A registered celebrant in Paihia, writing and leading ceremonies across the Bay of Islands and Northland.
Weddings are most of the calendar, but not all of it. Chris is registered to marry you and experienced in the quieter ceremonies too, the ones families remember just as long.
Written with you, start to finish. Chris handles the licence paperwork, runs the rehearsal if you want one, and keeps the day moving without ever rushing it.
Two people, two witnesses, somewhere that means something. Chris can bring the witnesses if you would rather keep it to yourselves.
Ten years on, forty years on, or a marriage made overseas that you want to celebrate here. The same care, without the paperwork.
A service that sounds like the person it is for. Chris works with your family and the funeral director, including interment of ashes and memorials held later.
Welcoming a baby, blending a family, marking a birthday or a leaving. Ceremonies for the milestones that have no standard form.
Clifftops, woolsheds, beaches, back paddocks and the occasional helicopter pad. Chris travels beyond the Bay of Islands, so ask about your spot.
Chris Allen-Foster has been a registered celebrant in the Bay of Islands since 2013, when she completed her Certificate in Celebrant Studies through Celebrant School, Te Wananga Korowhai Aroha. She is a validated member of the Celebrants Association of New Zealand.
She works from Paihia and travels through Kerikeri, Kaikohe and the wider Northland. Every ceremony is written from scratch after a proper conversation, because a wedding built from a template sounds like one.
No mystery to it, and no pressure at any stage. Most couples are through the first three steps well before the invitations go out.
Coffee, a phone call or a video call. Chris listens to how you met and what you want the day to feel like.
She writes the ceremony and sends it over. Change anything, cut anything, add the bits only you would know.
You apply for the marriage licence, Chris tells you exactly how and when, then lodges the documents afterwards.
Chris arrives early, checks the sound, settles the nerves and leads the ceremony so you can be present for it.
By water, on wheels or on horseback. An entrance that feels like you.
Beaches, paddocks, arches and the odd wharf. Every one of these was written for the people standing in it.
From couples and families around the Bay of Islands, Kerikeri and Opua.
Chris took the time to learn our story before she wrote a word. The ceremony sounded like us, not like a script.
We had eleven people on a beach and it still felt like an occasion. Warm, calm, and not a nervous moment all day.
Chris led Dad's service with real care. She got his humour right, and she got us through it.
A phone call is usually the quickest way to check a date. There is no charge for the first conversation, and no obligation after it.