Next to the ceremony itself, the wedding officiant can be the most influential factor in the success of your wedding day! As an ordained, non-denominational pastor, I have spent years studying and writing spiritual ceremonies and rituals in order to create an amazing ceremony for your special day.

Things that we will discuss include your relationship with your fiancé (or fiancée) and the elements that matter most to you. Together, we will look for ways to integrate rituals and ceremonial vignettes into the program, find resources for music, poetry and readings, and even develop a "theme" or the focus of the ceremony itself which will help express your uniqueness. In addition to all the work I do on the ceremony itself, I also act as an advisor in matters of interfaith marriages, blending families, second weddings or renewal of vows.

As we work together, some of the things to consider will be:

What is the impression that we want to create — are we going to have a traditional ceremony or do we want to have something different?

What are the elements that reflect the character and personality of the couple and how can that play into the ceremony design? How did you meet, what do you enjoy doing, what inspires you about each other — all these factor into the ceremony design.

How do we want our guests to feel as they participate and share this event with us? Should our ceremony be lighthearted and somewhat fun-loving or solemn and serious, or perhaps your style is more romantic and serene. Deciding the mood or the tempo of the ceremony ahead of time will effect the readings, music or poetry we might use in the ceremony design.

What music will we use? Music is a powerful, emotional tool that can get and keep your guests and the wedding party "in the moment," so to speak.

How will we tell our story? Should we take some time out to personalize our ceremony with the story of how we met, or how we got engaged? Or, should we weave the story of our courtship throughout the ceremony?

How do we want to communicate with each other during the ceremony? Do we want a time for reflection? Do we want to say something to one another before we say our vows or do we want to write our own vows altogether?

How do we want the ceremony to end? Do we want a prayer, a blessing, or a benediction of some sort? Do we want a ceremonial vignette to reveal our union as one — such as a unity candle or a wine ceremony? How shall we be introduced?

Once we go through this process, we will begin to assemble your ceremony — there are many options to choose from, some of which are listed below:

• Writing Your Own Vows
• Meaning Of the Rings
• Affirmations
  
• Admonitions
• Romantic Readings
  
• Scripture Readings
  
• Spiritual Readings
• The Unity Candle
• The Memorial Candle
• The Sand Ceremony
• The Rose Ceremony
• The Wine Ceremony
• The Hand Ceremony
  
• Blended Family Vows
• Vows For Remarriage
• Renewal of Wedding Vows
• Benedictions
  
• Blessings
• Baby Blessing
• New Home Blessing
• Prayers
  

Contact Blessings Ink to discuss your special ceremony.

Virginia Gunther

Pastor
Indiana Wedding Officiant

Welcome to Blessings Ink — the wedding ministry that focuses on you!