St. Louis Wedding Celebrant: Winter 2017

Unity Rituals

One of the ways a couple can put their own unique stamp on their wedding ceremony is to perform a meaningful unity ritual. So, what is a unity ritual? At a wedding, it is a symbolic movement or set of movements which expresses the unity of the couple. The most common unity rituals seen at American weddings include the exchange of marriage vows, the giving of wedding rings, and the first kiss as a married couple.

Other cultures and religious practices have unity rituals which are included in a wedding ceremony, some of which we are seeing more of here in the United States when people bring their treasured traditions with them as them emigrate. Some of these include the lasso ceremony, circling rituals, hand washing, or a garland ceremony.

Some of the unity rituals you may be more familiar with include lighting a unity candle, blending sand, Celtic hand fasting, or tree planting.  Some unity rituals can be created or adapted to include children, if the couple is bringing children into the marriage.

So how do you decide what, if any, additional unity rituals to have at your wedding ceremony? And I say “additional” unity rituals because most people will have already decided to include marriage vows, wedding rings, and the first kiss. And for some couples, those traditional unity rituals are enough.

But if you think that you would like to explore other possibilities, ask yourselves if you want to say something more, express another aspect of your commitment to each other, or feature something about your relationship as a couple to the wider community. If you are easily creative, you may come up with an original idea. However, most of us need help coming up with ideas, so rest assured that there are plenty of options posted on Pinterest, WeddingWire, and The Knot every day.

SueEric 062015B

As a couple who enjoy exploring new craft beer together, Sue and Eric knew that they wanted to share a glass of beer for their unity ritual (see photo). Sometimes it can be that simple!

An experienced wedding officiant should be able to discuss options with you to help find just the right unity ritual to enhance your marriage celebration. Contact me to talk about your wedding ceremony today!

St. Louis Wedding Celebrant: Spring 2013

It’s been a busy Spring! I had four ceremonies in March, seven in April, and I’m preparing for eight in May. Add to that my work on Summer ceremonies and beginning some Fall ceremonies, I’ve not had a lot of time to stop and smell the flowers. Not that we’ve had many flowers to check out here with this unusually late St. Louis Spring.

Flowers or not, since 1970 this time of year brings us Earth Day, an annual opportunity to take a look at how each of us can make a contribution toward improving life on planet Earth. I am always looking for ways to improve in this area, and I hope to see the wedding industry become more genuinely “green” as time goes by.

This past year I became an “approved vendor” with The Green Bride Guide www.greenbrideguide.com .  The Green Bride Guide is a comprehensive and credible green wedding resource online. The Directory is like a Yellow Pages for green weddings that provides a centralized resource of green wedding vendors, searchable by geographic area.

According to the Green Bride Guide, almost 50% of couples are now looking to include green elements in their events, and 85% are concerned about “greenwashing,” the passing off of non-green companies as eco-friendly. To address these concerns, the Green Bride Guides screens all vendors in the directory and displays their green practices in their profiles.

I will soon be adding a “going green” page to my website to describe in more detail my ongoing efforts toward lessoning my carbon footprint, both in my personal and professional lives. So, stay tuned!

Marriage: “A Momentous Act of Self-Definition”

As the United States Supreme Court prepares to hear two cases next week involving same-sex marriage laws, it seems fitting to reprint an excerpt from Goodridge vs. Department of Health, the landmark Massachusetts case which found that same-sex couples have the right to marry in that state. I first became aware of this excerpt when a couple told me that they wanted to use it as a reading for their civil union ceremony. Since then, both same-sex and hetero couples have requested this reading. Some consider it a political statement, others simply a good definition of marriage. Take a look and see what you think. Me? I think it is both!

Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society. For those who choose to marry, and for their children, marriage provides an abundance of legal, financial, and social benefits. In return it imposes weighty legal, financial, and social obligations….Without question, civil marriage enhances the “welfare of the community.” It is a “social institution of the highest importance.” Marriage also bestows enormous private and social advantages on those who choose to marry. Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family…. Because it fulfils yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition.

(Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall) 

St. Louis Wedding Celebrant: Winter 2013

So, I started January with a nasty cold, followed by a restful vacation in California with my husband. Once home and healthy again, I met with seven couples last month, and I am happy to report that all seven hired me! That’s a nice beginning for the new year, indeed! Now it’s all about more meetings and ceremony writing….

My first wedding of 2013 is scheduled for Valentine’s Day in the home of the couple, Stephanie and Jeff. I’m looking forward to celebrating an intimate ceremony with them and a few close family members and friends.

One of my goals for this winter includes finally mobilizing my website! The statistics on the soaring use of hand-held devices are too overwhelming to overlook, so I’m going to get to it in order to make it easier for people to find me and learn about my services.

