BEZAUBERNDES

BEZAUBERNDES is the celebrant business of Sabine Leu-Flury, a certified "TRAU-Rednerin der Zeremonien-Akademie" (wedding celebrant certified by the Zeremonien-Akademie) based in Rapperswil-Jona. She writes and leads freie Trauungen, symbolic wedding ceremonies without a church, as well as vow renewals and ceremonies abroad. For couples from other countries, the key line is on her About page: she creates ceremonies "auf Hochdeutsch, Englisch oder in meinem BERNER-Dialekt" (in standard German, English or in my Bernese dialect). The site itself is in German. (The page title spells her name Leu-Fluy; the footer and signature use Leu-Flury.)

Her approach

The About page opens with two headlines: "Die SCHÖNSTEN MOMENTE im LEBEN sind die, die das HERZ berühren UND die SEELE zum STRAHLEN bringen" (the most beautiful moments in life are the ones that touch the heart and make the soul shine), and "WORTE erschaffen EMOTIONEN - Emotionen erschaffen BEZAUBERNDE Momente" (words create emotions, emotions create enchanting moments), which is where the business name, "enchanting", comes from.

She greets readers in Bernese ("Grüessech") and calls her work a "TRAUMJOB" (dream job). She writes that she loves responding to wishes and needs and then designing an individual, made-to-measure ceremony, and that as a certified celebrant she has the knowledge and experience to plan the ceremony, shape it creatively, tell the couple's story, and advise and support them on organizational matters. With empathy, a good feel for the couple's story and a love of detail, she creates personal moments that can be humorous, emotional or entirely classic.

The Angebot page defines a freie Trauung as a celebration of love shaped entirely around the couple's wishes: "konfessionslos, unabhängig von Geschlecht und frei von fixen Abläufen" (non-denominational, independent of gender and free of fixed procedures). She adds that she believes every love should be celebrated, and so accompanies weddings in every imaginable setting, whether a small gathering or a large ceremony: she is up for "(fast) alles" (almost anything).

The About page closes on the idea that runs through the whole site: "JEDE LIEBE hat ihre eigene GESCHICHTE" (every love has its own story), and she is there to add a chapter to it. She also writes that joy, anticipation, her own enthusiasm, a lot of emotion and a pinch of magic accompany the whole journey toward the ceremony. It is a warm, personal tone, closer to a friend helping out than to a formal officiant, which will suit some couples more than others.

Three kinds of ceremony

• Freie Trauung. The wedding ceremony, described above.
• Ehe-Erneuerung (vow renewal). She describes love as a living process and offers renewal ceremonies after some years of shared adventures, for a special anniversary or during a time of change, with the family or just the 2 of them.
• Aussergewöhnliche Zeremonie im Ausland (an unusual ceremony abroad). For couples with a big idea, she offers to help create the setting, and lists examples: a romantic castle in Ireland, a mountain lake in California, Niagara Falls, a beach in Mallorca or the Seychelles, a desert island, an airplane or the Sahara. The ideas, she writes, are limitless.

The process, step by step

The Angebot page sets out the route to the wedding day:

1. Getting to know each other (1 to 2 hours). A relaxed, no-obligation conversation over a cup of coffee or tea. If the chemistry works both ways, they move on, and she sends questionnaires so that the planning meeting can be focused. This first conversation is free.
2. Planning meeting (5 to 6 hours). About 3 months before the wedding they meet to go through every detail and dive into the couple's story: which special moments to share, and which rituals, music, flowers, decorations, seating plan or vows. She also offers to help find a suitable wedding planner.
3. Her preparation. She develops the ceremony, writes a speech and integrates rituals or contributions from the couple's loved ones. The length depends on the couple's wishes; the page puts a freie Trauung at 30 to 60 minutes as a rule.
4. The wedding day. She is on site about 2 hours before the ceremony to prepare. She checks that the flowers are there, the give-aways ready and the seating right, holds a short briefing with the musicians and anyone taking part, and sets up the sound system.
5. Looking back. After the ceremony she gets in touch again to hear how the day went, and welcomes feedback, photos, posts or reviews.

A 5 to 6 hour planning meeting is long by any standard, and it is the clearest sign of how much of the ceremony is built together with the couple rather than written from a short brief.

Language and couples from abroad

The combination of English and a Swiss German dialect is useful for mixed couples: a ceremony can be pitched to a Swiss family and to English-speaking guests from the same celebrant. Her willingness to travel abroad for ceremonies, and her examples ranging from Ireland to the Seychelles, show she does not limit herself to Switzerland.

What the site does not say is whether the meetings can take place online. The get-to-know meeting is described over coffee or tea, and the planning meeting as a meeting, so a couple living abroad should ask whether either can happen by video.

What the site does not settle

• Price. The menu has a "Preise" (prices) page, but the pages here show no figures. Ask for current rates.
• Travel within Switzerland. The site says she accompanies ceremonies in every imaginable setting and abroad, but names no travel costs.
• Legal side. The site describes the freie Trauung as a celebration of love; it does not discuss the civil wedding. Couples should ask how she fits around it.
• Reviews. There are no testimonials on these pages.

Contact: 079 229 12 07, sabine@bezauberndes.ch, and a button to arrange the first meeting.

Who it suits

BEZAUBERNDES suits couples who want a ceremony in English, or one that mixes English and Swiss German, from a certified celebrant who invests a lot of time in planning with them. The published process, with its long planning meeting and questionnaires, suits couples who want to shape every detail. Couples dreaming of a ceremony abroad have a Swiss celebrant who explicitly offers it.

It suits less well couples who want a quick, light-touch booking, since the planning meeting alone takes most of a day, or couples who want to see prices and reviews before making contact.