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Miss Martini's Picture
Miss Martini, New Jersey Age and Occupation: 30, Telecom by day, Superhero by night Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Investments & Finance by day, Hip hop dancer by night Engagement Date: May 24, 2008 Wedding Date: March, 2009 Blogging Since: August 18, 2008 Venue: The Venetian About Me: Things that make me happy: Haribo Happy Cola gummies, TV shows on DVD, buying books although I never read them, 80’s rock ballads, ramen, and of course Mr. Martini! He is the calm, logical and number crunching finance guy. I can’t even multiply double digit numbers in my head and I am so indecisive that trying to choose between light green or slightly lighter green paper stresses me out (Wedding planning is going to be soooo much fun). We both find great joy in nabbing great seats at the movie theater for a blockbuster movie on opening weekend, and we are both absolutely crazy about snowboarding. And he loves to cook, I love to eat!
About Miss Martini

Finding Someone to Marry You.

October 8th, 2008 @ 5:54 pm by Miss Martini

I thought we had our officiant in the bag.

Early on in our wedding planning, Mr. Martini expressed that he had a specific person in mind when it came to who would preside over the ceremony. He became close with this person at the church he attended during college, and although it has been years since they’ve spoken, this man held a special place in Mr. Martini’s heart and he wanted to reconnect with him. Of course, I agreed.

Over the next few weeks Mr. Martini did give him a call, caught up on the last 10 years, and eventually met for dinner. Unfortunately when Mr. Martini popped the big question about whether he would be kind enough to preside over our ceremony, he found that he was not ordained and is currently serving as a counselor at his church.

We were sad that he could not marry us, but excited that he will be able to witness our marriage as a guest after losing touch for 10 years. But now we had another issue. Who was going to seal the deal for us?
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Mrs. Gingerbread's Picture
Mrs. Gingerbread, Vancouver Age and Occupation: 32, Psychologist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Software Engineer Engagement Date: Sometime in the fall of 2004 Wedding Date: July, 2008 Blogging Since: March 24, 2008 Venue: Rainforest wedding, beachfront restaurant reception About Me: I recently moved to Canada from Southern California. Trying to plan a wedding in a new city, not to mention a new country, is tough, but the fact that we can get legally married here more than makes up for it! The wedding will be an opportunity for most of our family and friends to see our new city for the first time so it will be both a wedding and a reunion. Besides my future wife, I am also madly in love with a good bargain, Swedish pastries, Tivo, and my two dogs and calico cat (in no particular order).
About Mrs. Gingerbread

I am super stoked and doing jazz hands even! We just finalized the travel plans for one of our most important guests, our officiant, Reverend Helen.

When we started planning back in November we got really fixated on the reception. When it came time to talk about the ceremony planning, we were both pretty overwhelmed. All of the wedding books that I borrowed from the library were not giving me a clue on how to plan a wedding ceremony for two brides and my ever faithful friend, Google, was just overwhelming me.

One day in December, I mentioned to Mama Gingerbread that our big budget splurge item on our wedding wish list would be to bring Reverend Helen from California to officiate our wedding. We met Reverend Helen back in 2004 on the Marriage Equality Express, a cross country caravan that we went on with 40-something others. She was one of two Unitarian Universalist ministers on the trip. As we set out on our 8 day adventure, she spoke privately to our group about how she wanted to be with us in solidarity, but also that she knew that many LGBT people have been hurt by people in the name of religion and wanted to help to bring some healing to that. Seriously, who better to marry us than this woman?
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Mrs. Cherry Pie's Picture
Miss Cherry Pie, Seattle/Polebridge, Montana Age and Occupation: 25, Marketing Communications Specialist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Nurse Practitioner Engagement Date: August 26, 2006 Wedding Date: September 2008 Blogging Since: April 1, 2008 Venue: A tiny town just outside of Glacier National Park About Me: I think of life as a journey and I love the places it's taking me! I went to school to study Magazine Journalism, ended up with a second major in Japanese language, and now work at a company that makes software for libraries. I love writing, computers, photography, and the great outdoors. I spend most of my time playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band or geeking out online with Mr. Cherry Pie. I'm happiest when I'm on the road, especially traveling abroad, or just nesting quietly at home with my sweetie, who is a fabulous cook and bakes a delicious rendition of a certain cherry-filled dessert!
About Mrs. Cherry Pie

