Guest bloggers offer additional insight into the area of expertise that I find interesting. For many of you, hearing directly from the source is quite interesting. One of those guest bloggers is Larry James, Minister, Professional Speaker, Author and Relationship Coach. I decided to ask Larry a few questions that I feel would help you in deciding on your wedding officiant.
Take a look at Larry's responses below.
1. How long have you been officiating weddings?
My first wedding was on Saturday, October 26, 2002. Most of the wedding ceremonies I've performed have been in the past 4 years. In 2008 I performed 79 ceremonies. This year (2009) I will set a another record.
2. What's the best advice you can offer newly married couples?
Have open and honest communication all the time. Learn how to talk so your partner will listen. If you ask most people they will say that communications is high on the list of problems in relationships. I believe that it's also about the tone of voice you use when you are upset and it's also about "undelivered" communications. It's those things we don't say and know we should. Usually the reason we give is because the last time we talked about it, someone got upset and we don't want to go through that again so we shut down and keep it to ourselves. Then one day he doesn't take out the garbage and she wants a divorce and it's not about the garbage. It's about all the things you didn't talk about. Do your best to not have any undelivered communication. A great promise to make to each other is, "We promise to talk about anything and everything, all the time. No "undelivered" communication!"
3. How do you create a memorable wedding ceremony?
I have written what is considered to be a very "romantic" wedding ceremony however when I meet with the bride and groom for the first time I ask them what kind of ceremony THEY want. We go through the ceremony word for word and they have the option of changing or deleting anything that they don't like in the ceremony. They can also add anything they want. My Wedding Website has lot of mini add-on ceremonies like the Blending of the Sands, the Breaking of the Glass, Handfasting ceremony and many more.
I am an ordained non-denominational minister and they can have as much or as little spiritually in their ceremony as they choose. Their wedding ceremony can be as solemn and dignified or as fun and creative as you want it. They always have the last word in creating their very special ceremony. I encourage them to write some of their own vows (I call these Personal Promises) and give them assistance and tips about how to do this. I've been a professional speaker since 1987 and have a lot of secrets to share with them to make their part of the ceremony as stress-free as possible.
4. What is your favorite moment in your career?
In 1999 I was on ABC TV's "The View" and was interviewed by Barbara Walters. We talked about my best selling book, "How to Really Love the One You're With: Affirmative Guidelines for a Healthy Love Relationship." That was the highlight of my speaking career. The highlight of my wedding career was performing a "Renewal of Vows" ceremony for a couples 18th anniversary as a surprise to the wife in a hot air balloon. You can see some photos at: http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/mckimmey.html
5. What would your clients tell us about their experience with you?
They would say that I am very easy to work with, reliable, very flexible with regard to editing the ceremony to their complete satisfaction, very organized, and willing to share tips, ideas and suggestions to make everything flow smoothly at the rehearsal and at the wedding. You can peruse the "Rave Reviews" that past clients have send me at: http://www.CelebrateIntimateWeddings.com/ravereviews.html
6. What’s the reason you pursued this lifelong journey in Love?
I was once in a relationship that ended unexpectedly and when it did I realized that I really didn't know how to be in a "healthy" love relationship. I began making notes to myself about what I thought a healthy relationship would look like and put them together in a small booklet originally intended for my eyes only. When I shared them with several other authors and therapists, I was encourage to write more and publish them in a book. That is how my second book, "How to Really Love the One You're With" came to be. When the book came out there were numerous therapists who began to offer it to their clients and they encouraged me to offer relationship coaching. Since then I have written 4 other books. Every wedding client receives a "Coaching Certificate" worth $120 with no expiration date after the wedding. If they every have situations they cannot handle, they have an hour of my time for me to share with them the lessons I've learned about relationships.
It's been said that "the teacher teaches most what the teacher needs to learn" so I began presenting personal and business relationship seminars and the rest is history. I worked with Dr. John Gray, author of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" for eight years. I'm proud to say that he has endorse all three of my relationship books.
7. What’s your advice to couples who are seeking an officiant for their wedding day?
Make sure that the Officiant or Minister is willing to let you have the last word on what is said in your ceremony. Resist the urge to have Uncle Joe or a family friend perform your ceremony just to save a few bucks. It's just not the thing to do. Your wedding day is very special and your ceremony should also be special and performed by an experienced Officiant or Minister. Hire the best DJ, the best Photographer, the best Videographer (the best of everything) and always hire a Wedding Coordinator for your wedding. You would be surprise of the $$$ they can save you and the ideas they have for making the wedding as stress-free as possible.
