Friday, February 25, 2011

How To Plan a Non-Religious Wedding Ceremony New Orleans LA





If you are planning a non-religious wedding in New Orleans you  can contact JK Schwehm, wedding officiant. He served as a Justice of the Peace  and is a non-denominational minister registered in Orleans Parish. You need not go to the justice of the peace at the local courthouse and  have a dull wedding ceremony. You can still have the wedding you always imagined, and be married by someone with a lot of experience. Interfaith marriages are on the rise as are non-religious wedding ceremonies. Non-denominational spiritual ceremonies are nice and cover several religious faiths. General Civil ceremonies cover a lot of situations when two parties are different faiths or just not church active.  Below are some sample ceremonies found on  Officiant JK Schwehm's web page here-  
http://www.figstreet.com/guesthouse/simpleweddingceremony.html  
for a non-religious wedding ceremony. 


 The ceremony and vows can be simple like the first example or more poetic like the second, or you can write your own.



Simple Basic Wedding Ceremony
 The step which you are about to take is the most important into which human beings can come. It is a union of two people founded upon mutual respect and affection. Your lives will change, your responsibilities will increase, but your joy will be multiplied if you are sincere and earnest with your pledge to one another.
 __(Groom)___________, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her, for so long as you both shall live? 
_ (Bride)____________, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto him, so long as you both shall live?
 Take hands and repeat after me: I, __(Groom)___________, take you, __(Bride)___________, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward.
 I, ___(Bride)________, take you, _(Groom)__________, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward.
 Do you have a ring for the bride?   Please place the ring on the bride's finger and say: With this ring, I thee wed. 
Is there a ring for the groom? Please place the ring on the groom's finger and say: With this ring I thee wed. 
Let these rings be given and received as a token of your affection, sincerity and fidelity to one another.
 In as much as _____________ and _____________ have consented together in wedlock and have witnessed the same before this company, and pledged their vows to each other, by the authority vested in me by the State of Louisiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife. (You may now kiss .)

( This can be used as a base to work from by adding in other parts from the above parts list.)





Sample New Civil Ceremony
We are here today in the presence of family and friends to share with Bride and Groom the most important moment in their lives. We do this as the legal requirement to be married in Louisiana but this ceremony does not alter the love required to be husband and wife. Without the love between these two people we would not be here today.
What is marriage? It has been said that marriage is that relationship between man and woman in which the independence is equal, the dependence mutual and the obligation reciprocal. --Bride-- and --Groom you are now to bring together the best parts of your individuality, uniting spirit, talent and experience to create something better than either of you alone can offer. You must, and I’m sure will, work hard to maintain this union.
By this ceremony you will become husband and wife, but the soul of your marriage depends on the constant renewal of the choices and promises out of love for one another you make today.
Life together will sometimes be playful and effortless, sometimes frustrating and difficult. Each day your relationship will strengthen if you choose to continue to love and honor one another.
Love is something beyond the excitement of romance and being in love. It is a committed, thoughtful decision. Love is nurturing. Love is listening. Love is caring about your partner. Love lightens burdens because you divide them. Love intensifies joys because you share them.
If you truly love you will always be loyal to one another. No matter what the cost always believe in one another, always expect the best of one another and above all else, always support one another in every day living.
(Reading Choice Here - Julie Bielicki) It is often said that it is love that makes the world go round. However, without doubt, it is friendship which keeps our spinning existence on an even keel. True friendship provides so many of the essentials for a happy life—it is the foundation on which to build an enduring relationship, it is the mortar which bonds us together in harmony, and it is the calm, warm protection we sometimes need when the world outside seems cold and chaotic. True friendship holds a mirror to our foibles and failings, without destroying our sense of worthiness. True friendship nurtures our hopes, supports us in our disappointments, and encourages us to grow to our best potential.
Bride and Groom came together as friends. Today, they pledge to each other not only their love, but also the strength, warmth and most importantly, the fun of true friendship.
The step which you are about to take is the most important into which human beings can come. It is a union of two people founded upon mutual respect and affection. Your lives will change, your responsibilities will increase, but your joy will be multiplied if you are sincere and earnest with your pledge to one another.
It is the wish of everyone here today that your marriage bring each of you much happiness. Happiness in marriage doesn’t just happen though. You must work on it. Remember to say “I love you”, hold hands whenever you get the chance, and at no time take the other for granted.
Family and friends, we are witnesses to the union of two individuals who choose to commit to a life together. Our responsibility as their friends and witnesses is to provide them as a couple with our love, support and approval.
For the beauty around us, the strength it offers and the peace it brings, we are grateful and honored to be a part of the life you have chosen to live as husband and wife from this day forward.( Recoznize loved ones present or departed optional here)
Will you Groom have this woman to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, for so long as you both shall live? (I Will)
Will you, Bride take Groom to be your wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, and forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live? (I Will)
Take hands and repeat after me: I, Groom , take you, Bride , to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward.
I, Bride , take you, Groom to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer of for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward.
Rings please… Place the ring on the bride’s finger and say: With this ring, I thee wed. Place the ring on the groom’s finger and say: With this ring, I thee wed.In as much as Bride and Groom have consented together in wedlock and have witnessed the same before this company, and pledged their vows to each other, by the authority vested in me by the State of Louisiana, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
(Kiss)



