I wrote a blog post about how Dan and I honored and included the fight for marriage equality in our wedding ceremony for one of my favorite wedding planning blogs, So You’re EnGAYged. Here’s an excerpt – head over the the blog to check out the full post!
“Marriage is a promise that you make to that other person, a promise to stay in love with them forever, to be related forever, and that you’ll always be together.” – Dan Savage
Honoring marriage equality was really important to me while my husband, Dan, and I were working with our celebrant to put together our wedding ceremony.
Photo courtesy of Sarah Schulte Photography
We began by tying White Knots on our personal flowers – mine on my bouquet, and his on his boutonniere. The White Knot is a symbol of support for marriage equality – a statement that everyone should be able to legally “tie the knot.”
How did we work with our celebrant, April Beer, to include a reading and re-interpret a Jewish tradition to further incorporate marriage equality? Head over to So You’re EnGAYged to find out!
There aren’t many weddings that I would perform the day before my own. In fact, I think Melissa and Jonathan would be my only exception! They wanted a simple, sweet, and FUN ceremony – and just happened to be getting married at Paisano’s Restaurant, within walking distance of my house.
It was a smaller wedding, which meant it was perfect to include a ring warming ritual. We passed Melissa and Jonathan’s rings around the room, allowing time for each guest to hold them, warm them, and imbue them with happy wishes and thoughts for the couple’s marriage. It’s one of my favorite rituals, and a really sweet and wonderful way to create an inclusive and intimate feeling with a ceremony.
Their love story was full of laughs, and a special mention of their dog, too. At the end, together, Melissa and Jonathan broke a glass, a Jewish custom that is usually reserved for the room. This was to symbolize how Melissa and Jonathan would be equals in their marriage, forming a partnership of support for each other.
Dan and I had to dash off immediately after the ceremony, so we could head up to New York state to get married! Melissa and Jonathan, thank you so much for letting me be a part of your wedding ceremony!
Photos are courtesy of the bride and groom.
I am always on the look out for fun wedding readings to suggest to my couples! A recent couple chose a wonderful reading, a sweet and lovely modern day fable, called “A Lovely Love Story” by Edward Monkton, and I just had to share it.
How adorable are the little dinosaurs?
The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice. Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, his cage.
Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur. The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts.
“I like this Dinosaur,” thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. “Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny. He is also quite clever, though I will not tell him this for now.”
“I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur,” thought the Dinosaur. “She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice. She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.”
“But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times,” thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. “He is also overly fond of things. Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things?”
“But her mind skips from here to there so quickly,” thought the Dinosaur. “She is also uncommonly keen on shopping. Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?”
“I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things,” thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. “For they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.”
“I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping,” thought the Dinosaur. “For she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises. Besides, I am not unkeen on shopping either.”
Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old. Look at them. Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.
And that, my friends, is how it is with love. Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together. For the sun is warm. And the world is a beautiful place
I am delighted to announce that Eclectic Unions has been chosen as a 2011 pick for The Knot’s Best of Weddings! Thank you to the awesome couples who have taken the time to write me reviews on The Knot, and all of the amazing couples who have me officiate at their weddings!
2011 is going to be a fabulous year!
It’s the end of 2010, and it has been quite a fabulous year for Eclectic Unions.
It was the first full year of my Celebrancy practice being my full time gig, AND the year that Dan and I got married. It was a great year of growth and learning and love and marriage and weddings. I can already tell that 2011 is going to be an equally as rewarding and fun year, and I look forward to working with the wonderful couples who have already booked with me – and can’t wait to meet all of the new ones who are planning for 2011, 2012, and beyond!
Here is Eclectic Union’s year – a photo from every ceremony I performed that I have a photo for! Can you find yourself?
(Click over to Flickr to see it bigger!)
Thanks to: Dan Blum-Gabriel, Kelly Prizel, Cindy Patrick, Sarah Postma, 1. Art Beauty Life, Black Dog Photography, CLB Photography, Vanessa Joy, Oh Darling! Photography, Tom Weiss Weddings, Creative Unlimited, and the couples themselves who provided me with these photos.
From my heart to yours, I wish you a wonderful holiday season, and an incredibly happy new year!
