Your Wedding Your Way/Patricia Burgess

My quotes are always a flat fee that includes everything such as travel, Unity Ceremonies, Memorials, butterfly release...anything a couple wants added to the ceremony. The only exception to this is the instance where I will be required to be away from home overnight. I offer a 10% discount for military, educators and first responders.

I always try to have at least 2 personal consultations with every couple, when possible. I like to sit down with them and get to know them and establish a connection. I think a couple should never stand in front of a stranger on the most important day of their lives. I give each couple sample ceremonies I've created based on the information they provide me, along with a large binder filled with options for everything that makes up a ceremony so that they can create the exact wedding that they want. I stay in contact and I'm always available to them by phone, text, and email. I try to do the second consultation closer to the special day, just in case there are questions or the couple just needs a little support. If the time period is 6 months or so, I like to have 1 more meeting about 2 weeks before the date.

I am an ordained Unitarian minister who has performed over 6000 weddings in the last 53 years, including over 2500 in the past 8 years.

I became an ordained minister in order to provide a much needed service to couples who want something more non-traditional. When I began in VA 53 years ago a couple either had to go to a judge for a generic 5 minute ceremony or find a church and minister and have a ceremony based on traditions that meant nothing to them. I wanted every couple to have a ceremony they loved and that felt representative of who they are.

I have worked with almost every kind of couple I can imagine! I once performed a wedding for a 73 year old couple who were remarrying after being divorced from each other for 30 years. I've done spur of the moment weddings as well as those that were planned more than 2 years in advance. I love imaginative couples who want to have a lot of creative license such as the couple who wrote and performed a skit detailing their personal story before we began the actual ceremony and the couple who were married while riding on the Skyview Ferris Wheel in Atlanta. Every couple is special and unique and I believe their ceremony should reflect that.

Recently I performed a wedding for a French groom and an American bride. The service began with a friend greeting the guests and giving a speech about the couple. She then introduced in turn numerous family members who gave speeches and readings in both French and English. I loved this part of the ceremony because there were so many words of love and advice spoken and, because everything was translated into either French or English, no one felt excluded. I created a custom Past, Present, and Future Sand Ceremony for the couple, using sand from France, Massachusetts (their pasts), and Florida (their soon-to-be new home) and tying it all together in their present...their wedding day. All in all, it was beautiful, creative, and incredibly unique. This April I performed a Lord of the Rings ceremony in Helen, GA. The ceremony started with greeting the guests in Elvish and contained LOTR quotes and references, and a poem written by J.R.R> Tolkein to his wife. Everyone was in costume and the ceremony was at a beautiful castle and the day was perfect.

Make sure the officiant at your wedding is fully engaged in making your day as special as possible. Some officiants only want to show up, speak a few words and leave. It's much easier on the officiant if the couple "just goes with the flow" and allows the officiant to make all the decisions about the service, using the same service every time. Look for someone who is more interested in your input and who is willing to go with YOUR flow, working with you to make this day truly your wedding-your way.

A couple should decide which direction they want their wedding to take. We do everything from very Christian ceremonies to fun-themed weddings, including secular, non-religious ceremonies, interfaith, intercultural, same sex, and non-denominational services. We are open and non-judgmental and will work with every couple to make sure the ceremony is a true reflection of their personalities and beliefs. The more the couple can tell me about what they really want in their ceremony, the better able I am to give them perfect options to choose from. I send each couple a questionnaire so that I can get as much information about what they as possible before I even begin working to create their custom ceremony. I even offer the option to include a couple's story into their ceremony.