The coins, along with the bride’s engagement ring

These coins symbolize the wealth our couple will receive in their life – not just money, but the wealth of love, support, and protection they will provide for each other in their marriage.

May these coins remind you that it is more blessed to give than to receive – when you share your love and your lives with others, your love will only multiple and expand, richening and deepening your lives, your experiences, and your relationship.

They had a friend read Robert Fulgum’s “Union” – one of my favorites.

These beautiful photos are courtesy of Vanessa Joy Photography.

They were planning an intimate wedding, with about twenty guests, and Marie wanted to honor the heritage and traditions of each important guest there.  So she brought many different rituals and traditions to the table, looking to me to incorporate them into the ceremony.

I do like to get both the bride and groom’s input and feedback on a ceremony, so, though German didn’t see the bulk of the ceremony before hand, I did have him fill out a questionnaire so I could get some personal details from him to enhance their Love Story.  Each of the elements that honored a tradition or background were presented by a loved one, so they were very involved with the ceremony:

To honor the groom’s heritage, after he walked to the front with his mother, she placed a Basque beret on his head, to represent his grandfather.

The bride was walked down the aisle by both of her sons, to represent her father, who is now longer with us, in the Puerto Rican tradition.

The groom’s best man and his wife were invited up to present a flower garland to the couple, which they then placed around them, to signify their mutual acceptance of each other.  This was to honor the best man’s Persian heritage.

In the Cuban tradition, the bride and groom were presented with thirteen coins, the arras, which represents thirteen ideals they would like to keep in their marriage.

And their ring bearer was dressed in the traditional Indian wedding garb.

And there were some joyous rituals, to close the ceremony:

Bells were rung (Irish).

Glass was broken (Jewish).

And a broom was jumped (Southern United States).

It all came together to create a truly unique wedding, that is unlike any I have ever put together!

All the props, laid out: the box held the coins, the broom for jumping, and the silk bag, for the glass breaking.

We got a beautiful morning for their beach ceremony, taking place at Merri-Maker’s on the Water’s Edge in Sea Bright.  We included a ring warming, passing their wedding rings through all of the guests gathered, to bless and imbue them with well wishes and happy thoughts for the couple’s marriage – special vows for their parents, and special vows for the guests – a wine ceremony – and a breaking of the glass.

The parents join us, for their own special vows in support of their children’s marriage.

My favorite piece of their Love Story came from an anecdote that Blake told me…

Blake soon knew that there was something very special between them – because they were flavor compatible. Now, let me explain this to you a little bit. You know when you buy a box of ice pops or a bag of assorted candy, and there are always one or two flavors that are left at the end, because you just don’t like them? Well, Jason’s go to flavors are orange and grape – which are Blake’s least favorites, the ones she would always leave at the bottom of the bag. When Blake realized that they were “Flavor Complementary,” she knew that Jason was a keeper.

And Jason, who had chosen the wine for the wine sharing, was SO excited to enjoy a glass!  Afterwards, he sipped the rest of the wine as they took their portraits together, too.

And my favorite surprise? They had a keyboardist for their processional and recessional – and they recessed out to the “Legend of Zelda” theme.  How awesome is that?

Blake and Jason, I had SO much fun with you both.  Thanks for letting me be a part of your wedding!

Handing off the rings for the ring warming, at the beginning of the ceremony.

Visit their extended gallery on Flickr for more!

They used a handfasting ceremony for their vows, one whose wording touched on the blessings of the four directions and the elements that correspond with them – West for water, North for air, East for earth, and South for fire. Their handfasting cord was crafted by Quinn’s mom, and were four cords that corresponded with the colors associate with those four directions.

By pure coincidence, many other pieces of the ceremony corresponded with these elements! We had a wishing stone ceremony, where each guest was presented with a stone when they entered, and, at a certain point in the ceremony, they held it in their hands and made a wish for the bride and groom’s life together. At the end of the ceremony, Lisa and Quinn and the bridal party turned towards the water, and all threw their stones in – they were followed by all of the guests. This touched on the earth and the water elements, and was a wonderful, interactive way to really involve their guests and their loved ones in the ceremony.

