| New England's Most
Popular Justice of the Peace/Clergy |
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INTERFAITH CEREMONIES
By Honorable Reverend Dennis James Robinson |
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Traditionally, many marriages take place in a house of worship
such as a synagogue, church, mosque, temple, parish or chapel.
Today's brides and grooms are much more cosmopolitan and the
general trend to have a marriage solemnized in a place of your
choosing is becoming more of the norm than the traditional walk
down the aisle as seen in movies or TV. |
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Many
modern brides would like to transcend the traditional ceremony
dictated to them by rigid clergy or outdated officiants by having
a simple but elegant ceremony in a place that is different from the
average church or synagogue ceremony. Most couples who are
searching for alternatives are usually the ones who have been
forced to seek these alternatives or interfaith ceremonies because
of religious differences or if one party has been divorced, has
children by a previous relationship or are unattached to a
particular religion at the time of the marriage. |
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the interfaith marriage, the parties may be Protestant and
Catholic, Jewish and Church of England, Hindu and Buddhist or
Muslim and Bahai. The United States has become a
melting pot of religions as well as people and where there is
a diversity to choose from, person from various ethnic
backgrounds fall in love with a wonderful person with whom
they would like to spend the rest of their lives.
Questions of religion do not come into question until
wedding plans have begun and then this is where crisis
intervention takes over. Many of these problems are
easily overcome, but very often there is a tremendous
tension when families become involved or opinions arise
from every corner of the earth. |
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Certainly, some of these problems have become a real stumbling
block when the first bigoted opinions are unleashed from very
traditional minds. The persons with the most active opinions
in religion and politics are usually the uninvolved or the
uninformed. When a marriage is going to take place families
should give their blessings. |
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The interfaith ceremony can be one that a minister, priest,
rabbi, clergy or justice of the peace can perform under certain
conditions. These conditions are usually the "LOCATION". Location has everything to do with the ceremony; however, proper
planning should be an integral part of the process. Last
minute officiants usually do not take the time to plan and be
involved in the ceremony process and all facets of timing,
delivery, rehearsal, etc. |
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Many brides and grooms do not talk to a number of officiants to
find out what is included in their price, preparation, etc.
They think they just show up, marry them in four minutes and
leave. Just because a ceremony is one of an interfaith
nature, no matter who is performing it, it can still be first
class. Many civil ceremonies held in castles, chapels,
boats, etc., are so technically involved that a year's worth of
planning goes into the wedding day. Some interfaith weddings
have ten bridesmaids, ten ushers, two ring bearers, two flower
girls, chamber music, florists, limos and over four hundred
guests. |
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Most people have a stereotypical view of a civil or interfaith
ceremony as one lasting approximately three minutes, a boom box
and Uncle Bennie playing the accordion. Some of the most
elegant weddings I have performed were for wealthy people who just
happened not to be of the same religion. |
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WHERE DO YOU GO? |
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Probably the number one question asked is where to go for the
ceremony. I have performed ceremonies in hundreds of
locations that included chapels, castles, hotels, private and
public estates, large and small boats, yacht clubs, condominium
day rooms, backyards, country clubs, libraries, gazebos, prisons,
mountains, the seashore, beaches and the list goes on and on. |
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THE
ONE STOP WEDDING |
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The one stop wedding has many advantages because your wedding
guests will park their cars and they are done for the day.
If your wedding is in a hotel or Inn where accommodations can be
had - that's even better. When alcohol plays a big part of
some weddings, it is best to have your guests in a stationary
position where they are less apt to get involved in an accident or
be pulled over for driving under the influence. Many
function facilities arrange a separate room that can have all the
ambiance of a chapel style wedding with the aisle down the middle
and guests on either side. It is recommended that the
ceremony not be held with everyone at their tables. People
do not pay attention when they are at their tables smoking
cigarettes and drinking beer. At one ceremony I was stunned when
the waitress served the soup in the middle of the ceremony and
took orders for drinks as the couple was exchanging vows. |
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ELEGANCE IN THE BACKYARD |
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There is a tremendous trend towards having an elegant wedding on
someone's beautifully landscaped backyard. With a few rented
tents to account for the vicissitudes of the weather, a caterer to
help with the presentation, preparation and cleanup, one's back
yard can be turned into a dream location for a ceremony and
reception. People can bring food, liquor can be bought
rather inexpensively and the bride or groom always feel so
comfortable getting ready in their own bedroom. The only
drawback is that you must consider the crowd who will attend.
If the people are rowdy, you will have visions of all the over
indulged guests throwing grandmothers in the swimming pool -
chances are this will happen. If the crowd is fairly laid
back, then there should be very few problems. This is a very
popular style of wedding that seems to be increasing more and
more. |
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THINK
WEATHER |
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The weather has always played a factor in the planning stages of a
wedding. Couples dreamed of getting married on a beach and
on that day a sweeping hurricane blows everything for forty miles
away from where it used to be. You must have an alternative
plan and every one of your wedding professionals should know that
your decision will not be made ten minutes before the ceremony.
PLAN WELL!! Good weddings just do not happen - they have to
be planned well in advance with back up alternative plans.
This is the most important day of your life. Your memory
should be of a triumphant occasion - not a travesty. Fond
memories will last you a lifetime. |
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Selecting
a Wedding Officiant
Memorable
Weddings, Blunders, Bloopers & Mishaps
The
Family Medallion - Everybody Got Married |
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