Engaged couples are often all over the map when it comes to their ceremonies.

Some want it simple. Some want lots of ritual.  Some have complex cultural issues.  Others want to include their children – but how?  Like my wonderful couple from two weekends ago – Marc and Alison – they desired a personal mix of the traditional and contemporary.

In this work that I do, I work with couples of all paths.  Hence, some ceremonies are a piece of cake (sorry!) and others require hours of writing and attention.

What it comes to selecting the Officiant for your wedding ceremony, the same applies.

In Seattle, there are hundreds of Wedding Officiants.  All sizes.  All shapes. Different personalities.  Varied delivery styles.  Different ways of creating and crafting ceremony.

Bottom-line?  There is no right.  There is no wrong here. 

Your ceremony is all about you and what you want and what you do not want.  As you interview and/or select an Officiant, you’ll find that your ultimate choice/decision is a very personal one.

You like each other.  You appreciate the Officiant’s approach to creating a ceremony.  You respect a candidate’s life path and it resonates with yours.  You like their smile.  They come highly recommended.  You immediately trust them.  You’ve “seen them in action” before. You “feel” comfortable.  You feel an internal “yeah, this is good!”  Your prospective Officiant “gets you” as a couple.

Beautiful Photo:  www.jennygg.com

www.marriedbyannemarie.com

Sometimes it is such an unexpected pleasure for me to share in a couple’s wedding day.  Such is the case with this sweet couple.

Tonya and Harold live this great paradox well:  “what is small is really big – what is big is really small.”

Tonya and Harold’s tiny wedding ceremony and celebration at Willows Lodge was a sweet and big tribute to their loving relationship.

Accompanied by several witnesses, Tonya and Harold exchanged vows in the Lodge’s courtyard grotto.  A Spirit-filled couple, it was such a happy experience for me to witness the emotion and love between two people so obviously in love and deeply devoted to one another.

Tonya and Harold – thank you.  You touch my heart with your generous hearts, Spirit-filled joy and the very special touches you brought to your wedding day.

Chase and Christina Perrin - April 28, 2012

There are some couples who touch my heart in an incredibly profound and personal way.

Such is the case with Chase and Christina Perrin, who indeed did live up to their personal wedding motto, “Easy and Awesome!”

At their rehearsal last week, Wedding Planner Megan Keller and I both agreed that we felt a little sad that our time with Chase and Christina was coming to an end.

Couples often have post-wedding blues.  While feeling a litle blue about letting Chase and Christina go, I was also elated for their Saturday ceremony and thrilled for the possibilities for their future.

On the afternoon of Saturday, April 28th, Chase and Christina shared their love story with more than 150+ family and friends at DeLille Cellars in Woodinville.
There were many ceremony highlights and I absolutely adore this photo by Photographer Jenny Jimenez taken during the sharing of personal wedding vows (held as a surprise).

Chase and Christina – Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share in this lifetime experience with you.  Working with the two of you reminds me why I treasure this work.   In the words of Dr. Seuss, “Congratulations!  Today is your day!  You are off to great places!  You’re off and away!”

Megan Keller:  www.akurantevent.com
Jenny Jimenez:  www.photojj.com
Annemarie Juhlian:  www.marriedbyannemarie.com

Deciding that a large 150-person wedding (they both have large families) wasn’t their preference, they opted for a sweet and intimate ceremony in Theresa’s backyard in Wallingford, accompanied by 2 friends as witnesses.

After scouting the yard for a best location with friend/photographer, Josh, we found a best spot.  To the background noise of crackling chickens (neighbor’s yard) and with the warmth of sweet sunshine and the joy of the moment, Topher and Theresa exchanged vows (and lots of smiles) as they created a moment that was truly all about just the two of them.

When I asked Topher and Theresa what they were going to do with the rest of their day, they shared they were going to go take some special photos at a nearby park and then return to the house for wedding cupcakes and “a nap.”

Sounds good to me!

Topher and Theresa,  I wish you must happiness and adventure as you go take on the world, together!

www.marriedbyannemarie.com

Christy & Marques Johnson

Okay, how much fun can I truly have with one couple?

Some couples are just pure joy.  When I first met Marques and Christy Johnson last year for coffee/tea, I thought immediately to myself, “sign me up for this!”

And I was right.

Picture this.  A formal evening ceremony at the Washington Athletic Club, gorgeously designed by Wedding Planner Rebecca Grant.  150+ people.  Large wedding party.  Gorgeous Bride.  Festive Groom.  Did I mention lots of joy?

