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Wedding Ceremonies

Serious, fun, religious, agnostic, spiritual? Yes, we do!

Whatever you wish for your ceremony we will help you do. We've done literally hundreds of weddings and can confidently say that we are very, very good at it. While all ceremonies follow a certain structure, anything is possible - your imagination is the limit. But then, you have us, so there is no limit. Having done so many weddings, we have many cool tips to enhance the wedding ceremony experience. For example - we always place the bride and groom facing each other between the minister and the audience so that everyone can see everyone - especially the photographer. The traditional positioning, face towards minister and back towards the audience makes some sense in a church setting - but it ruins the pictures and takes away the best part: audience seeing you and you seeing them. Imagine a theater play where the actors spent all their time with their backs towards you. Another little thing that we always recommend, and have never seen other officiants do, is seating parents on the "wrong" side. Thus, as the bride is on the left, have her parents seat on the right. This will allow her to see her parents during the ceremony and her parents will be able to see her tears and emotions as well, much better than looking at the back of her head for 20 minutes. Look at this wedding ceremony photo. It is taken from the where the groom's mother "traditionally" sits. She can look at the back of the head of her son during the whole ceremony. The same would be true for the bride's mother on the other side. Sure she can see her daughter in law, but really now, wouldn't any mother rather see her own child's face during the wedding? Now, swap mothers' (and fathers') seating positions and mother and daughter and mother and groom can exchange glances during this most special and unique moment. Try to find such ideas anywhere else.

To have a fabulous ceremony, there are several things that need to be done, but with experience they are relatively simple. We describe all that you'll ever need to know about wedding ceremonies below. A good minister can organize all this in 10 minutes, at least all our ministers do. Many other officiants will make this sounds like a big deal to justify crazy officiant fees. In fairness to some officiants out there, there are two things we do not do: interview for the job and represent that this will take a lot of time and effort.

Interview (meeting before you make a reservation): everything you ever wanted to know about us as ministers in on this web site. Moreover, we'd be happy to chat on the phone if you need to hear our voice. But interviewing for a one hour job is not economical. People who do this will charge you a lot of money.

Time and Effort: organizing and personalizing a wedding ceremony takes a lot of work for the officiant either if they are inexperienced or if they make it sound so. We are good and we feel guilty to ask for more money than we earn.

 

So what do we do then, you're probably thinking...

We can put together a unique ceremony script in two ways: Option 1. we'll email you several ready made wedding scripts with instructions to mix and match paragraphs, insert and remove anything you want. We'll then review your work and will provide you suggestions. We can email back and forth until you are satisfied. On the wedding day, we'll arrive 30 minutes before the ceremony and will organize / coordinate the whole wedding party based on our experience and any requirements you have. The same process can be done easier using our unique online interactive application program to help you create a wedding script in 10-15 minutes. This cool application is free to our brides and allows you to add all kinds of paragraphs from the hundreds of templates we have and then to change their order and customize each paragraph as much as you want. Then your minister will take a look and give you suggestions. Make adjustments if you wish and you're done. Or ask the minister. Then, once again, on the wedding day, you will spend another 10-15 minutes discussing processional and positioning just before the wedding. This is all it takes to prepare for a really nice ceremony. We do this for some 150-200 wedding ceremonies every year and we have raving fans. Several times we were asked to come back for renewals of vows or a relative's wedding, because they loved how we simplified and clarified the process, and probably because of our fair pricing as well. So why do we spend so much energy explaining that this business is simpler that many people make it sound? Because we believe fair pricing is what nice business people do and because we love what we do. "Pay it forward" if you appreciate being treated this way and, someday, the world will be a much nicer place. So read on and make a reservation today. Our calendars do not stay open for too long.

 

Become a Wedding Ceremony Expert in 10 minutes and Don't Get Taken In

The Number 1 most well guarded secret in the wedding ceremony business is that they are all pretty much the same. That is, they follow a simple structure: introduction, readings, questions, etc. Sure, there are many ways to personalize a ceremony so that it is special and uniquely yours, yet from an officiant's point of view, they are basically the same. You need to understand this because many officiants will tell you that they will work hard for you to personalize your ceremony and that they will take care of every detail to create a very special ceremony, and on and on... The truth is that it takes about an hour at most to work out everything there is to work out about a ceremony and if you start the conversation being clueless, you will end up paying $2-3-4-500 more than it is necessary. So read on to get some clues and spend your money on something you will keep - like photos - which, according to our "shameless marketing department", we provide as well.

 

The following wedding ceremony outline can be used for most any wedding:

1. Entrance, processional & music

2. Introduction

3. Readings, songs, activities and/or prayers

4. Questions of intent ("Will you have this man/woman?)

5. Readings, songs, activities and/or prayers

6. Wedding Vows ("I promise to love you...")

7. Readings, songs, activities and/or prayers

8. Introduction of the couple, recessional and instructions for receiving line.

 

Let's discuss the wedding ceremony details

In the beginning the crowd is without form, and void; and darkness is upon the ceremony. And the Minister moves up to the front of the crowd and says, Let there be quiet: and it gets quiet. And the Bride hears that it is quiet and the Groom knows that it is good. And the Minister divides bride’s people from groom’s people in two sides and tells them to turn off their cell phones. And they typically do so, with smiles upon their faces. And it is good. And the Minister looks to the bride to see that she is ready and when she nods that she is, the Minister nods at the DJ and the music starts...

