So, I’ve been making progress in the planning for the renewal and thought I catch you up on all the updates. So, we met with Rev. Laura Cannon last week, which went so well! For Wedding Wednesday, she sent me a draft of our entire ceremony. So exciting!!!

At that meeting, we discussed a way to include our other child, Roxy (aka “the pug”) into our renewal ceremony. Roxy is adorable, but she also snorts, snarfs and barks when she is excited and I feel that having her at the renewal would be too much for this 9 year old girl. :) So, I’ve asked Liz and Ryan (aka Elizabeth Ryan Photography) to do a little photo shoot with the diva! You’ll have to wait and see how this gets incorporated into the ceremony, but needless to say, I know the photos will be adorable.

New vendor update! For the ceremony and cocktails, we will be having a string trio from Chesapeake Strings. While I was at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club bridal show Chesapeake Strings was in the Tavern Ballroom playing. So, I got to listen to them for a few hours, playing everything from Pachelbel to the Beatles to Coldplay. Really, that’s a huge variety of music and it all sounded great!  So, check that off the list — deposit and contract in the mail!

Lastly, I’ve been having a wonderful time sharing ideas back and forth over Facebook and Pinterest with Sarah from Intrigue Design & Decor. So, I guess I’m also announcing that Intrigue will be designing the flowers for the renewal! Yay!! I’ve worked with Sarah and Melissa for years and we always collaborate so effortlessly. I’m happy to have them on board “the team”. Here are a few pictures that we’ve been passing back and forth:

I’m off to Disney World with the family next Wednesday, so there will be no blog post.  But, I’ll be back the following Wednesday with another interview with one of my vendors! Yay!   Have a great week!

Big week! On Thursday, Tom and I are meeting with our officiant to discuss our renewal ceremony. Exciting!!! So, I thought it would be appropriate to share my interview with the Rev. Laura Cannon from Divine Transformation. I have heard so many wonderful things about Laura…from vendors and clients. Tom and I talked to her via phone before the holidays and just felt like she “got” what we wanted to do for our renewal ceremony. That being said, we can’t wait for our meeting tomorrow and I can’t wait to share this interview! Enjoy!

Q: How did you become a wedding officiant?
A: Kind of by accident. I was a Reiki Master teacher and had my ordination as part of my healing practice. I had a Reiki student who got engaged and – knowing that I was an ordained minister – she asked if I could perform her wedding. I explained to her that I had never done a wedding before but that I would love to try. As soon as I began the ceremony I had one of those moments that Oprah describes as an ‘A-ha’ moment. I knew it was what I was meant to be doing. As I finished the ceremony, the caterer who had witnessed it came up to me and said it was the best service he had ever seen and asked for my card. Then I thought, note to self: get business cards and make this happen. The rest is history!

Q: Being in the industry, I love weddings, but I always want to know why others love weddings too!  Why do you?
A: I love LOVE! I really feel like I have the best job in the world. I get to bear witness to so much love and one of the most special and memorable days in a person’s life. The love of the couple, the love from their friends and families, it is just too amazing to describe. I get to wake up every day excited about what I do and there is nothing more inspiring than that!

Q: What is unique about Divine Transformation Wedding Officiants?
A: Our philosophy, which you can read at: http://www.divinetransformation.com/why-choose-us/ Also,All of my officiants go through an extensive training to become officiants. They don’t just get ordained online and show up for a wedding. They invest a lot of time into honing their skills and becoming the very best at what they do. We all share the same philosophy… our job is not to make a couple adhere to our belief systems. Our job is to create a highly personalized ceremony that is a reflection of that particular couples beliefs, desires, and wishes. We have been in business for nearly a decade and have been providing 5 star award-winning wedding services since our founding.

Q: Do you like when clients personalize their ceremonies?  Do you have any good stories of something a client has done to make the ceremony their own?
A: We encourage every client to personalize their ceremony with something that is meaningful for them.  I have so many really cool things that couples have done.  To name a few:  a box of memories that each person in the family came and put a gift in, a love letter ceremony, a lemon tree ceremony, their own special dance down the aisle with the bridal party.  I could go on and on.

Q: Are there any ceremony trends that you are seeing more of now?  Is the sand ceremony still popular?  Unity candles?  Something new?
A: Everyone loves having friends do readings and that hasn’t changed.  People are still choosing the sand ceremony and unity candles because they are now considered ‘classic’.  A lot more people are choosing to write their own vows and do things that incorporate guests and wedding party.  There seems to be a movement away from just the couple participating in the ceremony.  Often times family and guests are now participating in really cool ways.

Q: Do you have a favorite moment during a wedding?
A: The look on the faces of the couple as their eyes meet for the first time at the start of the ceremony.

Q: When you aren’t standing at the altar, what do you like to do with your time?
A: Anything with a spiritual/self-development focus.  I teach yoga and am also an energy worker.  I have a deep personal spiritual practice so I enjoy reading, meditating, spending time with loved ones, and spending time in nature.  When it is not prime wedding season I am often off on silent meditation retreats.  It’s pretty funny because when you think about it I alternate between speaking all the time to not speaking at all.   I believe in doing what you love, and I love a lot of things… too many to name here :)

Q: I just did this to Elizabeth Ryan Photography and I and now I’m asking you too…describe your business in five words.
A: Fun, Creative, Dependable, Open-Minded, Professional