Erin and Kevin had one of the most unique weddings I’ve ever officiating at – it was a surprise! OK, pay attention for a sec, because this gets a little complicated: Kevin’s parents planned a surprise engagement party for Erin. Kevin ended up telling Erin about the party (because she is not a fan of surprises!), and they decided to turn the party into their wedding celebration – but not let the guests in on it! So everyone thought the party they were attending was a surprise engagement party for Erin, BUT it was actually a surprise wedding for their guests.
Of course, Erin and Kevin let their bridal party and immediate family members (and the venue and their wedding pros!) in on the surprise. The guests walked out to the putting green, to surprise Erin, who was supposed to be arriving – but instead, she and Kevin pulled up in a golf cart, in their bridal gear, walked out to the putting green – and got married!
I walked out on the green, along with the bridal party, flipped on my mic, and welcomed everyone, and explained that this was their wedding! I talked about Erin and Kevin, they exchanged their vows and their rings, and kissed, and they were married. We kept the ceremony short because all of the guests were standing, and also because it was quite chilly outside.
After the ceremony, Erin had another surprise for her new husband – a very special guest came out to congratulate them!
Eclectic Unions… a Mr. Met approved Celebrant!
Congrats, Erin and Kevin! Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your AWESOME surprise wedding!
Jessica & Max were married at the beautiful Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in late August. They got a beautiful day!
They included a beer sharing unity ritual in their wedding! Max is a beer connoisseur – so it was very appropriate that they did their own twist on a wine sharing ceremony and used lambic instead! The lambics that they used were purchased on a recent trip to Belgium, too, which made them extra special for the bride and groom.
Here’s the wording we used in their ceremony:
Plato once wrote, “He was a wise man who invented beer!” One of Max’s passions and obsessions is beer, so it is only appropriate that our couple will symbolize the life that they will share together by sharing two bottles of lambic.
Lambics are a type of beer that are fermented spontaneously, by wild yeast that live in the air of certain breweries in Belgium. This unusual process is what gives the beer its distinctive flavor: sour, dry, and cidery. And these two bottles hold a special meaning as well – our bride and groom purchased them on a visit to Belgium, in the small town of Denderleeuw. They were brewed in honor of the wedding of the owner of one of the best beer bars in Belgium! One beer was brewed for him, and one for his wife – and these are the beers that our couple will share today!
These beers hold many of the qualities that reflect the true nature of love, life, and marriage. They hold within a sweetness, but there is still an edge, a sourness, a bitterness, that exists as well. By each taking a sip of the beers, you are showing that you will share in every happiness together, every joy and every sadness, and together you will face the hardships and adversities of life, always confident that the good will return.
I ask that you drink together, and, as you do, earnestly seek the power and wisdom to use all the pleasure and prosperity that may come your way, accepting it with love.
As you have shared these beers, so may you share your lives, every joy and happiness, every sorrow and sadness. May you find life’s happiness heightened, it’s bitterness sweetened, and all of life enriched by your love for each other. And may you always be ready to raise a beer, in toast and in celebration, for all of the joys of your life together!
They also chose one of my favorite wedding readings, especially relevant for two scientists getting married – Charles Darwin’s pros and cons list, written on his decision to marry. And his conclusion? Marry, marry, marry, of course!
A big thank you to Jessica and Max, for letting me be a part of their awesome wedding ceremony, and for sharing these photos with me, courtesy of their photographer, Sharon’s Wedding Art.
The bride and groom toast with their lambics as they enjoy a few moments to themselves after their ceremony.
Celebrant: Plato once wrote, “He was a wise man who invented beer!” One of Max’s passions and obsessions is beer, so it is only appropriate that our couple will symbolize the life that they will share together by sharing two bottles of lambic.
Lambics are a type of beer that are fermented spontaneously, by wild yeast that live in the air of certain breweries in Belgium. This unusual process is what gives the beer its distinctive flavor: sour, dry, and cidery. And these two bottles hold a special meaning as well – our bride and groom purchased them on a visit to Belgium, in the small town of Denderleeuw. They were brewed in honor of the wedding of the owner of one of the best beer bars in Belgium! One beer was brewed for him, and one for his wife – and these are the beers that our couple will share today!
These beers hold many of the qualities that reflect the true nature of love, life, and marriage. They hold within a sweetness, but there is still an edge, a sourness, a bitterness, that exists as well. By each taking a sip of the beers, you are showing that you will share in every happiness together, every joy and every sadness, and together you will face the hardships and adversities of life, always confident that the good will return.
