Chaplain Schwehm at Maison Dupuy

 Some of the weddings I did at Maison Dupuy Hotel in the French Quarter in 2014. I have been doing weddings there and other hotels in the Quarter for over 10 years.

Chaplain Jerry Schwehm Pictures on Twitpic

Chaplain Schwehm in patio at hotel in French Quarter

 Twitpics closed but the photos I have there are still viewable on this link:

http://twitpic.com/photos/NOLAWeddings

 The service was a great way to share all the photos of my New Orleans weddings and the beautiful locations. All my new photos now go up on Pinterest, home it stays around.

 I place a lot of pictures on my New Orleans Weddings Board.

http://www.pinterest.com/jerryschwehm/new-orleans-weddings/

 Apparently Twitter is hosting the old photos for now but they may just disappear like Geocities did.

 More information on getting married in New Orleans on my web page:
www.figstreet.com/weddings

Fig Street Weddings Logo

 I worked on a new logo for Fig Street Weddings, Chaplain Jerry Schwehm to use on www.figstreet.com/weddings. It has  him in a black robe and hat with red stole but as a silhouette.
I need to touch it up more.

Chaplain Jerry Schwehm, Fig Street Weddings

A Few Photos of Chaplain Jerry Schwehm

Pamela Reed Photography shared some photos of me from recent elopements in the French Quarter and City Park. They also show some of the lovely places couples can elope to in New Orleans.

Getting Married In New Orleans Jackson Square

Photo Bob Bradford Photography

Jackson Square is a park in the center of the New Orleans French Quarter and can be used for weddings. The City rents the park but simple elopements can be done at the gate on St. Peter St for no fees. To rent the park you contact the city parks department. They rent the park but not chairs or anything else which can be obtain from rental groups in the Yellow pages.

 Be sure to contact the city as the Square is busy and on certain weekends closed for festivals.

New Orleans City Park is an alternative. For elopements we can use the Gate if the Quarter is not too busy.

Chaplain Jerry Schwehm has done many weddings in both spots over the past 20 years. 

(Photos by Bob Bradford Photography, www.bobbradford.com)

Photo Bob Bradford Photography

Become a Wedding Officiant Info

Become a Wedding Officiant and Earn $300 per Ceremony

 I was contacted about being a wedding officiant and asked questions. The info is now on the web, with quotes from me and link to my web page, Click link above for full story.

 Lots of interesting info see link   ow.ly/DwjlE

Fig Street Weddings New Orleans

 Pam Reed, photographer, and I work together often on simple elopements in the parks in New Orleans. She was kind enough to send me some cool photographs and I wanted to share with people who read my blog. She has more samples of her work on her web page too at: http://www.artsyphotographer.com/  Stop in her page too.

Prosecco and other wine posters

http://www.zazzle.com/prosecco_lady_in_red_posters-

Prosecco Lady In Red Posters by figstreetstudio

 Fig Street Studio has lots of wine prints for sale. Some you can add or edit text to put in your favorite, or add you name as a wine cellar sign.

Prosecco Posters,

Prosecco Wine Maid Vintage Lady Posters by figstreetstudio

Modern Style Wine Poster, Prosecco by figstreetstudio

View other Modern Posters

Wine Cellar Vintage Lady Edit Name Sign Print by figstreetstudio
Look for more office art at zazzle.com

Sample Civil Spiritual Marriage Ceremony

Sample New Ceremony

Welcome ladies and gentlemen, family and friends. bride and groom have chosen you,

those special and dear to them, to witness and celebrate the beginning of their life together.

We are gathered here today to join them in marriage, 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 two hearts.

[Addressed to bride and groom] You have come together this day to accept one another

in faith and in love, and to accept the changes that time will inevitably bring to each of you

and your lives together. By this ceremony you will become husband and wife, but the soul of

your marriage will depend on the constant renewal of the choices and promises you make here

today. We are each still and always growing, and when we marry, we promise not only our

own growth, but also our willingness to witness and withstand the ongoing growth of another

human being. In marrying we promise to love not only as we feel at this very moment, but also

as we intend to feel.

Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of all human relationships.

Marriage is an affirmation of life; a spiritual, emotional and intellectual bond between two

people; the holiest of all earthly unions. It is created from the purest of friendship, respect

and affection. The institution of marriage is not to be entered into lightly but reverently,

consciously and with full understanding of its significance.