Once again I am preparing for the only wedding show in which I participate: Off White Indie Wedding Show, March 9-10. This year it will be held at Mad Art Gallery in Soulard. If you want to connect with creative, eco-friendly, out-of-the-box, LGBT-friendly, handmade, small businesses from the St. Louis area to help you create the kind of wedding you really want to have, do yourself a favor and go to this show! The tickets are an incredibly reasonable price of $10 each. http://offwhiteweddingshow.com/

Blessing for a Marriage

I have just finished my final drafts for this weekend’s ceremonies.  For Saturday’s ceremony, Madison and Steve chose one of my favorite blessings, written by poet and Unity Church minister, James Dillet Freeman.  He is sometimes referred to as the “poet laureate to the moon” because his poems were taken there on two different missions, Apollo 11 and Apollo 15.  This blessing is, however, both spiritual and very down to earth.  Enjoy!

 

Blessing for a Marriage, by James Dillet Freeman

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding.

May you always need one another — not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete. The valley does not make the mountain less, but more. And the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you.

May you need one another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you entice one another, but not compel one another. May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another. May you succeed in all-important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces.

May you look for things to praise, often say, “I love you!” and take no notice of small faults. If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.

May you enter into the mystery that is the awareness of one another’s presence — no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities.

May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

 

Wish Upon A Wedding

Wish Upon a Wedding is the world’s first nonprofit organization that provides weddings & vow renewals to couples facing terminal illness and other serious life-altering situations, regardless of sexual orientation. With over 20 chapters across the country, the organization has granted 30 wishes since launching in January of 2010.

From September 15th til October 31st, auction doors will be open to bidders across the nation in the largest charity wedding event of its kind! Featuring hundreds of high-end and unique experiences from the industry’s finest, Bid Your Wish for Wedded Bliss has previously been hailed as a luxury shopping experience like no other, drawing thousands of savvy bidders from coast to coast.

With many items starting at just $50, hundreds of amazing wedding deals await the lucky couples who visit the auction.

Greener Weddings: Earth Day 2011

More and more of us are coming to the realization that, for the very survival of life on this planet, we need to begin to thinking of every day as “earth day.” This requires bringing a new level of awareness to the impact our everyday decisions make on both the natural world and on our brothers and sisters all over the world.

I have witnessed a growing number of brides and grooms bringing this deepening consciousness to their weddings. They are making choices that include eco-friendly engagement and wedding rings; using recycled paper for everything from invitations to program; and buying organic, locally grown flowers for their ceremony and reception. Some brides are wearing used gowns (vintage, borrowed from a friend, or a family gown); having the reception catered by a vendor using locally grown food; and choosing to have the ceremony and reception in the same location to cut down on driving.

The list goes on. I could write a book. But I don’t need to because there is so much information out there for those who want to pursue greener options for their weddings!

Two books to consider:
Green Wedding: Planning Your Eco-Friendly Celebration, by Miyera Navarro, and
The Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget, by Kate L. Harrision.

Shopping for Your Wedding?

CALLING ALL SHOPPERS!

Less than 2 days left to score amazing deals while donating to Wish Upon a Wedding
Auction CLOSES at 11:59 pm PST on November 30th
Don’t miss out on the Wish Upon a Wedding Cyber Monday-Tuesday Online Auction Deals! Help us make wedding wishes come true this holiday season.

Find awesome gifts including
Invitations, Custom Card Boxes, Favors, Custom Aisle Runners and MORE

Surprise your special someone with an incredible vacation – or give the gift of a honeymoon!

Click here to bid:
https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?auctionId=115386483

Take Me Out to the … Wedding?


Recently I had the opportunity to officiate at a wedding at home plate in Busch Stadium. Now, it might not be the first place most people think of when considering options for wedding venues. But for two die-hard Cardinal fans, it can be the perfect place. The staff was friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. And Fredbird even dressed for the occasion in a white jacket!

For more information, go to http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/stl/ballpark/
Scroll down the page and click on “nonbaseball events,” then click on “weddings.”

Now, that’s a winner!

Plan Your Wedding While Helping Someone Else

Online Fund Raising Auctions are now OPEN across America!

Getting Married? For the first time in history, you can plan your wedding from virtually any major city in the United States, hiring the top wedding vendors in the industry and knowing that the money you spend is benefiting someone in need.

Just looking for a great deal? Check out our auctions for hundreds of other items including amazing trips, jewelry, spa treatments, dinners, entertainment and MORE… Even if you are not planning a wedding, we have what you are looking for!

Who will you be helping? Your bid helps raise crucial funding for Wish Upon a Wedding the world’s first nonprofit organization that provides weddings & vow renewals for couples facing terminal illness and other serious life altering circumstances. Launched in January of 2010, Wish Upon a Wedding has already impacted hundreds of lives by offering hope, courage and strength to couples facing some of life’s most challenging situations.

What is available? Find everything needed right here to plan your own perfect wedding day! Just by planning your wedding, YOU can make wedding wishes come true for some very deserving couples! All proceeds go directly to Wish Upon a Wedding

Wish Upon a Wedding is a nonprofit organization dedicated to granting weddings for those battling life-threatening illnesses and life-altering situations, regardless of sexual orientation. Our foundation was created to celebrate the courage, determination and spirit of these couples by granting their dream wedding wishes. Our hope is that chosen recipients can inspire others couples facing similar situations to find hope and strength, without having to put their wedding dreams on hold.

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