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Is the ceremony important to you?
 The ceremony is often the part of the wedding to which too little thought is given, or the bride and groom presume is solely in the hands of the celebrant or a church. That does not have to be the situation.
You should be at ease with the ceremony. You may want your marriage ceremony to tell your family and friends how you feel about each other. You will want it to respect your individual beliefs. You may want to take into consideration the religious or cultural traditions of both families. If the bride and the groom are of different cultural traditions, it is good to be inclusive and considerate of both sides.
We ensure that you have freedom to choose what is best for you. You don't have to be uncomfortable with an officiant and try to please his or her beliefs. The couple knows what is best for your marriage ceremony. You will not be surprised at what is being said at your ceremony because there are no extemporaneous remarks. Everything that will be said is agreed upon by the couple. On the wedding day, your guests will not hear the same ceremony that has been done for so many others. They will experience your own personalized ceremony in words that you two have selected or written.
When we meet, I will share with you many options for creating a distinctive ceremony. Some of the items may be handfastings*, candle lighting, wine sharing, flower exchange, poetry, and readings from many cultures including Native American, Celtic, and Far Eastern Traditions.
*A handfasting is a Celtic tradition going back to pre-Christian times where the couple would announce their engagement by the ceremonial binding of hands. This would take place a year and a day before the actual wedding, but in our modern usage, the handfasting may be done at the beginning of the wedding ceremony to signify the couple's agreement to marry.
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