Copyright 2009 - Larry James. This idea is adapted from Larry's Wedding Website. Larry James is a non-denominational minister and performs the most "Romantic" wedding ceremony you will find anywhere! Call to check availabilty: 480-998-9411 or 800-725-9223. You will find more than 430 pages of Wedding ideas, tips. Check out Larry- http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/tips.html http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/
http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/requestinfo.html
1. How long have you been officiating weddings?
My first wedding was on Saturday, October 26, 2002. Most of the wedding ceremonies I've performed have been in the past 4 years. In 2008 I performed 79 ceremonies. This year (2009) I will set a another record.
2. What's the best advice you can offer newly married couples?
Have open and honest communication all the time. Learn how to talk so your partner will listen. If you ask most people they will say that communications is high on the list of problems in relationships. I believe that it's also about the tone of voice you use when you are upset and it's also about "undelivered" communications. It's those things we don't say and know we should. Usually the reason we give is because the last time we talked about it, someone got upset and we don't want to go through that again so we shut down and keep it to ourselves. Then one day he doesn't take out the garbage and she wants a divorce and it's not about the garbage. It's about all the things you didn't talk about. Do your best to not have any undelivered communication. A great promise to make to each other is, "We promise to talk about anything and everything, all the time. No "undelivered" communication!"
3. How do you create a memorable wedding ceremony?
I have written what is considered to be a very "romantic" wedding ceremony however when I meet with the bride and groom for the first time I ask them what kind of ceremony THEY want. We go through the ceremony word for word and they have the option of changing or deleting anything that they don't like in the ceremony. They can also add anything they want. My Wedding Website has lot of mini add-on ceremonies like the Blending of the Sands, the Breaking of the Glass, Handfasting ceremony and many more.
I am an ordained non-denominational minister and they can have as much or as little spiritually in their ceremony as they choose. Their wedding ceremony can be as solemn and dignified or as fun and creative as you want it. They always have the last word in creating their very special ceremony. I encourage them to write some of their own vows (I call these Personal Promises) and give them assistance and tips about how to do this. I've been a professional speaker since 1987 and have a lot of secrets to share with them to make their part of the ceremony as stress-free as possible.
4. What is your favorite moment in your career?
In 1999 I was on ABC TV's "The View" and was interviewed by Barbara Walters. We talked about my best selling book, "How to Really Love the One You're With: Affirmative Guidelines for a Healthy Love Relationship." That was the highlight of my speaking career. The highlight of my wedding career was performing a "Renewal of Vows" ceremony for a couples 18th anniversary as a surprise to the wife in a hot air balloon. You can see some photos at: http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/mckimmey.html
5. What would your clients tell us about their experience with you?
They would say that I am very easy to work with, reliable, very flexible with regard to editing the ceremony to their complete satisfaction, very organized, and willing to share tips, ideas and suggestions to make everything flow smoothly at the rehearsal and at the wedding. You can peruse the "Rave Reviews" that past clients have send me at: http://www.CelebrateIntimateWeddings.com/ravereviews.html
6. What’s the reason you pursued this lifelong journey in Love?
I was once in a relationship that ended unexpectedly and when it did I realized that I really didn't know how to be in a "healthy" love relationship. I began making notes to myself about what I thought a healthy relationship would look like and put them together in a small booklet originally intended for my eyes only. When I shared them with several other authors and therapists, I was encourage to write more and publish them in a book. That is how my second book, "How to Really Love the One You're With" came to be. When the book came out there were numerous therapists who began to offer it to their clients and they encouraged me to offer relationship coaching. Since then I have written 4 other books. Every wedding client receives a "Coaching Certificate" worth $120 with no expiration date after the wedding. If they every have situations they cannot handle, they have an hour of my time for me to share with them the lessons I've learned about relationships.
It's been said that "the teacher teaches most what the teacher needs to learn" so I began presenting personal and business relationship seminars and the rest is history. I worked with Dr. John Gray, author of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" for eight years. I'm proud to say that he has endorse all three of my relationship books.
7. What’s your advice to couples who are seeking an officiant for their wedding day?
Make sure that the Officiant or Minister is willing to let you have the last word on what is said in your ceremony. Resist the urge to have Uncle Joe or a family friend perform your ceremony just to save a few bucks. It's just not the thing to do. Your wedding day is very special and your ceremony should also be special and performed by an experienced Officiant or Minister. Hire the best DJ, the best Photographer, the best Videographer (the best of everything) and always hire a Wedding Coordinator for your wedding. You would be surprise of the $$$ they can save you and the ideas they have for making the wedding as stress-free as possible.
Copyright 2009 - Larry James. This idea is adapted from Larry's Wedding Website. Larry James is a non-denominational minister and performs the most "Romantic" wedding ceremony you will find anywhere! Call to check availabilty: 480-998-9411 or 800-725-9223. You will find more than 430 pages of Wedding ideas, tips. Check out Larry- http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/tips.html http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/
http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/requestinfo.html
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