I ask that you drink together, and, as you do, earnestly seek the power and wisdom to use all the pleasure and prosperity that may come your way, accepting it with love.
CELEBRANT will take a glass, and hand it to JESSICA. She will take a sip, and hand it to MAX, who will take a sip. MAX hands the glass back to CELEBRANT. CELEBRANT will take the other glass, and hand it to MAX. MAX will take a sip, and hand it to JESSICA, who will take a sip. JESSICA hands the glass back to CELEBRANT, who will place it on the table.
Celebrant: As you have shared these beers, so may you share your lives, every joy and happiness, every sorrow and sadness. May you find life’s happiness heightened, it’s bitterness sweetened, and all of life enriched by your love for each other. And may you always be ready to raise a beer, in toast and in celebration, for all of the joys of your life together!
Sandy found me through her amazing wedding photographer, Cindy Patrick. I knew, from the beginning, that Sandy and her husband Jay were going to have an incredible wedding ceremony, that really reflected who they are and their wonderful and special relationship.
Sandy and Jay chose an amazing (and different!) venue for their wedding – the Historic Prison Museum in Mount Holly, NJ! The entire museum was open to guests before hand, and the bride and groom got incredible shots in the cells of the prison. I wish that Dan and I had gotten their a little bit earlier so we could have explored the museum – it was so cool. As Sandy put it, it was the perfect place for her accomplice to become her husband!
Sandy was stunning, in her vintage style with her little black birdcage veil. They included a handfasting in their ceremony – to symbolize the joining together of their lives, and Sandy constructed a gorgeous fringed cord to use. In the handfasting wording, I discussed the chains of love that bound the bride and groom, bringing the location of their wedding into the ceremony. A memorial candle, along with photos of loved ones who had passed on, was lit on the well behind us.
I tried to incorporate their unique venue into the ceremony, in a few subtle ways – this is from my opening remarks:
People have always found different ways to get hitched – but this rite of passage holds deep meaning, no matter where on earth it is performed. The institution of marriage is indeed still relevant, and it is so fun to be in THIS institution as Sandra and Jay take the next big step in their lives together… you know, tie on the old ball and chain. And it is wonderful that they do so in their own way, and their own style.
And, my favorite, especially for Sandy and Jay from whom birds have a very special significance, was the intro to the conclusion of the ceremony (if I’ve married you, you may find this familiar – I include it at the end of many of my ceremonies – I just love those last two lines so much!!)
Let me offer you two one final piece of advice, before our lovebirds fly the coop together:
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy.
And may you have love – and may you find it loving one another.
Sandy carried a dramatic fan instead of flowers, and brought it out so the couple could have a private moment for their first kiss!
For even more photos and details, check out Cindy Patrick’s blog post – or check out this wedding featured on OffBeatBride!
Congrats, Sandy and Jay!! Thank you for letting me be a part of your incredible wedding!
All photos are courtesy of Cindy Patrick Photography. Thanks, Cindy!
After a two years, it was finally my turn! My husband and I were married on Sunday, October 10, in Tarrytown, New York. We chose our wedding date (along with thousands of other couples!) because we liked 10/10/10. Dan because of the binary action – and I loved it because it was a Sunday in October!
I thought it might be nice to share some of our planning progress for the ceremony, and where better to start than the music!
Music for the ceremony was always really important to me and Dan. We both didn’t feel strongly about where the music was coming from (i.e., live music versus a recording), so we had our awesome DJ, Carol of A Starry Night, set up and play recordings of our songs.
The Prelude.
When my friend Marisa got married, I remember she chose four or five special songs as a “prelude” – the songs that played immediately before the ceremony began. I loved this idea – I think it sets a tone for the ceremony, and also let me slip in some of our favorite songs that are a little more nontraditional. Carol was nice enough to mix them together for us, and I remember standing on the porch before the ceremony began, hearing my favorite songs smoothly segueway into each other, as I waited to make my entrance. It also worked well because it gave us a definite starting time – once those songs started, we were getting married in twelve minutes, no matter what!
So about that Muppet song – one of Dan’s requests, right from the beginning, was to include two songs from “The Muppets Take Manhattan” in our wedding. I thought including “Somebody’s Getting Married” just before our processional began was a fun way to lighten the mood, and Dan was SO happy we got it in there!
The Processional.