An Unofficial Officiant

April 16th, 2008 @ 10:23 am by Mrs. Cherry Pie

In Montana, you don’t need a minister. You don’t even need an officiant. Anyone can marry you… without any certification. I think that guy above looks like fun, but I’m pretty sure he’s unavailable.
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Mrs. Cherry Blossom's Picture
Mrs. Cherry Blossom, San Francisco Age and Occupation: 27, Administrative Asst. Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, District Sales Manager Engagement Date: December 23, 2006 Wedding Date: May 3, 2008 Venue: Zen Garden in the East Bay w/ reception in a floor-to-ceiling window Atrium with views of the Zen Garden About Me: After 5 years of dating, we're finally ready to get hitched! I am a lovah of all things wedding, creative, crafty, and definitely DIY bc I love to add a personal touch to everything I gift or make. In my free time, I like to bake, spend time with our family, friends, and my doggies, read my guilty pleasure celebrity gossip and catch up on TV shows.
About Mrs. Cherry Blossom

A La Minister… A La Friend…

March 17th, 2008 @ 11:55 am by Mrs. Cherry Blossom

Thanks to Mrs. Eggplant’s post about making an appointment online to get our marriage license, we took care of that with the quickness and no hassle. For San Francisco, it’s $89 for the marriage license and $5 for the convenience fee to make an appointment online. So prior to leaving for my “Girls Gone Wild” in Vegas weekend, Mr. CB and I are gonna get semi-ficial with our nuptials. Now that’s done, what’s next? Our officiant.

We’re really honored that our friend accepted being such a big part of our wedding, and we couldn’t be happier because he was the only person we knew that we wanted to officiate us. Now getting him ordained was starting to prick my brain. I wasn’t sure which online ordaining sites were legit and what the process was, and the last thing I wanted to deal with was to not be officially married after going through with the big SHAbang.

So BAM! I found that you could go through the City of County Clerk and do a One Day Deputization! Can’t get more legit and less worrisome than that yeah?

Are you having a family member or friend perform your ceremony? How did they become ordained? Or anyone have personal experience with the one day deputization?

Mrs. Cream Puff's Picture
Mrs. Cream Puff, San Francisco Bay Area Age and Occupation: 25, Illustrator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Merchandise Planner Engagement Date: May 27, 2007 Wedding Date: August, 2008 Blogging Since: February 7, 2008 Venue: Ceremony at Crissy Field and Reception at the Green Room About Me: I never dreamed about my wedding as a little girl because I was too busy playing in the mud or pretending to be Martha Stewart–but now that it's here, I'm having a fabulous time DIYing everything in sight! We’re planning a very fun multicultural wedding (I'm Jewish and Mr. Cream Puff is Chinese), filled with as many personal details as I can muster.
About Mrs. Cream Puff

Choosing An Officiant

February 21st, 2008 @ 12:45 pm by Mrs. Cream Puff

picture-1.pngPlanning an intercultural wedding can be a lot of fun. It’s really interesting to read up on Chinese traditions and learn more about Mr. Cream Puff’s culture. I really wanted to have a Jewish ceremony without squelching Mr. Cream Puff’s culture, which it turns out will not be too difficult (more on that later). There are a lot of questions to answer about how the ceremony will be run, who will say what, what traditions we will utilize and which we won’t bother with.

