Pip Bain

My name is Pip, and I am a Commonwealth Registered Marriage Celebrant, I am completely wedding obsessed, and I am on a mission to create wedding ceremonies with all of the heart and none of the fluff.

My background is in fashion design, and if I had my time again I would be combining two things I love, and I would designing wedding dresses as my day job!

When I first started planning my own wedding, my design background meant I spent a lot of time planning the styling of the wedding, and we also wanted to throw a really great party. I had a great time planning the styling - and we absolutely did have a great party - but when the day was said and done, the ceremony was my favourite part of the day.

I laughed and cried through the whole ceremony, and so did my family and friends. I had worked closely with our celebrant to create a ceremony which felt just like us as a couple, and brought in our closest family and friends to make it truly personal. I have written about how we personalised our wedding ceremony, which I have written about on my blog.

After that day, I decided to become a celebrant so that I could create authentic, personal wedding ceremonies for my family and friends when they were ready to get married.

The more I spoke to people about why I wanted to become a celebrant, the more I realised that I could create beautiful, personal, authentic ceremonies for other people too, even if I didn’t know them personally. This was the beginning of get married with pip and get married with friends.

You can choose to get married with pip (that’s me!) or get married with friends, where you ask a loved one to conduct your ceremony, while I complete the legals and offer support in the background.

My ‘get married with pip’ ceremonies are relaxed, heartfelt and authentic, based on stories from the couple and their loved ones. There are a few things you won’t find in my ceremonies: no lectures, no cliches, no stand-up comedy and no fluff (that means that I won’t quote the Oxford Dictionary definition of marriage to your guests!). I offer both a registry-style package for those wanting something short and sweet and a personalised package for couples looking for a ceremony that is them from beginning to end.

My approach: relaxed, heartfelt, authentic, and filled with stories

What I don't do: no lectures, no stand-up comedy, no cliches, and no fluff!

I have seen many couples on pages and forums ask these questions:

"Can we have our friend be our celebrant?”

Or

"Can we have a friend marry us?

If you choose ‘get married with friends’ then the answer is YES! You can have a friend to play the key role in conducting the ceremony, while I take care of the legals. However, I don’t just do the legals and leave your friend to figure out the rest on their own – I supply resources, provide assistance with ceremony design, review drafts, and give my best tips and tricks for a smooth and memorable ceremony.

PS - I also offer all of my services in Ballarat, for a small travel fee