Author: atlantis

Writing a Ceremony with Meaning

Posted on | Author Jean Lee

“I’m pregnant!” or “I won mega bucks”, mean life changing events. Last month, when I asked Linda, a future bride, if she needed an outline for their ceremony she said, “We just want to get married. Bring whatever.”  I said No. I had done that once and the words were hollow; we all felt ill-at-ease. When you put effort into seeking out beloved authors, stirring poets and historical verses, everyone wins! Linda and Matt (after finding their words) held hands under a majestic covered bridge. Her eyes glowed when she heard the words spoken that evoked memories and tugged on […]

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Ideas for a Ceremony of Gravitas

Posted on | Author Carolyn Egan

Keep in mind that your wedding ceremony introduces the world to your love and your love to the world. In your new roles as “Mr and Mrs” or “Mrs and Mrs” or “Mr and Mr” you become a family that might increase and divide and increase again. So why not let the ceremony treat the love that brought you to this point as more than mere romance? When romantic love has grown up and been tested, it becomes bigger, believe it or not. It becomes where you are going – your path and your destination. It’s a road with all […]

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Make Sure your Wedding Ceremony Fits Your Circumstances!

Posted on | Author Warren Turner

How times change! Not so long ago, the idea of living together before marriage was socially unacceptable.  While some couples dared to try it, they dared not do so openly – for the judgment of society could be cruel.  Gay couples also were in jeopardy of social condemnation. In 2014, however, living together before marriage is the rule — the “new normal.”  And gay relationships too are becoming mainstream in the eyes of most Americans.  Often the old words and assumptions underlying the “traditional” wedding ceremony don’t work anymore and need to be updated. The outdated Victorian notions of the “virgin” bride and groom – and […]

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Future Shock: The Wedding Ceremony of 2050

Posted on | Author Carolyn Egan

While our concept of marriage continues to evolve, surprisingly the wedding ceremony itself has remained remarkably the same. Ask any Justice of the Peace and she will likely confirm that even the most modern couple will not abandon those features of the wedding ceremony that connect them to romance and tradition, most notably the opportunity to voice “I do!” So what is changing about the wedding ceremony? What will it look like in 35 years? If today’s trends are any indication (and of course they are), many weddings will be all about technology. (Surprise!) Virtually married? Bi-location: Your children’s wedding […]

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Here Comes the Sun: Is it Time to Renew your Wedding Vows?

Posted on | Author Carolyn Egan

Spring is just around the corner, right? Isn’t the season of renewal a great time to renew your marriage vows? With the help of a Justice of the Peace, you can design a special ceremony – as elaborate or intimate as you choose – to celebrate the life and love you’ve created together. Why renew? Many experts believe that the decision to renew your vows should arise from a feeling of shared joy and fulfillment, not from a need to fix a marriage that may be broken. However, if you have weathered a difficult time in your marriage and emerged […]

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Surprise Your Guests: Get Married!

Posted on | Author Barbara Jay

After living together for 14 years, whenever we talked about getting married, the biggest obstacle was the wedding itself. My  kids were teenagers, his were married with young children of their own. After all this time living like an old married couple, we were embarrassed to make a big deal of it. Yet we wanted our friends and family to be present. On the Friday before a planned party to celebrate his 60th birthday with all the kids and a few friends coming, I had a light bulb moment. Here was the perfect opportunity to have it both ways! (He […]

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The Rainbow Logo

Posted on | Author Warren Turner

One of the most meaningful wedding ceremonies I have performed as a New Hampshire Justice of the Peace was on Loon Mountain in September, with a panorama of the White Mountains before us. Rather than that priceless vista, however, it was the couple and our special connection that made it memorable. It all started when they came across a picture of me standing in front of a rainbow flag. The two women had wanted to be married for years but were stymied by the laws of their home state, North Carolina. When the US Congress repealed the infamous DOMA, the […]

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A Winter Solstice Wedding Ceremony

Posted on | Author Carolyn Egan

Aren’t you smart to have chosen December for your wedding! Your celebration will match perfectly the festive mood of the holidays.  But could there be another reason why this time of year feels so right, one stirring deep in your DNA? Quite possibly! What is it about the month of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year for those who live north of the equator? In ancient times, our ancestors celebrated the solstice with a long night of revelry and feasting. Living closer to the rhythms of Nature, they understood that the solstice marked the beginning of lengthening […]

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A “Thank You” Theme for Your Holiday Wedding Ceremony

Posted on | Author Carolyn Egan

The year is rolling up like a long carpet and you may feel as though you’ve been on a magical carpet ride ever since he (or she) popped the question. On top of it all, it’s that time of year again. For some of us, Halloween kick-starts those end-of-year jitters: the pressure of planning for the holidays; the dread of colder and shorter days. Yet you’ve got more to be jittery about than most because you are getting married! Yes, you planned it last year. (Or, maybe, last week.) And for very good reasons you timed it squarely in the middle […]

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Put Some Humor in the Wedding Ceremony

Posted on | Author Carolyn Egan

So you’re determined that your wedding be “one of kind” and extraordinary.  You’re even thinking about adding a bit of whimsy to your ceremony to capture the spirit that makes the two of you such a signature couple. But how do you strike the right tone?  Let’s face it, your wedding day is supposed to be a solemn occasion.  You’ll be entering into a serious life commitment.  You don’t want to come across as silly or disrespectful. Yet, a little humor can go a long way towards lightening up the tension and encouraging appreciative smiles among your wedding guests. With […]

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Make the Most of Getting Married: Do It Again and Again!

Posted on | Author Carolyn Egan

People in the wedding biz are noticing a strange movement afoot. More and more couples are choosing to have several wedding ceremonies. Indeed, a recent ABC news article confirms that this “serial wedding” formula is becoming fashionable among the younger set: “One of the hottest trends when it comes to weddings…is for ‘nearly-weds’ to plan for multiple wedding ceremonies.” Most bride-groom marriages in the U.S. are recognized in all 50 states. So why are so many couples getting married twice or thrice, or even more times? Because they want to! Are you considering the multiple-wedding route? Here’s a typical scenario that […]

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Beyond “I Do”: Incorporating Religious Elements (or Not) in your Wedding Ceremony

Posted on | Author Warren Turner

If you are planning a wedding, you may be wondering which elements of your marriage ceremony are absolutely required by law and which are optional.  How much of the ceremony can you create from scratch to reflect your and your fiancé’s beliefs and sentiments? Saying “I do” before a person licensed by the State to marry you is all you need to get married. But that is not nearly enough for most couples. Most desire a much richer ceremony, one that is particularly meaningful to them.  And we Justices of the Peace are eager to help you fashion the wedding ceremony that you […]

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Your Wedding Vows: Write Them Yourself!

Posted on | Author Carolyn Egan

“I do!”  In most weddings, these two classic words are all the bride and groom are required to say.  But if you are thrilled by the chance to express what your partner means to you in the presence of family and friends, why not consider writing your own marriage vows? Writing your vows can be easy, joyful and result in a beautiful and intimate central feature of your wedding ceremony if you keep the following principles in mind. Four Hints to Writing the Perfect Vows 1. Write your vows from the heart.  You love him so much that you are […]

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