FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I charge $300 for the wedding. Including when I am also present for the rehearsal, which I help to lead and make memorable, and at which I get to meet a lot of the family...sometimes grist for the mill for the ceremony. For those charges, I meet with the couple. Usually that's about an hour. Prepping and sending out the questionnaire to them 30 days before the ceremony. When I get the questionnaires back, I sit down and craft a ceremony and vows, which usually takes about a day I always bring a complete sound system to all weddings. DJ's and artists have been late or stuck somewhere, or the venue's sound system doesn't work...I'm always ready to go no matter what. And my system can work without power available, which works great for outdoor, beach, farm and forest events. I often handle the music for before and during many weddings. My system is Bluetooth capable so I can load any music I need and play it as needed during the ceremony. . After the wedding, I send the couple a complete copy of the ceremony and vows, along with copies of every note and email we've exchanges and copies of both of their questionnaire answers.. I've also supplied the odd things for special ceremonies...trees with soil and pot for organic unity ceremonies, bowls and bottles for sand ceremonies, ribbon and cord for handfasting, sake cups for San San Kudo ceremonies, broom for "Jumping the Broom..."
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I meet you and go over your plans and dreams, who's going to be at the wedding (I work pretty hard to make sure that everyone at the wedding leaves feeling you are authentically married), music, any needs for sound equip (which I bring to every wedding, just in case...), kids involvement, any creative ideas or wants. It usually takes less than an hour. In that time, we get to know for sure if this is a good fit! If we agree, it's a deal. I do not take a deposit. Payment is at the ceremony. It's a good idea to put it in the envelope with the license, since I will be completing the paperwork and sending it in. An important personal note: Are you planning on having what photographers are now calling "early reveal" photos of groom with bride in her wedding dress? If so, I want to tell you something from someone who's been standing at the foot of the aisle with thousands of grooms over the years...don't trade convenience for memories: the guests will be just fine. Adjust the schedule. For couples who don't follow the "old-fashioned" tradition of keeping the bride hidden from the groom until she enters the ceremony, I am not your minister. Standing alongside the grooms, the magic of those first moments of every wedding are incredibly moving and emotional. I'd say most of the grooms are in tears when they first glimpse their bride. And that goes for the guests and often for me, as well. That memory ranks right up there with the birth of children for many people. In the few dozen weddings in the last couple years where, for the first time, couples are posing for photographs for an hour or so before the wedding, that magic, that moment, is simply gone. For them, for that groom and that bride, they simply experience their wedding moment as one of hundreds that day. Another fabulous photographic opportunity. Few grooms come to tears. Guests--many of whom posed with the couple before the wedding--stand up when told, but the hush and gasps and oohs and ahhs are missing. Both bride and groom are tired from the photo posing. They're a little bedraggled, a bit sweaty. It's not magical. I officiate wedding ceremonies. I craft, with the questionnaire answers, a moving, personal emotional ceremony. It takes me many hours. Each one is different. I invest quite a lot in every couple. Because I believe a wedding ceremony is one of the most important, potent, memorable events in any couple's lives. Trading that moment for convenience is just a tragedy. When I first meet with couples the whole "early reveal" process comes up. Without lecturing, but simply sharing the emotion that I feel about weddings, I explain why I don't do those weddings. I acknowledge that they won't ever know what they're missing. Many times they change their minds, in which case I can tell you wholeheartedly that they are always incredibly grateful after the ceremony for me encouraging the change away from early reveal. I encourage you with the same commitment. I just can't do "early reveal" weddings.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Most of what changes is style and music, which I work hard to keep up with. But I also do quite a bit of research for most of my events. Between all faiths and religions there are many changes and developments to follow. For about half of my clients, religion is not important, but spirituality can be, as can the family and ethnic culture and traditions. So I am constantly updating, researching for events and bringing the latest style and information to whatever I do.