There was, however, never a question of who would marry us. Neither of us is religious, so I wasn’t too attached to the idea of having a rabbi marry us. Instead, Mr. Cream Puff and I hoped that our friend K would marry us. K is Mr. Cream Puff’s best friend, and they’ve known each other for nearly a decade. He had wonderful things to say about her, and when I met her, I saw why–she is AMAZING. She is seriously one of the kindest, funniest and most selfless people I’ve ever met. I loved her immediately. Luckily, she said she would be our officiant.
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Mrs. Emerald's Picture
Mrs. Emerald, Chicago Age and Occupation: 26, Hospitality Administration Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Paralegal Engagement Date: October 8, 2006 Wedding Date: September 2007 Blogging Since: November 29, 2006 Venue: Hyatt Lodge, Oak Brook IL About Me: I have been dreaming about my wedding forever, and flipping through bridal magazines since high school, so I am in my element! I am calling our theme "Vintage Inspired French/Asian Fusion." Mr. Emerald is very involved in the planning process, but of course he generally defers to me cuz I have a strong opinion of how I want everything to be :-).
About Mrs. Emerald

Will You Marry… Us?

February 20th, 2008 @ 12:12 pm by Mrs. Emerald

Ahh, it’s good to be back! During my hiatus, I almost forgot how much I love contributing to Weddingbee! I figured it was time for a few choice vendor reviews, some of which might be helpful to Chicago-area brides. Let’s start with one of our most important vendors, our officiant Terry Brady, and the process we went through to create a ceremony that was truly “us”.

To be honest, Mr. E and I are not particularly religious people. So in looking for an officiant, our criteria was to find someone who we “clicked” with, who would allow us to personalize our ceremony… and who did not cost an arm and a leg. I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand how someone can charge $700-$800 for performing a 30 minute (or less) ceremony! I saw a positive recommendation for Terry Brady on the local Knot message board, gave him a call, and set up a meeting. Turns out, there was no need to look any further, we booked him the very day we met! Not only did we hit it off, but when he read me a sample of his ceremony, I got chills down my spine and tears in my eyes. (On a side note, we met in a hotel lobby where there happened to be a Furry Fandom convention going on and people dressed in animal costumes wandering all around us. It was… distracting to say the least).
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Mrs. Canary's Picture
Mrs. Canary, New York Age and Occupation: 24, Marketing Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Journalist/Editor Engagement Date: February 16, 2007 Wedding Date: July, 2008 Blogging Since: October 19, 2007 Venue: Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers About Me: I'm a born and raised New Yorker who loves all things crafty and artsy, food (cheese and dessert!), magazines, and shoes. I'm a power shopper always on the lookout for good deals or great quality-- sometimes I'm lucky and I find both! I love to dance and "shake what my momma gave me" but can also really enjoy a quiet night in with Mr. Canary and a good episode of Seinfeld or curl up with a good book.
About Mrs. Canary

Sweet Reverend

February 15th, 2008 @ 5:45 pm by Mrs. Canary

Finding an officiant was one of the last things on our list, which may be contrary to other couples, since many plan their wedding based on the availability of the officiant. Initially, we were hoping Mr. Canary’s aunt would officiate. She is a very spiritual person and has a very close relationship with Mr. Canary, but with all the hassles of getting the right documentation and paperwork in New York… it wasn’t worth it to stress out Mr. Canary’s aunt or us.

So we started another vendor search. This wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be since a lot of folks seem to want non-denominational ceremonies as well. What we did encounter was MASSIVE sticker shock. Prices for these services were all across the board.

