Testimonials

Anthony and Melina 30 Apr 2011

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:07:16 GMT

Dear John and Patti,

We hope you are both well.

Anthony and I wanted to write and officially thankyou for conducting such a
beautiful wedding ceremony.

We only just received our wedding video the other day and as we sat down and
watched it, together with our family, we were reminded of just how amazing the
entire day was.

It was great for, not only us, but also Mum, Dad and our family and friends,
to really listen and concentrate to the words that were spoken during our
ceremony. The amount of comments we received on the day and in the weeks
following our wedding day, from guests expressing what a beautiful ceremony it
was, has really blown us away.

The one thing that strikes me when I watch it, is your smiling face John. You
can clearly see that you were just as thrilled as we were to be standing there
in front of all our family and friends as Anthony and I exchanged our vows.
Our guests could really see that we had developed a relationship with you as
you spoke about Anthony and I as a couple. This was something that we
definitely wanted to communicate to our friends and family.

Leading up to the wedding as each pre-marriage education with you would take
place, Anthony and I would find ourselves telling people how fantastic the
sessions were and how every couple, already married or getting married, should
take part in them. In all honesty, when I first told Ant that attending the
sessions was a requirement of getting married, he was a little reluctant, but
I was guite amazed at how much he got out of it.

We would find ourselves driving home from your house, talking about what we
had just discussed with you in each session and it lead to some very
productive conversations about certain topics that we may not have normally
spoken about with each other.

Every time we arrived at your house, we always felt so welcome and
comfortable, which is probably why, I in particular felt able to express my
opinions on certain things, without feeling like maybe I should just agree!!

There is a priceless moment during the ceremony when you are talking about the
husband's role in the marriage where the camera picks us up you and I both
having a little giggle...

What we took from these pre-marriage education sessions with you will stay
with us forever and I cannot recommend them to couples enough.... even if
people think, like Anthony and I did, that after being together for so long,
what could we possibly learn about out relationship, trust me, there was a lot
that we discovered!!!

Also, when you told us that things would change after being married, you were
right. I definitely noticed a change in Anthony, almost immediately. He
became so much more proud, strong and protective over Chelsea and I - and as
for me, I felt more secure and loved by him.

All in all, it was a very special day and we could not have chosen a better
person to marry us than you John.

I have attached a few photos for you and Patti to have a look at.

Looking forward to seeing you both in October,

Thanks again,

All our love,

Anthony, Melina and Chelsea

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Christopher and Kyla 04 Dec 2011

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:20:33 GMT

Dear John and Patti,

We want to thank you both so much for your dedication and valued experience and support in the lead up to our wedding day. The time we spent with you in our sessions was invaluable and we both enjoyed it immensely. We recommend every couple contemplating marriage to have the experience of your pre marriage education that is just so practical, real and absolutely essential for what we are entering into in marriage today. We have both been married before and until now we never really understood the importance of what we were doing nor had we really considered the depth of our roles and responsibilities to our spouses. But now we have been given the tools, we have already begun to build our relationship to levels that are just incredibly amazing. You have provided us keys to build a solid and secure, loving and wonderful life together as Husband and Wife.

Our wedding day was absolutely perfect, even down to the weather. John your professionalism is so evident and you performed the ceremony with such calmness and expertise, everyone commented on how relaxed we were and how you made everyone a part of our special moment, so much so that just about every guest said to us that it was "just like a fairy-tale" everything was perfect and they could actually sense the love we had for each other.

Thank you from the bottom of our heart Mr & Mrs Catling, we love you both and look forward to spending more time with you in the future.

God Bless

Christopher & Kyla

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Duncan and Simone 01 May 2011

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:56:47 GMT

We can’t thank you enough for best wedding present we have received; your wisdom, your guidance, your love and support have given us the foundation and knowledge to continue on our journey together.

We came to you as a couple happy in love, who, thanks to you both, are enjoying the blessings of married life.

Thank you for sharing your personal experiences with us and for the laughs, the (almost) tears, for educating us and being our friend.