Our processional was a tough decision. But one thing remained the same – I knew I wanted to walk into some version of The Beatles “Blackbird.” The lyrics in it just felt perfect to me – All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise. But what Dan and our bridal party would be walking into was still up for discussion.
Our original plan was to have Kermit the Frog’s “Rainbow Connection,” but we couldn’t find a version we liked, of Kermit or any cover. We spent many nights searching through the iTunes store, naming a song we liked and listening to cover after cover.
I’ve always been a fan of the Vitamin String Quartet, and I love how it almost “classes” up songs – guests who are familiar with the song get it, but those who aren’t just hear lovely instrumental. I did two weddings in September that used Vitamin String Quartet songs for the entrance, and I just loved it so much – I knew that was the way to go. I found their version of Blackbird, and I loved it, so that was set (previous to that, we were using Sarah McLachlan’s version).
Because I’m a little crazy, I decided that if my processional was instrumental, I wanted the bridal party’s entrance to be instrumental, too. So Dan and I stayed up late once again, listening to Vitamin String Quartet versions of our favorite songs, and finally decided on “Imagine” – also appropriate because our wedding was the day after John Lennon’s birthday.
So it was decided – Dan and our bridal party entered to Vitamin String Quartet’s version of Imagine, and I entered to Vitamin String Quartet’s version of Blackbird.
Ceremony Music.
Another request from Dan was to include a 40 second snippet of music from (you guessed it) The Muppets Take Manhattan – Right Where I Belong. We decided to include it during our unity ritual, and it was short enough that we felt comfortable standing there when we finished a little early, to just stand there as the music played out
Right Where I Belong (beginning at 1:30 and going to 2:05 was the sound clip we used)
Recessional.
As a wedding celebrant, I know a good recessional needs to have a great beginning and be a fun, upbeat song. Dan and I found a lot of great songs that we loved, but we couldn’t find one that had a strong beginning. Our top contender for a long time was Harry Connick Jr’s “It Had To Be You,” which has this awesome, big band start – but it was just too long, and the lyrics wouldn’t have started until we were all the way out there.
A few days before the wedding, we decided to use “Till There Was You,” covered by the Beatles, as our processional, making the majority of our wedding music either from the Beatles or from Jim Henson. Dan LOVES this version of the song, and it’s upbeat, sweet, and fun, with a very nice beginning – a few musical notes that go right into the lyrics. To me, it ended up being the perfect recessional, and I can’t believe we didn’t think about it sooner.
Hey, want to see more of our wedding? Check out this blog post I wrote for So You’re EnGAYged about honoring marriage equality in your wedding ceremony!
Heidi and Ryan’s ceremony was one of the most unique weddings I’ve had the honor of officiating at. Heidi is Jewish, while Ryan is from Trinidad. Both are incredible, amazing, politically charged individuals who bring out the best in their partner. I feel like Heidi and Ryan are true partners in life, always supporting and encouraging the other.
It was one of the most colorful weddings I’ve ever done! I loved Ryan’s attire (his shirt combined with the yarmulke pinned on his dreadlocks just said it all!), and Heidi was stunning in her custom made red dress. I remember, in our first phone call, when Heidi told me she was wearing a red dress, and all of the Jewish elements, I thought to myself, “I would LOVE to do their wedding!”
Photo by Eclectic Unions
Photo by Eclectic Unions
They were married under a chuppah, the traditional marriage canopy – the prayer shawls of all of the men in Heidi’s family were laid on top, to form the shelter that they were married under. At the beginning of the ceremony, the bride recited a Hebrew prayer, called the Shehechayanu, which is recited whenever something is done for the first time – this was the first time that all of their family and friends had gathered together. I echoed with the English translation:
Baruch ata adonai elohenu melech ha olam, shehecheyanu, v’kiyimanu, v’higiyanu laz’man hazeh. (Blessed is the Eternal, for giving us life, for sustaining us, and bringing us to this time.)
Heidi’s brother, one of the groomsmen, recited the Kiddush, the prayer and blessing over the wine that Heidi and Ryan shared during the ceremony. Ryan also broke a glass at the end, another Jewish tradition.
Their personal vows were sweet and poignant. All in all, it was a beautiful ceremony, honoring both cultures and traditions of the bride and groom, along with the personalities and individuality of the couple themselves.
Photo courtesy of their lovely wedding photographer, Sarah Postma.
For more details and photos, check out the blog post by their photographer, Sarah Postma!