 

1. Bridal Party Entrance & Processional Music

Typically most brides want to have some kind of an entrance "down the isle". The entrance order is Groom (alone, or with his parents or with minister), bride's maids and groomsmen (each alone or in couples), flower girls and ring bearers and then the bride (alone, with Dad or with both parents) - yes, both of you can come in with both parents - and if you want to make your parents proud choose this option, bride's dad is not the only one present parent who should feel special... Whenever Groom and Bride get to the front it is nice to hug / kiss the parents and then let them go have a seat. When the bride comes in view, the minister tells the crowd to "Stand up for the bride please!" The whole ceremony section can be 2-3 minutes without seeming to be too much.

So decide:

• Who is in the bridal party
• Who walks down the isle with the bride and the groom
• What songs to play for the bridal party and then for the bride

 

2. Wedding Minister's Welcome & Introduction

This is a long way of saying "Thanks for coming, we're going to witness a wedding". This can be funny, serious, religious, spiritual or quite personal, telling people something about you. Most often we say something like this:

Hello and welcome!

We gathered together here in the presence of friends and family to celebrate the love which Bride and Groom have for each other, to give social recognition to their decision to commit their lives and accept each other completely, to learn how to help and understand each other, to build a family, and together, to travel through life.

If any of you has anything to say that might change their minds… they… don’t want to hear it  However, they do want to hear from you, that you will always be their friends, and will always support and encourage them as they discover the commitment and dedication needed to make marriage work. And that is why you are here today.

This is a fun wedding introduction, touches on tradition, makes everyone welcome and involved and gets to the point can grabs people's attention. This is a good time to mention [ in the sight of God ] if that is relevant to you beliefs. This section will take 2-4 minutes, total running time so far 4 - 7 minutes.

 

3. Readings, Songs, Activities and/or Prayers

The wedding is like a short theater play. To set the mood to the main part, you can have the minister and someone say, sing and do something. Whatever you choose, let us know who the performing person is, their relationship to you (friend, cousin) and what they will do. Then, our minister will introduce them, much like they do at Awards shows: "And now, we have a wonderful gift from Bride's friend Frienda..." and Frienda gets up and does her thing.

1. Wedding Readings: whether literary, poetic or religious - a reading is a nice, simple way to customize your wedding ceremony. Some people want to hear something nice, some people have a favorite scripture psalm and some people want to make a statement about marriage, relationships, the world and our place in the universe. Whatever makes you happy on your wedding day, is perfect!
2. Ceremony Songs: if you know someone talented who can sing or play an instrument this is a very nice time to integrate them in the ceremony service. Playing your favorite song on a CD while your are standing on front of the crowd would be kind of weird. It might work if you two danced for the 3'45" duration of the song, but overall this is not a good idea. Voice and instruments: good; CD: bad. Keep the thought for an activity though.
3. Ceremony Activities: another thing you can do is recognize parents, absent dear ones or anyone and anything that is meaningful to you. For example, the minister can explain that you will be giving roses to parents and hugging them to say thanks for everything they've done to raise you... during this time you could play a portion of your favorite CD song.

After 3-5 minutes of mood setting, you are ready for the main part. Total running time so far 7 - 12 minutes.

 

4. Questions of intent

Of course you are here on your own accord but tradition is to ask you, just in case. So the questions of intent are just that, to establish that you want to marry the person in front of you. Questions of intent can be long or short, religious or not, and can reflect some of the things that are important to you and you hope for in your marriage. Here is a sample:

BRIDENAME "Do you take GROOMNAME to be your wedded husband, to share your life openly, standing with him, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and to love, so long as you both shall live?"

Answer: I do / I will / Yes / Sure thing / Yah, you betcha

GROOMNAME "Do you take BRIDENAME to be your wedded wife, to share your life openly, standing with her, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and to love, so long as you both shall live?

Answer: I do / I will / Yes / Sure thing / Yah, you betcha

This will take 1-2 minutes. Total running time so far 8 - 14 minutes.

 

5. More Readings, Songs, Activities and/or Prayers

If you want to keep it simple you can skip to Vows. Otherwise you can have another reading or an activity. If you want to light a unity candle or mix unity sands this is the time. Anything described above at Readings, Songs & Activities can be done here. Here's the type of thing the minister will say for a Unity Candle ceremony.

BRIDENAME and GROOMNAME will now light up a unity candle; each of them using a candle whose light represents the love of the family that nurtured them into the people they are and you have come to love; the light of the unity candle signifies the love which they have for each other, the family they will start here together before you, and, hopefully, the new life they will nurture together.

This will take 1-2 minutes. Total running time so far 9-16 minutes.

