The Official Guide to Finding a Wedding Officiant

Wow, that really does sound official! Although the Officiant at your wedding is called upon to perform the most solemn and serious duty, it’s not what they do that I’m addressing today.  Rather, it’s when you find the person who is going to share this incredibly intimate moment with you and your fiancé.

The correct answer is, the sooner the better.  Somehow this most crucial role often gets put at the bottom of the list, but the better you know your pastor, Rabbi or other civic leader, the better prepared you’ll be for the big day.  And the basic formula is: prepared+wedding day = ability to relax and enjoy oneself.

Under the huppah with Rabbi Sally Olins from Palm Springs' Temple Isaiah

 

You’ll want to know, for instance, if your favorite pastor won’t marry you outside the church sanctuary – not a happy discovery if you’ve already put a deposit down on another ceremony location.  Perhaps your Priest has counseling requirements.  The last thing you’ll want to be squeezing into your schedule two weeks before the wedding is four hours of pre-marital classes.

Last, and I hinted at this at the start, this is a very personal moment. The sooner you meet with your officiant, the sooner you can begin developing a relationship between the three of you. Your ceremony will be more personal and meaningful when performed by someone who actually knows you.  Start early, and by the time you meet on wedding day you’ll be old friends sharing a wonderful experience.

Be well, and love well!

 

-Dinah

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Going to the chapel and I’m gonna get…an amazing cultural experience

So it wasn’t what the Dixie Cups had in mind when the sang their perennial hit wedding song “Goin’ to the Chapel,” but with American weddings today, there’s a good chance many guests will be experiencing either religious or cultural traditions they’ve never seen before.

What a beautiful and wonderful thing! Weddings ( or something like them) are a universal ceremony around the world. You may not speak a language or know a religious tradition, but the special loving atmosphere at a wedding of any variety is unmistakeable.

A Parsee Wedding
Image via Wikipedia

In a world where there is so much fear of an amorphous “them,” could there be a better way to be introduced to new ideas, traditions and faiths than at such a joyous moment?

Go to the chapel. Go to the synagogue. Go to the mosque, the tent with the fire pit, the altar with a rainbow aisle runner. Go grow, learn and celebrate two people in love, who, above all else, are gonna get married.

Tradition! It’s not just a number in Fiddler on The Roof

There are lots of ways to include family traditions in your wedding.  Here”s a unique story of a dress that has been passed down through a family since 1887!  If you want to kick this one off, think classic ladies!
funny wedding photos - dress - 127 years old - 127 Years Young
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