After a great garden wedding TJ has to be reminded not to sign on the bride line. Laughs followed. Mary Ellen went right to the correct line. Officiating weddings is always fun.

 
COLORADO/GUATEMALA WEDDING SERENDIPITY
 
Rev. Forrest Whitman
 
     Sometimes events bring us together in ways that can only be called “serendipity.” Over a planning lunch for an August Mount Princeton wedding Guatemala came up. I talked of an upcoming trip to Guatemala to benefit a tiny Mayan village. That village is involved in getting some sort of tourism business going. (a bit of an uphill slog for a non electrified cold water village). Jana and Scott laughed and said they were doing something like that for their honeymoon in Guatemala about the same time and it turns out her Mom was much involved with Guatemala too.


     The wedding ceremony was a great one. We were able to balance some spiritual aspects and good love poems into a non-religious ceremony. We hit the right balance. in the ceremony. Guatemala was much the subject of talk at the reception in the lovely pavilion at Mount Princeton. Here's a shot of one young lady from Mayan land in Guatemala. Serendipity happens.

 
 SMALL WEDDINGS WORK TOO
 
Dr. Forrest Whitman, Wedding officiant
revforrest.whitman@aol.com
719-221-9380
 
     Are you planning a wedding for 200 guests or one for you and a few close friends and family members? No matter what the size it's always a lovely experience to create the script and customize the words to say what you want to say. My job is to assist you to express your uniqueness, your sense of spirituality, your love. That's why you're hiring me as a professional wedding celebrant.
    Just this winter I've heard couples say they don't plan to “make a big deal out of it because it's small.” They tend to say “We're spiritual, but not religious.”  I respond that a wedding for six guests and a child or two from a first marriage takes as much ceremony planning as one for 250 at Mount Princeton or the Salida Steam Plant. I officiated a half dozen of those big ones last summer, but last month I celebrated two very small ceremonies here in Salida. In one case we did all of the planning by e-mail. One took place under the “Salida heart” at the band shell. Another took place in the lobby of the historic Palace Hotel. We made both a “big” event. There were tears all around, a presentation to children, even some flowers in the cold.
     Big or small, a wedding is mile post in life. It's worth celebrating to the max! Small weddings work too.
 
 

A thank you card with this photo enclosed made my weekend!  Thanks guys

These dogs are happy with the wedding. TYhey promised to be better friends and less rivals over food etc. now that everybody is married. Cool!

What a lovely rehearsal dinner at Laughing Ladies restaurant in Salida! Very impressive indeed. Even the Texas contingent was impressed by those steaks. It set us up for their home wedding in Buena Vista the next day.

WHY I LOVE WEDDINGS

 -Rev. Dr. Forrest Whitman

 

What could be more rewarding than helping a couple develop the wedding ceremony that will make their guests laugh with delight and also will seal their wedding vows with dignity? I love getting to know couples and developing a special ceremony with them.

 

I see some old wedding customs coming back as a new trend in 2012.  More and more couples marrying in Colorado are using those old frontier promises and other old Colorado customs. Some are doing the old Colorado hooray! Those customs allow the guests to participate. That trend back to some old customs seems to be happening whether couples are religious or not, spiritual or not, gay, straight, inter-faith or however they see themselves.

 

My one piece of advice is always: “Relax, laugh, enjoy your ceremony because it starts your married life off right.”