Welcome to the newest version of the Ceremonies by Bethel website! I decided to start from scratch, on a new platform, to better express who I am, who my couples are, and what my business is all about. There are lots of officiants in the San Diego and Temecula region, and making it clear who I am and what I do (and why I do it) felt more important than ever.
I've been intending to write about this subject for a while. It periodically comes up at my weddings, or as an "end-of-season" thought, so it was time to talk about it!
You may have noticed that I am wearing the exact same necklace in every single wedding photo, as, yes, I intentionally put that necklace on when a wedding day or weekend begins, and then I take it off when they are done until it is time for more weddings.
Why?
I received an email from Adrienne’s best friend and maid of honor, as she is in the special event industry and was helping Adrienne and Ryan plan from afar (they live in Las Vegas) – and said that she was happy to see that I was on the vendor list at Wiens Family Cellars in Temecula (I love that venue!) and have me as an option, since she knew me from various wedding industry events and loved my approach. Yay!
I get asked regularly about who should be the witness(es) for the marriage license, especially as most couples seem to assume that it should be their honor attendants (like the best man, maid of honor, best woman, man of honor, etc). And it absolutely can be, but it doesn't need to be, and hence this post.
Do you want to know more about me personally, and who I am and what makes me tick? Well, in December 2004, my life completely changed. I had dinner that night with a friend of a longtime and long-distance friend. Deb told me that someone she worked with was moving to San Diego, and she would like to put us in touch, since he didn't know anyone here. Of course! Deb was someone I had known many years earlier in Tokyo, and we'd kept in touch plus randomly saw each other as we'd each moved all over (for me it was then New York and London, and for her, an Australian, it was in Australia and Chicago) - so, yeah, you help out folks who move around.
Banner/Thumbnail image by Betsy McCue Pictures, taken at Reves de Moutons, Paso Robles, California
I received an inquiry through my website and was psyched to see that they came my way not only because I was on the recommended list at their venue (one of my favorite venues, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park), but also because I was highly recommended by their wedding coordinator, Laura of Serendipity Events. And, it was clear that we were on the same page, as they definitely wanted a ceremony like I described, they said – one that was fun, personal, meaningful, and non-traditional, emphasis on the non-traditional, they mentioned. Count me in!
It's funny, as the proposal story is something that I always include in my ceremonies (other than the elopements with no guests, for obvious reasons). And it is something almost always included on a couple's wedding website. Why is that? I think it's a great way to express who the couple is together and what makes them unique.
I was asked to share my/our advice to newlyweds by Equally Wed, to be published on their website, I thought I'd share my thoughts here as well (with updated dates/numbers!). Enjoy!
Dear Newlyweds,
Congratulations on your recent nuptials and the start to this new chapter in your relationship! I’m excited for you!
I thought I’d share with you some of the things that we’ve figured out in our almost 13 years of marriage, as well as from observing the 900+ couples I’ve married over the past six years (yes, I’m an officiant, and have a ball celebrating all sorts of fantastic couples).
So, there are many things that I believe that I do quite well in my business, but blogging regularly is just not one of them. One of the challenges of being a solo-preneur is that, as the only one really involved in the business, you have to wear all of the hats. That means that some things slip through the cracks and/or intentionally get pushed to the side. Naturally, writing and prepping for my weddings can't and working with my awesome couples can't (nor would I want either of those to, as that's what I most love doing and is WHY I do this), but blogging often can (and does).
I have three different couples to thank for Brooke and Stanley! Yes, three different of my past couples sent them my way, which told me before I even met them that I would really like them – like attracts like, right? And I loved that Brooke told me that they had already read my reviews, as I think that they say so much of what it’s like to work together.
Are you enjoying these readings ideas? If you've missed them, here are the earlier ones: here and here. Since my couples tend to be non-religious and/or non-traditional, it's fun getting to provide ideas about readings that are focused on love, commitment, marriage, friendship, etc, that can be used in their wedding ceremony rather than the traditional or "normal" ones they've heard many times.
I love helping couples find different content and wording ideas that we can use in the ceremony to express what love and commitment are all about for them. And the assumption that including something that could be called a "reading" in the ceremony means that either A) a guest has to come up to read it and/or B) it is religious-focused or -toned is a common assumption to make, but would be wrong. Many of my couples choose one or two or three readings for me to include in the ceremony content and read myself, without anyone else coming up to read them. And since my couples tend to be non-religious and/or non-traditional, the readings chosen rarely could be considered anything but.
There are so many great ideas out there of what can be included in a wedding ceremony, and yet I hear from couples regularly who don't know that they can do anything outside the norm. Oh, yes, please do! And since "readings" often makes folks think "religious" or "traditional" and yet that's not necessarily the case at all, since there are so many great pieces that can be used as ceremony readings, I thought I'd start to share some here.
Here is one of my current favorites, and I love using it right before my couple exchanges their vows:
![adrienne + ryan – wiens family cellars temecula [real wedding]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d40a2ae41c3c60001ef135f/1566512166265-EQQRUGU0UD7CM86NOL2N/IMG_8394.JPG)
![sarah and hunter – san diego zoo safari park [real wedding]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d40a2ae41c3c60001ef135f/1566880069310-0TES8VOBBXG01LV1CJLR/SarahHunter-Wedding-HoffmanPhotoVideo-00973.jpg)
![brooke + stanley – secluded garden estate pala [real wedding]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d40a2ae41c3c60001ef135f/1566872759316-0WKZ67IXJ9F5QXFRQQ4J/IMG_8240.JPG)
![stacy + justin – milagro winery ramona [real wedding]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d40a2ae41c3c60001ef135f/1566871626707-N87TEFA751TT68GP6AQN/IMG_8352.JPG)
