Surprise Wedding

In August I had the pleasure of participating in a surprise wedding! The couple was engaged, but most of their family and friends had no idea when the wedding would take place. The bride invited them to a surprise birthday party for the groom at a local restaurant. The decorations were black and silver - nothing that hinted of a wedding celebration. The groom pretended to be surprised when he walked in, but soon it was the guests who were surprised when I announced that a wedding was about to take place.

This is a great idea for a couple who wants a casual, low-key wedding. The groom wore a suit and the bride wore a black cocktail dress. The best man and maid-of-honor were among the few who knew about the wedding beforehand. The ceremony that I created for them on two-weeks notice was brief, but humorous and meaningful.

This is the way I described their relationship: "Things couldn’t help but be a little crazy in a home where the man is the outdoors type, whose favorite hobby is ice fishing, and the woman is a shop-aholic! Stephanie confesses that she has never, and will never, go fishing in the middle of the winter, but Steve has watched QVC with her for hours, while she has shopped for just the right purse. Now that is what I call True Love! These two have totally opposite personalities, but they balance each other perfectly, and they share a common goal - to have a happy, healthy family."

There was a lot of laughter and some tears during the ceremony as the guests realized they were actually witnessing a wedding, not just a birthday party - and it was a lot more memorable!

Lake Wedding

What could be more fun than a boat wedding on Goodyear Lake? How many celebrants get to spend their rehearsal hour out on a boat on a beautiful afternoon while the pilot practices getting the boat into the right position for the ceremony? This is what I got to do this past July when I officiated at the wedding of two water-lovers, Les and Holly.

On the wedding day the guests stood up on the tiered deck of Les's lake-front cottage while we processed down to the dock, onto the boat, and then out onto the water. There was just room on the boat for we three, the best man and maid-of-honor, and the pilot. I used a microphone so that those on the deck could hear me above the lake breeze. The ceremony was simple, without any rituals, but I think the boatride itself was a ritual, symbolic of this couple's love for water - both lake and ocean. Their first date was a walk on the ocean beach in Florida, and most of their time together is spent either in Florida or at the lake cottage. The bride and her daughter, the maid-of-honor, wore shell necklaces and shell belts, and the men wore white Hawaiian shirts. Even the wedding cake was decorated with white scallops!

My First Wedding

Just a few weeks after receiving my certification, I received a phone call from a young bride who wanted me to marry her and her beloved - that day! It would be a simple ceremony in their backyard - no attendants, no flowers, no rings, and no guests except for her parents. I told her that I really needed a little time to prepare the ceremony. We agreed to hold it the next day. In that time I was able to create a brief, but meaningful and joyful ceremony, the bride and groom bought rings and a white sundress for her, and the bride's family set up a ceremony and reception site at the American Legion, complete with flowers, balloons, and refreshments. About two dozen guests showed up for the wedding that almost wasn't!

I learned that the hastiness of the wedding was due to the fact that the Mexican groom's visa was about to expire. Never-the-less, it was apparent that this couple was very much in love, and all of the bride's family and friends were pleased with the match. The ceremony was simple, but I know they will always remember the vows they made to each other that day, in which they said: "I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward, for the rest of my life."