I recently experienced my busiest week yet as a Savannah wedding officiant where I performed 6 weddings in 6 days. I took candid Instagram shots of each couple which made me truly appreciate my mantra that all love is beautiful and every wedding is unique.
During my 6 wedding streak, I performed ceremonies for couples who were…
- surrounded by their parents and grandparents
- joined by their toddlers
- accompanied by their beautiful puppy
- supported by foster children and nieces who served as ring-bearers
- by themselves
- wearing the heck out of gorgeous bridal attire and tuxedos
- attired in their most comfortable jeans
- together for over 20 years
- renewing their vows after 5 years of marriage with new wedding rings
- coupled for a few years and everything in between
- members of the military
- small businesses owners
- taking advantage of the legal protection behind new same-sex marriage laws in South Carolina
I married couples who…
- had children together
- had no children and no plans to have any
- created new families for their children through marriage
- traveled 1,000 miles by car to marry in Savannah (and escape the snow of the Northeast!)
- lived in town
- ran a roadrace the day before their wedding
- visited Savannah for March’s tourist events
- cried while they recited their vows
- laughed during the whole ceremony
- randomly had the same last name as my husband
- shared champagne after the ceremony
- treated themselves to a post-wedding éclair at Clary’s
- had full post-wedding receptions
- wed in a historic Savannah bed and breakfast
- joined in union on the beach of Hilton Head
- committed to each other in front of the classic Forsyth Park Fountain
- recited their vows in multiple Savannah’s squares
What all of these ceremonies had in common was joy… and that you could experience how their love became tangible force.
All love IS beautiful. The diversity of love is a wonderful thing that we should all celebrate!
(Plus, how grateful am I to have an incredible job, right?)
It is easy to get distracted by the overarching narrative of weddings, the ones that you feel you are bombarded with on Pinterest. These marketers claim to tell a story of wedding uniqueness and style, but under close inspection, all seem to be almost exactly the same. It’s okay if that’s not what you want.
The only thing that matters when planning your wedding ceremony is you- what will make you happy on that day and every day in the future when you think about it.
Simple or complex, your wedding will be wonderful as these 6 weddings I performed.
PS: I use a feature on my phone called Auto Awesome that created this amazing GIF from pictures I took at one of my couple’s weddings. They were as fun as it looked!
PPS: Want to book me as your wedding officiant? Check out my packages today.
