A wedding I officiated at in early September was featured on the front page of the Times of Trenton this past Sunday!
The couple was married at the incredible Grounds for Sculpture, in Hamilton, NJ – a unique wedding location that is the perfect compliment to a unique Celebrant ceremony.
From the article:
Newlyweds Katherine Kittel and Jimmy Ding decided to celebrate their Sept. 2 wedding at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton.
The 42-acre public sculpture park was founded in 1992 at the site of the former New Jersey State Fairgrounds.
“Jimmy and I had gone there on one of our earlier dates. We really loved the grounds and park,” Kittel said.
At first, the couple considered a simple city hall-style wedding. But once they realized what Grounds for Sculpture had to offer, they were sold.
“The location really speaks for itself,” she said.
The couple decided to be wed at the Nine Muses exhibit, a granite collection of figures that suggest ruins and individuals from ancient Egypt, Greece, pre-Columbian sites, and other civilizations.
Click over to read the full article!
One of my favorite parts of my Celebrancy practice is when I get to write ceremonies for couples all over the country! My ceremony writing services are for those who are planning a wedding ceremony and want a unique, Celebrant ceremony – but already have an officiant or are having a friend or relative solemnize the marriage. I work closely with my couples, via email, Skype, and phone calls to create a beautiful and personal ceremony for their officiant to use.
Lindsay and Randy were married at the end of June in West Virginia. They came from different religious backgrounds, and wanted personal, unique vows, and had a friend officiate. They had met while working at Domino’s Pizza, over ten years ago, and became friends, though they both felt an immediate spark. It was this basis of friendship that their relationship was built on, and Lindsay sent me this fabulous quote from The X-Files that fit in with the ceremony perfectly! I used it to lead off their Love Story:
Well, it seems to be that the best relationships – the ones that last – are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with. -Dana Scully
They crafted unique vows to use, too:
I, Randy, take you, Lindsay,
to be no one other than yourself.
Loving what I know of you,
trusting what I do not yet know.
I will respect your integrity,
and have faith in your abiding love for me,
through all our years,
and in all that life may bring us.
Lindsay and Randy, I loved being a part of your wedding, all the way from New Jersey. Congratulations!
All photos by Amberlee Christey – thanks for sharing them with me, Lindsay!
Are you looking for someone to write your wedding ceremony, or need some help editing a ceremony you’ve already written? My ceremony writing services are perfect for you!
When my (now) husband and I asked a friend to perform our ceremony, we knew we needed someone to write it. A Google search led me to Jessie and I’m so thankful it did! She was wonderful to work with and created a beautifully personalized ceremony for us. Many of our guests loved the uniqueness of it! No matter where you live, if you’re looking for a ceremony that truly speaks to who you are as a couple, I would highly recommend Jessie’s writing services!
-Lindsay & Randy, married in Morgantown, WV
It was announced just moments ago that the New York State Senate has voted YES on the gay marriage bill, soon allowing ALL couples to legally tie the knot! I am proud to have performed civil unions in New Jersey, and look forward to performing same sex weddings in New York State and New York City. More information to come as the bill is signed into law! Hurray for New York State, taking a huge step towards our civil rights and marriage equality for everyone.
My husband and I watched the New York State Senate live feed all evening, waiting for the vote to come through with baited breath. I clapped and cheered as Senator Saland discussed his vote for the bill’s amendment, and declared that he would be voting YES on the bill. And, later, when Senator Grisanti took a stand, talking about the research he had done and how he had come to the conclusion to vote YES – it is a moment that I will never forget. Knowing that these two men were standing up for what should be a civil right, despite their backgrounds, and that they were the tipping votes – it was so brave. As one of the senators said, it was a room full of heroes.
If you are looking for an officiant to marry you in New York State or New York City, feel free to contact me! The bill has been signed into law, and Same Sex Marriages will be LEGAL in New York on July 24. I look forward to officiating at many gay marriages in New York!
Today (May 25) is Towel Day. It is in honor of Douglas Adam’s and his series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In honor of Mr. Adams and his amazing books, one is supposed to carry a towel where ever they go. Why?
A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value — you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours… you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. (More – From the Towel Day FAQ)
But what does this have to do with weddings? Well, I recently officiated at a wedding that used a great excerpt from Adam’s book So Long and Thanks for All the Fish – and it is a surprisingly appropriate and fun wedding reading!
For Arthur, who could usually contrive to feel self-conscious if left alone for long enough with a Swiss cheese plant, the moment was one of sustained revelation. He felt on the sudden like a cramped and zoo-born animal who wakes one morning to find the door to his cage hanging quietly open and the savanna stretching gray and pink to the distant rising sun, while all around new sounds are waking.
He wondered what the new sounds were as he gazed at her openly wondering face and her eyes that smiled with a shared surprise.
He hadn’t realized that life speaks with a voice to you, a voice that brings you answers to the questions you continually ask of it, had never consciously detected it or recognized its tones until it now said something it had never said to him before, which was “yes.”
Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos with me, Rachel and Jeff!
They also had a sand ceremony, and a Wine and Love Letter ritual (which was introduced with a Terry Pratchett reading!)
Finding readings the fit and work well for the couple is one of my favorite challenges in creating unique wedding ceremonies… maybe a reading from Douglas Adams is right for you?
My own nod to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on our wedding day – a Don’t Panic cake topper!
Check out my New Jersey wedding officiant listing on Thumbtack!
I was honored when my colleague, fellow Life-Cycle Celebrant Kim Lalicata, asked me to officiate at the baby welcoming for her adorable son, Joey. The ceremony took place at the reception for his baptism, which had been a more private affair attended by a few family members.
The great thing about working with a Celebrant client is that they come with so many great ideas! Kim read a beautiful and meaningful journal entry that she had written to her son, Joey’s aunt and new godmother read from “Oh! The Places You Will Go!,” and Joey’s dad helped me to introduce the Treasure Box ritual, by bestowing his son with the Twelve Gifts of Birth. Guests were then invited to write their own wishes, blessings, and gifts for little Joey and drop them into the treasure box, for Joey to always have through his life.
We also did a special ritual for Joey’s big brother, too. Too honor their Irish heritage, Joey was presented with a claddaugh pendant by his big brother, and I talked about all of the qualities of brotherhood that the claddaugh embodies:
The hands, clasped around the heart, represent friendship – may Georgie and Joey not only be brothers, but friends. The heart represents love – though brothers may fight or quarrel, may they always remember the love that they share as a family. And the crown represents loyalty – may Georgie and Joey always remember, above all else, that they are family, and they share a powerful history together.
And then, his parents presented one to him, too, as a reminder of his little brother’s baby welcoming ceremony!
We ended the ceremony with the song “Beautiful Boy” by John Lennon, a very meaningful song for Kim and her sons (and includes the often quoted lyrics, Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans).
All in all, it was a wonderful experience, a beautiful and unique ceremony, and little Joey was welcomed into his family and his community with open arms!
