Bride reads personal vows from Smartphone
July 7, 2010
December 4, 2009
Holiday news and wishes
The holidays are upon us. I usually have a few weddings around Christmas, it’s such a family time of year and often facilities are already decorated so that’s a big saving on expenses. Home weddings are especially beautiful and meaningful at this time of year.
In November I did a wedding for a couple I’ve known for years. Everyone thought they were already married, but theirs was a well-kept secret. We made it legal for them after 27 years of practice then they took the perfect honeymoon. It’s never too late!
I blessed a baby on Saturday for Holly and Damien Minguet. Little Kyle is such a cuties. I love doing the blessings for couples I married in the past. The cycle continues.
I have a new love in my life. Bailey is a beautiful 34 lb. rescue dog I acquired recently. She is a love, so sweet and well-behaved. She’s my new best friend.
My daughters and I will be spending some time in Costa Rica this winter. It’s lovely there and a great place to get away from the cold.
I wish all couples I’ve joined in marriage, and all those who are in the planning process, a wonderful and joyous holiday season. I hope to see you in the coming year.
September 4, 2009
Ah Fall, Perfect Wedding Weather
My favorite time of year. These glorious cool days are such a welcome relief from our summer heat and humidity. This is the perfect weather for those outdoor weddings. Your guests will love being outside and won’t be secretly asking “what are we doing here? what’s taking so long? what were they thinking?” They will actually remember your ceremony for the serenity of the location, the beautiful sentiment of the words, and will be wiping tears instead of sweat. What are you waiting for, think September, October and even November.
August 14, 2009
Grandparents Renew Vows at Wedding
Sara and Chris were married at Ocean Isle Beach in one of the many family vacation weddings I do every year. Our beaches are perfect venues for having a wedding where the family always gets together at the ocean. But this was a very special family. Sara’s grandparents, Joe and Rose Sculli have been married for 65 years. Sara and Chris chose their wedding date, August 12, 2009 to coinside with Rose and Joe’s anniversary.
The bride’s dad (Joe and Rose’s son) walked his daughter down the sandy aisle where Chris was waiting. They said their vows and when they were finished, Sara and Chris walked over to Rose and Joe and brought them up to me to do their renewal of vows. Of course there was not a dry eye on the beach — I even teared up a little in the presence of such love and lifelong devotion. What a gift to have people in your life to inspire younger ones and how generous of Sara and Chris to share their day with their family in such a beautiful way.
Rainy morning brought sunny wedding
We arrived at Ft. Fisher Rec. area in a driving rain for Connie and Brandon’s beach wedding. Talking on our cell phone’s we debated whether to wait it out of go back to their beach house. Then the miracle came, the rain suddenly stopped, we rushed onto the beach– a few sprinkles persisted and a few folks brought umbrellas. As the ceremony went off as planned, I reminded them in the ceremony, “just as this seashore, a place of beauty and serenity can know some tumultuous times, so in marriage, there can be some stormy days.” Everyone laughed in agreement and the ceremony ended with a breakthrough of the sun through the clouds and another happy couple. How often what seems like a bad situation really works out for the best.
July 20, 2009
How’s Your Wedding Business?
Here’s a question I get asked frequently by friends: Is the economy affecting the number of weddings you do? Up until very recently I’ve said no, people are still getting married, and many I think are choosing the comfort and additional security that marriage represents to them.
However, recently I’ve noticed a lot more couples who are price shopping. I get many calls from couples whose first question is “How much do you charge to do a wedding?” I guess it’s to be expected. It seems that people who don’t know a minister personally would use cost as a criteria as much as anything.
But like everything, price is a factor in quality. I’ve been doing weddings for 15 years. I have been on the beaches here in the Wilmington area for 10 of those years. Yet, my fees are basically the same as they have always been and are in line with the national average. National averages place fees at $250-500 for weekend weddings, $200-300 for weekdays.
The other consideration is that we are a tourist area here. You may get “the preacher” in your small home town to do the wedding for less than you would in place like Wrightsville Beach or Carolina Beach, but again, part of what you are paying for is the ambiance of a beautiful beach area, and someone who brings the depth of knowledge to make your day memorable.
So when you start looking for an officiant, look for someone to enhance your wedding day, keep in mind that you get what you pay for, so go for quality. It is worth a little extra to have the kind of ceremony you want. Hopefully it’s a one time expense.
