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Meet Sarah and John.

Photos by Cindy Patrick

They're getting married at the Chesterwood Estate & Museum in Stockbridge, MA, in July (take a moment to check out their venue - isn't it cool?).

I always say that the coolest people find me and ask me to lead their wedding ceremonies - and Sarah and John are no exception. In fact, I found Sarah - she's a pretty awesome photographer, and I contacted her about photographing my wedding in October of 2010.

We met in January, and discussed weddings - both of ours (that's the celebrant in me, I guess, even when I'm supposed to be talking about my own wedding, I need to know about other bride's ceremonies!). She and her fiance had a lot of really cool ideas of different rituals, ceremonies, and traditions to incorporate into their wedding, and it sounded like their wedding was going to be a blast!

So, a few months later, my fiance and I had decided that Sarah is the one to photograph our wedding. And then I get an email from her, asking me to officiate her wedding! I didn't have to hesitate before absolutely saying yes!

Sarah and John came into the whole process with some great ideas about what they wanted to include in their wedding ceremony. Some of the rituals and traditions I was familiar with and love (handfasting, readings), some I had heard of and am totally excited to do for the first time (seedling planting ceremony), and some that I had never even heard of before (Circle of Love with flowers, presentation of the ring by the moms, with a “blessing” by the parents).

They chose not to have a traditional wedding party, but are having their siblings and their significant others take part in the processional, and are each being walked down the aisle by their parents (in the vein of the Jewish tradition). There are even some surprises in store - they're having three readers and letting them each choose the readings they'd like to use… but we're going to keep them a secret from the bride and groom until the wedding ceremony!

I'm so excited to begin putting their wedding ceremony together - I think it's going to be something really amazing when it all comes together, something that really reflects Sarah and John's commitment to each other, to their families, and to love. 'Cause when it comes down to it…isn't it all about the love?

I'm going to be blogging my process on Sarah and John's wedding, so you lovely readers, can follow along at home and see all of the fun research, prep, emails and planning that goes into creating and writing a wedding ceremony, and hopefully get some great ideas for your own ceremonies along the way. So, we'll start from the beginning - with their outline and our first meeting and end in Western Massachusetts in mid-July. I can't wait!

PS: Sarah recently did a wedding update on her blog, if you want to hear more about her current wedding plans! Loving the orange!