FAQ

Why choose an officiant/celebrant over a pastor/minister?
Is an officiant legally able to marry me?
How do I know if you're the right officiant for us?
How do you put together the ceremony?
Where do you perform weddings?
Do you work with couples who are eloping?
Do you have a contract we must sign?
What are your fees?
How does the payment schedule work?
Do you have a back up in case something happens on the day of the event?
What will you wear to our ceremony?
What is a celebrant?
What is your philosophy?

1. Why choose an officiant/celebrant over a pastor/minister?
If you are not closely affiliated with a church and yet consider yourself a spiritual person, choosing an officiant is the way to go. An officiant will hear your interpretation of Spirit, divinity, and God and create a ceremony that is sacred, using language you understand and relate to and feel inspired by.

2. Is an officiant legally able to marry me?
Yes, I am ordained by the Universal Life Church since 2003 and this certification is good in the United States.

3. How do I know if you're the right officiant for us?
First we meet on the phone, or ideally in person and talk about you individually, you as a couple, and your vision for your wedding. We will talk about everything from and beyond how you met and came to fall in love, to how you intend to grow as a couple and what your relatives are like. During this time, you will know if I am the person who can create the the tone that you are looking for. This is a complimentary meeting.

4. How do you put together the ceremony?
If you choose to proceed with me, I will use what I learned in our meeting and along with my intuition, will come up with about 20 questions tailored specifically to you to answer at your leisure, separate from your partner. You will return the questions answered and at that point I will begin to write the script, checking in with you about what influences to invoke, what you want conveyed, in what tone, what readings or music to be included. I have a range of books and poems and ideas that I can share with you to help shape the ceremony. I can help you write your vows if you like and will show you a copy of the ceremony to look over and give feedback on. I will write and rewrite until it meets your perfection.

5. Where do you perform weddings?
I am currently based in Humboldt County, California, but am mobile and open to traveling any where in the world.

6. Do you work with couples who are eloping?
Yes! Getting married in a short and simple manner does not mean that you have to have a generic script mumbled out in monotone. There is no reason that a couple going to City Hall or to a quiet inn cannot have a ceremony that is relevant, sweet, and meaningful.

7. Do you have a contract we must sign?
Yes. It's very straight forward and basically is a record of your deposit and a promise to pay upon completion of the ceremony.

8. What are your fees?
Fees vary, but begin at $400. Fees depend on degree of advanced notice of wedding date, distance of travel and time, and if you want a ceremony that is personalized, but more standard, or a highly tailored and ornate ceremony.

9. How does the payment schedule work?
After our initial complimentary consultation and upon the return of your questionnaire, you will send in a deposit of half of the agreed upon total fee for my services. On the day of your wedding, the entirety of the fee will be paid.

10. Do you have a back up in case something happens on the day of the event?
No. However, if this gives you any peace, I am in tune with my body, eat organically, practice yoga, meditation, and exercise regularly. I also treat myself with herbal medicine at any sign of immune weakness.

11. What will you wear to our ceremony?
I can wear whatever you request.

12. What is a celebrant?
A celebrant is one who presides over ceremonies that celebrate life, whether that be weddings, vow renewals, or memorials and funerals. Celebrants are not bound to one rigid belief system, but are interdenominational.

13. What is your philosophy?
Love is God. Although I grew up in a Christian household and have fond memories of singing gleefully about God's love, I have since come to know that Love is God. And Love has many different languages, symbols, books, mythologies, forms, and expressions. It's in the trees and in the running waters, the clouds moving in the sky, and in the bonfire. It's in Orthodox icons and stained glass and scriptures. My philosophy is derived from Namaste - - the divinity in me salutes the divinity in you. I have the ability to listen open-heartedly to your relationship to the Great Spirit and respect that and help you convey that through your ceremony.