Handfastings & Weddings

* Wedding Officiant *
in
* Southern California *

The pledge painting by Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema 1904
The pledge painting by Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema 1904
But he was not always alone,
because years afterward
he became a man and married.
But that is a story for grown-ups.

- Rudyard Kipling

Marriage Information for Unincorporated San Bernardino County, California (USA)


Official information about how to get a new marriage license may be found at the County Clerk's Office.

On Your Wedding Day


The couple shall be at least 18 years of age, and present a signed marriage license and photo identifications to the Wedding Officiant. Vows shall be exchanged before one or two witnesses, who shall present photo identifications and sign the license. Afterwards, the Wedding Officiant shall sign and mail in the license.

Experience with Weddings


Featured in Handfastings.org, mywedding.com, Wedding.com, the knot.

Any style of wedding for any denomination may be happily discussed :) Your Wedding Officiant's experience includes signing and submitting the marriage license to the recognizing governing authority, and performing as a legal officiant for the couple on wedding day.


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La cathédrale engloutie (The Engulfed Cathedral):
Profondément calme (The Sunken Cathedral)
inspired by the mythical, subaquatic city of Ys,
whose church bells ring from under the sea
written by Claude Debussy, performed by Jeremiah Jones.


Legally ordained for personal reasons in 2003, she became a priestess of the Goddess spirituality several years later and was eventually ritually initiated through Magicka School as a High Priestess of Wicca. She has been performing traditional Hand-fasting style marriage rituals since 2011.

Her ministerial clergy affiliations include the Church of Spiritual Humanism in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania and Universal Life Church in Modesto, California where she is certificated as a Wedding Officant.

Her related, non-clergy affiliations include life memberships with Magicka School in Tuscany, Italy, the Fellowship of (the ancient Egyptian Goddess) I s i s at Clonegal Castle, Ireland, the online school for Correllian Educational Ministries in Danville, Illinois and Order of the Bards, Ovates and Druids in Sussex, England. Read on ...

She is the founder of Temple of Fortuna dot com, is educated in Spiritual Humanism, Advanced Wicca, the Correllian Nativist Tradition and Bardic Druidism, has received training in the Goddess spirituality and was awarded a non-accredited, honorary Metaphysics degree. Read on...

Ask Me No More, painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1906
Ask Me No More painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1906

Reservations


Please provide day and evening phone numbers, date, time and location and any other details regarding your event in your email.

Event Information

If you plan to work with a wedding coordinator, please forward contact information for the wedding coordinator to the wedding officiant as soon as practical, in advance of the event. Creative weddings may require a larger staging area than expected, to allow space for altars, participants, etc.

If you want your wedding officiant to speak specific words in your ritual, please provide a written document that she may read from during the event, in advance of the event.

Once begun, a simple ritual may take as little as 15 minutes to accomplish if you prefer efficiency, or it may continue for up an hour if you desire a more elaborate ritual.

Pricing Estimate

(actual pricing may vary)

$500.00 to officiate marriage vows.

Up to 60 miles round-trip driving may be included (30 miles each way).

Payment in full of negotiated invoice is expected in advance of the event.

Additional travel may negotiable for an additional fee (estimated at the current standard IRS mileage rate per mile of travel in each direction). Additional fees per hour of extra driving, per day of lodging and/or per meal may also be included. Rituals lasting more than one hour may be negotiated at an additional fee per hour overtime.

Events scheduled in nature parks, remote or secluded areas, may be beautiful, scenic and affordable. However, these venues may also be subject to additional fees for security reasons. Costs for security, when deemed necessary by the officiant and/or the wedding party, will be payable in advance of the event.

Unanticipated delays on the day of the event may be invoiced by the officiant as extra expenses after the event at an agreed-upon, itemized and/or hourly rate. Extra expenses shall be be payable to the officiant upon receipt.

Pricing is shown for convenience only, is an estimate, and is subject to negotiation between the officiant and the parties for each separate event.


Many Life Transitions May Include Clergy


The four seasons painting by Hugh Ramsay, 1902
The four seasons painting by Hugh Ramsay, 1902
* Affirmation of Love


* Consultations


* Commitment


* Marriage


* Baby Naming


* Renewal of Vows


* Celebration of Life



Resources and Links



Hiring an Ordained Female Wedding Officiant


Here are a few suggestions for hiring a female clergy member for your event.

1. Your wedding officiant will be happy to work with you on the exciting day of the event. Be sure to give your wedding officiant a moment to ground and center as she arrives. Like you, she has been in traffic and needs a few minutes to adjust. The day of your event may be the clergy member’s first time at your wedding venue, and she will soon be meeting and greeting your friends and family.

Your wedding officiant has legal business to accomplish. She will also be coordinating with your ritual. Creative weddings, like handfastings with multiple elemental altars and/or scripted rituals, require an extra level of sensitivity for people in attendance who may be unfamiliar with your spirituality and stylistic ritual requests. This is often the situation when family members and casual friends are in attendance.

2. Your clergy person has specific legal duties on your wedding day. She will perform a ceremony before verified witnesses and, afterward, submit paperwork to governing authorities.

Your wedding officiant is neither a licensed cosmetologist nor a costumer, nor a caterer and she is not qualified to assist with grooming, wardrobe, or providing food. Décor, ambiance, musical entertainment, etc. for your event are generally not included as wedding officiant duties, unless written agreed upon and written into the contract in advance as part of the ritual.

3. Wedding accessories: Please discuss handfasting cords, altar cloths, elemental symbols, etc. with the wedding officiant prior to the event, if you request her blessings, assistance and/or a consultation. Athames, extra-large wands, swords, etc. may be very ornate, beautiful, and meaningful to you both on a personal level of ritual. However, these items may be interpreted as a ”weapons” in a public ceremony, regardless of spiritual intent.

4. Clergy attire usually consists of a long dress or suit. Any other item of clothing the clergy person owns, and is willing to wear for your ritual, is included for your event upon request.

The wedding officiant may wear a new outfit specifically purchased for the event (such as ”priestess garb” or a specific style or color) upon request. All costs for acquisition of a new outfit (purchase, professional cleaning, alterations, and/or shipping) shall be invoiced by the officiant in advance, and received by the officiant prior to making the purchase.

All items of clothing worn by the wedding officiant during ritual, whether new or previously owned, shall be deemed property of the officiant, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

5.  Although your clergy member graciously appreciates being invited to your reception, this courtesy is really not required. Because her obligations do not end with the ritual, your officiant continues her duties after the wedding. She may check paperwork, get signatures and verify identification from witnesses, for example. After verifying everything is in order, it's likely that she may choose to depart before your joyful, post-wedding celebrations begin.

6. Have fun! This is a day of affirming and celebrating vows, for being with people who care about you, your separate pasts, and joining you in your future together. Things may not go exactly as planned, and the most perfect moments may come from the unexpected. Know that however the day turns out, that was the exact way it was truly meant to be.
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