The Wedding Ceremony: Like a good love story.........
Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at 8:31PM The Ceremony: The Heart of Your Cape Cod Wedding
February 19, 2014NEXT UP!Five 2014 Wedding Dress Trends
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathleen has been officiating Cape Cod weddings since 2000. Her poetic background enables her to create meaningful & unique ceremonies.
Let's hear it for the wedding ceremony! A ceremony that engages and reflects the couple's love can set an uplifting, heartfelt tone for the entire day.
In all the excitement of picking a dress, finding the perfect venue, selecting an all-star team of Cape Cod wedding vendors, sometimes the ceremony and the choice of just who will preside over it becomes a chore. It doesn't have to be.
One of my favorite stories of how someone choose me to be their celebrant took place at Cottage Bakery in Orleans. The bride was there for her cake tasting and as she tried the carrot cake, she looked up from the table to the bulletin board on the wall. It was covered with business cards. There she saw a card for Soulful Wedding Ceremonies and she almost choked on the cream cheese frosting. She had forgotten to book someone to officiate her Cape Cod wedding. She grabbed the card and called me right from the bakery. Luckily I had the date open and we had a wonderful time putting together her ceremony at the Orleans Yacht Club.
I tell this story because the process of picking a Cape Cod wedding officiant doesn't have to be drudgery; it can be interesting and even as fun as cake tasting. It helps if the two of you are in consensus about the style and tone you would like for your wedding ceremony. Your celebrant should be truly interested in what you want in your ceremony. I for one have several ceremony templates but no "boiler plates." Each ceremony should contain the essentials but be as unique as the couples themselves.
As an Interfaith minister, creating a "fusion" ceremony that brings in spiritual & cultural elements from both backgrounds makes for a compelling and engaging ceremony.
I also believe every ceremony tells a story. Every story has a beginning, middle, and end. The writer in me loves a good love story and all of you have one. As we get to know each other, I have the joy of hearing about how you met, what you love about each other, and what you would like to include in your lifelong promise to be true. Helping you choose or write your own vows and choosing poems, readings, prayers, and reflections that bring your feelings into words is a big part of my job.
As Wendell Berry said, "The meaning of marriage begins with the giving of our word...," and then bringing these words into the actions of exchanging vows and rings, all of this leading up to the pronouncement of marriage - sealed with a kiss! This is the happiest of all endings which is really a beautiful beginning.
When you have a good connection, working with your celebrant and making your ceremony the centerpiece of your Cape Cod wedding shouldn't have to be a chore. After all, isn't the ceremony really what the wedding is all about?
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