 

6. Wedding Vows

Alright, this is the big moment. The vows are the promises you will make to one another. Often they are the same for both bride and groom, but they do not need to be. Find some vows you like and then customize them to be yours. Here are samples of a variety of vows.

May we have the rings please?

GROOMNAME, place the ring on BRIDENAME's finger, please look at her and repeat after me

I, GROOMNAME, promise to love and cherish you BRIDENAME.
To give you strength, to help you in good times and in bad.
To respect our individuality, to make our home one of love and understanding.
I promise to be faithful to you, giving you all of myself, all of my tomorrows, all of my life.

BRIDENAME as you place this ring on GROOMNAME ‘s hand, please repeat after me

I, BRIDENAME promise to love and cherish you GROOMNAME.
To give you strength, to help you in good times and in bad.
To respect our individuality, to make our home one of love and understanding.
I promise to be faithful to you, giving you all of myself, all of my tomorrows, all of my life.

This will take 4-5 minutes. Total running time so far 13-21 minutes.

 

7. Readings, Songs, Activities and/or Prayers

This is another opportunity for some wedding related content. On occasion we've had parents read letters. The sky is the limit. Anything that makes you happy can be done.

This will take 1-2 minutes. Total running time so far 14-23 minutes.

 

8. Introduction of the couple, recessional and instructions for receiving line.

Finally, the kiss and the the introduction of the couple. Choose how you want to be presented. Here is a sample.

Mr. GROOM, you may kiss your bride.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to present to you, for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Reallyhappydudes. Congratulations!

At this point the recessional music is played and you two would walk down the isle. Stop wherever you want the receiving line to be. The bridal party walks out after you and the minister thanks folks and instructs them to follow you for the receiving line and anything else you want to communicate to them.

This will take 1 minute. Total running time 15-24 minutes.

This is it.

So what next?

• Decide what readings you want
• Decide who do you want in the bridal party
• Decide who do you want to read or sing
• Use the interactive application VowMaster to build a script and customize it
• Get married and live happily ever after!

To reserve your date and time with us, please use the reservation page and the continue to make a payment please read the instructions on the reservation page first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article

Weddings Ceremonies Poetry,

An Important Part Of The Wedding

By: Sheila Easton

Poems, for such a long time, have been used to express one's feelings and emotions and to record events and thoughts in an artistic form. Reading poems during a wedding can enhance the beauty of the event.

The wedding poem may be composed and be read by a member of the family as a gift to the groom and bride. However, not many have good skills in writing that poem writing for weddings may also be entrusted to professional wedding writers.

Even if the task of writing the wedding poem has been delegated to an experienced wedding poem writer, the groom and the bride or a member of the family should choose the wedding poem writer carefully and coordinate with the writer as often as possible.

Choosing the wedding poetry writer should take place after the sites for the wedding and reception have been confirmed. This is necessary because some of the sites details may be included in the poem that this should be supplied to the wedding poetry writer as soon as possible.

Also, consider the site for the wedding rites. Some religious institutions do not allow alterations with the wedding rites such as including reading poetry during the ceremony. Therefore, in this case, wedding poetry reading should be done during the reception.

The wedding poetry should represent the groom and the bride and should go well with the theme of the wedding. The wedding poem may also be printed in the program and may also be given as a keepsake. Thus, a good wedding poem is very important. For that reason, brainstorming can help a lot when choosing the wedding poetry writer or vendor.

Before deciding on who will be the wedding poetry vendor and writer, consider what type of poem will you need. For a traditional and formal wedding, an elegantly written poem is suggested. If the wedding will be having an informal ceremony, a poem with a touch of humor will work well.

Do not choose a lengthy poem if the ceremony will be longer than two hours. Decide if music will be played while reading the poem.

If you have decided what you will need, you have to stat looking for a wedding poem vendor. The easiest way to look for reliable information is by asking for suggestions from family and friends, the manager of the reception site, the person who will officiate the marriage, or from your wedding coordinator. You can also search online for poetry vendors.

If possible, ask for a rough draft of what the wedding poem will be so you can decide if this is the one that will be appropriate for the wedding. It is preferable to allow one year for composing the poem. This is to make sure that there is enough time to edit the poem to suit your requirements.

Also, check if the wedding poet can work within your given budget. Wedding poems can cost at least $100. Ask for sample works and suggestions to enhance your wedding poem.

When providing information about the wedding to the wedding poetry vendor, make sure that you have included the following details: the interests of the couple, the type of ceremony, the location of the wedding and the reception, the number of guests and their backgrounds, the theme of the wedding ceremony, who will be the poem reader and whatever unique detail that you can include to make the poem unique.

If you have chosen a good wedding poetry writer and reader, you can make sure that your wedding's tone and ambience is enhanced to make it more memorable to everyone who will be present.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Ex-wedding planner assistant Sheila Easton reveals how anyone getting married can save a lot of money. On her free website the uncovers several wedding - secrets. Visit this link for details: www.wedding-ideas-and-vows.com