Thursday, February 24, 2011

Weddings in and near Boston


 Visiting Boston area for a wedding see the American Association of Wedding Officiants for help in finding a professional wedding officiant. Read more here http://www.figstreet.com/aawo/

Bartender Jobs for your party





Bartender Jobs for your party, reception or special events. see this link: http://www.bartendmyparty.com/ Event planners & party planners can browse local bartenders & hire bartenders for a private party or corporate event. Professional bartenders for hire of part time/full time bartending positions locally or nationally.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Renew your wedding vows in romantic New Orleans




 Renew your wedding vows in romantic New Orleans. Several historic spots are available to  again promise endless love to one another in the French Quarter. Easier then your original marriage, a vow renewal does not require paperwork or a license but a certificate can be done to show you again renewed your marriage vows. Just e-mail Chaplain JK Schwehm for details on how, where, and when you too can re-affirm your commitment to be man and wife. Information is found on the New Orleans Weddings web page at http://www.figstreet.com/weddings.


A wedding vow renewal ceremony  can be a  reaffirming family moment for you and your children who may not have witness the original ceremony. As husband and wife it is a time to renew and reflect on your journey as a married couple over the years.  You can make your vow renewal ceremony as creative and personal as you desire from the samples found on this link: http://www.figstreet.com/guesthouse/simpleweddingceremony.html or craft your own from your original or a favorite poem.  

 New Orleans Weddings are fun, easy, and romantic. Renewal of vows is a way to celebrate your life long commitment to one another in a historical setting.





 Suggested poems and songs at vow renewal:



  • 1. When I said I do, By Clint Black
I meant that I will 'til the end of all time
Be faithful and true, devoted to you
That's what I had in mind when I said I do

Truer than true, you know that I'll always be there for you
That's what I had in mind, that's what I had in mind,
When I said I do
These lyrics are what marriage should be all about! And this is still a song choosen by many couples to be played at their wedding. Ths is just a piece of the lyrics you can find the entire song here...http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/black-clint/when-i-said-i-do-clint-black-&-lisa-hartman-black-4566.html

  • 2 Your My First My Last My Everything, By Barry White
And with you I've found so many things
A love so new only you could bring
Can't you see it's you
You make me feel this way
You're like a fresh morning dew on a brand new day
I see so many ways that I
Can love you till the day I die
You're my reality, yet I'm lost in a-a-a a dream
You're the first, the last, my everything
 

  • 3 Maybe I'm Amazed, By Paul McCartney
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I leave you
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my song
Right me when I'm wrong
Maybe I’m amazed at the way I really need you

 SAMPLE VOW RENEWAL CEREMONY

Renewal:  OPENING STATEMENT: (couple faces minister)


Dear Family and Friends,


We are gathered here with expectation and love for these two special people, to renew marriage vows made ____ years ago. Marriage; which is an estate rooted in the far dawn of human history, yet forever new with each couple who so pledge themselves freely to one another.


This celebration is the outward sign of an inward union of hearts.  It is a union created by a loving purpose, kept by abiding will, and broken only by the death of love in two people’s hearts.  In this event, we are gathered here to acknowledge the true marriage which already dwells and grows within them.


