Couples are rewriting the script on marriage. I'm rewriting their ceremony scripts to match.
Couples have more choices than ever when it comes to planning their wedding day, but they're also facing more pressure to pull off a stunning and flawless event that guests won't stop talking about for months. Having more choices doesn't exactly make planning your wedding easier, but it does mean you can make almost everything about your wedding day more personal.
Most couples make hundreds of choices leading up to their wedding day—from invitation fonts to napkin colors to the first dance song to the signature cocktail—to make sure that the wedding reflects their relationship and personalities as much as possible. So why don't couples have more choices when planning the wedding ceremony itself?
In the U.S. a "traditional" wedding describes a Christian one—and traditionally, choices about the ceremony have belonged to the pastor or priest officiating the wedding. But as of 2021, fewer than half of U.S. adults belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque. Couples who don't want a religious wedding are left with two main alternatives: they can interview officiants until they find one they like (or at least one who won't be offensive), or couples can appoint someone they already like and trust to serve as their officiant.
That's why more couples are opting to have a friend or family member officiate their wedding—because it adds a uniquely personal touch to their ceremony.
Almost all states require a wedding be performed by an ordained officiant, but lots of websites offering online ordination have made it fairly easy (and inexpensive!) for a first-time officiant to be ordained with plenty of time to spare before the wedding.
As a professional officiant (and progressive Christian pastor), I believe everyone deserves to have their wedding officiated by whoever they choose, as well as a ceremony that reflects their values and celebrates the magic of their unique love story. But I also know that officiating a wedding is a lot of work! That's why I founded Something New Ceremonies—a new kind of wedding planning service that gives couples the best of both worlds: an intimate ceremony officiated by someone they already know and love, plus full support from an experienced officiant as they plan every aspect of the wedding ceremony.
I work with couples to write the ceremony script, compose their vows, design personalized rituals, navigate the marriage license process, and coach their first-time officiant.
The best part is, every couple's love story already contains all the necessary ingredients for a moving, one-of-a-kind wedding ceremony. I just help them find the right words for it—plus the music, rituals, readings, processional order, seating arrangement, altar configuration, or anything else they may need for their ceremony to feel like them.
Want to know more about how I could help you plan the wedding ceremony of your dreams? Send me a message!
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