Final Word Connection Wisconsin Location

My fee includes everything, planning your wedding, meeting as many times as needed, conducting your rehearsal and wedding ceremony, completing the marriage license and returning it to the county clerk, supplying you with tons of ideas and options for your ceremony, guiding you through the ceremony step by step, engaging the guests in the ceremony and helping both of you deal with any nervousness that you might be experiencing. I am very comfortable and confident in doing this job and I work hard to make it the wedding ceremony that YOU want.

Preparing Your Wedding Ceremony I have been preparing and conducting wedding ceremonies for several decades. Here is what you will get from me and an explanation of the time involved. I normally invest a minimum of 7 or more hours of time into each ceremony I conduct. • Telephone, email and or texting to set up an initial appointment (10-15 minutes) • 90 minute Initial face to face meeting to work on your ceremony (2 hours of my time) – the goals are o To get acquainted o To gather all the necessary details for those involved o To talk through every aspect of the ceremony on my preparation worksheet -What family members will be there -Recognition of any deceased family members -Walking down the aisle and who will escort the bride -Involving the audience with a question of their support -Talking about readings & who will do them -Determining where any music will fit in the ceremony -Deciding on the style of the ceremony -Will there be recognition of parents? -Choosing declaration of intent -Discussing and choosing vows and ring ceremony -Will there be a Unity Celebration -Recessional & announcements at the end o To talk through the setting (venue) for the wedding and think through how it should be arranged o Discuss acquiring license and how to handle it o An interview to learn about your lives, interests and passions to help me personalize your ceremony. o Discussion of printed program and reviewing a template for the program o Discussing the main components of a successful marriage o Answering any questions you may have • Email a document to you with various choices for several parts of the ceremony & back and forth communication with you to determine your choices. (20 minutes) • Compiling your ceremony, writing the personalized portions, printing the ceremony and assembling it for use at the actual ceremony. (90 minutes) • The Ceremony (2 – 4 hours) o Includes drive time to and from the venue (?) o Pre-ceremony time (30 minutes – I like to be at least ½ hour early to ensure that everything is in place) o Ceremony (25-40 Minutes) o Post Ceremony (30 – 60 minutes) -Finding time and a spot to sign the license -Pose for any pictures needed • Post Ceremony (20 minutes) o Copy license and mail to you o Copy license and record in my records o Send original license to County Clerk • Additional time is added if you want to have any additional meetings to discuss the ceremony.

I am a graduate of both a 4 year Christian University and have a Doctor of Ministry from a Theological seminary and have been ordained as a minister for over 40 years. I have a Master's degree and a Doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy. I have a 40 + year successful marriage. I have performed over a thousand wedding ceremonies and still like doing this work.

For over 20 years I was a full time Sr. Pastor in Michigan and Illinois and was called upon to perform many wedding ceremonies. I didn't always like doing ceremonies at the church building because it meant moving pulpit and communion furniture off of the stage/altar area and then moving it all back when the wedding was over. It also involved cleaning up rice and birdseed - back in the day. Midway through our careers my wife and I both want back to school and became Marriage Counselors. I still did a few weddings each year. A friend who was a full time wedding officiant contacted me almost 10 years ago to see if I could help with some weddings he was unable to do. I started helping him and after a couple of weddings came home an told my wife that I REALLY liked doing this work. Weddings are almost always a fun and joyous time in the life of a couple and their families. It is a great time to be involved with people and I love it. I don't have to do anything other than plan and execute a wedding ceremony. I get to use my creative abilities in the planning process. I have a lot of passion for marriage and that comes through in my presentation and I get lots of feedback from wedding attenders on how they lived the ceremony.

I have worked with every sort of customer that is out there. I have had multicultural ceremonies and they have been a wonderful way to include my creativity in the planning process. I have worked with couples who wrote most of their own ceremony, although that is usually the exception. Most couples have me prepare their ceremony. I have worked with couples who planned their ceremony a year and sometimes two years ahead. I have worked with couples who planned their ceremony a week ahead, this was particularly true during the Covid-19 crisis. I have done back yard weddings, church weddings, weddings in a hotel room and weddings at lots of wedding venues. I once had a wedding for a couple who wanted to meet at sunrise on an island in a local river. The couple did a morning run to the location and my wife and I rode our tandem bike 15 miles to get there. We met this couple at the same location exactly a year later for a vow renewal. I am very flexible and I will most likely be able accommodate to any unique ideas you may have for your ceremony.

