It never fails to amaze me, I answer the phone and the first question out of the box is…”How much do you charge?” OK, that is fair but let me ask a question…”What kind of car do you want to drive?” You see there are all sort of motor vehicles, from a moped to an eighteen wheeler, and everything in between. So are you looking for a Vespa or Vanquish by Aston Martin? Or something in between?
Call Rev Bruce Byers505-328-7397
Basically most wedding ceremonies can be divided into about five to six categories:
Strictly legal – a minimum of a ceremony that is required to satisfy legal requirements. I call these “Just the Papers” ceremonies; in the movies we see them as “I do, I do quick give her the ring” really basic bare bones ceremonies where the main objective is to get the documentation done so it can be filed with the county register or clerk.
Elopement– this is a quick ceremony, that is designed to be more than just a formality, butrather something a little more romantic and often include flowers, rings and getting dressedup. Often times witnesses are kept to a minimum; just a few friends and family members.
Micro/mini-wedding – Think of your closest say 20-40 friends and family in maybe yourUncle’s back yard or at a nice restaurant. Maybe you set up an isle and an arch, or maybe it’sunder the bows to the tree you climbed when you were a kid.
The main thing in common with these above type of ceremonies is while they can becustomized, they are not custom ceremonies. This allows your officiant, minister or Justice of the Peace to deliver a fantastic ceremony with a minimum additional input, usually they are really good at these because they do them a lot. The next level of wedding ceremony iswhere we customize and create a ceremony that is exclusively yours.
Semi-formal wedding ceremonies are ones where the ceremony is created with you in mind. They can include any number of things like Unity candles, Sand or Wine Ceremonies or even more unique things like Unity Cross or a wine or whiskey casking ceremony. These kinds ofceremonies where the numbers of people in the ceremony (bridesmaids and groomsmen) are not so complicated to require a formal rehearsal.
Formal weddings are all of the above, but due to the size and number in the bridal party it ispretty important that we get the timing and placing of the participants just right. The only way to do that is to practice. The couple receives a custom ceremony, a seasoned officiant used to handling large numbers of people and a worry free special day.
Deluxe formal wedding or Bespoke Service– This is the highest, and most costly of wedding ceremonies. Usually the couple and the officiant set down together months (some times years) before the ceremony. Many times the ceremony is written from scratch, starting with a clean piece of paper and A LOT of questions. Ceremonies and aspects of the ceremony may be written and rewritten, until it is a reflection of your love and story. While we love doing these, the large amount of time investment makes these kinds of ceremonies rather cost prohibitive.
So there is an explanation of why it is so hard to answer what many would consider an easyquestion, “How much does it cost?”, Well what do you have in mind? Of course there are other considerations, like where and when will the ceremony be, but this is a great place to start. When I was in training, the favorite response to a question was “tell me more”, so when you call “Tell me more!”
Blessings and Peace, Rev. Bruce R. Byers
Call Rev Bruce Byers 505-328-7397