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About Me

Rachel Tau’alupe

Kia Ora, I’m Rach, I am a Blenheim, Marlborough based Marriage Celebrant who creates unique wedding ceremonies for all types of celebrations, big or small.

I live locally with my husband Willie and two children Alexis and Luca. As a whānau we enjoy eating out, exploring the outdoors, sports, socailising and seeking out new picnic spots and short walking tracks. I was born in Blenheim, and am proud to call Marlborough home. I work as a wine Logistics and Production Manager for my day job, which means I get the best of both wine and weddings all year round.

My relaxed personality and sense of humor makes me very easy to get along with and will help you to stay cool, calm and collected on your big day. I like to offer a modern approach to being a Marriage Celebrant and my flexibility means your ceremony will be just the way you want it and is created especially for you. I am happy to travel anywhere within the Tasman, Marlborough, Kaikoura Region.

Services

Full Wedding Ceremony

What goes into a ceremony? Your story. Your personality. Your feelings. Your thoughts. Your style. My job? To put it all together the way you love. No two weddings are the same!! I specialise in modern, romantic and relaxed ceremonies, both Weddings and Civil Unions. Using my ceremony builder, I can help you create your perfect day including vows you have written yourself or standard vows... the options are endless. I learn about you and your whanau to ensure your ceremony truly reflects your relationship. A full wedding service also includes a rehearsal with your bridal party to ensure everyone is comfortable with their roles on the day and helps take away a few of those pre-wedding nerves.

 
 
 

Elopements

Whether you are travelling from overseas or wanting to keep things low key, an elopement style ceremony may be the right fit for you. Generally shorter in length, this ceremony style is relaxed while still keeping a certain level of romance.

Registry Style Ceremony

Designed to cover just the legal aspects of a wedding ceremony, a Registry Style Service is a simple ceremony following a pre-written format. Performed at an agreed location, this process takes around 15-20mins and requires couple to provide 2 witnesses on the day. These ceremonies can still allow for ring exchange and your own vows so you don’t miss out on a little romance.

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Post Wedding MC

Take the pressure off your friends and family by hiring a professional MC. From ensuring everyone is in the right place for family photos, to introducing speeches and liaising with guests, an MC has an important role in ensuring your day runs smoothly from start to finish. I bring an upbeat and friendly vibe to the MC role along with a few great jokes to keep you smiling through the day. This can be booked as part of your Celebrant Service package or separately.

Vow Renewal

If you are looking to refresh and renew your vows, I can help you create a unique ceremony. If you want to replicate your original big day, or put together something brand new, I am happy to officiate any type of service.

 

Contact me

 

Finding the right Celebrant to fit your day is an important task. For a no obligation catch up to see if I am the right Celebrant for you, please enter your information on the form below and I will get back to you.

 

Please complete the form below

 
 

Testimonials

Janna and Brett

Wither Hills - January 2023

From our first interactions, we knew Rach had the calm demeanor, yet professional style we were looking for in a celebrant.  She takes her job seriously, but in the most beautiful and warm way.  We loved how everything was so personalised from her approach to gathering information about us to write the ceremony, to her calming influence during the ceremony, and engaging our guests. Rach was right by our side each step of the way and really made it feel like our special day.

Sheridan and David

Private Residence - December 2022

Living in Australia and planning a wedding in NZ was always going to be a challenge when it came to engaging local services to fit what we wanted for our day. But from the moment we engaged with Rachel, everything felt comfortable and easy and the process of organise a celebrant and planning the ceremony with her became something we didn’t need to worry about.

Rachel created the perfect ceremony that reflected the casual and intimate wedding we wanted, and was able to easily work in with any of changes as the planning process went along.

Rachel’s friendly nature and warm smile made the ceremony process relaxing and easy. We couldn’t recommend Rachel enough and are so grateful we chose to have her on our big day..

