About Custom Wedding Ceremonies of Central Virginia
An itinerant Wedding Officiant traveling a wide radius from her Charlottesville / Staunton epicenter, Julie makes your ceremony a celebration of love. She’s a natural storyteller who brings a sense of fun and an elegant writing style that transforms your personal story into a moving narrative replete with depth and laughter. Each ceremony is an original ... designed to make the heart sing and create a memorable experience for you and your guests. As the Centerpiece of your Wedding Day, Julie's ceremonies set the celebratory tone for all that follows. And she's always happy to honor your cultural heritage, faith tradition, or slip in a sci-fi reference or two to Star Trek or Star Wars, etc..
Professionally certified in the art + science of ritual -— non-religious & semi-religious — Julie is a graduate of the Celebrant Institute. As such, her ceremonies are unique — written from scratch — and customized to your personalities, world view, and deeply held values. From far-ranging conversations with you, she usually finds a theme or a “hook” to draw upon that illustrates how you complement, support and balance each other — and which conveys to your people why it's fait accompli that you marry.
As a Humanist officiant with respect for a Higher Power, Julie often works with couples whose church is the Natural World and the outdoors ... as well as with those who may identify as atheist, agnostic, realist, empiricist, romanticist, paganist, undecided, somewhat religious, science-oriented, practical — and often, those who simply regard themselves mainly as spiritual.
Services Offered Over coffee, Skype or Facetime, followed by a Questionnaire, couples share with Julie their ceremony vision, or simply their likes and dislikes. Working together, she coalesces the creative elements of the ceremony into a coherent thematic whole, such as with readings, rituals, prayers, ring blessings, vows — and her specialty — the humorous, light-hearted “Celebrant Address.” Couples may revise and make unlimited edits to their ceremony until completely satisfied. They are encouraged to write their own vows with Julie's assistance if they like, or else have her customize "I do" vows.
Her flat fee includes everything from running your rehearsal the day before, and/or with your Planner-Coordinator, to travel, to liaisoning with your Vendors providing Cue Sheets, and sending you a Keepsake Ceremony a week or two afterwards. Most importantly, of course, she legally signs and mails your Marriage License to the Courthouse from whence you obtained it.
If you don't plan to have a D.J. providing sound for your ceremony, Julie will take along her P.A. system to amplify her voice and make sure your guests can comfortably hear, crucial at an outdoor ceremony.
Couples may also request Julie for elopements and intimate micro-weddings that require no rehearsal.
Credentials Julie is court licensed in Washington D.C. and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Certified by the Celebrant Instittute & Foundation in April 2014, Julie specialized in the Wedding Officiant discipline, which invovled seven months of in-depth classes, discussion, study, projects and practicums.
On a life-long spiritual quest herself, these days she's more like Switzerland...neutral. Able to draw upon her diverse spiritual background, she can create any type of eclectic ceremony you wish.
Travel Range Julie's travel range in Virginia encompasses the environs of Charlottesville, Blue Ridge Parkway (Ravens Roost), Skyline Drive, George Washington National Forest, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Luray, Nelson County (Rte 151), The Omni Homestead in Bath, Orange County, Culpeper, and if specially requested, Washington, D.C. -— and all points in-between. So please, by all means, inquire and include the location of your venue.
Next Step Contact Julie, preferably via email, to arrange the no-obligation coffee meeting, or set up a Skype or FaceTime video chat. This is a free consultation in which Julie is happy to share with couples ideas for their having a unique, unforgettable wedding ceremony ... performed with just the right amount of humor, joy, gravitas — and that which honors the momentousness of it all with respect for all present, remaining sensitive to any religious beliefs of your family members. She knows she's hit the mark when guests tell her afterwards that they laughed and they cried — and that it was the best ceremony they've ever been to.
Follow Custom Wedding Ceremonies of Central Virginia on
Seriously look no further, Julie was the most amazing wedding officiant! She worked with us closely for over a year before our wedding to ensure the ceremony was exactly what we wanted. We aren’t religious and really wanted a light hearted, but meaningful ceremony and she absolutely delivered a perfect and beyond our expectations. All of our guests approached us at the reception and told us how much they enjoyed the ceremony and how unique it was! Thank you so much Julie for your amazing contribution to our wedding day.
Sent on 11/09/2020
Danielle B.
· Married on 10/28/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Julie is an absolute gem!
We hired Julie to officiate our elopement at Raven's Roost Overlook on 10/28/2020. She had wonderful reviews on Wedding Wire/The Knot so we were confident in reaching out to her regarding our elopement needs. She was so warm and professional in all of her communication and scheduled a phone chat with us to discuss our vision for the ceremony before making an official booking. We knew immediately that we wanted to work with her- she was so genuine and was prepared to work with us in shaping our ceremony to best represent our relationship. Julie was very willing to perform an outdoor ceremony at Raven’s Roost Overlook and made the ceremony creation process so easy and fun. Her professionalism, kindness, and grounding energy allowed us to be present and enjoy each minute of our ceremony. Julie was the perfect person to hire as our officiant and we cannot thank her enough for her support!
Sent on 01/04/2021
Patrick T.
· Married on 05/19/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Exceptional Officiant
Recently married at Barboursville Vineyard with Julie Trump officiating. Julie brought a warm and refreshing perspective to our wedding celebration... she was professional and adapted easily to our fairly complex and "out of the box" ceremony. With her expertise, knowledge, and experience, we were able to create a smoothly flowing ceremony that fused Celtic, early Christian, and our own Personal Spirituality together into something remarkable and special. The entire celebration fit perfectly in the setting of Barboursville Ruins. We would enthusiastically recommend Julie to everyone looking for an Officiant with a fresh perspective on traditional weddings.
What is the starting price for your wedding services?
$ 600.00
Does starting price include the ceremony rehearsal?
Yes
What is the starting price for pre-marital counseling (per session)?
$ 30.00
What types of weddings and events do you provide services for?
Non-religious
Interfaith
Ceremony Rehearsal
Vow Renewal
Civil Union
What religious affiliations do you serve?
Agnostic
No Denomination
On average, how long are wedding ceremonies you officiate?
Less than 30 mins.
In which states are you licensed?
DC
VA
Professional Network & Endorsements
1 Endorsement
Anne Hathaway's Cottage Flowers Wedding Florists
Julie did a wonderful job at 2 different weddings at Anne Hathaway's. One was an elopement with just 2 people and the other was a group of 30 or so. Julie's attention to detail and research about the couples was truly inspiring! It sounded as though she had know them a long time. It was so personal and her warmth and sincerity came through big-time. I would not hesitate to recommend her highly.
Map
P.O. Box 149 Charlottesville, VA, 24402 See on map
434-688-4508(Phone number)
P.O. Box 149 Staunton, VA, 24402 See on map
540-274-5595(Phone number)