My then-fiance and I had a fairly small budget for our wedding, and a lot of people have suggested to us that we use an LDS bishop or a friend who became a minister online, to save money. I am SO GLAD that we didn't try to cut costs on the officiant. The ceremony, aside from being the main event, is the most intense and emotional part, and Reverend Carver made it everything we wanted and more. And officiants are not all equal -- my best friend was married by a bishop and remembering the ceremony still makes both of us cringe.

We met Rev. Carver over dinner, and we liked him straight away. He was very easy to talk to and get along with. We didn't really know that much about wedding ceremonies, and he explained the different parts that can be included if we want them, and gave us a folder of different readings, ceremonies, vows, blessings, and other options we could include. He got to know us, what we wanted, what we didn't want, and took lots of notes. He also explained how to go about getting the marriage license, and told us he would mail it himself after the wedding.

We met Rev. Carver 3 weeks before the wedding, and procrastinated on looking through all the ceremony stuff until 2 weeks before the wedding. There were a lot of options, and we found a lot of stuff we liked (which was surprising, because neither of us is religious or into talking about feelings). When we (finally) emailed him with what parts we wanted to be included, he was very fast in getting a draft of the ceremony back to us. After a few minor changes (I am picky), we were good to go.

The day of the wedding, he even kept a kleenex for me at my request. The ceremony was personal, touching, romantic, funny, and absolutely unforgettable. You normally think of the dress, the cake, and the venue as being the important parts, but it was definitely Rev. Carver that 'made' the wedding.