as extensions of the other. They have grown together and no longer see how they could exist without each other. They have embraced change, and grown stronger from each experience. In speaking about each other’s special qualities, Jacob talked about Susanne’s big heart, her open-mindedness and her ability to forgive. Another wonderful quality is her abundant happiness and how she is always able to make the best of any situation. Susanne described Jacob and the Ying to her Yang; her best friend. She loves his calming ways, his ability to comfort her and make her smile. He has a wonderful work ethic, his determination and unending loyalty. She also loves his low key romantic ways! When we first met during a Video Call, I quickly discovered Susanne’s love of children’s literature and her favourite book – The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This gave me the perfect starting point and I used a passage where the fox talks about how he nurtures the roses in his garden and his special rose in particular; the more you nurture your relationship, the more special it is. Spectacularly located at the end of a tropical valley, the Palace is set in a completely private and peaceful setting. It has been beautifully restored and is able to accommodate up to 18 guests. It has many magnificent features including its own private chapel which was constructed around 1890 by the De Castro family who owned the estate since the 16th century. It is steeped in history and has, over the last few years, been painstakingly restored to its former glory by its present owners. It truly is the most beautiful setting for an intimate ceremony Nuturing the rose garden in the same was as nurturing a relationship. I read the passage during the ceremony and this lead beautifully to a handwritten rose exchange ceremony. During the ceremony, Susanne & Jacob exchanged roses as their first give as husband and wife. In the past, the rose was considered a symbol of love and a single rose always meant only one thing, it meant the words, ‘I love you’. They pledged that roses would remain an important part of their relationship. I also included words from AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh and also the Beatles song, All we need is love. As a wonderful surprise, Camilla, Susanne’s sister, contacted me to arrange for a good friend to sing during the ceremony as a surprise. A guest contacted me and surprised the couple by singing during the ceremony. The resulting Ceremony was beautiful, special and completely unique. The beautiful setting was Cortijo Maria Luisa in Nerja. A hidden gem and always a favourite, the stunning vistas and wonderful facilities make it a perfect ceremony location. Beautiful Cortijo Maria Luisa in Nerja is a stunning venue for your special day. Susanne & Jacob said: Nikki was a pleasure to work with and really managed to make us an amazing and very personal ceremony for our wedding in Nerja that we will cherish forever. We cannot thank her enough! Celebrant: Nikki Kulin www.costacelebrant.com Wedding Planner: Jenny @ www.spanishweddingplanner.com Venue: http://www.cortijomarialuisa.com/ Nikki Kulin is a Wedding Celebrant and member of the Fellowship of Professional Celebrants and www.thecelebrantdirectory.com She is based both in the Costa del Sol, Spain and West Sussex and travels internationally. Nikki has built a reputation on providing truly unique ceremonies. www.costacelebrant.com

Ceremonies by Nikki Kulin, Costa Celebrant - Real Life Wedding Ceremonies Glen & Hayley, from Blackburn in Lancashire, contacted me through my Facebook page www.facebook.com/costacelebrant They had booked the beautiful Palacete de Cazulas in the mountains of Granada province for their June 2018 Wedding Blessing. The Palacete de Cazulas is a stunning example of Andalucian architecture dating back to 1492. It is set approximately 30 minutes inland in the Costa Tropical and an hour’s drive to Granada. Spectacularly located at the end of a tropical valley, the Palace is set in a completely private and peaceful setting. It has been beautifully restored and is able to accommodate up to 18 guests. It has many magnificent features including its own private chapel which was constructed around 1890 by the De Castro family who owned the estate since the 16th century. It is steeped in history and has, over the last few years, been painstakingly restored to its former glory by its present owners. It truly is the most beautiful setting for an intimate ceremony Glen & Hayley shared their most wonderful love story with me which I incorporated into their ceremony. Glen & Hayley had met in an R&B club in Preston over 11 years ago. Glen was most persistent in pursuing Hayley – having spotted her on the dance floor, he would not let her out of his sight – holding his hand, as a microphone, making her sing to Joe Budden’s ‘Pump It Up’. Having insisted she hold his hand (I’m told he wouldn’t let it go!), he jumped into the same taxi at the end of the night telling her he lived around the corner. His persistence continued when, having got out of the taxi at her house, he sat her on top of a car in her street and refused to let her down until she gave him her number! However, a few weeks went by and he didn’t get in touch – when he eventually did, he told Hayley he was drunk and had forgotten her number. After a few weeks dating, Glen dumped Hayley – she went away to America with her friends for spring break and when she returned, received a text message from Glen. She was glad and slowly they began to see each other again. He had been in hospital with a fractured wrist and was taking a combination of painkillers and morphine and claims not to have remembered getting back in touch. Hayley always jokes that, had he not been drugged, she may never have heard from him again. However, he did and on Christmas Day 2014, Glen, in front on the Christmas Tree with their son Jude on his knee, asked