All want their wedding to be personal and welcoming, dignified and humorous, profound and celebratory. Such hopes align perfectly with those of Alan Neale who after hundreds of weddings has constantly been praised and thanked for wedding services as never experienced before. Alan believes that the your wedding should express your hopes and expectations for marriage
What an incredibly beautiful privilege to marry Amanda and John; two very fine young people with one very fine life together ahead of them. Celebrant: Alan Neale Photographer: Joseph Lauvin, Photography Venue: Atlantic Beach Club (sadly no more)
Maybe “composing” a wedding order sounds a little too formal and artificial but your wedding order should be one composed by personal reference, officiant’s experience and the expectations you both have for this incredibly important event. The “wedding order” (please overlook this formal phrase) is a statement that the couple makes not only about their… Continue reading
Given my British background we may well agree to disagree on the pronunciation of “process” – is it “proh… (long ‘o’)” or “pror… (short ‘o’)? However it is pronounced, we won’t argue will we? “Let’s call the calling off.. off”. Well that was complicated but it is just the beginning of considering the importance of… Continue reading
It seems as old as time that moments of great celebration and significance are accompanied by the imbibing of alcohol. In Hebrew Scripture, Psalm 104:15 reads, “The Lord has given wine to make glad the heart of man”. At times the “gladness” is the bubbling over of joy at great events such as weddings; at… Continue reading
The story is told that when John Wesley (then a member of the Church of England) approached Bishop Butler of Bristol to recount Wesley’s conversion, the Bishop responded, “Enthusiasm, sir, is a horrid thing; a very horrid thing indeed”. Now remember that the Bishop was an Anglican and that Episcopalians (the American expression of Anglicanism)… Continue reading
Accessibility When questions and uncertainties are pummeling you about rehearsal and wedding, order of service and readings, you need to feel the officiant is accessible. Accessible by email, text, mobile… just somehow accessible. Accessibility also means a personal connection; the conversation is best two-way so that the engaged couple feel some knowledge of the person… Continue reading
The link below is a conversation with The Rev. Dr. William “Bill” Kondrath, author of Facing Feelings in Faith Communities (Alban, 2013), co-editor of the Journal of Religious Leadership, and consultant and trainer with VISIONS, Inc. The special focus of Dr. Kondrath is on the importance of accessing, articulating and accepting (my alliteration, good eh?)… Continue reading
My joyful commitment to officiate at weddings/unions is as strong as ever and always is with a sense of privilege. I know, from personal reflection and the comments of others, that I am particularly gifted in pre-marital conversations. There is not only the task of preparing people for their wedding but also, when you think… Continue reading
In over thirty five years of pastoral, pre-marital counseling I have often been asked the question, “Well, what do you think, should we marry?” I understand the energy for the question; at such a decisive moment, full of implications for the future, we want to “get it right”. But, like most profound moments in our… Continue reading
Right in the middle, the center of most Bibles are the ‘Psalms of David’; I remember Dr. Billy Graham telling me, along with some 5,000 other people, that just place your finger in the middle of any Bible and… there you will find the Psalms. Interesting that at the core of the history of God… Continue reading