CHARGE TO COUPLE: (couple faces one another)


You have come together this day to accept one another in faith and in love, and to accept the changes that time will bring to each of you and your lives together.  The person that you have chosen to share your life must be respected, loved, and believed in as an individual, while maintaining the inner communion of two loving spirits.  Preserve and strengthen the openness that enables you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences; be sensitive to each others needs so that you may attain mutual intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual fulfillment within yourselves and your marriage.


BETROTHAL:


_____Groom____, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to continue to live together in the shared estate of matrimony?  Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, according to this bond of trust you made _____years ago?


answers: I will


___Bride___, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to continue to live together in the shared estate of matrimony?  Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, according to this bond of trust you made _____years ago?


answers: I will



READING BEFORE THE VOWS:


What greater joy is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined together to strengthen each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow, to share with each other all joys, to be one with each other in the silent, unspeakable memories? And  then reaffirm this bond confirming their life together.





EXCHANGE OF RINGS:


What symbol do you offer to renw this marriage?
(The groom obtains the ring from the best man and gives it to the minister)


What symbol do you offer to renew of this marriage?
(The bride obtains the ring from the maid of honor, and gives it to the minister)


The circle of this ring speaks love freely given; it has no beginning and it has no end.
The circle of this ring declares the unity and oneness of your two lives, which shall contain your devotion beyond every journey, that you may always return to your togetherness.


(The groom places the ring on the bride’s finger, saying:


With this ring I confirm my love, and  renew my pledge of faithful trust.


(The bride places the ring on the groom’s finger saying:


With this ring I confirm my love, and renew my pledge my faithful trust.


PRAYER OF PEOPLE:


Holy spirit of life, bless these two as they go their way.  Defend them in all assaults of their enemies, that they may hold steadfast to the love between them.


Bless their house, that it may be a sanctuary of peace, a source of radiance going out to others, a refuge from strife and confusion, a place of hospitality and honor all who grace its door.


May the power of life abundant ever and always touch their lives, flowing from one to the other, bringing comfort in any hour of trial, and bringing glory to themselves and to the world as they pursue their journey together.


Even as they have chosen each other from the world’s multitudes, may the days and the years, now veiled by the moment, deepen the wisdom of that choice and enlarge the storehouse of its treasures, that they may abide in joy and peace.



THE ANNOUNCEMENT:


________ and _____, having chosen each other in love and in freedom, having declared their purpose before this gathering, and having made their pledges to one another, I now declare they have reaffirmed themselves as husband and wife.


Let all others honor them and the threshold of their house.  May their moments here begin untold years of unexpected joy.  By kissing they reaffirming their love.


Optional:


CONCLUSION:


We conclude the ceremony with the traditional breaking of the glass. The breaking of the glass, like the commitment you make today, is irrevocable and permanent. As the groom breaks the glass, I invite everyone to shout, "Mazel Tov" which means "Congratulations and Good Luck!


(Minister hands glass wrapped in cloth to groom)


(Grooms break the glass)


Minister says: "Many Pieces, Many Years, and Many Blessings Together...for the happy couple.  Congratulations – you may now kiss the bride.







Thursday, February 3, 2011

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

New Orleans Wedding Officiant Wins Recognition


 New Orleans Wedding Officiant JK Schwehm Wins Recognition

Weddings, Wedding Venues
2011 Bride's Choice Awards | Best Wedding Photographers, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Cakes, Wedding Florists, Wedding Planners & More
New Orleans, LA– February 2, 2011 - WeddingWire, the nation's leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Fig Street Weddings has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride's Choice Awards™ 2011 for New Orleans Wedding Officiants! 

Recognition for the Bride's Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation. 

Fig Street Weddings stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year. 

"WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community," said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire's Chief Executive Officer. "With the annual Bride's Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Jerry Schwehm for his professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year." 

We are happy to announce that Fig Street Weddings is among the very best wedding officiants within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride's Choice Awards™ 2011. 

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at  www.figstreet.com/weddings
For more information on the Bride's Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com. 

About WeddingWire, Inc. 
WeddingWire.com, the nation's leading technology company serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 local wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives local businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. Businesses that join the WeddingWire Network appear on WeddingWire.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), ProjectWedding.com and Weddingbee.com (both part of eHarmony), and Celebrations.com (part of the 1-800-Flowers family of brands, NASDAQ: FLWS).