Remembrance Weddings Reverend Charles E. Million

” Those number in the hundreds. I offer 3 types of weddings at three different price points and service levels. 1. A “WedXpress” ceremony is an alternative to getting married at the courthouse, 10 minutes long and is not custom. 2. A “Beautiful Basics” ceremony is also non custom but a little longer allowing for a standard basic wedding. Pretty language but not as expensive as a custom planned wedding. Both of these have very limited choices. 3. The “Remembrance Wedding” is one which is custom planned and put together from many options. I take 45 minutes to an hour talking with a couple and offering them alternatives for each and every segment of the ceremony. There are 56 options that I discuss in planning, not including things they bring up that I may not have heard of (it happens.) Some of the options choices that we discuss are: • Tone of the ceremony overall • Religious or non-religious (what religious combinations and whether they want very religious, religious light or a blend of religious and spiritual with quotes from famous writers, poets or philosophers • Rituals if they choose them. There are many alternatives, and couples can use multiples from 0 to 4 in a ceremony. • type of vows o (I do most of the talking, the couple just say “I do,” or o I say and they repeat, o Write your own vows. Once we determine the type we discuss the tone of vows: 1. Traditional 2. serious 3. Bible driven vows 4. light and pretty, 5. humorous and fun There are options about including the children, family members, vocalists, music segments, honoring the families, and more. There are many possibilities, leading to over 3000 ways the ceremony can be different (56 x56= 3136, give or take a hundred or so) combinations. Personal details of the relationship, courtship, shared dreams etc. are also added to the ceremony (if the couple gives them to me…. I do ask.) Once the planning is done I send them an agreement that confirms what each couple tells me that they want. In constructing the custom ceremony I start by selecting the basic components of each element that the couple has requested and putting them together in a rough basis. I have multiple alternatives for every aspect or segment, so in choosing I try and match each segment with the personality of the couple and what they have asked for. About a month before the ceremony I send the text to the couple, with 10 days to two weeks to get back to me with any questions they may have or requests for changes in the ceremony. I rewrite any text necessary and put the final polish on it. Over the 20+ years of being a wedding officiate I have written and re written every paragraph, of each segment of the text, learning from the changes couples have asked for. Learning from reactions to the ceremony from the couples and their guests when I deliver it. Honing my craft, and improving my services. A wedding that I did in 1994 looks a whole lot different than a wedding I do today. Please understand that after 25+ years and marrying over 1000 happy couples, I no longer am able to find new words for every word in a ceremony text. I am a creative writer (Bachelor of Journalism, Ohio University) but there are just so many ways to say “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” as an example. This is my process to give a couple a custom ceremony. And yes…. As part of the process I put the names of the couple into what I select and write. In its essence the complaint is true, though perhaps not as damning as it might first look.