Hey there my name's Benjamin Carlyle and I really Love my job!!I I'm a Marriage Celebrant celebrating wedding ceremonies in the iconic Byron Bay, to the paradise of the Tweed Coast and up into the glittering Gold Coast!! I am happily married, with my two boys aged 11 & 13, who constantly amaze me with their boundless stores of energy. They're stunt kids and we're just trying to keep up with their antics. I live in Pottsville Beach located on the pristine Tweed Coastline, where I'm regularly chasing waves or walking Panda the wonder Dog. I'm definitely a Salt Water addict and it's the best piece of peace in my life. I'm an Almond Latte kinda guy, I meditate and run a Men's Circle. I really appreiciate the healing powers of the journey within and dig surrounding myself with positive humans!! Tarnie and I run Hitched In Paradise which facilitates Elopements from Byron Bay to the Southern Gold Coast. We're stoked to see how far our little love business has come in the last 10 years.

So how did I become a Celebrant and who the hell is Ben...? I've been a Marriage Celebrant since 2009 and my journey began through playing in a band with a friend based in Melbourne. His Dad was a well sort after Celebrant in Victoria and I jelled with his lifestyle and charismatic approach to his job. I'd played music for many years and enjoyed being up in front of the crowd, directing the traffic - so the transition seemed natural. I studied the course and received my Celebrants license, my aspirations of being a rockstar was overtaken by my current path as a Celeb of another kind. I'm so honoured to be a full time Celebrant and have now facilitated over 1000 ceremonies, only 1% of those exist in Australia. It is a real buzz for me to hold the space of a wedding ceremony and celebrate my couples 1 in a Billion love story!!

Where are you from Ben? Well that's way too long a story. Skip to my early 20's, on the road heading towards Jyndabyne in a Panel Van with my mate, into the wide unknown. I have always had an adventurous spirit and spent the next 8 years traversing around the globe and this beautiful country. I chased the waves, the snow and everything in between was a life changing experience. I've worn many hats in my Employment history; Baker, Musician, Cook, Gardener, Door to Door Salesman, Tradie, Dodgem Car Operator!!! and so on... I am now living my passion as a Marriage Celebrant, everything else prior was just a job!

I met my gorgeous wife Tarnie, in a random colliding of universes that had both of us seeing sparks from the first meeting. I was emotionally and mentally ready for the love of my life and as they say, "I wasn't looking, it found me!!" It wasn't long before my wardrobe moved into her place, Tarnie had far better taste than I did! The next thing we knew we had traveled and worked with each other in the Movie Industry around Australia! With some cash to burn we bought a block of land down in Pottsville and built a house. Thinking back on it, having a child half way through the construction of our house, was probably not the best move but Nattai chose us and we were a family of 3!! Life was now running at full steam and Makani soon joined the Carlyle Mob 2 years later, Tarnie was actually pregnant with him in our wedding. The mayhem of the family of 4 began. And now we have a teenager, an 11 year old and Panda the Bordoodle!! Life is pretty awesome!!

Life is definitely an amazing journey when you open up your heart and mind to your desires.