Magical Ceremonies Wedding Officiants
Located in Rochester, NY,, and specializing in custom written wedding ceremonies, ceremony planning and guidance.  We're committed to offering you the beautiful wedding ceremony you're dreaming of.  Serving Monroe and surrounding counties.  Email us at meceremonies@gmail.com

Congratulations! You're engaged and you’ve been planning the wedding day of your dreams and you’re nearly all set and booked the venue for the reception, the caterer, photography, florist and purchased your gown.  The big day is only a few months away and then you suddenly realize you left the wedding ceremony for last.  Leaving this part of the planning to the last minute can create a lot of unnecessary stress.  Here are some things to consider when planning your wedding ceremony:

 

#1 When to plan your ceremony:  The best time to book your wedding officiant is 6 to 12 months before your wedding or around the same time you book the venue.  Just as your wedding gown, venue, décor and flowers can set the style of your wedding, the Wedding Ceremony sets the tone for all the events of the day.  After all, getting married is the reason for all the other planning!

 

#2 Who will marry you:  You may have decided not be married in a church or by a Judge, or you want a family member or friend to marry you, which can be very sentimental, but if they’ve never done it before and don’t know all of what’s involved, you might want a professional wedding officiant instead.

 

#3 The Benefit of Having a Professional Officiant:  A professional wedding officiant like Magical Ceremonies will not only perform your ceremony with warmth and compassion, they’ll help guide you with tips and suggestions for creating a beautiful, special and memorable wedding ceremony.  Along with Rev. Mark, we take the time to get to know you, and I write a ceremony script that reflects your values and love for each other and is personal and meaningful.  Together, we’ll create a rehearsal  plan and attend the rehearsal, working with your bridal party and event coordinator to ensure that everyone is familiar with their roles so your wedding ceremony is smooth and relaxed.  We arrive at the ceremony site early on the day of the wedding to ensure everything is in place and get acquainted with the DJ or musician, the photographer, let the Bride and Groom know we’re there and assist where needed.

 

#4 The Structure of a Beautiful Ceremony:  Your ceremony can be religious or spiritual or just about your romance; remember, it’s your day!  We’ll begin with an opening greeting or blessing or prayer if you like.  Then add readings to highlight the meaning of marriage; you may like readings from the Bible, or song lyrics or a favorite poem, excerpt from a book or love quotes from a romantic movie.  You may want a special prayer or blessing or a remembrance of loved ones who will be celebrating with you in Spirit. Your wedding vows are the abiding promises you make to one another and while many couples choose traditional vows, you can also decide to write your own and we’re happy to help if you need it.  Adding a “Unity Ceremony” element is another way to customize your wedding ceremony and make it your own.

 

#5 Adding a Unity Ceremony:  A “unity ceremony” follows your vows and exchange of wedding rings.  It’s another way of celebrating your love for each other and symbolizes your uniting as a married couple.  You can choose to light candles, blend colored sand or crystals, tie the knot with a Celtic Hand Fasting; or you might like the idea of a wedding time capsule, wine or champagne box or even including your children in the ceremony if your marriage is uniting your families.  Here a couple of  suggestions and details on unity ceremonies that can be added to your wedding ceremony:

 

• A SAND CEREMONY is beautiful if your ceremony is on the beach or near a pond or river (think Letchworth State Park, Lake Ontario, any of the Finger Lakes or the Upper Falls in Rochester).  This includes a simple set up of one large clear glass vase partially filled with a neutral color sand and two smaller clear glass vases each filled with a different color sand – one for the bride and one for the groom.  Your officiant will introduce how you’ve chosen to seal your vows with the blending of sand and invite you both to come forward and blend the sand with a reading that speaks of your love and your bond as a couple being as inseparable as the grains of sand once combined.  You can ask a close friend or family member do this reading if you like.

 

• A WINE OR CHAMPAGNE BOX is a romantic unity ceremony, sweet and simple.  On a small table at the ceremony site, a lovely box large enough to fit a bottle of your favorite wine or champagne is set up along with the wine or champagne.  When it’s time, your officiant will invite you to step forward to the box and present a reading about celebrating your 1st or 5th anniversary by opening the box and sharing the wine or champagne, reflecting on your wedding day and reminding yourselves what brought you together and how your love has grown deeper.  You can add your own vows or a card, love letter and small gift to this box.  Once you’ve opened it, you can refill it for another anniversary.

 

Here are a few more great ideas to customize your wedding ceremony!

• Wedding Time Capsule Box /Unity Candle Lighting /Celtic Hand Fasting /Mother’s Rose Ceremony to honor your Mothers and/or Grandmothers / Combing of Glass Crystals /Family Unity Sand Ceremony with Reading

 

We hope you love this insight and these ideas and if you would like us to make your wedding ceremony special, memorable and magical, please feel free to contact us!  Remember, it’s your wedding day and anything you choose to do will make it beautiful!  Stay tuned for next month’s blog and Congratulations on your engagement!  XO, Rev. Elaine