The efforts of marriage continue well beyond the ceremony’s end. A brief moment in time

and the stroke of a pen are all that is required to create the legal bond of marriage. However

marriage is a work-in-progress that will hereafter consume your attention, and yet never be

completed. It requires a lifetime of commitment, dedication and hard work. But it is a joyous

labor whose fruits are the very richest.

Marriage allows you to see through your partner’s essence. Such a love requires that you be

completely honest with yourself and your partner, that you ask for what you want, take action

even when you might be afraid, express your feelings and listen attentively, but leave your

partner free to be who they really are. Love and embrace your partner for who they uniquely

are, not for who you think they should be.

When you love someone, you do not love them all the time in exactly the same way, from

moment to moment. Such is an impossibility. And yet this is exactly what many of us demand.

We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the

flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on

permanency, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is growth and

fluidity. bride and groom, it is a great tribute to your faith in one another that, together,

you will successfully face the fears and uncertainty that underlie human life.

In the years ahead, life together will sometimes be easy and effortless, sometimes difficult

and challenging. No matter what however, always regard each other with the deepest

respect. Inspire, encourage and support each other’s dreams and goals. Be ever mindful of

the many positive qualities that the other offers you and let not the passage of time dull your

appreciation for one another. Do not take each other for granted. Remind yourselves often of

what brought you together.

When frustration and difficulty assail your relationship, as they do all relationships at one

time or another, focus on what is right between you, not just the part that seems wrong. Be

slow to anger and quick to forgive. Practice flexibility, patience and understanding. Maintain

the open lines of communication that enable you to share your innermost thoughts, feelings

and experiences. Be kind and sensitive to each other’s needs so that you may attain mutual

spiritual, mental and physical fulfillment within yourselves and your marriage. If each of you

takes responsibility for the quality of your marriage, your life together will be marked by

abundance and happiness.

The most wonderful of all things in life is the discovery of another human being with whom

one’s relationship has an unparalleled depth and beauty. There are no ties on earth so sweet,

none so tender as those you are about to assume. There are no vows so precious as those

you are about to make. The true home is not only the place in which you live, but is also the

dwelling place where each lives in the heart and mind of the other.

Please join hands as you prepare to make your vows to one another.

Do you bride take groom to be your lawfully wedded husband, your life companion and

your one true love? On this special day, in the presence of all those in attendance, do you

pledge to stay by his side in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow,

to comfort him and to cherish him for as long as you both shall live?

Do you groom take bride to be your lawfully wedded wife, your life companion and your

one true love? On this special day, in the presence of all those in attendance, do you pledge to

stay by her side in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, to comfort

her and to cherish her for as long as you both shall live?

For thousands of years couples have exchanged rings as a token of their vows. The ring forms

a perfect circle, without a beginning or an end, and is thereby a symbol of eternity and signifies

the duration of the commitment you are making.

Place the ring on groom’s finger and repeat after me: With this ring, I thee wed. / Take it as a

sign of my everlasting affection and fidelity / with all that I am and all that I have / from this day

forward as your wife.

Place the ring on bride’s finger and repeat after me: With this ring, I thee wed. / Take it as a

sign of my everlasting affection and fidelity / with all that I am and all that I have / from this day

forward as your husband.

We as your friends and family gathered here today hope that, at the end of your lives on this

planet, you will look into each other’s eyes and be able to say: “Because you have loved me,

you have given me a faith in myself, and because I have faith in myself, I have loved my fellow

man. Because of you my life on this Earth has been made complete.”

May you continue to laugh often and enjoy each other every day, steadfast in hope and in

confidence, believing in yourselves and believing in each other. May your love be a sanctuary

and source from which you draw strength to live your lives with enthusiasm and imagination.

May the people whose paths you cross and whose lives you touch throughout your lifetime

know how much you care for one another.

Bless these two as they go their way. Even as they have chosen each other from the world’s

multitudes, may the days and the years, now veiled by this moment, deepen the wisdom

of that choice. Having chosen each other in love and in freedom and having declared their

purpose before this gathering, by the authority vested in me by the State of Louisiana, I now

pronounce them husband and wife. [To groom] You may now kiss the bride.

Baby Blessings in New Orleans

 Fig Street Ministry also does other religious services. We do Baby Blessings in the Metro area. Usually at homes or restaurants where the entire family gathers to welcome the new child into the community.

 Sample  Baby Blessing

Greeting

Officiant:

Today is a very special day for all of us. It is a day in which we celebrate the birth of this child Evangeline.  A day in which her parents introduce her to her extended family, friends, as well as the community that she will live and grow up in.

