I promise the Wedding Wednesday posts will get better and start to include craft projects here in the near future. For now they’re vastly about basic planning and ideas. But I wanted to give you a little update on what I’ve been working on lately and the progress made. So here’s a break down of my preliminary to-do list (we’re in the early stages of planning at about 10-11 months out):
Decide on a budget(Check…this was the first thing I did…essentially…we decided on CHEAP but fun)Select a wedding date(Check…August 11, 2012…that was easy too)Announce your engagement(Check…we just called our closest friends and family and also posted it on good ol’ Facebook…we’re not the send our engagement to the paper kind of couple…the important people know)- Develop a guest list (Totally my next project and it will be sure to include a fancy Excel spreadsheet…oh how I love Excel spreadsheet models…le sigh!)
Decide on a color scheme(Check…navy and yellow…this was also an easy decision as I found myself CONSTANTLY pinning navy/yellow wedding color combos on Pinterest)- Select members of your wedding party (Hmmmm…we should probably start deciding on this soon)
Decide on ceremony/reception site and book it(Check…at casa de Mom & Dad because it’s…wait for it…FREE)Select an officiant and lock-in the date(Check…this was also pretty easy and the topic of this weeks Wedding Wednesday blog post…I can’t spoil the details yet so scroll down for the big officiant reveal)- Book a photographer (In the works…we’ll get back to you on that one)
Decide on DJ/Band and book them(Check…once again easy since our friends are part of a little band called Rooney & The Revolvers…oh…and they ROCK)- Begin researching wedding dresses for ideas (Confession…I have no clue what I want for a wedding dress…I’m sure it will just click at some point and come to me…but I did try on a few second hand dresses at a thrift store and it was BAD…I’m gonna need a little time for psychological recovery before I got out and try on a few more…next time in a boutique)
- Plan out save the dates & craft them (My next major project because I am SOOOOO ready to start making things for the wedding)
So that’s the little wedding planning breakdown and checklist because you know how much I love a list! I got the basic planning specifics from a combo of mywedding.com and my wedding planner (from this post). I morphed the two and picked the items that were appropriate for us since we’re not big, fancy wedding people and just want a simple wedding.
Without further ado, meet our officiant, John:
No, John is not a minister or a justice of the peace or a notary. He’s one of Colby’s best friends. When Colby and I first got engaged and we started thinking about possible officiants, we both thought a friend would be a great choice. After taking stock of our best friends, we both immediately thought, “John”. It was one of those moments you see on TV when the couple looks at each other at the same moment, thinks the same thing, and says the same thing simultaneously. John is great. He’s friendly, personable and man can he tell a good story! Basically…John is awesome and a great friend so we can’t imagine anybody else marrying us.
When it comes to who can perform marriages in Maine, here are the possible players:
- Ordained ministers
- Licensed preachers
- Judges or justices
- Lawyers admitted to the Maine Bar
- Maine notaries
Since John is a Florida resident these days, he can’t become a Maine notary. He’s not a licensed preacher, a judge, or a lawyer. That leaves an ordained minister. Thankfully, we live in the 21st century where anybody can become ordained online and can perform wedding ceremonies. After doing a little research, it looks like the most popular instant-minister organization is the Universal Life Church (ULC). To become ordained all John needs to do is go to ULC.net and look for the “Ordination” line. John then needs to supply some contact info and “presto” instantly ordained.
I cannot speak from experience with this info since I have only been doing a little online reading about how to become ordained. Most of the forums, Q&A pages, wikis and other sites all agree to check with your local government to make sure a ULC ordination is legit. For example, some states require the ordained individual to register with the state. As John goes through the ordination process and we learn more, we’ll be sure to update you all.
Pssst…I’m pretty sure this blog post earns the award for least photos ever. I almost feel the obsessive need to add a few more pictures just because. But I’m not gonna do it. Uh-uh. I’ll make up for it tomorrow.
also super excited for crafts!! 🙂 andddd I have a photographer suggestion to throw in the mix!
I know, right! Craft time = awesome time! I’ve got some project ideas lined up…we’re gonna need twine and LOTS of glue!
Hah! Can’t wait to hear how Johnny does for you! And if you’re looking for a photographer that’s profession but budget at the same time, I used Tony Ortega. He’s on the coast somewhere, and when we got married 6 years ago it was 1100 for the 4 hours or so but he gave us the rights to all the photos to print ourselves and CDs with the images saved. I’ve got a wedding album on FB if you want to check it out. The rights to photos saved us a TON of money.
I think he will do awesome! Oh…and thanks so much for the photographer tip! I’ll have to look into Tony. And I was cruising your FB wedding pics…so sweet!!! You were beautiful!
Hi Angie, I’m ordained by ULC, it’s so easy, in CT I have to go to town hall with a copy the paperwork (this is where they get their $$$,about $30.00) they send you and register as a minister. If I ever get around to that part of the process I will be able to perform marriages in CT. only.
Thanks for the info! I’ll be sure to pass it along to John!