Out of the Box weddings

Introduction: I have been an Ordained Minister (Protestant) for over 30 years, performing weddings on and off throughout all that time. I joined the Thumbtack team 4 years ago. During that time, I have performed 40-50 weddings a year and been awarded Top Pro status for 4 years running for my outstanding reviews. I am Vietnam Nam era Navy Veteran and am fully in tune with meeting the needs of young military couples. I currently work as a job coach/trainer with disabled adults at United Cerebral Palsy, North County here in San Diego. Out of the Box Weddings is a part-time endeavor, which allows me to offer a great deal of flexibility in scheduling and lower fees, in general. As semi-retired minister, I am not obligated by any particular church or denomination, and am free to structure wedding ceremonies that meet the needs of the couple, rather than any particular organization or institution. At some point, I began to realize that the older a minister gets, the more funerals they're asked to do. While I have done (and still do) my share of this important function in everyone's life, I just didn't want to find myself buried in things that respresented the end of life. Most of my work in 'ministry' has involved young people and rock-roll music, with all its life, joy, and exciting energy.....so I choose to focus on the love and joy of those special moments called weddings. Although weddings are often about young people just starting out in life, I am actually meeting people of all ages, races, and religious backgrounds. (In my career, I have done weddings for bikers, metal-heads, and even goths!) Meeting so many interesting new people makes life more exciting and hopeful. I also find it liberating to help each couple choose a variety of ceremonies to construct a wedding that is tailored to reflect their individual relationship. I also enjoy sharing and exploring the special spirituality that weddings produce. While I am a committed Christian minister, I understand that spirituality is not limited to a particular denomination or practice. So I enjoy meeting couples on common ground, from agnostics to evangelicals. Ultimately, all weddings share a common spirituality, because they involve that magnificent intangible called Love.