CHOOSING A PASTOR/OFFICIANT FOR YOUR WEDDING As you plan your time for completing all the tasks on your list of wedding preparations, don't forget the officiant who will lead you through the actual wedding ceremony. As soon as you know the date of your wedding, it is wise to line up an officiant. Professionals who are good at this job will have their time filled up quickly, so don't delay in starting your search. Here are some things to consider as you think through what you want in your ceremony. FLEXIBILITY We believe that one of the most important characteristics you need in an officiant for your wedding ceremony is flexibility. - Flexibility With Time -A good officiant will need to meet with you at least once to talk through and plan your ceremony. How flexible is the officiant in terms of availability to meet with you? Is your officiant flexible if you need him there for a wedding rehearsal? - Flexible In Style -What type of wedding ceremony do you want? Are you thinking a very traditional ceremony or something more contemporary? Do you want to write your own vows, or would you like someone who can show you a number of options from which to choose? Do you want a traditional ring ceremony or would you like to have several choices to look over? This is YOUR wedding, so it should be the wedding ceremony that YOU want. Does your officiant understand that and is he/she willing to help you have the wedding ceremony that uniquely fits you as a couple? EXPERIENCED You want an officiant who is experienced in conducting wedding ceremonies and working with people of all types. - Experienced With Weddings - The more experience an officiant has had, the more he will bring to the table in helping you to plan your unique wedding. There are a lot of "moving parts" to a wedding ceremony such as the venue, music, members of the wedding party, family situation, time available for the ceremony, etc. An experienced officiant will not be thrown off and stuck finding a solution in a unique or unexpected situation. - Experienced With People - An experienced officiant will get a quick read on all of the people involved in a wedding. Wedding ceremonies can set up highly emotional situations in some instances. Various family members can have strong opinions regarding different aspects of a wedding ceremony. An experienced officiant will be able to bring calm direction to keep things on track and help the bride and groom receive the wedding ceremony they want. PERSONABLE You want an officiant who relates well to people - Personable With The Bride And Groom - You want a officiant you like and with whom you feel comfortable. This person is going to lead you in making sacred vows to one another and will be introducing you as a newly married couple. Choose someone with a warm and caring personality. - Personable With The VIP Guests - You are likely to have a number of family members and friends involved in the wedding ceremony who are very important to you. You want an officiant you feel comfortable introducing to those people and who can carry on a conversation with them and make them feel at ease. KNOWLEDGEABLE You need an officiant with a wide breadth of knowledge about weddings and wedding ceremonies. - Knowledgeable About Wedding Ceremonies - People have been getting married for thousands of years. Various cultures have developed wedding traditions that add rich meaning and depth to wedding ceremonies. New ideas also emerge that not only add personal meaning to a wedding ceremony, but also help to make it unique for each couple. An officiant who is knowledgeable about standard traditions, as well as, current trends will help you to have a wedding ceremony that has your personal stamp on it. HUMOR You need an officiant who has a good and appropriate sense of humor. - Humor In Your Wedding Ceremony - While a wedding ceremony is an important, sacred and intensely meaningful event, there is often a place for humor as well. In the midst of the seriousness of the occasion and the nervousness that is often felt, the right touch of humor at the right time can put everyone at ease and help to add to the memories of the day. CAN GO WITH THE FLOW You need an officiant who can go with the flow. - Going with the Flow in Rehearsal - If you have a rehearsal for your wedding, be prepared for things to start later than you have planned. Rehearsals are notoriously chaotic events at first. People get lost, or are stuck in traffic or had to work later than they thought. An officiant who knows this will work with you, will help bring calm to the situation and will be able to bring order and direction when things are ready to begin. - Going with the Flow in the Wedding Ceremony - Despite the hours of careful planning and even with a perfect rehearsal, things can still go differently than planned. If you are prepared for a minor glitch, a participant who is slightly off cue or some other unforeseen change, one of two things will happen. First, a sharp officiant will be aware instantly if something is not going as originally planned and can weave it right into the wedding ceremony so that no one even notices. Second, a sharp officiant will also be able to handle an obvious out of place event in a wedding ceremony, bring some humor to the situation and put everyone at ease, with the situation ending up being a funny memory that added to the day.

Here are a few things to think about as you plan your wedding ceremony. 1. How involved do they want to be in planning the ceremony? 2. Do they want a religions ceremony that mentions God or not? 3. What is their budget? 4. Are there things that the specifically want as a part of their ceremony? 5. Do they have any unique elements that they want included? 6. Will they write their own vows or use "repeat after me" vows led by the officiant? 7. Do they want family members or friends to do any readings? 8. Do they want recognition in some way of family members who have died? 9. Do they have pets that they want to have involved? 10. Do they want to have a unity celebration as part of their ceremony?