5 Minutes With Celebrant Shura Taft
He's known across television and radio, making him no stranger to the microphone, and for the last few years, Shura Taft has also established himself as a marriage celebrant.
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With his beaming smile and a memorable approach, Shura Taft brings a spirit of personality and originality to every wedding ceremony he gives, focusing entirely on the couple and their unique story.
This week we chat all things wedding ceremonies with Shura, and of course, we talk about Shura himself, and his path to becoming one of the most personal celebrants we've met.
Tell us a little about yourself…
My name is Shura Taft, and I’m a 37-year-old happily married man and the lucky father of two gorgeous children (my 3-year-old son Ed and my 4-month-old daughter Elle). I have had the privilege of spending my adult life having fun in front of a microphone across a myriad of jobs. I’ve hosted television shows, radio programs, live events, charity functions and for the last few years the most important day in people’s lives. I love what I do and consider myself the luckiest man on the planet to be able to do what I do.
Why did you become a celebrant?
After 12 years working across different types of presenting roles, I found myself attending a lot of weddings given we were at the age where most of my friends were getting married. I found myself feeling a lot like there were times where the celebrant didn’t connect with the couple or the audience, and I had the belief I could offer something to people around Australia as a storyteller and presenter. I also knew that it would be an incredibly rewarding and happy industry to work in, which has been proven true time and time again.
How long have you been a Celebrant for?
I got my licence in January of 2017.
Each celebrant is known for their unique take on a ceremony, what kind of wedding are you known to deliver?
My weddings are never the same but have a few common factors. My ceremonies are written from scratch once I’ve met and got to know the couple. There is no point cutting and pasting elements from one wedding into an other as every story is as beautiful and unique as the next and that is the reason why people gather on a special day to celebrate a couple; they want to celebrate what makes that couple special and how we all came to be together on this important day. I stress to my couples I want to make it all about them and take their friends and family from how they met, to how they ended up at the altar with plenty of love, maybe a few tears and generally a fair bit of laughter thrown in. My weddings tend to be non-traditional, light and a whole lot of fun. But, as I’ve always said in this game, I will adapt to any type of wedding my couples want... if they want me dressed as Lady GaGa that’s what they’ll get.
What’s your favourite piece of advice for newly engaged couples just starting on their wedding planning journey?
I think probably the thing that got my wife and I through the planning of our own day was the sharing of tasks. It shouldn’t fall squarely on one of the couple to do all the heavy lifting and hard work (unless that’s how you really want to do it). So my advice is always to enjoy it, share it, embrace it and have fun with it. There are always stressful aspects to it, and often it feels like a grind, but keep in the back of your mind you are working towards the best day of your life, and it will all be worth it in the end.
In your opinion, is there such a thing as a perfect wedding?
The only judgement I have of whether a wedding is ‘perfect’ or not is when it’s judged by the couple themselves. The only thing I think of as perfect when it comes to weddings that I perform is when I see smiles, and maybe a few tears from the newly married and I know I’ve helped create a little bit of magic.
You’re a popular Celebrant, how long in advance should couples get in touch with you so that they don’t miss out?
I have bookings come in for anywhere from 3 months to 2 years out. I try to limit doing too many weddings so I can give my couples the attention their wedding requires. I also will sometimes do two weddings in a weekend, so if you don’t enquire, you’ll never know if I’m available.
Do you have any favourite weddings?
Some certainly stand out more than others, in particular a LGBTQI couple who had been together 40 years and were convinced by their daughter to have an intimate ceremony when the plebiscite was announced. There was an extraordinary feeling in the room when we announced them officially married and something I will never forget. I’ve also been lucky enough to marry a few of my closest mates in the world, and that is a joy you cannot replicate.
What is the most unique element you’ve seen added to a wedding ceremony?
I loved it when a couple chose to have members of the audience come up and contribute elements of the couple's story that applied to them. So as we moved through the journey of meeting each other to finally getting married, we got to hear from the people who were there at the time. I loved it from a narrative point of view, and the inclusiveness felt really special.
And finally, what does marriage mean to you personally?
Marriage to me is an amazing chance for people in love to declare in front of the most important people in their lives that they are committed to loving and respecting each other for the rest of their lives. Weddings, on the other hand, are a chance to have fun, to eat, to drink, to be merry and to enjoy one night of the greatest outpouring of love you will feel in your lives, and it’s magnificent! Let me help you feel it!
Shura Taft is part of the Mr Theodore family and can be viewed on the directory by clicking HERE.
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