You were careful in every choice up t the point of getting married. As you plan your wedding, you want to be just as careful in making those choices, including your choce of officiant. A good officiant will listen to you, make suggestions, be interested in you and your ideas and dreams for your day. You can be confident that your ceremony will look and feel just the way you always imagined it. As a pastor and wedding officiant, I bring decades of listening experience, and years of wedding experience to the "table" as we plan your special ceremony. I custom create and fully personalize every wedding ceremony.
When we first meet.
The first step after you send me your contact information is that we set up a "let's get acquainted" meeting. I will email you a list of 3 or 4 possible dates and times and at least 2 locations from which to choose those most convenient for you. This meeting will last about an hour. While we get acquainted, I listen as you describe what you have in mind for your special day. The outcome of this meeting should be either that we agree to part as friends because we are not a good fit for working together; or, you decide that I am the exact right person to officiate your wedding and we move forward. As we talk, I may have ideas or sources that you have not found, but the real purpose of this meeting is to see if we are a fit to make your wedding day the best it can be.
What Happens Next
You will determine the next step by the level of service you choose (please refer to my list of service packages under the "about Rev. Michael" tab). What I promise you is that whether you choose my premium level of service or a different one, you will get the same care and personalized service from me to make your wedding ceremony just as special as you want it to be. You may choose to meet with me for pre-marital sessions, in which we discuss many of the situations that arise in married life. (In over 30 years of marriage, I have lived through some of these, and have read about many more!) You may want to work through these matters on your own, using a book that I have found helpful, called, Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts.
You may wish to do the planning for your ceremony with me on the phone or in person (see my Service Packages for details). Then, I put together the ceremony for you, using the information that you send me in answer to a llist of questions that I email you, and the additional information that you give me when we talk. Then about 10-14 days before your wedding day, I send you a script with the full ceremony, including the homily. You read it and let me know if there are changes that I need to make (eg. incorrect or missing details or facts, misspelled names, out of order sequence of events). If you get the script back to me with enough time, about 4 days before your wedding I will email you the final script for your approval.
You may wish to do the planning for your ceremony with me on the phone or in person (see my Service Packages for details). Then, I put together the ceremony for you, using the information that you send me in answer to a llist of questions that I email you, and the additional information that you give me when we talk. Then about 10-14 days before your wedding day, I send you a script with the full ceremony, including the homily. You read it and let me know if there are changes that I need to make (eg. incorrect or missing details or facts, misspelled names, out of order sequence of events). If you get the script back to me with enough time, about 4 days before your wedding I will email you the final script for your approval.
The Day of Your Wedding
On the day of your wedding, I arrive at the venue about 30 minutes before the planned start of the ceremony. I talk to the music people, supply a copy of any readings to the persons you have chosen, if they have somehow forgotten theirs, and am generally available to answer any questions or be of assistance should the need arise. If we have not had a rehearsal beforehand, we walk through the script so that everyone knows what will happen and when, and what to expect. I officiate the ceremony, and mail the marriage license to the appropriate office on my way home.
After Your Wedding
About a week after your wedding I will mail you the script that I used for your ceremony, along with a request for a review and pictures that I can post on this website. If you wish, I can also be available for counselling after the wedding if matters arise that you would like to discuss with a clergyperson, and do not have one that you know.