My Wedding Wish
Toukley Celebrants is proud to support My Wedding Wish. The following information has been taken directly from the My Wedding Wish website. If you would like to find out more about becoming a supporter, a supplier or a Wish Recipient, log onto the website https://www.myweddingwish.org
My Wedding Wish is a registered national Charity (registered in 2016) that has been gifting weddings to the terminally ill around Australia since 2013. It was founded by Lynette Maguire, Sunshine Coast Marriage Celebrant, and started as a local project in 2007. There are now chapters in every state and territory throughout Australia.
My Wedding Wish is open to couples wanting to be legally married (*must be able to meet the legal requirements) and commitment ceremonies for those who don’t meet legal requirements (eg no time to find birth certificates). Like falling in love, we do not discriminate and applications are open to all ages, genders, abilities and religious beliefs.
Generous My Wedding Wish suppliers and community fundraising efforts are able to ensure that our couples can have a care and burden free celebration without the stress of organisational challenges, time issues and limiting budgets.
My Wedding Wish has almost 1000 volunteers around Australia, mostly in the wedding industry, who are eager to help us make our dreams come true. Look for our logo on their websites! You can find the suppliers who have donated at the bottom of each of our amazing couple’s wedding page and also on the Wedding Wish Suppliers’ page.
We are always looking to share the load and now operate Australia wide. So if you have a service or product and could support us with products or services – please contact us to become a supporter or sponsor. If you are looking for a beneficiary of some of your fund-raising activities we would love to be considered.
Become a Wish Recipient
Are you a couple that is affected by terminal illness and getting married is very important to you? Do you know and love someone in this position? If so, please email Lynette at ceo@myweddingwish.org and we’ll email a form to you. If you’re not sure if you qualify after reading the criteria below, please email Lynette at ceo@myweddingwish.org.
My Wedding Wish is supported by professional wedding suppliers all over Australia who gift their products and services.
Wish supplier participation is based on an opt-in basis and therefore each wedding is different. My Wedding Wish weddings are usually only run Monday – Thursdays and there are different limits to numbers and included services depending on suppliers offers. If you’d like a Friday-Sunday wedding, this will need to be discussed with Lynette, our CEO. We are great at being flexible in making dreams come true. Some couples can plan their wedding and they have lots of time, and some of our weddings are pulled together in 24 hours. My Wedding Wish is open to couples wanting to be legally married (*must be able to meet the legal requirements) and commitment ceremonies for those who don’t meet legal requirements (e.g., no time to find birth certificates). Like falling in love, we do not discriminate, and applications are open to all ages, genders, abilities and religious beliefs. Please understand that as we grow, we remain true to our mission to help the terminally ill. My Wedding Wish does not gift weddings due to chronic illness, financial hardship, or job loss. Receipt of all applications is acknowledged by email and if successful, the My Wedding Wish team of suppliers are called upon to opt in or opt out – so package sizes and values may vary. Please read the terms and conditions on the application form. We encourage you to complete and return a My Wedding Wish application by printing a copy of this form (pdf) and completing by hand. All applications must be supported by medical proof of the illness.
Applications are accepted all year.
How to Become a Wish Recipient
The Criteria:
- One or both parties must be diagnosed with a terminal illness with less than five years’ life expectancy
- Proof of the medical diagnosis must be supplied
- The wedding must be between Monday-Thursday (unless otherwise determined by Head Office)
- No guarantee of what will be donated is given – the value may vary
- We no longer gift renewal of vow ceremonies or ceremonies for couples affected by natural disasters or special circumstances
How it all happens:
- An application is received into Head Office on the Sunshine Coast, Qld and the criteria is checked.
- The couple is interviewed and any further medical paperwork is lodged.
- The couple pick a date, time and ceremony spot – and off we go… the planning starts.
- The State Wish Leader is contacted with the couple’s details and a Wish Leader, usually a celebrant or wedding planner, is contacted and begins to pull together an awesome wedding team. The Wish Leader then deals directly with the couple to arrange their beautiful day.
- Applicants will need to make sure that they are reasonably available to My Wedding Wish staff and the gifting suppliers to coordinate the details of your special day. Timely supply of information, stories, photographs, supporting documentation and any video snippets in the lead up will help this process run smoothly.
Our suppliers are generous of spirit and ask for nothing in return, many do not ask for acknowledgements when the media becomes involved, and they donate their product or services because of their desire to help make our couples’ dreams come true. We’re all so very very proud to be part of something so beautiful.
Founder, Celebrant Dr Lynette Maguire, says a key value of My Wedding Wish is that “everyone deserves a beautiful wedding”. The suppliers and sponsors agree!