Another touching and beautiful ritual that we included was the release of butterflies during the remembrances, for all of their loved ones, but especially for the bride’s mom. A friend of the couple raises butterflies, and the release was perfect, beautiful, and so meaningful, as the bride and groom stood there, helping the butterflies along, as their musicians performed “Ave Maria.”

“It is said that if one has a wish and whispers it to a butterfly – once the butterfly is released, they transport the wish to the sky, on their wings. Let these butterflies bring our words and our well wishes for Lisa and Quinn to the Heavens, sharing this moment with our loved ones who are here in spirit.”

But I have to say my favorite moment of the ceremony was at the very end. We did something really simple but really powerful – just before they were declared husband and wife, I asked Lisa and Quinn to face their guests, and really remember the moment – the powerful feeling of not only their own love, but all of their friends and family’s love. I can’t take the credit for this – it was the couple’s idea – but I just love it!

After the ceremony, many couples came up to me to tell me how unique and special they thought the ceremony was – and that it fit Lisa and Quinn so well, since they were so unique and special themselves!

Lisa and Quinn, it was such a joy, every single step of the way. Sending you all of my love and congratulations for a happy life together!

Quinn walked in with his parents – closely followed by the family dog, Spanky, who proceeded to lay down on the bride’s train during the ceremony!  They stood at the front with him, and greeted Lisa and her dad once at the front, for a sweet moment of love before the parents were all seated.

Lisa and her dad, getting ready to walk in!

Spanky lays down on Lisa’s train!

Lisa and Quinn, facing their guests, just before being declared husband and wife.

Stones being thrown into the water by the guests, after the ceremony.

They were married at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City, on a very windy Saturday, overlooking the river and New York City.  Ashley and Greg laugh a lot, so we, of course, had to include that in their ceremony, with a sweet and funny retelling of their first meeting – where the both promptly fell in love at first sight!

They wrote their own vows, and kept them a secret from one another – but managed to cite the same private joke, and each mentioned the special meaning behind their wedding date.  It really showed how in sync Ashley and Greg are, and how well they complement each other.

We concluded their ceremony with a Shakespearan sonnet, which felt very approriate as we braved the winds during the ceremony:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

All in all, it was a wonderful ceremony for two wonderful people, who, even after six years, are still head over heels in love with each other.  Ashley and Greg, I loved being a part of your wedding!  Congratulations again!

All photos are courtesy of Black Dog Photography.

I always bring copies of their vows for the bride and groom, and I couldn’t believe how well the vows coordinated with Ashley’s bouquet!

You can see Ashley’s beautiful engagement ring, with sapphires!

They eventually decided to have their ceremony in Central Park, with just their immediate family and, oh, you know, a few dozen random onlookers who joined us to watch, too.  We took advantage of the intimate setting to include a ring warming, passing the rings through all of the guests, to warm them, bless them, and imbue them with happy thoughts for a good marriage.  We also took a popular reading (“The Blessing of the Hands”) and incorporated it into the handfasting and the ring vows.

The weather was perfect, and I could tell that the bride and groom were so happy to share this moment with those closest to them and finally be married!  I am so, so glad that they found me, and that I got to be a part of their wedding.  Love and congratulations, Eliza & Chris!!

Photos by Oh, Darling! Photography. Check out more of the day on their blog!

See more reviews of Eclectic Unions – Custom Wedding Ceremonies by Celebrant Jessie Blum on Project Wedding.

Stephanie & John’s romance is one that spanned continents… when they met, she was in New York on business, but was living in London.  Over the next few years, as their relationship deepened and continued, they would meet up in Europe or the States to vacation and travel together!

We had guests from all over joining us.. including the bride’s parents, who Skyped in from Hong Kong!  I think Stephanie told me that it was three in the morning there!  It was so nice to be able to have the bride’s parents, via webcam, as well as many other important family members.  In lieu of a bridal party, the couple had important people stand up with them: John’s son and daughter, and Stephanie’s brother and sister-in-law.  It was a very casual ceremony – no processional, we just took our places at the front when cocktail hour had ended, and gathered the guests around us.  The ceremony ended with the maitr’d presenting the couple with champagne for a toast!

It was a lovely way to start the year.  Thanks, Stephanie and John, for letting me be a part of it!

Hi Jessie!

