About Liz

L.O.V.E. I'm surrounded by it and all things weddings and I wouldn't have it any other way!  I'm a Gold Coast marriage celebrant who travels extensively to legally marry couples anywhere at any time in Australia when our borders are open and I'm allowed to travel. I've been up in a hot air balloon marrying a gorgeous couple and within days, bringing another couple together on Christmas morning.  I happily spend my days dressing up, sharing in very special, intimate moments and getting to travel. I'm well known in the industry and have a reputation for impeccable and incomparable service with a willingness to help others. There's a reason why I've married so many wedding co-ordinators.  

Having worked in education, high end fashion and a former model, I've compered many corporate and special events, appeared in TV commercials & films as well as voice over for radio, so you can be assured my presentation, grooming and delivery are always a priority for your day.  I have an extensive wardrobe to suit any wedding and if not, a girl can always shop!  I get it's not just how I look but the delivery of those very special words. I'm a storyteller not a performer as my voice, tone and delivery of your ceremony is important to me as I listen to your vision and bring that to reality for your day - for me it's not just a job or something to do on a Saturday afternoon but a living, breathing way of life.     

I practise what I preach, completing my Certificate IV in Training and Assessment training colleagues in their compulsory Ongoing Professional Development throughout Australia since 2016.  I joined 5,499 wedding professionals for a huge wedding industry convention in Las Vegas in November 2018, bringing back a wealth of information, knowledge and contacts in the industry.  If a destination wedding is more your thang (when we're allowed to get back out there again) and your dream is to get married in Vegas, New York, Italy, Bordeaux, France or Canada, I can hook you up once our world gets back to 'normal'! Many couples are choosing small intimate legals only elopement, minimony or micro marriage as my poolside backyard oasis is available, so contact me if this is more your style. 

A wedding to me is truly magic, a very sacred and special event. A successful marriage requires constant attention and nurturing as the years go by as it's not always buzz and butterflies! Love should always be showcased and yet, is so infinitely fragile & immeasurable.  My husband and I married on my birthday in '86 (yep, 35 years!!) I had my very own surprise renewal of vows in Vegas 2017 when the tables were turned, as I was completely clueless until I sat in a golden gondola floating along in The Venetian, wondering who this woman was that rudely came and sat in our boat before handing me a huge bouquet of white roses with a smile bigger than Texas! Cue the tears...

On another trip to Vegas, we were both surprised when we attended the Wedding MBA, a mega convention of wedding professionals on a chapel tour organised by Las Vegas Wedding Connection and were chosen for a renewal of vows at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel by none other than Beetlejuice. So, from the romantic to the quirky and both, so very me! (see photo below) 

Both sons had baby namings which was very unusual 30+ years ago and I was the celebrant at our eldest son's wedding (see photo below) held at the beautiful Braeside Chapel, Merrimac and our youngest son's elegant wedding  during COVID-19 at Pethers Rainforest Retreat with a minimony (see photo right).  They recreated the love so we got to celebrate again with many more loved ones at both the Cedar Creek Chapel and Albert River Wines!  Incredibly, my parents will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary in May, so I have big shoes to fill.  My aunt, Betty Debnam, was a celebrated cake decorator and another darling aunt was a bridal dressmaker, so you could say, weddings are part of my DNA and I'm simply carrying on the family tradition.

Whether you see your day as an intimate wedding in your home or poolside at mine, with 200 guests in a formal setting, I'm happy to help you say, 'I do'.  I've enjoyed celebrating in so many diverse locations around Australia and overseas, way too extensive to list here. 

I proudly attended the Senate hearing in Melbourne on Marriage Equality and I am quoted in Hansard as saying '...for couples, marriage is a rite of passage.  It is a pivotal and an emotional milestone in a couple's lives.  In getting married, they do want authenticity and a ceremony in their life that reflects them as a couple and their beliefs'.  

