What We Believe
We believe that what you believe is the most important thing to consider for your wedding. Our wedding officiants are here to help you create a wedding ceremony that is special to you and your partner. It is important that you know how our faith informs us, so you can be assured that we will create the kind of ceremony that is a good fit for you as a couple.
As your wedding officiant, we concentrate on your spiritual journey. It is our heartfelt belief that each person decides what is true and right for them. You can be assured that this includes those who do not hold to any one religious belief system, as well as those who are atheist, agnostic or humanist. Faith is not limited to a belief in a higher power or a God or Goddess. Faith includes a belief in love, commitment, family, humanity and the greater good.
In the process of working with you on your wedding ceremony we are open to hearing your visions of life and the Sacred. It is our hope that you will be open to sharing with us. You can have a very romantic spirit filled wedding ceremony without any religious language.
Love is the guiding force in our wedding ministry. It is love that guides us in our work as wedding ministers as well as our everyday lives. It is what has made our 40 plus years of marriage possible.
We do not judge couples based on previous relationships, whether they are living together, have children from previous relationships, have experienced divorce, or are same sex. Our only criteria is that you are in love, want to spend your lives together in a happy healthy relationship and are willing to work toward that goal.
We will marry anyone of legal age, who comes to us for marriage, has a valid license from the state in which the ceremony is to occur and is entering into the union as consenting adults. Couples who cannot or will not, for whatever reason, join in legal wedlock will receive the same care and attention to detail for their Ceremony of Union as legal marriages. We will honor all couples regardless of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preference.
We are very excited that Marriage Equality has come to our country. We can help all couples express their love in public, ritualized, and legal ceremonies. Same sex couples will receive the same high quality services and attention from us as straight couples. As wedding officiants we understand that not everyone wants a public ceremony, some couples are very private people and want small simple private ceremonies. We will help you have the exact ceremony you want.
Pre-marital counseling, instructions or tests, can be beneficial to couple entering into marriage. They can be a meaningful tool to help reduce stress and assist them in anticipating and addressing issues that might arise in the future. While we are not licensed therapists, we do have the insight into what makes a marriage successful, based on our 40 plus years together. As wedding officiants we are also trained in the use of the Prepare/Enrich program of marriage education. We will be glad to work with you to explore the strengths you bring to your relationship and how you can utilize them to continue to grow and deepen your commitment.
It is important that you make certain that your wedding officiant is one you can comfortably work with and will give you the wedding ceremony of your dreams. Your first meeting with All Faiths Wedding Officiants of the Triad is free of charge, lasts approximately an hour. This allows you to get to know us, ask any questions you have about what we do, how we do it, wedding ceremonies in general and lets us also get to know you and what you want in your ceremony and marriage. After the meeting you can determine if we are a good fit.
The selection of a wedding officiant is one of the most important that a couple will make while planning their wedding ceremony. However, you have MANY important decisions to make while planning your wedding ceremony and the decision of your officiant should be in accordance with your beliefs, values and ideals.
When planning your ceremony, we will be open to the individual needs and spiritual beliefs of everyone involved. Your private spiritual beliefs and practices will be honored while working with us as your wedding officiant. It is not unusual for couples to develop a deep life long relationship with their wedding officiant. Often it is this officiant that later welcomes babies and children into the family, honors other transitions in the lives of the family, or is called upon to assist with funerals and memorial services as needed.
Children and Animal Friendly
We will support and encourage couples who wish to involve children in their wedding ceremonies, be they their own, or the children of a friend or relative. We understand however, and hope that everyone involved understands, that children sometimes do not comprehend all the emotions that adults can go through during a wedding or other type of ceremony, and therefore at times find it difficult to “behave” in a way that adults would like. If this should happen, we will do whatever is necessary to comfort or reassure the child involved, knowing that such can only help the child understand better, and in no way can detract from the service being performed.
We bring more than 30 years experience of parenting children with special needs. In addition to raising our 6 children, we have parented more than 64 foster children. The last 8 years of fostering were focused on children and adolescents with developmental delays and mental health issues. We are very experienced in working with children with Autism as well as a wide range of other needs. If you want to include your child with special needs in your wedding ceremony, we can work with you to make that experience a positive, successful one.
We will also support and encourage couples who wish to involve their pets in their ceremonies, be they dogs or cats, horses or pigs, birds or fish, reptiles or any other of nature's creatures. Please remember that any animal can become excited or distracted by groups of unfamiliar people and may react in an unpredictable way. However, we will always focus on the fact that, regardless of any outside interruption, the end result of the ceremony will always be that two people who are in love become married.
Rehearsals are Important.
We feel that the rehearsal is an important part of the wedding ceremony and will always treat them as such. Even when there is no wedding party a run through can be very helpful and relieve stress.
We will do everything in our power to accommodate each and every couple, and may at times suggest alternate times or days for rehearsals. We also feel that rehearsals should be enjoyable events that should be relaxing and informative for everyone involved. During your rehearsal you can make suggestions, try things a bit differently to see how it feels to you, remembering, that this special day is your day and your wishes are what is most important. A your wedding officiant, we can suggest ways to be sure to include all the important people in your lives in your ceremony and work to be sure it is successful.
Finally
It is your wedding, not ours. We will never forget that.