Weddings
Plan a Ceremony Reflecting Your Love:
The ceremony that joins you as husband and wife is the centerpiece of your wedding celebration. Ideally, it will be deeply meaningful for all who attend. It can also be just as well planned as the rest of your wedding arrangements.
Thats why choosing the officiant who will conduct your ceremony is such an important decision.
A Moment to Cherish
Your wedding ceremony is the central moment of your most special day. An intimate ritual, shared with family and friends, it celebrates your love and commitment while marking the formal beginning of your new life together.
Selecting a skilled and caring celebrant can make a significant difference on this meaningful occasion… and leave you with memories that you will cherish forever.
The Rev. Thomas Lawrence has been conducting personalized wedding ceremonies for more than twenty years. Caring and sensitive, he can work with you to plan a ceremony that will make your special day all the more memorable.
Because your exchange of vows is a deeply personal statement, Rev. Lawrence will design a religious or nonsectarian ceremony that addresses the considerations that matter most to you. Depending on your preference, he can also develop a moving interfaith service that enables you to express your commitment in the presence of God while respecting your individual faith backgrounds.
Testimonials:
“My husband and I couldn’t have been more delighted. The ceremony was beautiful and spoke to us in a deeply personal way. Thank you so very much.”
–R.T., Tavern on the Green
“I’m impressed with how the ceremony talks of the realities of marriage, yet tells us how we can use our marriage to grow personally.”
–B.J., The Stanhope
“Rev. Lawrence did a fabulous job at our wedding! You can see the pictures of him at our wedding and the setup here”
– Mr. & Mrs. Edmund & Caroline Song
Flexible Planning:
Over the years, Rev. Lawrence has officiated at weddings throughout the tri-state area (New York City, NY Metro Area). In settings ranging from homes to churches, gardens to rooftops–even aboard watercraft–he has been flexible in helping couples make the most of the wedding locations they’ve chosen.
Rev. Lawrence will honor your preferences for your ceremony. He’ll help you evaluate your on-site options for ceremonial music and creative choreography, and help you plan for alternative settings if your outdoor wedding is threatened by inclement weather.
Panic-Proof Your Wedding:
“IF ANYTHING CAN GO WRONG, IT WILL.” That’s known as Murphy’s Law, and it can affect anything we engage in. When it comes to planning your wedding ceremony, you want to be sure that everything will be ready and secure for your special day.
One important consideration in preparing for your wedding day are potential problem which may arise with one or more of your family or guests. Whatever the size of your guest list, challenges may present themselves. Some of your guests may have special needs, such as difficulty in moving around. Especially with outdoor weddings, some guests may have trouble traversing the terrain. That’s when it’s important to consider having a specially-selected “proxy” person to tend to the needs of your guests - just as you would - but you can’t, because you’re in the wedding! On your special day, you should not have the additional responsibility of having to care for any of your guests if something unfortunate should happen to one of them. Just think of the kind of negative experience you could have, and the memories you’d be left with, if you had to attend to your guests.
Your only responsibilities on your wedding day are to show up, be dressed, be able to walk, talk and breathe, and have been fed! (Be mindful of your blood sugar, especially when you’re under stress.) Don’t make the mistake of giving yourself responsibility for any last-minutes decorations or preparations. These things are best to delegate to a specially-selected friend or family member (other than a a parent or grandparent, or anyone participating in the wedding), whom I call your “confidante.” To this person you will confide necessary information about any of your guests with special needs or issues that you already know about - for example, the hyperactive child who tends to act out, or the friend who became “tipsy” at the last formal occasion he attended. You and your “confidante” can discuss the best ways of handling potentially disruptive guests and assisting those with special physical needs.
By doing this, you can rest assured that anything that “goes down” with any of your guests will be taken care of by your “confidante,” just as you would — but won’t be able to - because you’re in the wedding! In addition, your “confidante” can play a crucial part in the last few minutes before the ceremony begins. He or she may be the “signal person” to cue the musicians or DJ to begin the processional, or when an important guest has arrived, so that you and the other wedding participants can really experience and enjoy the emotional and spiritual dimension of this wonderful rite of passage.
The use of a “confidante” can go a long way toward making your special day really special - but not because of Murphy’s Law! You can make your wedding “panic-proof” with this one important step.
Premarital Counseling:
Marriage is more than a ceremony: it’s a lifetime commitment, one in which compromise, growth and understanding are crucial. Wedding planning may be the first real test of your ability to work and make decisions with your spouse-to-be. If problems or difficulties arise during your engagement, you may want to schedule an appointment with Rev. Lawrence for premarital counseling.
Counseling can help you isolate problems and teach you how to work together to overcome them. In the process, you’ll also learn more about each other and the kinds of emotional support each of you needs.
Remember, the more you know about each other, the stronger and more intimate your marriage will be.
Six-Month Checkup:
It might also be a good idea to plan ahead to make an additional commitment to your relationship. Schedule a “check-up” appointment a half-year into your marriage to explore your needs and expectations and to discover new ways to make your life together more fulfilling.