Today is truly a celebration of love, and of life! BABY iis a gift. Her smile, her laughter, and her presence enrich the lives of all who know her. This child is our future and represents the light of the world. Today we simply give thanks and celebrate all the many wonderful blessings BABY brings and do our best to remember, and be thankful for, the very special role that we all have in her life.

Charge To Parents

Officiant:

BABY has honored you by choosing you as her parents. Therefore, honor her and remember that BABY is her own being with her own thoughts and feelings. She is a child of the universe and has been given many gifts from the Divine so that she can light the way for the future. Therefore, it is important for you to support her and protect her, so that her gifts may blossom and she can make this world better than it was before.

Parental Promise

Officiant:

MOM and DAD will you promise to love, nurture, and support BABY and to create a healthy environment so that she may grow on her specific path? If so, please answer “We will.”

Parents: We will

Do you promise to teach her not who or what, but how to love, to trust, to respect, and to value her hopes and dreams so that she may truly participate in the remarkable journey that is life?

Parents: We will.

 

To expose her to a variety of experiences, showing her the beginnings of many a wondrous journey, instilling in her a sense of wonder and passion, and the knowledge that she alone has the power to complete herself?

Parents: We will.

To teach her right from wrong, to enable her to make her place in society as a kind and caring person?

Parents: We will.

Officiant:

To teach her to celebrate diversity, never ever being aware of prejudice. Knowing no boundaries, to be loving of all that surrounds her in her life, and celebrate the similarities and differences in our world?

Parents: We will.

To hold her close in your hearts always, yet still encourage her to stand on her own when the time comes so that she may discover her own true self?

Parents: We will.

Charge To Godparents

A wonderful tradition in our culture on these occasions is the responsibility accepted by Godparents. Godparents are those who promise they will be there in CHILD life should she need support, wisdom, comfort and guidance. They are someone she knows will always be standing quietly behind her, encouraging her to make good choices, and sharing with her the lessons they themselves have learned along the way.

Today Woman  and Man  have agreed to become involved in Baby  life .

They have been chosen by MOM and DAD because of their connection with them, and the family. The fact that they have been chosen by is an indicator of their position of trust, and respect within this family.

Godparents come forward

Officiant:

“While you are not Baby  parents, the place that you have both taken in her life is an

important one. MOM and DAD trust your motivations and your judgment and they take comfort in knowing that although there will be times when she cannot come to them, that she will be able to come to you for guidance and support. By accepting the role of Godparent you say to BABY and the world. I promise, I will be there for you as you grow into womanhood. With this in mind I now ask you...

Godparents Vows

Will you as best as you can, encourage, guide and support her in all her endeavors,

Help her recognize the beauty within herself and all things,

And help her realize her own hopes and dreams?

Godparents: “We will.”

Officiant:

“May you always know how special you are to this family that they would ask you to tend to the most precious thing that they have in this world."

The Blessing Of The Child

Officiant:

May the gift of CHILD presence bring joy and gladness to the hearts of all who love her.

May she be blessed and protected through all of the wonderful and

Difficult things that they years will bring.

May she find goodness and inspiration,

and be given the wisdom to discern the true from the transient,

May her life be rich and full in wealth that is measured by both the physical

and spiritual context of her existence

May BABY be prosperous in all ways.

May she love well and be well loved.

Through each passage and season,

May she always be surrounded

by the warmth of family and friends.

And may her days be forever filled with love and happiness.

Dear Little One, we welcome you with love,

And ask for these Blessings to flow from Above,

Officiant touches top of her head and say:

You are connected, protected, loved, and blessed.

Officiant her forehead and say:

All your senses are blessed, protected, and awakened.

Officiant touches her heart and say:

Your heart is blessed so that you may feel compassion for yourself and others.

Officiant touches her hands:

Your hands are blessed so that you may reach out to the world.

Your feet are blessed so that you may connect with the earth, be grounded, and stand your ground in this world. Know that your spirit is strong and it will guide you through this life.. Know that you are deeply loved and that your presence brings overwhelming joy.

Closing Words

Officiant:

( To Parents):  I congratulate DAD and MOM on the birth of their baby, and the Godparents on their willingness to share with them the care and concern for the welfare of Evangeline.  May her life be filled with the good things of life, and in particular with the love and laughter of those who make up her world.

(To Child): With abiding confidence and affection, we send you forth on your journey of life. May you be filled with thanks and wonder, humor and fun, hope and perseverance so that you may grow in wisdom and grace.

(To Guests): Thank you all for being with us today to bless and welcome Evangeline. Let the memory of this day fill us with love and family.