{Real Wedding} Rhonda + Brian - Ancala Country Club

Weddings are made of sweet laughter and joy. Rhonda and Brian's wedding was a blast for them and their guests. I met them both through the brides sister and we started planning right away. This couple wanted to spare no details when it came to traditions. Jumping the Broom and sharing kilt love was truly memorable. They shared their nuptials day at Ancala Country Club along their closest family and friends. I loved the kilt the groom wore and incorporated a bagpiper to lighten up the event with rich colors and sounds. My heart loved bringing in the electric blue, red and black colors they chose to match Brian's kilt.

Authentic Kilt!

Brian and Rhonda as they shared their vows

Bridal parties like Rhonda's made her so happy

Choose your designs wisely and include them in many wedding details like above

My favorite picture. Period.

Thank you to my wonderful wedding team who helped maked this day mighty!

Wedding Planner: Blueprint Affairs

Venue: Ancala Country Club - Jen Benfatti

Photography: Harley Bonham Photography

Florals: Ever After Florals

Officiant: Reverend Giovanni Weddings

Entertainment: Got You Covered

Invites/Paper: Be In Love Designs

Cake: Honey Moon Sweets

Makeup/Hair: Babydoll Hair- Sabrina Miller

{Summer Selections} Guest Blog - Rose Ceremony

Discovering unique touches for your wedding should always been top priority. Take this time to reflect on the nice touches to your ceremony that will make it memorable for you and your guests. Read below some great tips by Officiant Larry James on how you could incorporate the Rose Ceremony into your big day.

Guest Blogger: Larry James, Officiant

There are lots of brief add-on ceremonies that you can add to your wedding ceremony. They add a touch of class, makes your ceremony different and keep your guests interested.


The “Rose” ceremony is one of my favorites.

In the rose ceremony, the Bride and Groom give each other a single red rose bud. Two red rose buds are all that is necessary. If you have children involved in the ceremony, you may have a rose for each of them too. The Rose Ceremony is placed near the end of the ceremony just “after” being pronounced wife and husband.

This ceremony is what I call an “add-on” ceremony. It is intended to be added into the wedding or renewal of vows ceremony.

In the old language of flowers, a single red rose has always meant “I love you”. The Rose ceremony gives recognition to the new and most honorable title of “Wife and Husband”.

This ceremony originates in a classic rose ceremony from a lost and elegant age. It was rewritten by the Hon. Mark Ovard and rewritten again by Larry James explaining the true meaning of the ceremony – and in ways that can endure through your married life together – this is a unique and meaningful addition to any marriage ceremony. It will also inspire your guests.

This is also a nice way of involving the mothers in the ceremony.

New twist to this idea
Couples will often stop as they exit and “surprise” the mothers of the bride and groom by handing them each an “I Love You” rose bud. The husband gives his rose to his new mother-in-law and the wife gives her rose to her new mother-in-law, whispering “I love you,” or something nice before proceeding with their exit, knowing that love is not love until you give it away!

You could also say something like, “I’m happy to be a part of the family, etc.” Be sure to tell your photographer that you are giving your “I love you” roses to the mothers so they can get that photo.

NOTE: All roses symbolize Love, but their colors have special meaning. Use the list below to choose the shade that best matches the feeling you want to convey.

Red – Love, passion, respect and courage
Yellow – Joy, friendship and freedom
Pink – Happiness, gratitude, appreciation and admiration
Cream – Thoughtfulness, charm and graciousness
Orange – Admiration, fascination, enthusiasm and desire
White – innocence, purity, secrecy, reverence and to honor those who are deceased

Copyright © 2010  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! Every wedding ceremony is customized to your complete satisfaction. Call to check availability: 480-998-9411 or 800-725-9223. You will find more than 445 pages of Wedding ideas, tips (95 tips and growing), ceremonies, and more at: http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/ . Subscribe to Larry's FREE monthly "LoveNotes for Lovers eZINE. Contact: CelebrateIntimateWeddings.com, P.O. Box 12695, Scottsdale, AZ 85267-2695.

Q & A | Larry James || Romantic Is In

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/
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