This I know for sure.  Incorporating fun and laughter into a wedding ceremony is a gentle dance.  In this work that I do, this means being fully in the moment with a couple and having an easy mastery of the “room” – knowing the couple, their family/tribe and a gathering a “temperature” of guests.

And this past Saturday evening, April 14th, we had so much fun, laughter and joy.  Most of the moments weren’t planned – they weren’t “written in.”  This is the funny thing about a wedding ceremony – for humor to be real and authentic, it most often has to be in the moment.  The more I know a couple, the most license and ease I feel in fully showcasing who they are with each other and in the world – especially the “fun parts.”

Marques and Christy – much much happiness to you!
Rebecca Grant:  www.newcreationsweddings.com
Annemarie Juhlian www.marriedbyanemarie.com

Kelly & Matt Dean

Sometimes a photo takes your breath away.

I wrote a bit about this last week and here is what I’d like to add as I found an article on this just a few days ago in the New York Times.

It’s not about how big your guest list it.  I’m not interested in the numbers.  I’m more taken with a couple who sweetly and profoundly creates a wedding day for “them” that revolves around their values, their interests, romantic moments and their pocketbook.

It’s not about the dress.  It’s not about the tux.  It’s about being comfy – in beautiful and comfortable clothes.

It’s not about the pomp!  It’s about intentionally crafting a wedding day experience that in the end – when the day is over and you are snuggled on a couch together with your feet up, and you share a ”we did good!” feeling.  There is nothing better this this.

Fabulous Photos:  www.firstlight-photography.com

In many of my ceremonies, especially a more elaborate and larger/formal ceremony like Alec and Ashley’s a few weeks ago at Seattle’s Design Center, I do move around.

In the photo to the right, I opened the ceremony by speaking from several vantage points, giving Alec and Ashley an opportunity to face their guests for the first one-third or so of their wedding ceremony.

In this Celebrant/Officiant work that I do, facing forward for part of a ceremony is a personal choice.  I venture to say that a third of my couples select this option.

If I do officiate a ceremony from a more traditional position (couple facing each other) with me in the middle, I do move to the right and left during a ceremony.  This way, a photographer can get clean shots of a couple without having me always in the photo (get outta the photo, Annemarie!) and this also gives a couple a bit of intimacy during their ceremony.

Fabulous Photo:  Cory Parris – www.coryparris.com

Officiant:  Annemarie Juhlian www.marriedbyannemarie.com

For me, it’s all about a couple and creating a lifetime moment around a wedding ceremony – no matter if the guest list is 2 or 200 people.

On a sunny day earlier this month, Dave and Heidi did their “tiny wedding” right.  

1)  They found a venue they loved – The Corson Building.

2)  They invited a few close friends/family to join them and gave them “parts” within their ceremony.

3)  They selected a terrific wedding photographer to capture the moment – Jenny Goldberg-George.

4)  They personalized their intimate ceremony with sweet moments.

5)  They had a fabulous dinner celebration. 

Joy. Sweet. Intimate. Fun. Kicky.  Memorable.

Photo:  www.jennygg.com

Officiant:  www.marriedbyannemarie.com

Beautiful.  Idyllic.  Crazy time!

For couples who were married on the weekend of January 19-22nd, it was gumby time.

I had the pleasure of joining David and Keri Morgan for their wedding ceremony at The Canal in Ballard on January 21st.  And it wasn’t an easy road to get there.   And once there, what a joy and what an honor to share in this wonderful couple’s wedding day.

Working with  Wedding Planner Rebecca Grant, David and Keri had lots of details and pieces to “re-arrange” during their wedding week.  Then it came to their wedding rehearsal, which was quickly re-scheduled to the next day.  On the new rehearsal day, the weather was still dicey and I was committed to getting into Seattle.  Long story short, I made it.  Rebecca made it.  David, Keri, their wedding party and family made it – yeah!

On January 21st, sunshine!  After all of the crazy and wacky weather of the week and all of the angst around planning details for this couple, a beautiful, pristine, sunny, crisp/cold and sweet wedding day.

When it comes to a wedding day, there is most often always “something” that goes wrong.  When it’s weather, my best counsel is to focus on what you can control and let the rest go.  For David and Keri, this worked beautifully.

Gorgeous Photo by Karlyn Beth of Anda Photography:  www.andaphotography.com

Annemarie Juhlian www.marriedbyannemarie.com