We just got back to Indiana last night and I have been dying to email you to thank you a million times over for creating such a beautiful ceremony. It was perfect! The day seems like a blur but the one thing I remember perfectly is the ceremony because it was so meaningful. Thank you for the time you put into crafting it to fit our needs and wishes. I’ve received so many complements from our guests on the beauty, uniqueness, and intimacy of the ceremony. I’ve even had friends (married ones at that!) write to ask me for the readings and hand fasting ritual explanation because they thought they were so beautiful.

The King making an appearance at Maryann & Cas’  reception!! Photo by Kamila Harris Photography

I hired an Elvis Impersonator as a surprise for Cas who had wanted to get married by Elvis in Vegas – and yet in reflecting on the wedding he and our guests all seem to forget the guy in the sparkly suit with swiveling hips and go straight for commenting on the ceremony. (related to this… I made Cas play the “what was your favorite part of our wedding” over the honeymoon and he put you and the slider bar from the cocktail hour at number one – this is perhaps that highest compliment he could give!)

I can’t thank you enough for making the most important part of our wedding be the part that always comes to mind when I think back to our day. I was such a nervous mess on Friday night and you just put me at ease. As you saw in my “wedding homework” that’s one of the traits I love most in Cas and while I have an incredibly loving group of friends and family that feeling of peace is not what Italians necessarily do best But you definitely possess that and it made walking in to that beautiful atrium so much less intimidating to know it was you and Cas down at the other end waiting for me. You made me feel so comfortable – it was like having a trusted friend there with us all the while (…which was especially needed when burst out “I DO” 3 sentences too early! LOL Cas and I have no stopped laughing at that. Thank you for handling it like a pro and a friend – you allowed us to laugh and let it broke the nervous tension without feeling like it interrupted the ceremony).

lots of love,
maryann

I put Maryann and Cas’ keepsake ceremony in the mail today… I hope you like it!! I always say it, but the most amazing people find me and ask me to be their wedding Celebrant.  I feel so lucky that I get to do this, thank you for letting me be such an important part of your wedding!

I included this reading from Rumi that the bride and groom choose, and I think it set the tone for not only the ceremony, but their relationship, their romance, and the love that they share with each other:

From the beginning of my life I have been looking for your face, but today I have seen it. Today I have seen the charm, the beauty, the unfathomable grace of the face that I was looking for. Today I have found you, and those who laughed and scorned me yesterday are sorry that they were not looking as I did. I am bewildered by the magnificence of your beauty, and wish to see you with a hundred eyes.

My heart has burned with passion and has searched forever for this wondrous beauty that I now behold. I am ashamed to call this love human, and afraid of God to call it divine. Your fragrant breath, like the morning breeze, has come to the stillness of the garden. You have breathed new life into me. I have become your sunshine, and also your shadow. My soul is screaming in ecstasy. Every fiber of my being is in love with you. Your effulgence has lit a fire in my heart, and you have made radiant for me the earth and sky. My arrow of love has arrived at the target. I am in the house of mercy, and my heart is a place of prayer.

It was a snowy Saturday evening in December, but, thankfully, the weather held out until after the ceremony.  It did make for some beautiful photos!

Metehan and Seher, thank you again for letting me be a part of your civil wedding, and I hope your ceremony in Turkey is wonderful!

See more reviews of Eclectic Unions – Custom Wedding Ceremonies by Celebrant Jessie Blum on Project Wedding.

Their ceremony was personal and sweet, infused with a few traditions to represent their cultures and backgrounds.  To honor their Italian heritage, they hung a bow on their front door, to show they were “tying the knot.”  It also is good luck in Italian culture to get married on a Sunday, and we broke a glass at the end (usually, it’s a plate or a vase, but the glass was easier and safer to do!).  To honor their Irish background, they had a handfasting ceremony, and had a friend read the traditional Irish Blessing at the end of the ceremony.

I loved that they included these Irish wedding traditions and Italian wedding traditions as a way to really personalize their ceremony.

We laughed a lot!  Heather and Ed were full of laughter and humor and giggles and we kept that in the ceremony.  You can see how we’re laughing in almost every single picture!

I am so glad I got to be part of their special day.  Congrats again, Heather & Ed!!

A few happy tears!

Breaking the glass together!

Heather and Ed are “high five people” so of course they high fived after the kiss!