Your compassion and patience and kindness have given us a sense of spiritually and faith that connects us as husband and wife.

Not only did you offer us your support but you took the time to get to know our friends and family.

We are truly grateful and love you both very much.

Lots of love,

Duncan & Simone

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Nigel and Rowena 17 Apr 2011

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:54:25 GMT

Dear John & Patti,

Thank you both so very much for all the hours and teaching you shared with us.

We both loved the journey and feel it has truly set us up for a successful marriage.

John, the ceremony was beautiful and I know so many of our family & friends loved it.

Thank you also for the books. We are actually reading them right now and enjoying them.

With all our love,

Nigel & Rowena

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Dave and Alison 20 Jun 2009

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:53:14 GMT

Dear John

Thank-you so much for helping to make our day so memorable.

Thank you also for coming from the Sunshine Coast to be our Celebrant on the day.

It wouldn’t have been anywhere near the same without you as our celebrant.

The pre-marriage sessions were EVER so valuable. They were a challenge for us to attend all of them due to distance and whilst at times the content stirred things up that was confronting and difficult, it has allowed us to have a much closer and deeper relationship.

Before these sessions we knew we both loved each other very much, but since the sessions we have become closer on a level we didn’t think possible. As cliché as that sounds !!

Our love has grown immensely due to the pre-marriage sessions, from what was brought up and from the resulting conversations.

We are definitely on the path to a happy and healthy marriage.

Thank you John for all your extra time and effort you put into us. It was greatly appreciated.

You and Pattie are wonderful people and an inspiration.

Thank you both !!

Love from

Dave & Alison

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David and Kathryn 10 Jan 2009

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:50:46 GMT

Dear John,

First of all I would like to say how blissful married life has been so far. Even with the everyday challenges (financial, logistical, emotional) that we have faced so early in our marriage, I have to admit to everyone I see, that I am blissfully happy and wouldn't have things any other way.

Our wedding day went off without a hitch and the weather was more than perfect for the usually hot and unpredictable time of the year. I am quite sure my Dad was looking after us in that department as he always knew how rain could make things just that little bit more difficult to co-ordinate, be they work or pleasure.

We still have people commenting on how wonderful our wedding was and quoting "Your celebrant was really great!" A perfect mix of humour, religion and serious foundations of what it is to get and BE married.

I try to convince every engaged couple I know to at least do some pre-marriage reading, if not have pre-marriage education as we did with you. It has been one of the most important things we have done together prior the big day...and how very important it was.

As sure as we were that we wanted to be married and were the right people for each other, your sessions proved how big a commitment marriage is and also how very special it is that you find that person for the rest of your life who is on "the same page".

I could continue for pages on how wonderful we think our wedding day was, but I am almost certain that any couple you marry, John, would be of the same opinion!

Your service began a gorgeous day of love, family, friends and celebration. Our photos and video, that we now have, are a testimony to the love David and I share. This was obvious to each and every person present, and also to those who could not share the day with us on the 10th January, but can now see, through these memories, how amazing the day was for us.

We look forward to keeping in touch!

All our love, appreciation and deepest thanks,

Kathryn & David

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Anthony and Jannica 10 Nov 2007

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:46:53 GMT

Dear John and Patti,

Happy 2008! We hope you both had a lovely Christmas and New Years celebration.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you both for participating and making our wedding day on 10 November 2007 extra special. The fact that you John, not only wanted to share it with us as a celebrant, but also as a friend meant a lot to us. We were very happy that both you and your wife accepted our wedding invitation and joined us in our celebration.

John, we believe the ceremony would not have been as wonderful without you as our celebrant. You did a marvellous job and the time we spent together prior to the wedding day was something we truly enjoyed. So far there is not one single day that goes by where we don’t cherish what you have taught us regarding our future relationship as a husband and wife. With the advice and “tools” you have given us through your pre-marriage sessions, we believe we are more prepared for a future together. The common hurdles that all couples face through their life together don’t seem as scary anymore.

Thank you very much John! Our wedding day was fantastic and it would not have been the same without you, and we can therefore only thank you once again for everything you have done.

