Interview with Lynn from from Full Circle of Minter and Richter Designs
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 8:40AM
Soulful By the Sea: A Cape Cod Wedding Officiant Shares Her Inspiration
Posted by Lynn on Jun 11, 2012 in blog | 0 comments
“For love keeps the stars in the firmament and imposes rhythm on the ocean tide. Each of us was created of it, and I suspect each of us was created for it.” Maya Angelou
Rev. Kathleen Geagan of Soulful Weddings
MR: You’re a wedding officiant on Cape Cod. No pressure there! What do you do when the sun refuses to appear and the winds are whipping across the sand flats?!
KG: You hope that the couple has a back- up shelter plan but if not, you keep a sense of humor and carry on. I’ve been in a downpour only once and we did just that. The couple really wanted to marry out in the elements. I’m pretty cool about it, but I don’t do lightning.
MR: What led you to take on this special role?
KG: I was hooked after my first wedding for Pete and Kathy in October of 2000. After being ordained as an interfaith minister I was also working as a chaplain. Two years ago I went full time into the wedding presider role. It is a wonderful gift to meet people in love and share this momentous time in their lives. I love to write poetry and enjoy a good love story, so weaving these elements into a ceremony makes it an enjoyable creative process.
With this ring I promise I'll always love you!
Steve and co. laid down a riff after Steve and Tammy wed at the Barley Neck Inn Autumn 2011.
“I believe it’s my job to listen for the theme; to sense the thematic thread, to perceive in the story what is being laid down, like a good guitar riff and I hope I get it right.”
MR: I love the above sentiment – pulled from your Soulful Weddings blog. Does meeting a couple for the first time feel a little bit like a first date? How does the process work?
KG: Definitely, it does feel like a bit of a first date. Most first meetings are like that, we get to know each other, it can be a bit awkward at first. Most couples are relieved to realize that I’m not a ‘officious’ officiant. If we can’t meet we talk on the phone or communicate by e-mail. I use a wedding questionnaire that helps with getting information about the couple and what they want in their ceremony. It is a creative process that evolves as we get to know each other. Some couples just want to turn it all over, others like to have more input. I let them lead but take over when I see stress levels rising.
MR: Can you share a few of your favorite wedding/love/marriage quotes?
KG: “True love is unconquerable and irresistible. It goes on gathering power and spreading itself until it transforms everyone it touches.” ~ Meher Baba
“For love keeps the stars in the firmament and imposes rhythm on the ocean tide. Each of us was created of it, and I suspect each of us was created for it.” ~ Maya Angelou
MR: What is your advice for couples hoping to have the ceremony go as comfortably and smoothly as possible?
KG: Nourish each other’s sense of humor, keep communicating, have a rehearsal and or a point person who likes to be in charge and knows all the players. Don’t burden yourself with the onus of creating your own ceremony from scratch. Find an officiant you trust and turn things over so you can focus on the essential vow and promise you are about to make to the one you chose above all the rest. Have fun, don’t expect everything to go perfectly. Perfect weddings are boring, a bit too predictable. 'Perfectly you' weddings are surprisingly compelling, engaging and sincerely fun.
Thank you, Kathleen
