With heart, presence, and a touch of poetry, Brooke Brodie Celebrant crafts ceremonies that feel intimate, modern, and deeply true.
From weaving English and Portuguese with seamless rhythm to helping couples write vows that speak with honesty and heart, Brooke Brodie Celebrant creates ceremonies that honour love stories with authenticity, connection, and contemporary grace. Her approach is grounded in warmth and a belief that the most perfect moments are often the unplanned ones.
You’re known for your contemporary approach to ceremonies. What do you think modern couples are craving most when it comes to the moment they say “I do”?
Modern couples want authenticity and meaning. They want the ceremony to be a strong reflection of their unique love story, their quirks, even their vulnerabilities. They crave connection not just with each other, but with everyone in the room. And also flexibility: less rigid tradition unless it resonates with the couple and more personalisation—I am all about the raw emotions and keeping the moment honest and intimate.
You conduct ceremonies in English with the optional add on of Portuguese translation alongside your husband which is incredibly special. How do you weave multiple languages into a single ceremony without losing the rhythm or intimacy of the moment?
We treat translation not as a mechanical necessity but with a flow that enables all present to be included in each moment.
Usually, I will speak in English with my husband following close behind in a way that includes all the nuances of his mother-tongue. Timing and pacing are key: we don’t want the flow to be broken so I allow a short pause, where he will pick up the same paragraph.Where possible, the translated parts mirror the tone of the original (humour, solemnity, pauses). And we resolve which parts of the ceremony best lend themselves to translation (the housekeeping, introductions, love story and ring exchange) without over-translating every detail. The goal is that no one feels lost, but also no one feels like the moment is interrupted.
You help couples distil their love into words, which is no small feat. What’s your best advice for those writing their own vows without sounding like they’ve copied a Pinterest board?
Reflect deeply: think of specific moments that matter in your day-to-day, the things you admire about your future spouse, what you hope for your life together. Concrete details beat generic phrases. Use your own voice and let your personality shine through. If you know each others love language, make a commitment to honour this – what does this look like for you? Decide together on a word limit i.e 300-500 words, and read aloud to yourself (or to a safe listener) so you feel it’s both comfortable and genuine. Don’t feel pressure to include everything, and give yourself time to revise until it feels right.
What’s a ceremony moment that completely surprised you in the best possible way?
A Brides vows that were all song lyrics that wove lovingly (and hilariously!) together – the inside joke is that she always speaks to your partner in song lyrics and she vowed through said lyrics that instead of stopping this habit, she “would do anything for love, but I won’t do that” – everyone loved it!
Let’s flip the script. If you were being married by a celebrant exactly like you, what would your dream ceremony look and sound like?
I absolutely loved my ceremony and feel it was very closely aligned to how I speak and deliver – focusing on a combination of the really personal and spiritual elements in a simple and intimate setting. Perhaps the only thing I’d do differently is ensure that the Celebrant steps out of the shot for the first kiss – mine didn’t (no biggie!) but I always ensure this is a moment I am far out of frame for my couples. Oh, and I would double-down on the confetti!
Your job straddles storytelling, performance and ritual. What’s something unexpected about being a celebrant that people might not guess?
People don’t always realise how much behind-the-scenes work there is. I’m not just delivering a script on the day—I’m communicating and planning with you along the way through meetings, calls, emails etc. I am completing and lodging paperwork, reviewing questionnaires and spend hours scripting a story I feel is a true reflection of your love.On the day itself there’s a lot of logistics: audio setup, checking timings and music with external vendors, confirming your positioning and stance, making sure guests feel welcomed and know what to do, dealing with weather and of course getting necessary legal documents completed.
You work with all kinds of couples, in all kinds of places. What’s the most creatively freeing location you’ve ever conducted a ceremony, and did the surroundings influence your delivery?
It’s yet to come, but I am super excited to be performing a micro-ceremony in Italy next June! It will be my first of a number of destination weddings I am planning with couples who are based in Australia and will do their legal ceremony with me here before we jet overseas. When it’s a smaller, more intimate wedding in their dream location I find the couple tends to relax more, the guests too, and the ceremony can lean more into poetic visuals, sensory details. Whilst it may not make a huge impact on my delivery, I will definitely be leaning into the theme in my opening words, and with my outfit choice of course!
What’s the one thing you wish every couple knew before stepping into their ceremony, something that could shift how they experience it, even just a little?
That the “perfect” ceremony is about presence. If in that moment you can find contentment, look at each other, give a comforting tickling while holding hands at the altar and just feel the love and the people you’ve gathered—that’s what truly matters. Also, that it’s okay if things don’t go exactly to plan. I don’t know if I have been a part of a day that went to the schedule to the minute, or that some small detail was forgotten – it won’t matter in the grand scheme of the day – you’re with the people you love, marrying the person you love most and that is the whole point!
For more information visit brookebrodiecelebrant.com and @brookebrodie_celebrant
Brooke Brodie Celebrant