Katie and Mike

Wither Hills - March 2022

There was no one better for the job! I knew that as soon as I was planning my wedding that I wanted Rachel as my celebrant, Mike didn’t have a choice, but he said to me the day after she was perfect for the job. Thank you for making our day super special and I would highly recommend you to other couples thinking of tying the knot. Thank you Rach x

Raya and Matt

Woodend Gardens - March 2022

Where to start? Rachel, you were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! You made our day perfect and we couldn’t thank you enough! Your vibe and personality just made our day so much better. Thank you so much!!!

Love the Bryce’s xxx

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Camille and Christian

Oyster Bay, Marlborough Sounds - Feb 2021

Can I just take a moment to sing your praises, you were possibly the most amazing celebrant possibly ever. You wrote and held a beautiful ceremony, you were super flexible and literally spent all day out in the Sounds with us, and even cleaned up a broken bottle of wine during the reception. I was so grateful to have you as part of our team.

Camille

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Brooke and Nathan

Woodend Gardens Grovetown - March 2021

The ceremony was absolutely amazing, everything was perfect and just the way we had hoped it would be thank you so much for all the time and love you put into making it this way!

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Kelly and Dan

Family Home - December 2020

We cannot recommend Rachel enough. She absolutely made our wedding day so so special. She is an amazing celebrant and a hilarious and wonderful MC. She made the process an enjoyable one and truly worked to make our day as special as possible for us. The day flowed smoothly, the ceremony was everything we hoped for and the reception was so easy, entertaining and enjoyable as she had everything organised. We had a fantastic, loving, stress free wedding and that in part (a big part) is thanks to Rach. Thank you Rachel, we are so so grateful we had you be a part of our special day!

Mr and Mrs Matthews

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Jessie and John

Arbour Restaurant - November 2020

Rach helped make the day about us and what we meant to each other.

When we first met Rach she ‘got’ what we wanted. She made it fun with low stress to plan our day.

She was great with our kids and made us even more excited about the day.

We had some significant changes leading up and we were reassured the entire time.”

Rach attended our after function with her family and we’re delighted to call her our friend now.

Jessie & John

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Jodie and John

Private Residence - December 2020

We had Rachel as our celebrant, she came highly recommended by lots so we thought we at least owed her the chance to come an meet with us. It was from that moment we knew she was the one, we instantly felt like we'd known her for years. Her wit an humor was exactly what we were looking for along with her kind nature. Nothing was ever an issue with Rachel, she made our ceremony just how we wanted it. If we were going to do it again we'd definitely pick her but we aren't so we will stick with the friendship. Xxx Jodie & John

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Taylor and Cameron

Family Home - February 2020

THANK YOU so so so much for Friday!

We had the most amazing day and the ceremony you prepared and ran for us was just great! We had so many comments from guests about how awesome the ceremony was (and not just because of our brilliantly written vows! haha). 

You were amazing start to finish and such a smiling happy face for reassurance on the day! 

We will 200% recommend you to anyone we know looking for a celebrant! 

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Andrea and Greg

The Old Barn - February 2020

You are amazing! We can’t thank you enough for being part of our special day, you made everything so easy, and we loved the ceremony you wrote for us. You nailed it! All the guests were so impressed with you. It was an absolute pleasure, and I wouldn’t of wanted anyone else as our celebrant.

Again, thanks so much for our wedding, it was truly the best day!

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Anya and Liam

Paripuma - February 2020

Rachel was the perfect fit for our intimate wedding. The ceremony she wrote for us was exactly what we hoped for (even though we had no idea what we wanted!). She's a lovely, relaxed person with a great sense of humour. She trained up the flower girl, guided us through the ceremony, and helped to make the day feel so special.

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Sandra and Mark

Clos Henri Chapel - February 2020

Thank you once again for being part of our amazing wedding day. You made it so personal, intimate and informal which made for such a happy and loving day. We could not have had two such amazing 'professionals' with us so thank you also for recommending Ruth.

Wishing you the best of luck with the new arrival and once again thank you for everything you did to make our day so special and certainly memorable.

