Sarah O’Grady Celebrant

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Torquay, VIC
Sarah O’Grady Celebrant

Sarah O'Grady is a civil celebrant conducting inclusive ceremonies in Melbourne and regional Victoria that will leave you both laughing and crying.

If you're after an authentic and fun celebrant who will help your ceremony flow, look no further.

17/11/2025

O‘Grady weddings are great weddings.

These O‘Gradys may not be my relatives but they made me feel like a part of the family. ❤️

We gathered as the sun was setting under two spectacular oak trees, surrounded by fairy lights and a candlelit aisle in their backyard. With their three girls and their siblings as witness, they tied the knot with a hand fasting ceremony before we toasted to the newlyweds around a fire with a glass of bubbles.

It was a wholesome night of baby cuddles, little people doing nudie runs, a rogue pet lamb and so much love.

I’m so glad I got to be a part of creating this ceremony that was so perfectly them. And they’re most likely beyond relieved that they can be sure I won’t f-up the apostrophe in their name 😂

13/10/2025

Ello and Joh are married!

So many full hearts and big smiles about after celebrating these two incredible women. Their entire community rallied to help make their wedding happen, and it was an absolute bootscootin’ bash to be remembered.

The land and sea came together, with Joh rowing in with her surf lifesaving team, and Ello driving her cowgirls in by tractor. Their fur babies Amber and Rosa were in amongst it too.

Q***r country lovin’ at its finest.

Congrats, Mrs and Mrs ❤️

Photography | Adam Hourigan Photography
Line Dancing | Alison of Grafton Linedancers
Celebrant | .celebrant

05/10/2025

Celebrate your way, just like J and T.

They were surrounded by their three little babes all dressed up in blue, and had a short and sweet ceremony with a small gathering of family and friends in their backyard.

Sweet. Simple. Legally wed. ❤️

01/10/2025

Wedding season is in full swing and one of my favourite lil’ bits of admin in the lead-up is preparing your official marriage certificate in my red book and penning your Certificate of Marriage ready for autographs on your big day.

Never fear lefties, I’ve got you covered with my smudge-free pens. And for anyone worried they’ll muck it up, I’ll be there to guide you - and I will have backups on standby incase some sort of out-of-body experience has you scribbling against your will.

Ah, the power of a pen.

Looking for a celebrant? Write to me.

Sarah x

15/09/2025

Let's shine a little spotlight on the rings 💍

Many, in fact most, couples choose to exchange rings during their wedding ceremony. Here's a little look at why.

This tradition dates back to Ancient Egypt, where rings were originally made of woven reeds, then later carved from bone, ivory and stone. It was believed then, and still commonly now, that wedding bands are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand as the 'vena amoris' (vein of love) led directly to the heart. (Anatomically-speaking, we won't let the truth get in the way of a good story.) Wedding bands symbolise an eternal unity, in the form of an unending circle, and are a public display of your commitment to one another.

Rings can be as simple or as elaborate as you please - the symbolism and meaning is still the same.

How you incorporate the exchange of rings on your wedding day (or whether you do at all) is entirely up to you. My advice: do it in a way that reflects you.

Some of my favourite ways rings can feature in your ceremony are:
💍 As pictured, a ring-warming ritual, where your rings are passed to all of your guests to touch or hold and impart their well wishes for your marriage.
💍 Dogs, children or elderly grandparents as ring bearers. So much love. ❤
💍 Hidden rings, where the rings are hidden under one of your guests' seats and they get the surprise of bringing them forward to you.

The possibilities are endless. Have some fun with it. Celebrate your way. Always.

Get in touch to plan your personalised ceremony today.

Sarah x

12/09/2025

Tears. Let them flow!

We cry because we're human. We cry because we're invested. We cry because life's beautiful. We cry because life's hilarious. We cry because life is tragic. We cry because we love. We cry because we care. We cry because we cannot possibly contain all the emotions life throws our way.

All those people out there willing yourself not to cry at your wedding, this is my little note of encouragement to say: let the tears flow.

I'm happy for you and your guests to be laughing and crying because what's the alternative? Let's make your day memorable and take your guests along for the ride.

Your wedding day is not a performance, it is a day to authentically celebrate you. Ugly tears and all.

These shots of two of my favourite people fighting back the tears and lols were captured by the fabulous .claire.creative

08/09/2025

Hey there, I'm Sarah 👋

For all the lovely new faces out there, this is me. I'm all about connecting with like-minded people and that people know the real me.