June 30, 2009
Looking and feeling good for your beach wedding
Beach weddings are great for natural beauty, but few couples realize how hot the beach is in summer. A few tips to keep in mind. Timing is everything, if you are planning on June, July or August, think MORNING or EVENING– Like after 7. Remember the sun doesn’t set until 8:30, so you have lots of daylight time after 7 p.m. Your pictures will be better, there will be fewer beachgoers in their swimsuits around, and the sand will not burn your feet. And speaking of feet– be sure the groom as well as the bride gets the pedicure.
Attire is another consideration for mid summer beach weddings. If the bride is choosing a wedding gown, keep the temperature in mind. Something that doesn’t require layers of crinolines and and corset bras. Some of the most beautiful wedding dresses I’ve seen are natural fibers with simple lines. Remember, you’re on the beach!
Give the guys a break too. Those tuxes are way too hot for summer on the beach. A nice shirt with linen suit or khaki slacks looks so cool and feels so much better. If you are set on men in tuxedos, rethink the summer beach wedding. He’s not going to be fun to kiss or dance with if he is soaking wet and smelly.
July 1, 2008
Interfaith Minister’s Ordination
Just returned from NYC where I attended the graduation and ordination of one of my friends who has completed her studies at the One Spirit Seminary, a seminary which trains Interfaith Ministers. The service took place in the beautiful Riverside Church, a house of worship to rival any of Europe’s grand cathedrals.
The ocassion was somewhat of an anniversary for me. My own ordination and graduation from The New Seminary, another Interfaith Seminary in NYC, took place at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on June 19, 1994.
These two seminaries are small schools by comparison to many, yet for the last 20+ years they both have chosen to hold their graduation and ordination ceremonies in these most magnificent of New York’s churches. Why? Size is certainly one answer. Though the seminaries are small, the graduating classes numbering less than 100, the families and friends of these students turn out in huge numbers to support them and fill the house.
But more than that, the people who come to these services are there because something within each of them resonates with the idea that each of us is connected in a deeper way to each other, than we are to our own individual religions.
The service opens with invocations and incantations from every faith as clergy and students chant prayers and calls to worship. Students come forth carrying the sacred texts of each of the major religions and places those texts upon the alter at the front of the sanctuary, acknowledging that God is One and has revealed truth to all faiths, regardless of the path chosen, and the form taken. As these sacred texts are placed on the alter we see God’s word, not diminished, but expanded as we see the array of diversity. The curriculum of the first year of the seminary program is devoted to the study of these sacred texts and all the major religions of the world, and some of the mystical traditions of these.
So many of our conflicts seem to have arisen around what we have come to see as our differences, each claiming their own way, the need to be right. Yet, beneath those conflicts there is a place within each of us that recognizes that we are so much more the same than we are different. We all want the same things for ourselves and our children. We love our home, the place on the planet we feel connected to, and now, in this age of global connection through technology, we see that our home is really not separate but part of the whole.
Being back at the Seminary, seeing the shared commitment of these new graduates reminded me again of why I became an Interfaith Minister, and how blessed I am to be part of this global community of believers who share my commitment to finding a better way of relating with each other.
June 24, 2008
Houston Couple at Mt. Lebanon Chapel
Jennifer and Drew chose the charming historic Mt. Lebanon Chapel in Airlie Gardens as the venue for their destination wedding. Coming here from Texas, their biggest concern was summer heat so they set their wedding time for 10:30 a.m. (a great idea for summer weddings, btw). Though this summer morning greeted them with a shower, the wedding went on albeit a little damp.
The quaint chapel was bedecked with hydrangeas and lilies. Wilmington’s best loved wedding violinist, Maura Kropke, kept everyone in the mood while the guests arrived shaking out their umbrellas and making their way into the old wooden pews. Jennifer’s dad, John, was determined to get the bride in on time, and had her sheltered under a huge golf umbrella as the doors to the chapel opened and Drew saw his lovely bride make her way down the aisle undaunted by the rain.
Their choice, the “Love Is A Miracle” ceremony was inhanced by readings done by two friends. Teresa read from “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran; and Robin read “An Irish Wedding Blessing.”
Sometimes the weather has a way of reminding us that we can’t always control the details in our lives, but often the gift comes in the unexpected. If Jennifer and Drew are always able to adapt to conditions as they did that rainy morning, life will offer many blessings.