I called up a few officiants and asked about their process and quotes. The thing that annoyed me the most was that many of them didn’t publish their prices on their sites (I think that’s all across the board in this industry). We’d get the spiel and then the price, which for many was close to $1,000! Maybe I’m naive, but I honestly did not want to spend more the $500. Neither Mr. C and I are religious and we knew we didn’t want a long ceremony (30 minutes, tops!) so how could we validate $1,000 for 30 minutes!
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Mrs. Tulip's Picture
Mrs. Tulip, DC Age and Occupation: 36, Retired Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Counsel/DOO for Small Gov't Contractor Engagement Date: August 8, 2007 Wedding Date: March, 2008 Venue: Still Looking! About Me: In all my dreams of the man I'd someday marry, I never pictured anyone as perfect for me as Mr. Tulip. So now we just have to make it through the craziness of the wedding and the moving in together! I love crafts, sewing, jewelry making, and photography, so am looking forward to this chance for DIY fun. When not wedding planning, I'm playing with our dog and 4 cats, Ebay shopping, or watching too much TV (often simultaneously!).
About Mrs. Tulip

Meet Our Officiant…

February 3rd, 2008 @ 12:41 pm by Mrs. Tulip

…I call him “Dad.”

At_wwii_memorial

(What do you think — family resemblance?)

At a friend’s wedding we attended a few months ago, there was one absolutely touching moment in the ceremony when the groom’s mother got up to say a few words. Her emotion and pride were so evident that I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.

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Mrs. Penguin's Picture
Mrs. Penguin, Sacramento Age and Occupation: 26, Video & TV Producer/Director/Editor Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Doctor of Physical Therapy Engagement Date: January 29, 2007 Wedding Date: June 7, 2008 Blogging Since: September 14, 2007 Venue: Winery in the Gold Country About Me: I'm a silly mess of a girl who, above all else in this world, LOVES the Spice Girls. I eat sushi at least 3 times a week, and feel guilty about how much it costs the other 4 days a week. I love designer jeans and cheap accessories. I don't like sweets, but I love the UCLA Bruins!
About Mrs. Penguin

Ordained Ministers

January 7th, 2008 @ 12:24 pm by Mrs. Penguin

When we began planning the wedding, I was positive that we would hire an officiant, simply because it was one less thing we would have to worry about for the wedding. But a 16 month engagement gave us LOTS of time to change our mind. When I began searching for officiants, I began to worry about having a perfect stranger presiding over such an intimate part of our lives. My MOH’s mother graciously volunteered to marry us, which relieved the “stranger stress,” but provided us with a new set of challenges…how do we make it legal?

The first step to take when asking a friend or family member to preside over your wedding is to call your local county clerk and ask them if they recognize weddings presided over by online ordained ministers as legal. Also ask if there is any paperwork you need to file, as well as how soon before or after your wedding the paperwork needs to be filed with the county. Some states, such as Connecticut, Alabama, Virginia and Tennessee, DO NOT recognize, under any circumstances, online ordained ministers, and performing a wedding in such states could result in fines (not to mention the fact that your marriage is not legal). There are specific districts and/or counties outside of these four states that also do not recognize online ordinations, so PLEASE call your local county clerk before proceeding!

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Mrs. Eggplant's Picture
Mrs. Eggplant, San Francisco Age and Occupation: 28, Human Resources Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Associate Marketing Manager Engagement Date: January 19, 2007 Wedding Date: October 20, 2007 Blogging Since: May 31, 2007 Venue: Ceremony at a cement and stained glass cathedral and reception at a boutique hotel ballroom About Me: I'm a shopping junkie who lives to discover great deals and a craft addict that loves to scrapbook and knit. My profile picture was taken on the day I got engaged which is why my smile is so huge!
About Mrs. Eggplant

A First For Everything

August 28th, 2007 @ 5:24 pm by Mrs. Eggplant

My wedding officiant/pastor has never officiated a wedding before.

Yup, it’s true! And I couldn’t be more thrilled. smiley1064

Originally, Mr. Eggplant and I asked the lead pastor at our church to officiate our wedding. He was already scheduled for another wedding on the same day as our nuptials, and coincidentally, in the same city also. The plan was to start our ceremony in the late afternoon and have our pastor wedding hop once he was done marrying the first couple. Well, there are so many uncontrollable variables involved in timing a wedding, that I didn’t feel great about our original plan. So a little over two months left until our big day, Mr. Eggplant and I decided to switch officiants.

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