Many of my couples assume I write a post per every wedding or ceremony. If I did, this blog would feature twenty-four posts for December. Yes, I did neglect the blog a little in the past few months. I think it’s the fault of twitter. It seems redundant to tweet something and then blog about it. Indeed, I am feeling as though my twitter account may need to go…. Other than an internal debate about twitter, however, my life as a marriage officiant/celebrant/minister is both secure and enjoyable.
I performed 281 ceremonies in 2011. About eighty percent or so were weddings (with licenses) and about twenty percent were vow renewals of some sort for a remarkably diverse contingent of couples. Perhaps half were tiny weddings with fewer than two dozen guests; a quarter had under fifty guests; and a quarter were full, formal weddings with long guest lists. I married lots of locals and lots of couples planning destination weddings. Naturally, being able to officiate same-sex weddings with authentic NY issued licenses, which comprise roughly twelve to twenty percent of my weddings, became the most joyous news of the year.
Liam photographed about eighty-five of those weddings / vow renewals; these were mostly elopements with a sprinkling of fuller weddings. He actually had to decline many couples due to schedule conflicts. Having decided to fulfill a life-long dream of becoming a nurse, Liam had to return to school to take all those pesky science and math classes he avoided as a Studio Art major. Fortunately, he plans to continue photographing weddings for …well… until his fingers or eyesight decline in agility. As much as I really do love meeting other photographers–especially Jen Huang, Photo Pink, Aga Images, and Kim Coccagnia, among many others–it’s fun to work with my spouse.
For the upcoming year, I plan to hold my services constant overall. I will still respond to e-mails quickly and offer a competitive honorarium to officiate ceremonies. The myriad types of ceremonies will likely only expand. I will still try to keep everything concise and earthy or “sweet and simple.” And I will still accept reservations for both short-notice and advanced-notice weddings, although couples need to know that “an agreement exchanged is the path to a ceremony arranged.” In other words, if you wait too long to book, I may not be available.
As a team, Liam and I are not making too many alterations. Over the past year, we have slowly, but surely, retired the original OBB package in favor of a package with more time for photography. We both love the OBB package; however, it’s not very sustainable in the long-term: time is so precious and scarce plus lenses are pricey! Liam plans to continue to focus on elopements and tiny weddings.
To all those browsing this entry, I look forward to marrying you in 2012!
Wedding Officiant in NYC and the Hudson Valley 