her to marry him so that, in Jude’s words, ‘they shared the same last name’. The rest is history and what a wonderful love story they share! Their beautiful sons, Jude & Gabriel were very much a part of their parent’s special day. Jude did a magnificent job as ring bearer and added some of his own amazing and humorous additions to the ceremony! Glen & Hayley chose to undertake the beautiful Spanish tradition of ‘Las Arras’. The exchange of 13 coins between the bride and groom is thought to date back to Jesus and his 12 disciples. Others say that it relates to 13 core family values. Today it is used to symbolise their love and commitment to each other. The Bride and Groom, in exchanging the coins between hands symbolise love and dedication to each other as the true prosperity of their marriage. In doing so, they promise that they will love and support each other for all eternity. Spanish traditional Las Arras ritual The resulting ceremony was truly beautiful: full of laughter, special moments and fabulous memories for all the guests to share. Glen & Hayley said: Nikki created a wedding ceremony for the two of us two days ago and our friends are still talking about how lovely and personal our ceremony was. Nikki lead the ceremony with a mix of our personal stories, music choices, traditions, wit and sentiment to make it relevant and interesting for all of our guests. We appreciate everything Nikki did from the rehearsal she drove so long to do, our ceremony, our gifts and all the hard work you put into making our ceremony so special to ourselves and our guests Celebrant: Nikki Kulin www.costacelebrant.co.uk Venue: http://www.cazulas.com/wedding-venue-in-spain_en.html Caterers: http://www.foodforthought.es/ Florist: www.facebook.com/bouquetspain Cheese Tower: http://www.foodforthought.es/

Ceremonies by Nikki Kulin, Costa Celebrant - Real Life Wedding Ceremonies Jennifer contacted me in July 2017 via my website and was planning her wedding blessing in Nerja for June 2018. Robert & Jennifer, from Edinburgh, met after Cupid (otherwise known as Jen’s friend Emily – a bridesmaid at the ceremony) forced her to join an internet dating app after 6 months of persuasion. Emily even wrote the profile and chose Jen’s photo! Robert was instantly attracted to Jen’s photos and told me that she was even more beautiful in person when they met. Jen told her mum that she thought this was ‘the one’ before they even met. They had so much in common when they did meet, and both felt an instant attraction and they quickly became inseparable. Nerja holds a very special place in Jen’s heart having been a family holiday destination for many years. Robert, ha ving asked Iain, Jen’s father, for her hand in marriage on the second attempt (Iain was on holiday the first time), waited until his first trip to Nerja to propose. As they sat in a restaurant overlooking the Balcon, Jen was cross as Robert appeared to be on his phone all the time, but he was receiving messages of moral support. He got down on one knee just below the beautiful Balcon de Europa in front of quite several onlookers. It was therefore, both poignant and apt that their Wedding Blessing take place in the exact same location. Jen planned all the details herself being so familiar with the area. Nerj a, often affectionately known at the ‘Jewel of the Costa del Sol’, is set 45 minutes east of Malaga airport and its history dates to the first major settlement by the Phoenicians in about 800 BC. It has an amazing history including eight centuries of Moorish rule, expulsion of the Arabs by the Catholic monarchs and a fort on the sight of the famous Balcon de Europa. Today it is on the tourist map as the location of the Nerja Caves and is a popular tourist destination. It retains its Andalucian village feel and has a certain charm which ensures many holiday makers return year after year. The climate also boasts an average 320 days of sunshine. The Hotel Balcon de Europa is set just beside the Balcon de Europa and has its own beach. The ceremony location is set on the cosy roof terrace with the mountains and sea as a backdrop. The reception area, set on a terrace adjacent to the beach, is stunning and the spectacular scenery thereabouts is probably one of the most photographed and featured backdrops of many ‘Costa del Sol’ photographs. My methodology in creating a unique personal ceremony each time involves working closely with the couple in the months leading up to the wedding itself. I met with Jen, during her visits to Nerja and continued to correspond with her over Whatsapp, email and phone sending ideas and suggestions. In this way, by the time I came to start writing, the ceremony itself flowed on to the page. Jen & Robert wanted a traditional ceremony including exchanging rings, Celebrant led vows and readings: one from a friend and the other a handwritten poem by Jen’s Auntie which was fabulous and told the story of how they met. This was then followed by a handfasting ceremony. A handfasting is a traditional and symbolic ritual which is steeped in tradition and magical meaning and is in fact where the saying ‘tying the knot’ originates from. It is used within a ceremony as symbolic of the bond which the couple already share and the tie of commitment which they make to one another. By incorporating their story, listening closely to all of the elements they wanted to include, the result was a beautiful, unique and personal ceremony designed especially for them. Jennifer & Robert said: Thank you, Nikki, for our amazing ceremony! You went above and beyond for us and it was much appreciated. We loved putting our ceremony together with you. Your ideas and enthusiasm made the whole process so much easier, especially when you are organising from abroad. Thank you so much! Celebrant: Nikki Kulin http://www.ceremoniesbynikkikulin.co.uk Photography: http://www.martinkulinphotography.com Hotel: http://www.hotelbalconeuropa.com/en/