Weddings on Cape Cod: Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall......

                                    The Prowers Pretty Little Winter Wedding at Chatham Bars Inn

 The winter wind has abated. It's breath warmng even though the branches are still bare and will remain so until well after any threat of snow. Most springs on Cape Cod the winter holds on tenaciously. This has been a gentle fallow season. It seems like life itself is percolating right beneath our feet; earth softening;crocuses peaking.We all say, "Yes!"

 Ceremonies in draft form like seedlings sprouting line my desktop. Today I will print out one so it takes form. Onto pretty paper words will form. The paper is from Thompson's Printing a local business in Orleans. One ream is called 'Blooming Pink' the other entitled, 'Botanical.'

Weddings are about beauty. Close to Summer Solstice, Sarah and Justin wed at Wequassett Resort on Round Cove.

And wedding ceremonies are about words of truth and fidelity.

 The Meaning of Marriage- Wendell Berry The meaning of marriage begins by giving our word. We cannot join ourselves to one another without giving our word….

  Consent:   Have you come here today of your own free will to give each other your word in Marriage?    “We Have.”  Please turn and take each other’s hands and share the vows of marriage.

 A marriage of words and images, symbols and rituals that make the ancient rite of marriage like the rite of spring; a testimony of hope and love that renews and transfoms everything it touches

"For love is matchless in majesty, it has no parallel in power and there is no darkness it cannot dispel."

Meher Baba

 Happy New Moon Eclipse and St. Patrick's Day.  Enjoy these last days of winter before the busy as a bee days of Spring sweep in.

What is the average cost of a Wedding Officiant ?

Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at 4:52PM

What is the Average Cost of an Officiant? 

(From article on wedding officiant directory)

It’s difficult to get a true average price of wedding officiants because there is no reliable data on the subject. While amateur officiants and individuals simply looking to make a few dollars may charge a couple as little as $100-$250, the average fees for professional officiants typically range from $400 to $800 depending on experience and the level of service and customization they provide. Many clergy such as priests and rabbis can cost well over $1000, often asking couples to make a donation to their church or synagogue in lieu of being paid directly. Factoring out the low rates from amateur officiants as well as the impact of individuals performing ceremonies at no charge to the couple, our determination is that the average cost for a professional wedding officiant is roughly $600 per ceremony. 

...plan to spend $800 total on any ceremony fees and officiant donations... - Brides.com

Update on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 7:37PM by Soulful Wedding Ceremonies

My pricing is now $400 for wedding ceremony in the Brewster area

$100 for attendance at rehearsal

$500- $800 and for weddings outside of the area.

Classic Cape Cod Weddings

It's May! it's May, the lovely, romantic month of May. This garden at Land's End in Provincetown is the scene of being quite swept away by love. Everything just sweetly blooming and this photography by Julia Cumes has me swooning.Happy Anniversary to this beautiful couple.
So romantic -Jack and Jackie.

Cape Cod Weddings: We Gather Together (Again)

As the rain fell melting the snow I met with a wonderful couple today.  Nancy and Tom are getting married in June. We sat by the fire and began planning their sunny early summer ceremony.  We will gather together again in Orleans at the family homestead by Nauset Beach. I'm so blessed to be presiding over this wedding too. The bride- to- be is the sister of this groom pictured below. What a beautiful double blessing to join yet another sensational couple together in matrimony. ( And I get to work with the wonderful photographer Kim Rielly at Studio K who took this photo. ) We gather together again!

http://www.kimreillyphotography.com/

JP,Cape Cod wedding officiant,celebrant,minister-questions to ask when choosing

Question #1: What is the difference between a JP, celebrant, officiant and a wedding minister? In the past, for the religiously affilated, the wedding date, place and person to preside was dictated by your faith community's schedule. Now those of us who consider ourselves non-affiliated have so many more choices.

I am an ordained interfaith minister authorized by the State of Massachuesetts to preside over marriages. I studied for two years at The New Seminary of NYC. In June 2000 I was ordained as an Interfaith Minister at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC.

Qustion #2- What is your faith or religion? As an interfaith minister I try and find the essence of love in all religions and faiths. Being raised Irish Catholic I have a somewhat irreverent, Celtic, nature-based resistence to overly organized religion, although I will tell you, I'm kinda in love Pope Francis. He must be St. Francis of Asissi reincarnated. I am fine with disorganized religions, and on and off-beat spiritual paths. I am comfortable with anyone who is still figuring it all out. It is not so much what a person knows or believes, it is the quality of their love that matters.

Now back to business JP- stands for Justice of the Peace. They are authorized by the town to preside over weddings and have a fixed rate for their fees depending on the town. Town clerks are JP's and can preside over weddings at the town hall or out and about. 

There are also Life Cycle Celebrants that are wedding officiants as well. The word 'celebrant' is not theirs alone and I believe anyone authorized to preside over weddings could use this term to describe themselves (especially if they feel more celebratory than officious.)

So I am a ordained wedding minister, wedding officiant and wedding celebrant.

I am not a JP, not that there is anything wrong with that- seriously JP's are great and I refer to them all the time. So I hope this helps clarify. enough for now.

Keep Happy -Kathleen

PS Happy Birthday Beloved Avatar Meher Baba and thank You from the bottom of my heart!