Dignified and Joyous Wedding Celebrations

We approach officiation and celebration of your wedding without an antequated predisposition or a fixed 'do it this way' attitude. We believe the planning and realization of your marriage celebration is about you and not about us. Of course, we have professional and spiritual standards, yet these are so open and accepting it would be surprising to find us unable to work with you and your dreams.

Traditional Ceremonies have a well stated dignity without alteration. We believe in the efficacy of the Christian marriage. And within the Catholic tradition this is called a sacrament and a rite. We also believe, as an ecumenical ministry, the boundaries between Christian denominations can be bridged when love and commitment are the roots of a relationship. We come with a thorough understanding of the traditional wedding ceremony and the numerous possibilities for alternatives, while maintaining the sense and spirit of its traditional beauty. We have performed Catholic, Protestant and Non-denominational ceremonies.

Non-Traditional Celebrations are often suitable for couples that do not find themselves spiritually, emotionally or intellectually persuaded by the thoughts and concepts of conventional spiritual paths. We understand the diversity of our spiritual heritage and the necessity of recognizing our integrity...as we find ourselves today, this very moment.

Inter-Faith Ceremonies become an integral component for creating a whole relationship for couples from varied religious and spiritual traditions. You do not need to sacrifice your spiritual integrity when planning and realizing an appropriate and beautiful ceremony. There are many ways to recognize the diverse traditions and find those focal points that support your love and commitment. We have performed wedding ceremonies between Christians and Jews, Christians and Buddhists, Non-denominationalists and Scientologists.

Non-denominational Celebrations could be the right approach if you do not follow a discrete religion or denomination, yet you are spiritual and desire a joyous and dignified expression of your spirituality for this very special day. This is also the approach for those dedicated to the ideals and teachings of Christianity without the personal identity of the conventional Christian denominations. Many of our weddings were planned and performed with couples represented by this approach.

Civil Ceremonies are suitable for couples who do not see their approach as spiritual or religious, even though they may possess a personally defined spirituality. A civil ceremony at City Hall or a County Office could be one approach, yet this may feel rather impersonal for expressing your commitment and expectations in relationship with the one you love. You can still achieve an intimate and beautiful ceremony without feeling the pressures of making statements that are simply not true for you.

Unique Celebrations are all of the above and more. We are ready and excited with the opportunity to co-author your vows, your promises, with one another. Our approach allows and encourages couples to create personalized vows, promises, ceremonies and celebrations. We have celebrated weddings on boats, in cabins, in parks, on the side of mountains, in community centers, among the trees, in the oldest Church in the US, in living rooms, in country clubs, in arboretums, in yurts, in tipis, and on the beach.

ANEM is thoroughly trained in applied theology, interpersonal relating, empathic understanding and ceremonial events.

Your Ceremony, Your Celebration

So, what does it mean to co-author or create your own vows, your own promises, ceremonies, celebrations? Sometimes this simply means reviewing a traditional wedding ceremony and making personal changes that make sense for you. Sometimes it means starting from 'scratch' and developing an order, wording and ceremony events that more nearly reflects your relationship.

From our experience, this has most often meant using the traditional 'Order of Service' as an outline from which to build a personal and unique expression of your love and commitment. This has been the prevailing approach and yet we do not limit ourselves to this alone.

The traditional 'Order of Service" can be outlined like this:

• Introduction
  
• Acceptance of Marriage
  
• Consent/Vows/Promises
  
• Declaration of Consent/Vows/Promises
  
• Sharing of Rings
  
• The Kiss
  
• Presentation

Of course, there is music, poetry, and other readings. We introduce you to the possibilities.

A Glimpse of Celebrations

You will find some examples of wedding celebrations for which we officiated by clicking here.

Wedding Officiant / Celebrant Fees

As a professional wedding officiant and celebrant, our fees are the same for all weddings, whether the wedding attendees are 2 or 2000. The fees cover the initial contact via phone or face to face, one wedding planning meeting and the wedding ceremony. A rehearsal meeting will have the stated additional fee. The fee also covers consultation throughout the wedding process, vows and ceremony formation, personalized wedding certificate and final filing of marriage license (exclusive of agency fees).

Friday, Saturday, or Sunday Wedding Ceremony without rehearsal: $225, plus travel fee (if applicable)

Monday through Thursday Wedding Ceremony without rehearsal: $175 plus travel fee (if applicable)

Weekend rehearsal on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday: $100 plus travel fee (if applicable)

Weekday rehearsal on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday: $75 plus travel fee (if applicable)

Travel Fee(s):

Travel fee, $50 per hour, only applies if travel is more than one hour from my home. The first hour is included in the ceremony/rehearsal fee.

If travel to your wedding (and rehearsal, when applicable) requires an overnight stay, the travel fees will include transportation and lodging at your distant location.

Your fee(s) will give you ministerial and pastoral care experience, flexibility in ceremony choices, openness and creativity in vows formation, a dignified officiant and sensitivity to your personal beliefs and spirituality.

Terms of Use

The contents of this web site represent copyrighted material. You, the web site visitor and all others reading this material, are not authorized to copy, distribute, display, perform, print or store this information, including no derivative works, in any form whatsoever without prior written permission of the author(s) of this website.

The contents of this website subject to this copyright notice include all pages, page contents, attachments and appendages whether displayed, produced or published in 'htm', 'html', 'pdf', 'php', 'doc', jpg, jpeg, gif or any other digitally produced format. Canadian citizens are subject to the terms of this copyright by treaty with the laws of the United States of America.

The author(s) of this web site will seek the identity and prosecution of any violator of this copyright.