Photos At Weddings Are Important

Having photos of your wedding whether it is a small elopement or elaborate affair in a large venue is important. Years later looking at the photos evokes memories of the day that is most likely the most emotional and fun time of your life. In an effort to learn more and to find unique photos I can recommend to couples, I searched through Google. To my amazement I found that some photographers seem to have fetishes  Like the above shoe photo. The recommended photo of the day in the article was of the shoes. Personally I think a shoe photo is fine in a shoe catalog but a wedding album? I discovered a large selection of ideas ranging from pictures of food, to sky, and other things to me not related to a wedding. So my lesson is be sure the photographer realizes it is a wedding album and not a flash photo contest of apparel.
 It reminded me of once I asked a photographer to send me a photo of a wedding I did. I put them in my blog. What I got was a picture of me holding a baby? No wedding ceremony, no bride or groom. Some child at the wedding I held for a moment. Nothing to do with a wedding at all. So it never made it to my blog. Select a photographer who does what you want, wedding pictures. Talk with them before so they understand it is a wedding album not a contest of cool shoe pictures.

Funky Weddings: Bike Night Nuptials

  Many places have bike nights where motorcycle enthusiasts gather to talk, meet, and make friends. If you and your significant other plan to elope ask at bike night if you can show up one night with the preacher and do a marriage ceremony. It is easy. Get a license, permission from the establishment, notify the group and wedding officiant when and let it happen. No bike night near you ask at the local motorcycle sales place. Ride motor scooters? Try the  scooter club group or ask at the scooter sales business if you can get married on their sales floor. Great publicity for the sales place and a fun funky wedding.

Have A Pirate Parody Wedding in Pirates Alley New Orleans

Like to dress up like a pirate? Want to marry your true love? Get married in Pirate's Alley New Orleans. We do weddings there and yes people dress like pirates. For more details and the story of the ghost in Pirates Alley see this link-http://www.figstreet.com/guesthouse/piratesalleyweddings.html

Simple Elopement: Meet Dr. Schwehm at the Pirates Alley Lamp Post near the Cabildo for a simple pirate ceremony. Must bring a Louisiana Marriage License. No frills. The Alley is a walkway and cannot be blocked off so the ceremony must be short and small, not large with a lot of people.

Read about the first wedding in Pirates Alley and the Ghost that haunts there: Pirates Wedding

 Dress and talk like a pirate for the wedding day.

Added feature to practice for your vows: How To Talk Pirate

The New Orleans Wedding Reporter, news for planning New Orleans weddings

LINK:  The New Orleans Weddings Reporter


A cool widget allows me to post on the web wedding related info from all over the web. I do this daily and post on Twitter when it comes out at my Twitter account @ElopeNewOrleans I use the list on Twitter to find interesting articles and include them in my weddings report that I then post it in my reporter. See http://paper.li/elopeneworleans:  then follow  us and your interesting news may be included in the reporter.


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TWITTER account info:

@ElopeNewOrleans 

New Orleans Wedding Minister, former Justice of the Peace, Moderator AAWO does elopements in New Orleans

New Orleans Area Justice of the Peace

 The city of New Orleans has no Justice of the Peace, only the parishes next to the city. Having served as Justice of the Peace in the area north of the city of New Orleans for four years I performed a lot of weddings. As a non-denominational minister when I retired I started doing weddings in the French Quarter. Often I am asked to do a simple civil ceremony as I did as Justice of the Peace. My feee for a simple wedding near my home is a lot less then one in the French Quarter. My fee is based on date, time, and location. Hotels in the French Quarter and parking gets expensive so a parking fee is charged. If the couple just want to get married I can do a simple civil ceremony near my home at a near by park. If you or someone you know just wants a simple ceremony contact me for info on a discount fee if they come to me rather then me going to them. Witnesses and a marriage license are needed.



New Orleans Metro Area Weddings & Elopements


  Chaplain Jerry Schwehm served as Justice of the Peace in 1990 to 1994 in  Louisiana and was ordained in 1989 as a Lay Minister after serving as Elder and Deacon in his church for many years. He has a BA and JD from Louisiana State University (1972) and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from a  local Bible Church in 1990. He has performed numerous wedding ceremonies and is available in the Greater New Orleans area to perform your personalized marriage ceremony. He will go to your location or at his office in Fig Street Studio. He may be contacted at his e-mail, jerryschwehm@yahoo.com.   Answer service 504/617-6359


More info and help on the web page at: www.figstreet.com/guesthouse/weddings.html



I am listed in several wedding officiant groups like this is one and Martha Stewart Weddings list.

  I am a member and president moderator of the AAWO, a professional wedding officiants group.

Can I Have A Friend Perform The Wedding Ceremony?

Sometimes I am asked if a friend can officiate the wedding. Most states require that a person who officiates a wedding be a minister or judge. That officiant also must be registered to perform weddings in the place the wedding is done. The registration process is sometimes difficult and has legal issues. I have read on some web pages that you can have a friend "ordained" on the web, register, then perform the ceremony. That is a lot of paper work and risky at times so I offer to allow the friend participate in the ceremony avoiding the need to become a minister for a day. I find that when family and friends help out in a ceremony by either being a reader or master of ceremonies that the audience is more attentive. Just me standing there reciting things is not as entertaining as having a dear friend stand up and read a poem or tell a story. Grandparents are wonderful at that sort of thing. I do not think going through the paper work of an ordination for a day is necessary. The friend or family member can participate and assist in the ceremony and no risky web page ordination is necessary. I often tell couples be sure that the person doing the ceremony is registered and capable to avoid future issues like learning the friend gets too nervous to speak  or somehow discover the marriage was not legal. As I am a professional wedding officiant I do not assist in having people ordained on the web to perform a friend's ceremony. That is what I do, weddings, for a living. A friend can assist in the service if the couple desires they have a part to play.

 A recent news article says to be cautious with having a friend be ordained simply to do a friends wedding, it may not be legal see: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/fashion/weddings/making-sure-that-online-officiant-is-legal.html

Write Your Own Wedding Vows

Writing your own wedding vows together as a couple can make your marriage more meaningful and fun. Sample guidelines and how to books are on the web yet it is easy with this guideline http://www.figstreet.com/guesthouse/simpleweddingceremony.html. There are traditional elements to a wedding ceremony but a lot of good things to add in making you day special. You can add a poem, song, or personal words to bride, groom, or a special person like a child. Add in parts for children allows them to be a part of the new family and can make them feel special that day.
Here is a page with some helpful hints, Sample Wedding Vows, but there are a lot more available on the web.

Favorite Wedding Songs

Here are 5 songs that are favorites at weddings:



1. FROM THIS MOMENT ON by SHANIA TWAIN
2. A WHOLE NEW WORLD from Disney's Aladdin
3. CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE Elvis Presley
4. COME WHAT MAY Ewan McGregor
5. COULD I HAVE THIS DANCE Anne Murray

Comical Wedding Video

Some strange things happen at weddings. Here is a link to a German video of some comical weddings that need no translation.