I always counsel my writing students to never start a blog post with, "I know it's been forever since I posted something here..." And yet, I have to say it. I know it's been awhile since I posted something here. Not for lack of interest or energy. It's just that, in the World of Weddings, December is typically a very quiet month. 2011 was no different-- I had a handful of weddings, most of them ranging from small (30 guests or fewer) to totally tiny (the couple and a few family members).
I love all sorts of weddings. I love huge, fancy weddings in big beautiful chapels. I love homestyle backyard weddings where all the guests bring a covered dish. I love the smallest wedding I ever did-- I met up with a couple at Bouldin Creek Cafe, sat at the table with them, asked each if they took the other as spouse (the only legal requirement for a wedding), and then signed off on the license when they said they did.
It's the fluctuation amidst the steady details that keep my job interesting. And it's the steadiness among the fluctuation that keeps my job joyful in a very calming way. Like I always tell prospective clients-- I love the absolute familiarity of knowing that with each ceremony there will be a beginning, middle and kiss and that the couple will be wed on that note. But I also love the unexpected nature of meeting new people every single time. It's like I get to be part of people's families, if only fleetingly, and get a closeup look at what each family is like.
In those senses, the tiny December weddings I did were no different than the really big ones that I performed earlier in the year. Always there's joy and love. Always I have fun. Always I head out to a job in a great mood, and I leave in an even better mood-- no, no, not because I'm "done for the day." But because I get a great energy buzz from what I do for a living.
After my last wedding of the year, things got very quiet for about a week while most of the world indulged in the big end-of-year holidays and I just hung out, laid low, and waited for that hubbub to pass. Then, like clockwork, on January 2nd the requests started coming in. It's true-- at least based on what my business tells me-- that lots of folks get engaged at Christmas and on New Year's Eve. Suddenly, my empty emailbox fills up with requests-- I must've had at least a couple of dozen by now.
Most of those are for weddings later in the year. As for January weddings, well I started 2012 off right with a lovely ceremony at Chapel Dulcinea. The ecstatic bride and equally ecstatic groom had been friends in junior high, parted ways, lived their lives, and then reunited a year ago. It was just a terrific ceremony if I do say so myself. I had an elopement last weekend-- a commitment ceremony for a couple of lovely ladies from Dallas. And I've got another pair of elopements this weekend plus a ceremony at Chapel Dulcinea.
After that the calendar is starting to look more on the full side than the empty side. That's great. I love the lulls and use them to take long walks, extra yoga classes, and stay in bed late most mornings. But now I've had enough of the downtime. I'm ready to get cracking. Big weddings. Small weddings. Teeny-tiny weddings. Religious. Spiritual. Secular. Bring me your brides and grooms, your best men and maids of honor. I'm ready!
For more information about my wedding officiant services in Austin and the Hill Country, please visit Custom Hitches Weddings. Thanks!
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