Officiant

Eco-Friendly / Green Weddings, LGBT Weddings / Ceremonies, Memorials

2004

1

Cash, Check, Paypal, Mastercard, Visa

May 24, 2012

Civil Union, Interfaith Ceremony, Non-religious Ceremony, Single Religion Ceremony

Agnostic, Christian (no denomination), Christian - Anglican, Christian - Baptist, Christian - Catholic, Christian - Episcopalian, Christian - Lutheran, Christian - Methodist, Christian - Mormon, Christian - Orthodox, Christian - Presbyterian, Christian - Quaker, Evangelical, Muslim

No

I perform ceremonies at hotels, parks, churches, mansions, gardens, private homes, banquet halls, yachts, etc.

I prefer wearing a robe. However, I am accomodating to the needs of your beliefs.

Once you decide to use my services, you will find my workbook to be very helpful in helping you to customize your ceremony.

You are more than welcome to write your own vows. Remember that this is your wedding, not mine.

Once you have secured my services, you will receive a lot of guidance, and a ceremony workbook with choices for each part of the ceremony.

All ceremonies are allotted 30 minutes. This includes the processional, readings, solos, rituals, and recessional.

I am a trained Prepare and Enrich couselor. However premarital counseling is always encouraged, especially when there is an obvious problem. Most couples I work with seek private prewedding sessions, as opposed to group work. This is because they have issues beyond the beginning stages of the wedding. Their problems are more post-marital because their relationships has been more like a marriage for years.

I encourage a rehearsal. It helps everyone to know what they will be doing and how things will flow. Smoothness is important.

I will bring an amplifier if necessary. And I will do this only if there is no DJ or the DJ does not have a lapel microphone. Working hands free is very important to me. There is too much for me to do with my hands during the ceremony.

What is the waiting period for getting a marriage license in DC?

There is a 3 day waiting period.  However, the total processing time is 5 days.  The day of application and the day of pickup is not counted as part of the 3 days.

Can you apply for my marriage license for me?

Yes I can.   And all information that you provide for processing your marriage license is confidenital and is only seen by me and the deputy clerk at the DC Marriage License Bureau.

You can learn more about that service at:  www.startum.com/dcmarriagelicenseagent.htm

 

A Few Tips I like to Share:

Tip 1: 
Before accepting the engagement ring, make sure your partner is free to marry you. Don’t wait until weeks before your wedding to find out that he has not been divorced or the paperwork had not been finalized.

This can be very heart breaking, because most vendors will not provide a refund nor allow rescheduling of your event weeks before the wedding.  So with the ring ask to see the divorce documents immediately. If these papers cannot be produced within days, then he’s still married. So plan accordingly.


Tip 2: 
Always start a summer outdoor wedding on time.  Consider your guests and elderly family members sitting in the sweltering heat while supporting you. The heat can be pretty overwhelming for them especially while dressed in formal clothing.

So provide ice cold drinking water and fans.

Do not delay your wedding more than 10 minutes. It’s not fair to your guests to wait in temperatures above 80º.


Tip 3: 
Do not use an aisle runner outdoors unless it is secured with weights.  I  have watched many inexperienced pullers work hard trying to figure out what to do, while 100’s of people looked on. Often times there is no tape, no weights to aid the puller in his task. Even though this may seem like a simple job. It becomes difficult when nature works against your efforts.

To make this job easier for the puller, I suggest that you provide him with the right tools. Equip him with some heavy duty tape and a pocket knife (just in case he needs it.). And use colored pouches full of stones, balloon weights, or small votives with lights (battery operated, not fire) at 3 - 4 feet intervals (both sides) to hold down the runner. This prevents the runner from taking off to distant places across the lawn, while keeping it smooth and straight.

When a runner is used on grass, your heels and the heels of your wedding party (recessional) will poke through it. This can cause you to trip, be thrown off balance, and the runner to tear and move. If you are not planning on wearing flats, wedge heels (on grass), or securing the runner (grass or concrete); then forget using one. The aisle runner can be more problems than you can imagine.