I was a panel member of the Subject Matters Expert Group updating training units with the Skills Council for aspiring celebrants for the Certificate IV in Celebrancy and I trialled the new online registrations for marriages in Queensland with the Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages.  A former Vice President / committee member of the Alliance of Celebrants Queensland Inc. (ACQ), their Master of Ceremonies and/or presenter/organiser of their annual conference for many years with keynote speakers such as humanitarian Kay Danes OAM and Pip Courtney, ABC presenter.

I have been lucky to have met or worked with so many fabulous and famous people.  How many celebrants can say they've sung with Paul Kelly AO & Julie Anthony or sat alongside Kate Miller-Heidke and Pete Murray for dinner and lunch respectively? No, I'm NOT a singer - just in the right place at the right time and more than a few stories to tell.  

Celebrated Australian musicians such as John Farnham, Ricki-Lee, James Reyne & Kirk Pengilly from INXS

Sports stars Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Pat Rafter, Chris Judd, Layne Beachley (who gives me my daily mantra of positivity), Steph Gilmore, Mick Fanning, John Eales, Drew Ginn, James Tomkins, Lisa Curry, Geoff Huegill, Jessica Schiffer, Loretta Harrop, Nikki Hudson, Mal Meninga, Rob de Castella & the late, great Ron Clarke AO MBE and many more;

Actor/Comedians Paul Hogan (my family & I were extra's in Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles), the late Dick Emery, Col Elliott, Shane Jacobson & Cameron Daddo;

WWE/RAW Wrestlers & actor, John Cena & Kane;

V8 Supercar Drivers the late Peter Brock, Jim Richards, Russell Ingall, Shane Van Gisbergen, Rick & Todd Kelly, Tony Longhurst, Steven & Dick Johnson & David Besnard;

Indy/Champ Car Drivers Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani, Will Power, Marcus Marshall & former NASCAR Driver & now V8 Supercar driver Marcus Ambrose; Formula 1, 2, 3 and Open Wheel driver, Gary Johns;

President of Gran Canaria Spain, Jose Manuel Soria Lopez; 

Prime Minister's Malcolm Turnball, John Howard OM AC, SSI, the late Malcolm Fraser & his wife Tammy; Queensland Premiers Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Peter Beattie, Anna Bligh & Campbell Newman;

Fashion Designers George Gross, Harry Who, Trent Nathan (a former employer), Collette Dinnigan, Gail Elliot, the late, great Carla Zampatti & Alannah Hill;

Authors Tara Moss, late Australian poet Les Murray, Jim Schekdhar, Kay Danes OAM, Debi Marshall & Frances Whiting;

TV Personalities Luke & Cody from House Rules/Queensland Weekender,Kochie, Eddie McGuire, Lavinia Nixon, Jamie Durie, Shelley Craft, Pip Courtney & Rhonda Burchmore;

Other notables such as the trail blazer and original influencer June Dally Watkins, Deborah Hutton, the late great Bart Cummins (trainer), the late George Moore (jockey), Sir David Longland,  John-Michael Howson & Lady Sonia McMahon.  It was a thrill to receive a letter from Buckingham Palace for the Queen & Prince Philip's wedding anniversary. 

Things that I love: chocolate, hugs, the word 'cherish', ladybirds, fresh sheets, fresh flowers, sunshine, cooking, celebrations, silk, tea, an eclectic reader & live music fan, avid movie buff, bubbles, travel, antiques, weddings, watching the footy (all codes), art, Christmas, the smell of gardenia's and an ever growing shoe collection!  I am a proud supporter of ACT for Kids (formerly known as the Abused Child's Trust).  

Rest assured though, my couples are my MIP's (Most Important People) I could ever hope to meet and I'm privileged in sharing such a special time with you. So now you know about me...I'd love to hear from you and listen to your unique story so click onto my 'Ceremonies' page to see how I can help with your wedding, baby naming, life celebrations or milestone events or go to my 'Home' or my 'Contact' pages.  

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel." 

maya angelou