Timing is everything

Today was interesting. 
This afternoon I got a call for a last minute wedding for this evening, while I was on the phone arranging that wedding, I got a call from a bride who is getting married next year in February.  This is a good example of the variety of wedding planning that I get. 
Today's wedding was for a couple that had planned on getting married at the courthouse this afternoon, but the groom just got a new job and couldn't get the time off work.  The date was important to them so we performed the ceremony at her grandparent's home with the bride's family in attendance. 
The next call was for a bride planning her wedding for next February as I said.  She has the location, the caterer, and the other vendors in place.  This bride is very organized and likes to make sure that everything is in place well in advance.
That is the way that a lot of the weddings that I officiate go. Some are months in advance others are days or weeks in advance.  That is what makes this job interesting.  You never know what the day will bring or the wonderful people that you are going to meet.  You get to be a part of one of the most special days in people's lives.
Flexibility is a big part of officiating weddings. :-)

Sand Ceremony

The sand ceremony has become very popular these days, especially for beach weddings.  The ceremony is similar to the unity candle ceremony, but due to having weddings on the beach with the breezes blowing, the candles don't work too well.

I found the following on the internet that explains the ceremony very well:
The Unity Sand Ceremony, a celebration that is usually two to three minutes in length, is a meaningful symbolic joining of two lives. In this timeless ritual of marriage, the couple ceremoniously pours various colors of sand from separate containers into one special container, the unity vase, symbolizing their coming together as one.

The couple chooses two different colors of sand that represent the individual people.  Each of the colors are in separate pouring vases.  During the ceremony the individuals pour the sand at the same time into the unity vase or keepsake vase.  The symbolism is that as the sands can never be separated again, neither can the couple.  The different colors of sand also make a really nice design in the keepsake vase.  The best part of this ceremony and what makes it different than the unity candle ceremony is that the unity vase is a nice memento of the ceremony and can be displayed in the couple's home, on a mantle or any place of prominence. 

The ceremony can also include any children that are included in the family.  Each of the people would have their own colors of sand, representing the coming together of the family. Here is an example of a unity vase with children included, and many colors of sand.

This past weekend I did a vow renewal ceremony where the couple have 4 children.  Each of them had a different colored sand and the resulting design was quite beautiful.

As you can see the sand ceremony can be a great additional to the wedding ceremony.  There are many options for colors and unity vases, so that it can be personalized to the couple or family.

Wedding Accessories

I have added some links on the side of some really cute wedding accessories. 

One is the keepsake vase for the unity sand ceremony.  I will go into the sand ceremony in more details on another post.

The other is for some flip flops that say "just married" on them.

You can check out this page for some other links to other accessories.    http://www.destinnotary.com/page13

Who can be an officiant in Florida?

First, what is an officiant? 
An officiant is a person who has the authority by the State to perform a marriage ceremony and sign the marriage license.
Who can be an officiant in Florida? 
In the State of Florida, any ordained or licensed clergymen, notary publics, and justices of the peace can perform a marriage ceremony and sign the marriage license.

In my case, I am a notary public, which gives me the authority to perform marriage ceremonies. 

A new adventure

I am adding a new dimension to the Destin Notary / Wedding Officiant business... a blog.  You will have to bare with me for a little bit until I get the hang of this but so far it doesn't seem too difficult.  The purpose of the blog will be to answer any questions, update on any new information and to share my experiences as a Wedding Officiant and Notary Public. 
The beautiful beaches of the Panhandle area (Emerald Coast) of Florida are my usual work locations... Aren't I a lucky woman! 
Here is a link to my website... www.destinnotary.com

I hope this blog proves useful to folks and if you have any questions that you would like answered or information that you would like to have.... you can leave a comment here or email me at jfrasernotary@yahoo.com and I will provide the answer here because if you have the question, then I am sure that someone else does as well.

Here we go.... happy reading!!!