Do not spend half of your life trying to change them.
Coral Kortlepel may hail from the Sutherland Shire however her full time profession as marriage celebrant takes her to the most beautiful locations all over Sydney, marrying local residents and couples from overseas.
After becoming a civil marriage celebrant in 1994, Coral Kortlepel has married thousands of couples all over Sydney and been awarded the ‘Best Marriage Celebrant in NSW’ twelve times with the most recent being in 2009. Recently Coral was also nominated as one of the ‘Top Three Marriage Celebrants’ in Australia as well as ‘Most Popular Designer of Dreams’,
receiving the highest number of votes over a 3-year period out of 5000 national nominees. To top all these achievements off, in May 2010 Coral was voted Nation Wide at the ‘Best Marriage Celebrant in Australia’, something she is extremely honoured and proud of.
Over the years weddings have become less of the traditional style and designed more around the couple’s individuality, which is why Coral offers 18 different ceremonies to choose from. By offering these choices couples feel more comfortable with what is being said which portrays a much more relaxed atmosphere for the couple and their guests on their special day. Also
couples are encouraged, if they would like, to write their own wedding vows. Love is patient, love is kind and sometimes love needs to be worked upon to keep the fire burning, so as in this issue of Shine our theme is ‘LOVE’, what better person to ask some questions on LOVE than Coral who has met and married 1000’s of couples who have fallen in love and tied the knot?
How can we define love, or what-is-love?
Sometime couples confuse desire & passion with love. It is what lasts after the passion dies down a bit. I feel it is when the passion is still there but you can look past the 4 day beard, and still love the guy under it, or the cap off the toothpaste, or when they are frustrating and always run late, or forgetting the odd anniversary (note any male reader I did say odd,) and all the other little everyday things that make up life, and yet you still want to wake up next to this person, and still want to grow old with them. I think that is love.
What makes a great couple?
They need to have similar tastes, not in everything, but quite a few. Doing things together is important, as a couple putting your partner first, above the mates and the girlfriends, respect each other. By this I mean if you would not want it done to you, don’t do it.
What are your top 5 tips for keeping the flame and your marriage alive?
1. Laughter – you must have a sense of humour.
2. Surprising each other by doing unexpected little things for the other.
3. Every now and then the champagne, candles and the flowers are important.
4. Respect each other’s individuality.
5. Spend time away together, even if it is only one night or one weekend if you can manage it, go somewhere together, and remember why you got married, and just reconnect.
Carol Kortlepel’s final tip… Respect each other as individuals.
Remember that making just one phone call just to say “I love you” works wonders. Also, bear in mind that the person you fell in love with is unique, this is why you fell for them in the first place. So do not spend half of your life with them trying to change them.
To contact Coral Kortlepel Phone: (02) 9527-2886 Mobile: 0417 717 359 or click on www.getmarried.com.au
by Melisa George