My Values.

We all have a promissory note of offerings we show and tell to the world. The following five are my signature ways of being, doing, having:

• Excellence. My hospitality experience has graced me an invaluable toolkit of skills, talents and foci. Chief among those is a commitment to service excellence. Fixated on quality from the broader picture right down to the finer points, I remain unwaveringly allegiant to delivering a ten-ured experience, which loosely translated, is about creating moments that will linger fondly in one’s memory 10+ years later.
• Creativity. Your ceremony promises to be as unique as you are. We’ll comb the artifacts of your thoughts, experiences, wishes and treasures, teasing out cardinal elements. Once we’ve sketched your ideal concept, I’ll propose a variety of unique rituals and use my seasoned pen to compose a lively and lyrical assemblage.
• Authenticity. Each of us is blessed with a unique set of experiences along our journeys, and I pay particular attention to those blessings as I seek to capture the wholehearted essence of your story and your moment. Know that I pledge equal authenticity in return. I stand for ceremony…not pretentiously upon it.
• Resourcefulness. I am a shameless resource savant and pride myself on this character quirk, as it has enabled me to craft amazing ceremonies and milestone events. Trust me to bring a plethora of unique ideas to the table and leave no stone unturned in my pledge to craft a unique and seamless ceremony from concept to completion.
• Gratitude. I’m honored and humbled to be a part of co-crafting ceremonious moments for my clients. I value each relationship as decidedly more than just ‘business’ and view our time together as co-creative and enriching. This is the bounty that this work offers, of which the only appropriate response, as the preeminent Gratitude Guru David Steindl-Rast would insist, is gratefulness.

My Process.

Begin. We begin with a conversation. Once we’ve decided we might be a good fit for one another, we’ll check to ensure the date of your intended ceremony is available.

Meet. We’ll arrange a mutually convenient, no-obligation meeting – be that online, at a coffee house, or in the privacy of your home or office. This complimentary consultation gives you the opportunity to get to know me, ask all your burning questions and get a feel for my approach. It also gives me the chance to understand more of what you’re looking for.

We Say YES. Once you’ve determined that you would like to commission my services, and a fee has been agreed upon, we’ll begin discussing and brainstorming your ceremony options in detail. I’ll officially save the date and begin work upon receipt of the signed contract agreement and retainer fee. My agreement will spell out a few salient promises relative to honoring timeline commitments, maintaining confidentiality, ensuring no-surprises, and delivering a close and transparent consultation every step of the way.

Q&A. The next phase is often the most fun, and the most enlightening – for both of us! It entails me creating a custom questionnaire for you to fill out via email, telephone or a Zoom meeting, and then you doing the necessary work of answering each of them. Your answers to these questions will help me to determine the tone, give voice to your story, and nuance the rituals, symbols, music and other ceremonial elements. If necessary or relevant to your ceremony and with your prior consent, I might also interview select family and/or friends in order to add their anecdotal words of testimony, admiration and witness to your story.

Craft & Draft. Once I have most all the pertinent content back from you and we have consulted on the important stuff (in which you declare your thou shalts, must-haves and why nots), the true wishcrafting begins. I will first outline then storyboard your event, weaving all your desired words, actions and visual aspects into a first draft format. You will then edit to your heart and soul’s content and together, we will fine-tune until every word, punctuation mark and movement is exactly as or beyond what you hoped for.

Final Prep & Day Of. Once I have the green light from you, I will prepare the final draft of the ceremony. Along the way, we’ll be in close contact regarding the master checklist of things to do, buy, bring, and prepare for in the weeks leading up to the big day, so that each preparatory detail is covered and every scenario anticipated.

We’ll have determined if a rehearsal is required for your ceremony, and I will make myself available to help navigate us right up to the appointed hour, which includes arriving at least an hour early and staying to ensure relevant photos and post-ceremony details are well in hand. I will file (weddings) or assist you in filing any paperwork (home funerals).

Keepsake Copy. Upon completion, I will deliver a final keepsake copy of your ceremony (with staging notations and times redacted), along with a note of gratitude and a Waypoint feather for fate’s hand in pointing you my way.

Show & Tell. Unique ceremonies and life moments want to linger longer through story and pictures. With your permission, I will share memorable aspects of your day on my blog, via social media, and/or in my Storybook Ceremonies lookbook.

Keep in Touch. I will bring you into my ceremonial fold, continue to offer celebratory ideas and any planned community rituals and ceremonial events, and stay in contact, however often or as little as you might desire. I welcome the opportunity to design future ceremonies for you and your network of friends and family, and to be your Celebrant and ceremonialist of choice. I’m always just a phone call, text or email away, for any special occasion or ritual questions you may have.

 

Here are the values that I stand for: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need.”
Ellen DeGeneres