What you see is what you get. I'm a no-BS, down-to-earth human. Yes, I offer a service - and I do it well - but this isn't just a transactional thank-you-and-we're-done affair, I'm here for you for the whole ride.

Five fun facts about me:
✨ My wife's name is also Sarah. We are The Sarahs.
✨ I love dancing. If a dance floor is unavailable, I'll happily bust a move in my kitchen or in the aisles of the supermarket with my kids.
✨ My weekends are either spent with family, doing weddings, or with my local football-netball club. Go Spurs! .netball
✨ I love learning languages. I speak English and German fluently, and I have learned French, Norwegian and Kinyarwanda. Italian and Swahili are on my wish list.
✨ In my free time I enjoy reading, sewing and woodwork. (Admittedly, being a Gemini, I collect and start more projects than I complete.)

Many thanks to the wonderful for snapping this fabulous bubbly shot of me, absolutely glowing in the company of my celebrant fam from at ❤

01/09/2025

Perfect recipe for a pre-wedding celebration before marrying abroad: a generous gathering of your favourite people; equal parts mouth-watering food and delicious cocktails; a dash of celebrant-led story-telling; and a room full of love and gratitude. Mix well and enjoy.

Celebrate your way. Always.

Venue | .future
Celebrant | .celebrant

27/08/2025

Legally wedded bliss ❤

I've had a few couples contact me recently asking if I will also take care of the legal documents.
My answer: Of course, I'm here to make the whole process, from wedding planning to wedding party, as fun, easy and seamless as possible.

Here are the legal documents your qualified celebrant will complete with you:
❤ The Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM, for short): this needs to be submitted to your celebrant at least one month prior to your wedding date (no Vegas weddings here in Oz, peeps) and no earlier than 18 months prior to your date.
❤ The Declaration of No Legal Impediment: this is signed as close to your wedding date as possible and declares that you've had a good think since signing the NOIM and that you're sure you'd like to go ahead and get married (and that there's nothing legally stopping you from doing so).
❤ The Official Certificate(s) of Marriage: two copies are signed on your wedding day, together with your witnesses and celebrant. One is kept by the celebrant, the other gets sent off to Births, Deaths and Marriages (along with your NOIM and DONLI).
❤ A prettier Certificate of Marriage is also signed on the day and acts as a commemorative (and legally binding) keepsake from your big day.

Once your documents have been processed by Births, Deaths and Marriages, you will receive an official marriage certificate in the mail - this can take up to 6 weeks. Note: if you're planning an extended honeymoon or know you'll be moving house, let your celebrant know which address to have the certificate sent to.

No matter what type of wedding you're planning, the above documents will be completed to make your nuptials legit.

Want a Legals Only wedding over a wine? Let's do it.
Want a friend to hold your ceremony? Let me co-pilot with them to make you legally wed.
Want a ceremony that's warm and funny and perfectly you? I'm here for you.

Talk soon, lovely people x

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20/08/2025

Seize the day! ✨

This stunning shoot took place pre-ceremony, allowing T and L to bask in each other’s glow and get excited for their big day together.

capturing the classical beauty of these two and their connection. These iconic Melbourne backdrops illustrate the setting of their story perfectly.

17/08/2025

Who do I marry?

The couples I have married and those who I am booked to marry over the next year or two are all so different. But over the years, I've noticed some common factors:

✨ My couples laugh at themselves, together and often.
✨ My couples tend to value authenticity over aesthetics - meaning their choices are intentional and reflective of them as a couple, not just something that looks nice.
✨ My couples are super excited about gathering their favourite people - whether that's 2, 10 or 150 - and they want those people to know how much they're appreciated.

Past couples, does this capture you in a nutshell?

Future couples, does this sound like it captures you too?

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14/08/2025

Housekeeping: Informed guests are happy guests.

They want to know what the day entails - and they don't want to ask you - so if you have wishes of them, don't assume they'll know, let me tell them.

Unplugged ceremonies, how to throw rose petals, encouraging their involvement, where they need to head post-ceremony, what time food or drinks will be served, or if you're planning to disappear for photos. Don't leave anything open to interpretation.

More importantly, a couple not plagued by a thousand housekeeping questions on their wedding day is an even happier couple.

Here's me in action sharing housekeeping for C and B's big day. See? It doesn't have to be boring.

Want a ceremony that's fun, authentically you and flows seamlessly? Excellent, let's chat.

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Address

Torquay, VIC

Telephone

+61410545262

Website

http://sarahogrady.com.au/

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