Take care, and we miss you here on the Gold Coast.

Warm wishes, Anthony and Jannica

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Steven and Nancy 03 Nov 2007

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:45:40 GMT

Dear John & Patti

Greetings from Nancy & Steven.

We thought it about time we expressed into words how important your guidance & friendship was to prepare us for our wedding & marriage.

I proposed to Nancy in the moonlight of Orient Beach in St. Marten, the Carribean.

After some celebrations & discussions we both made the decision to have our wedding in my home town of the Gold Coast.

After doing some research on our choices for venue, date, time & location, the next step was of course to contact a celebrant. I had your card from a wedding show that I attended & Nancy thought that you would be a good candidate. After talking with you, Nancy & I were very impressed with your questions and flexibility to our needs.

The thought of sitting through 4 meetings of 1-2 hours of religion didn’t really appeal to me but I was impressed when you told me you were not a religious man & found that with every visit I wanted to ask you more & more about religion, love, friendship, marriage, relationships & a lot more things that were concerning us before our big day.

Coming over to your home for the meetings was such a great sanctuary. Every time Nancy & I left we felt more empowered & relaxed with the knowledge & wisdom that you gave us. I felt that the meetings were somewhat of an awakening for me, they put marriage, relationship and friendship into context. Even the prayer that we did before & after each meeting had great merit & felt like meditation to me more than that of prayer. We both really felt that this was the best preparation that we could have had before our wedding & marriage. Your candidness and honesty during our meetings answered so many questions & we really appreciated the extra hours & days that you spent with us both.

People say that their wedding is the most special day of their life & now I know why. Nancy looked so beautiful and the service and reception went perfectly. We feel that our wedding was perfect in every way; we were floating from all the love in the room. I still smile when I think of our wedding, every time we tell the story of our day, one of the first things I say is how amazing it was to have John & Patti there. It was important to have only our closest friends & family attend so that is a testimony to how we feel about you both.

I personally loved that you asked our guests to be accountable and witnesses to our union, as I had felt the power of this sentiment when I stood by my best friend at his wedding a few years earlier.

Thank you John & Patti for helping make our special day as perfect as it could be & for showing us both that the love that you & Patti share is the most important gift that you can have.

All our love & friendship

Steve & Nancy

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Craig and Renae 20 Oct 2007

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:43:16 GMT

Dear John & Patti,

We would like to express our sincere thanks for making our wedding ceremony just perfect and for the personal touch shown to us on our special day.

We will always remember the words of wisdom and guidance you have given to us, leading up to our marriage, held on the 20^th October 2007.

We truly believe we have been blessed in having you celebrant. We both enjoyed building a relationship with you gave us more understanding and important tools that will help us in our, as husband and wife.

John, thank you for your time and your kindness, which will stay with us forever.

Kindest regards,

Renae & Craig

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Gary and Melita 06 Oct 2007

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:41:41 GMT

Dear Reverend John,

Melita & I often thank God for each other, our beautiful wedding day and for bringing you into our lives, not only as a minister but also as a friend and guide into the covenant of marriage.

Long before I met you, Melita and I would discuss our strong beliefs in marriage, the seriousness of a life-long vow to one another, as well as the dream of our own fairy-tale wedding.

Not only are we blessed and grateful for such a beautiful and warm ceremony, but we feel truly blessed that we have received ideal guidance to what we both believe will be a marriage made in heaven.

I have an immense amount of respect for you and your skills as a minister and marriage guide. I always wanted a divine element in my wedding ceremony and I never thought I would meet someone who would inspire me to open up my faith and find a path bringing my beliefs closer to God.

For the first time in many years, I believe I’m feeling deep love again and I thank you so much for showing me a way through your teachings and the references you provided.

Often I will be reminded of, or simply recall the times, we spent with you and the invaluable education you provided. Yet further still, I experience key moments where suddenly I really start to understand particular teachings you presented.

Thank you so much for providing the service you do. Your guidance brought light and the opportunity for great understanding in marriage.

Gary & Melita

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