Jim & Holly's Wedding Ceremony ~ Sweet, Simple & Memorable

Jim and Holly's wedding ceremony on the deck of a waterfront home in Des Moines as the sun was setting was a truly "happy moment."

Wedding Photographer Sean Werner joined me to get this wonderful and fun couple "hitched" at sunset ~ and with a couple of their closest friends as witnesses, Jim and Holly exchanged vows with big smiles and a few laughs.

To me, it doesn't matter if a wedding ceremony guest list is 2 witnesses or 200 people.

It's all about the "feeling" and energy of the moment. Yes, I know this sounds "woo-woo" ~ and it's true.

Few couples or family/friends remember the words of a wedding ceremony. What people do remember is the "feeling" and for Jim and Holly on that waterfront deck at sunset, the feeling was pure joy.

Sean Werner: www.weddingphotog.com

2011 ~ Looking Ahead To A New Wedding Year And A Few Inside Planning Tips....

Greg and I are back from a wonderful two week vacation in the Caribbean ~ rested and excited to re-engage for a new year.

Much like a bride and groom may feel at the end of their wedding day, is how I often feel at the very end of a 10-month wedding season - happy, worn out and so glad it's over.

Glad it's over?!

Yes ~ absolutely. It's a wonderful feeling to know that my weddings for the year are complete and well done (hopefully my couples agree). What I'm not shy about sharing with my couples and colleagues in the wedding world is the gentle tension I often carry and hide around every wedding.

The challenge of creating and officiating a wedding ceremony is this: you can't do it over. So with this work comes a level of attention and performance that demands a high degree of dedication and planning to insure a beautiful and memorable result - i.e., an authentic weddding ceremony.

As Kelly and Ryan worked to create a beautiful wedding day experience, thousands of couples in the Puget Sound area are now planning their weddings for 2011. Let me humbly offer a few hard earned "planning tips from the frontline of all things wedding..."

~ Keep It Real: If you want to be married on Alki Beach with 2 witnesses ~ do it. If you want to be married at Villa Academy like Kelly and Ryan with great pomp, do it. This is your wedding and keeping it real means doing what is right for you. Tune out all "do this/do that" wedding noise and stay true to what is important to you.

~ Plan Not Only A Wedding, Plan A Marriage: Your engagement time is not only for wedding planning, it is a remarkable moment in time to grow deeper in your loving relationship. Ask the big questions, create your covenants, road map your vision/desires for your marriage - use your engagement time to grow deeper in love and understanding so you may walk into your wedding day with grace and ease.

Here's to a wonderful 2011!

Life Is All About Change - Missing Our Beloved Dog Huckleberry And What I Learned From "Huckie" About Weddings...

We have unexpectedly lost our beloved Cocker Spaniel ~ the most Handsome Huckleberry ~ to a fast growing tumor in his abdomen.

Greg and I rescued Huckleberry 3 1/2 years ago from a life of abuse and neglect and we loved this sweet little gentleman so very much.

Huckleberry was kind. He endured a life of neglect for many years and yet he saw the world with loving eyes and a huge heart.

Huckleberry would most often rest on his bed near my desk as I would work. Sometimes I would ask Huckie for a little inspiration while writing a ceremony. Most often, he snoozed through my questioning and today, missing Huckleberry, I offer these three wedding nuggets which remind me of Huckleberry.

~ When it comes to a wedding, lead with kindness and gratitude and on a wedding day, live in the moment with happiness. Guests often take their cue from a couple ~ family and friends love a ceremony and celebration oozing with appropriate gratitude and graciousness.

~ Everyone is beautiful and handsome on a wedding day. Everyone!

~ Wag more. Bark less. Huckleberry stole this from a car bumper sticker and it's true beyond measure.

We miss you, Huckleberry. So very much.

Love, Annemarie & Greg