Couple discovers link with celebrant

Bill and Ray with celebrant DeniseBill and Ray with celebrant Denise

A Wagstaffe couple who were married in February have discovered after the ceremony that their celebrant was a student of one of them.

The couple, Mr Bill Gregor and Mr Ray Bass, had found a celebrant online and had a number of meetings with her in preparation for the big day. “She was lovely and she delivered a beautiful service for us,” Mr Gregor said. It wasn’t until the couple’s best friend, Helen, was making a speech after the ceremony, and recounted how Mr Bass had worked as a school teacher, some 40 years ago at Castlecove Primary School, that a shriek went up at the back of the crowd. It was Denise, the celebrant, who suddenly realised that the man she had just married was her fifth-grade primary school teacher.

“The world doesn’t get much smaller and what was already a fantastic day, just got better,” Mr Bass said. After 46 years together, the couple decided to tie the knot “because we can”. “We have been very happy together, and now we are legally able to, so we thought let’s do this,” Mr Bass said. They asked that guests donate to either Fairhaven Services or Coast Shelter in lieu of a wedding gift. Almost $2500 was raised.

SOURCE: Media release, 13 Mar 2018 Sarah Williams, Fairhaven Services