Spike Unplugged!

Big shout out to my pal, Garreth, who made the following video of me. Yes, in under two minutes I describe what I do. Given my animated nature it's a bit of a surprise I managed to stay in the chair. I give all credit to G's directorial skills. Thanks, Garreth!

Meet My Co-Officiant: Steven Ross!

I had no idea, when I performed my first few weddings in 2006, just where this officiating path would lead me. Back then, I took wedding requests as they came, didn't advertise much, and really just performed ceremonies as a small side business. Then in 2010, a very fun writing job I had went away. I realized then that I could try to chase down more work writing for others, or I could expand my officiating work and make it my main focus.

The decision didn't take long. At that point, I was already getting far more requests than I had in 2006. Performing weddings makes me so happy in a way that cranking out advertising copy for marketing firms never did. So I started advertising more, and by then I was getting lots of word-of-mouth references, and before you know it, officiating became my full time work.

I LOVE IT!

I mean, I really, really love it. I have so much fun, I get a great energy buzz from all the happiness, and it's so nice to show up for work knowing that everyone is going to be happy to see me. Plus it's an honor to say the magic words that mark such a wonderful milestone.

Well somewhere along the way, I started to get so many requests, I just could not keep up. I passed along leads to some great officiants I know. And then one day, I was at a yoga class at Eastside Yoga, when Steven Ross, co-owner and teacher at the studio, mentioned he had been asked to perform a wedding. I told him I'd be glad to help him in any way I could. This, in turn, led to a wonderful friendship and-- no surprise-- also led to Steven realizing that, like me, he just LOVES performing weddings.

What can I tell you about Steven? He is a gentle soul with a dry wit and, bonus points, he comes fully equipped with a lovely Scottish accent. He and his wonderful wife Elsa (also a co-owner of Eastside Yoga) had a wonderful wedding ceremony that incorporated mixed traditions, so he knows firsthand about customizing weddings.

Steven's got his own wedding web page describing his services, and you can see other pictures there and read testimonials, too. I am so delighted to be working with him, and to be able to recommend him. How fortunate I am to have been able to grow my business so abundantly over the years. And how fortunate, too, that Steven is on board to help with all the requests.

In Sickness and In Health

Gorgeous custom made rings feature the bride and groom's fingerprints.

So a couple of weeks ago, I was all set with a clever (I thought) post title: Five Golden Rings! You know,as in a partridge in a pear tree and all that. The idea was going to be that I had just finished five weddings in two days, launching the busiest time of the year. Now, technically, it would've been ten golden rings, and actually not all of them were gold. But the idea still felt good to me.

And then... And then, as Wedding #5 wrapped on April Fools Day, I fell ill. Very ill. You might think it's not a good idea for me to discuss such things here, that it might make you worry. Actually, one of the best questions couples ask me when interviewing me (and not enough couples ask this) is: What happens if you get sick the day of our wedding?


I have two answers to that-- the first is that I have one of those bodies that is healthy as a horse most of the time, but seems to just know when it's "okay" to get sick. In other words, the rare times I am under the weather, it's always in between weddings. I've done around 250 ceremonies now, and I haven't missed one. And I have no plans in the future to miss any. I just show up. It's what I do.

Okay, then, you might ask-- what if I break my leg? Well here's the second answer: in the past, I've always had two or three other officiants I knew I could count on to cover for me. And once, I covered for another officiant. These days, I have at least five backups, three of whom I trained myself, so I know that I have a plan B that includes someone with my sensibilities.

Remember that, next time you're interviewing vendors-- ask if they've ever had an emergency and how they handled it. It's a fair question.

Meanwhile, I recovered from my tonsillitis just in time to do another five weddings over the course of a single weekend. I'm telling you, it is busy busy busy over here. And so, herewith, pictures from ten weddings I performed over the course of eight days at all sorts of places including Chapel Dulcinea, Dunvegan Keep, Alamo Drafthouse, Barton Creek Country Club, Duchman Family Winery, and several backyards. I hope you'll consider hiring me to perform yours. More info at my wedding website: www.CustomHitchesWeddings.com