Ceremonies by Design

When you partner with me, Reverend Joan, you get all of this:

• You get as many meetings and as much correspondence as it takes to compose your wedding ceremony. Tasteful. Meaningful. Personal. Just the way you want it.
• You get a full rehearsal of your wedding ceremony. But, if you choose to, you may forego a rehearsal. Instead, we can do a quick walk-through just before the ceremony.
• Of course, I conduct the wedding ceremony itself. I arrive early to make sure everything is in readiness. And I make sure that your wedding ceremony is performed smoothly and tastefully. Just the way you've dreamed.
• I make sure everything is legal and proper. I take care of filing your Marriage License with the appropriate county office.
• You get a Marriage Certificate - suitable for framing if you wish.
• And you get a keepsake copy of your wedding ceremony.

After all, we do collaborate together to design a uniquely profound ceremony to honor and celebrate your marriage. I want you to have a copy. Something to cherish for the rest of your lives together.

There are times when I am already booked for the date you have selected for your wedding ceremony.  In those cases, I am happy to offer another resource.

Let me introduce Reverend Karen Schulz.  Karen also received her ordination from Universal Life Ministries.  Even better, Karen brings over 14 years of wedding coordinator knowledge to your wedding experience.  You can be assured that no detail will be left unattended.  She is thorough, and will conduct your ceremony with the same grace and respect that I would give you personally.   

Karen also has an extensive background in spiritual work and her knowledge of different cultures and traditions lends itself very well to providing the sort of ceremony that you desire.  When my husband and I got married, I knew I could count on Rev. Karen to provide the same quality of presentation in my wedding ceremony that I would provide to any of my couples. 

We would have Rev. Karen join us for our first introductory meeting whenever possible, but I will still be the primary person you work with in the creation and development of your ceremony.  I would write it just as if I were conducting your ceremony myself.  Then we would have Rev. Karen come and conduct your ceremony and, if applicable, your rehearsal.

Ceremonies By Design serves all of southern Wisconsin. My primary service area is the counties of:

• Dane
• Sauk
• Iowa
• Green
• Lafayette
• Southern Richland

For weddings held outside of these counties, there may be additional fees to cover travel expenses.

For example, let’s suppose that you are getting married at the Sheraton-Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel, which is in Milwaukee County, and, based on Mapquest estimates, is 100 miles from my home. My travel fee begins with miles over 60 miles from my home and the fee is 50 cents per mile. So, in this example, I would need to be reimbursed for 80 miles (40 miles each way) at 50 cents per mile, which would be a fee of $20 for travel. If your wedding is a great distance away and I am needed to conduct your rehearsal the night before your wedding, I would also need a hotel room. We would negotiate the least expensive reimbursement for a room and it would not exceed $75.

Please remember this is just an example to illustrate additional fees to cover travel expenses. If any additional fees should apply to your wedding, we'll talk about them right away so both you and I have a clear understanding.

I reserve wedding dates on a first-come-first serve basis. Since we'll be designing a custom wedding ceremony just for you, it's not possible for me to quote you a price until we have a chance to talk. But I can tell you about a couple of price-related details. I ask a minimum deposit of 25% to secure your wedding date. This is a non-refundable deposit. And I ask that you pay the balance no later than 2 weeks before your wedding date. That way, you don't have to worry about last-minute expenses competing with the most important part of your wedding day - your ceremony.

I often perform ceremonies for second, third, even fourth marriages. Sometimes there are special considerations that go with a re-marriage. There may be children from previous marriages that will now be coming together to be a new family. Sometimes the couple is unsure of how to treat past relationships - whether to acknowledge them openly, or pretend they never happened. My favorite is the relative - usually it's a relative - who is, shall we say, less than supportive of the idea of re-marriage.

If you wish, I can suggest rites that we might include in your ceremony to involve the children in the forming of a new family, to acknowledge the value of past life experiences, or to help extended family appreciate your re-marriage as the re-birth of love in your life.

Whatever your circumstances may be, please know that Spirit has given you the blessing of growing through your life lessons, lessons that have led you to the love of your life. I want you to have a wedding ceremony that honors the past that is behind you, affirms the love that you and your fiancée have for each other, and celebrates your future lives together.

• You're not an active church member.
• You and your fiancée come from different religious backgrounds.
• You and your fiancée don't consider yourselves religious, at least not in the traditional sense.
• You already have kids.
• You're planning a very small wedding.

Relax! That's all fine. I'm happy to work with you to create just the wedding ceremony you want - no matter what your personal circumstances may be.