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Noel and Erika

Omaka Aviation Centre - November 2019

Erika and I were married on 30 Nov 2019. The ceremony was performed in the Aviation Heritage Centre at Omaka airfield in front of my vintage aeroplane “Charlie’. Rachel Tau’alupe was our marriage celebrant who conducted the whole ceremony in a very smooth and professional manner. She took the time to visit our proposed site before the big day and interviewed both Erika and myself to gain a ‘feel’ for the type and tone of the ceremony we desired. On the day Erika was very nervous but Rachel’s calming manner smoothed everything beautifully. I would recommend Rachel to anyone requiring a marriage celebrant.

 
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Jessica & Andrew

Marlborough Convention Centre - July 2019

THANK YOU so much for making our day perfect. and for giving us the ceremony we wanted. it was so nice only having to remember i do and you made us both so relaxed.

 
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Jeanine and Nathan

Avon Valley - January 2019

Because you don’t always have to kiss the bride- you can HIGH FIVE!!!

FAQ

WHAT DOES A CELEBRANT DO?

A Celebrant is responsible for ensuring all of the legal requirements are met for your marriage, including checking the details of your marriage licence, checking ID’s and filing of your documents to the BDM. I also ensure that you are provided with a unique, one-of-a-kind ceremony, which is written from scratch and created just for you, based on your personalities. I not only spend time getting to know you both as a couple, through face to face meetings, phone calls or emails, but I research the latest wedding trends and ideas to ensure my service is always developing as the wedding industry changes. It is not just as simple as me turning up on the day,and I will always go above and beyond to ensure your ceremony is as stress free and unique as possible!

What is the cost of hiring a celebrant?

Costs can vary depending on the type of ceremony you require. Of course there is no “one size fits all” ceremony! I generally have 3 levels of pricing - Legal Bits Only, Elopement and Full Wedding Service. For me, being a celebrant is not about making money, it is about helping a couple to truly celebrate their love for each other on the day. I am very flexible around pricing, please contact me for further details around this.

Do you provide a sound system?

I certainly do! I have a BlueTooth Sony sound system, including a microphone, which I supply for use during your ceremony. The system doesn’t require mains power and can also sync in to play your wedding music so no matter where your ceremony takes place, everyone will be able to hear those special moments.

What should I expect when we first meet?

I want to know all about the both of you! Making sure that your ceremony is unique and fitting to your personalities is most important to me, so on our first meeting I’ll be asking all about how you met, your life as a couple and most importantly what your plans are for your wedding. In return please feel free to ask all about me to make sure I am the best fit for your big day!

How Long SHould My Ceremony Be?

The length of your ceremony is totally up to you. Some couples like to keep things short and sweet with a quick 5 minute ceremony only including the legal bits and pieces. Others can take closer to half hour and include multiple readings, mini ceremonies and musical performances. The options are endless!

Can you help with our vows?

Absolutely! Writing vows can be a daunting task, especially if you struggle with putting your feelings onto paper. I am happy to meet with each person separately to help you get those words out and ensure your feelings for your significant other are communicated on your special day.

DO YOU INCORPORATE OTHER TRADITIONS AND LANGUAGES?

Yes absolutely. Ensuring that your ceremony fits you, your culture and your wishes is my top priority. I will work hard to learn about you, your whanau and your relationships and am happy to include Karakia, Te Reo Māori or any other passages and readings from your own tikanga or culture. I can also work with translators and family and friends to include readings in any language to ensure your ceremony truly reflects your relationship.

WHY HIRE A PROFESSIONAL MC?

The MC has a big roll to play on your special day or hosting your event. From making sure all the vendors have a key contact to keeping timings right for catering and photos, an MC needs to be focused and organised as well as fun! While some couples have a family member or friend who is up for the task, others prefer to allocate this job to a professional to ensure they can truly relax and feel confident that all their well-executed plans fall into place on the day. I have a simple questionnaire which complements my celebrant questionnaire to ensure we don’t miss a thing when it comes to on the day coordinating and the MC role.