About 2000 Lovingly Officiated Weddings by Judie L. Guild. NY Registration #77862. JudieGuild@outlook.com.
Uncategorized
Then and Now: An Incredibly Feel-Good Moment
Back in August 2008, I performed a ceremony in the Conservatory Gardens for a couple from Queens. I dragged Liam with me for company, which proved to be a good idea, since the couple was over one hour late and because…… As I officiated, Liam snapped a few photos just for fun (well, for my […]
MoreDear Blog:
I confess that I neglected you over the past week. And I know that this neglect may continue for another week. Please show mercy. I married two dozen couples in April, and I will marry about thirty–perhaps more– in May. Amid these wonderful ceremonies that are keeping me busy with writing, travel, officiating, and e-mails, […]
MoreA family wedding
M+T first visited the High Line back in 2009, which was its first year as a park–when it was about half its current size and when M+T were expecting a little person. On a working trip to NYC a few short weeks ago, they decided to marry. With less than two weeks to “plan,” they […]
MoreRemaking the old: contemporary weddings
What’s wrong with a modern or contemporary marriage ceremony with personal vows? Nothing at all. About a third of my couples write personal vows or…or mix and match pieces they find on the internet. Some even recite poetry or lyrics. In most cases, I do not even see their vows before the wedding; instead, I […]
MoreBrooklyn Bridge Wedding Poem
Hail of the sea to majestic land harbours evocative testament of fortitude and desire iron, steel, and stone crushed and bruised escape above to energetic leisure walkway thru and thru to hard labor countenance of throne and of fallen grace gone are hours with hours to come ahead fill now the great bridge with humanity’s […]
MoreJumbled word play on a trip to a ceremony
This is just for fun….. Typically, each ceremony comes with at least two hours of travel. A recent wedding ceremony in the Hudson Valley accompanied about five to six hours of travel. While on the train, I usually read, collect quotes using a new toy–Kindle, half-sleep, or jot down random words that come to mind […]
MoreHumanist Ethical Society of Spirituality
Overview The Humanist Ethical Society of Spirituality values the ability of individuals and societies to shape their own destinies with the assistance of reason, knowledge, and inclusive ethics. Since we emphasize ongoing learning and education in all areas of life, we are largely pantheistic with touches of agnosticism. HESS does believe in the universal spirits […]
MoreWedding Poem for Nature Loving Geeks
I really hope one of my couple requests this one someday. (Don’t worry about length: the spoken word is faster than the appearances of the written word.) “Evolution” by Langdon Smith When you were a tadpole and I was a fish–In the Paleozoic time, And side by side on the ebbing tide–We sprawled through the […]
MoreSyrupy Quote for A Romantic Wedding
Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) …..How doth Love speak? In the proud spirit suddenly grown meek -The haughty heart grown humble; in the tender and unnamed light that floods the world with splendour, in the resemblance which the fond eyes trace; in all things to one beloved face; in the shy touch of hands that thrill […]
MoreNon-Wedding Related: Family Photos
Baby photos are too cute not to share, which I why I hope readers will pardon this entry. Liam and I visited my family in upstate New York a few weeks ago. Below are some images from the trip feature our niece and new nephew. Obviously, Liam took all the pictures, except for the ones […]
MoreShakespearean quotes for wedding ceremonies (and just because)
“Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.” “O it is excellent to have a giant’s strength; but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.” “The quality of mercy is not strained; it droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath: it is twice blessed; it blesseth him that […]
MoreOff-Beat Elopement / Wedding Package for Queer, Lesbian, and Gay Weddings
I know at least two other officiants who are conducting “mass gay weddings” in NYC. I toyed with the idea. Ultimately, though, I think my focus on more relaxed weddings will prove to be wise. So I am going to insert time between weddings as usual and travel to the site chosen by the couple. […]
MoreExcerpt for a ceremony
“Once Unknown, Two Become by J.Guild” In two strangers, love abounds. No harmony of thought. Click. Click. Click. Merciful moments mirror meaning. Wonder wishes words. Sound opens in silence. Neither perfect prey nor yet kindred confidants. Neither apathy nor yet synchrony. But peace resounds.
MoreThe best way to find a wedding reading? Read!
I picked up Pragmatism by William James before heading out to a wedding ceremony at the Swan Club in Roslyn, Long Island, which is a lovely site for a garden wedding when you plan to bring lots of family and friends. “It is light to an already heavy bag, and I never did read it,” […]
MoreHonoring the Solistice in Weddings or Other Rites of Passage
Solstice Celebration (to be added to any rite) Invocation for Nature (derived from the American Humanist Association Rite): We invoke the memory of those who have passed before us and the promise of those who shall follow…Each of us here recognizes our debt to the innumerable multitudes who endeavored over tens of thousands of years […]
More“I Do!” wedding vows
Yesterday, I married yet another couple who requested wedding vows posed as questions only. This is not uncommon at all! The multifaceted reasons range from public speaking trepidations to wanting to “keep it simple” to language barriers. If you review the old Justice of the Peace style marriage ceremonies of yore, you will notice immediately […]
MoreMore & Original Wedding Vow Examples
Here are some examples of “repeat after me” wedding vows that I put together for my couples. While a few are obviously “traditional,” most are original vows you cannot find elsewhere. 21. I take you as my lawfully wedded wife/husband to have and to hold from this day forward. for better and for worse, for […]
MorePopular Wedding Vows
Below are the most popular contemporary wedding vows chosen by my couples over the past few years. Since not everyone prefers vows in “repeat after me” format or to memorize them / read from a piece of paper, these vows can also be rephrased into a simple “I do” question or a series of questions […]
MoreOn Being a Lesbian/Queer Wedding Officiant in New York
Updated 6/29/11 Most couples who enlist my services will never know. I do not look “gay” ish. And a combination of a limiting gender language system and laziness when it comes to explaining stuff provoke me to use “husband” or “partner” to refer to Liam. But I am, seriously. Like a power suit, the dress […]
More
Wedding Officiant in NYC and the Hudson Valley 