"One day your world will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching”
Oscar Wilde
MARK THIS DAY WITH LOVE
ANITA PETERS - HUMANIST CELEBRANT
Your wedding ceremony is when you pledge to each other your commitment and love for one another. This is your day to celebrate and the ceremony can be as simple or as elaborate as you would like depending upon the event you have planned. This is your day.
My Role as your Wedding Officiant, will be to guide you through the planning of your wedding ceremony to ensure it meets your expectations and is one of the high points of this day.
We will be producing this program together. There will be steps you will have to take on your own – such as applying for a marriage license in the town or city where you will be wed – steps we will take together – sharing ideas, readings, your story – and steps I will be responsible for – writing and performing the ceremony. I will be the Director ensuring that your vision is intact and that it is a memorable moment during a day filled with special moments.
The wedding ceremony will include a welcome address and remarks by your officiant followed by readings, the expression of intent to wed, vows, exchange of rings (or other symbols of your commitment), pronouncement and kiss.
This is your day and your ceremony. Is there a unique story you wish me to share with your guests about the two of you? The choice of remarks, readings, vows, and traditional and non-traditional expressions of your commitment will be unique because they are yours. When two very different families are joined together, the ceremony can be an opportunity to bring them together by including them in the ceremony.
My promise to you: You will remember that your Officiant was an excellent guide/planner, provided reassurance, confidence, and calm before and during the day’s events, and directed a ceremony that resonated with you and all those in attendance.
“If I get married, I want to be very married.”
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Audrey Hepburn
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Renewal of Vows
Your love has endured. Together you have shared so many experiences – highs and lows. A renewal of vows is a wonderful occasion to demonstrate to each other how much you appreciate and mean to each other. Couples are drawn to this ceremony for many different reasons:
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Reaching a significant anniversary
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Surviving a crisis together and re-discovering the strength of their love
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Embarking upon a new stage of life
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Rejoicing with family and friends
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Reconnecting
As your Officiant, I will be your guide and leader on this special occasion reaffirming your love.
Simple Private/Small Party
Congratulations! You are looking for a simple private wedding ceremony and you want it to be a little more personal than a civil ceremony conducted by a Justice of the Peace. Perhaps you are thinking of getting married in a public park (like I did when I remarried), at the beach, in a museum (permission allowing), where you met or just some picturesque location suggested by me, your Officiant. You can even get married in your car if time is of the essence. We will need witnesses though!
There are many beautiful locations in Connecticut and the tri-state area.
The Wedding Event
A Wedding Event is a public pronouncement of your love and commitment. The ceremony is both personal and public. Together we will plan a ceremony which will be a highlight of the event for you and for all of those present. A ceremony which is representative of your values, meaningful and inclusive.
We will meet in person and/or SKYPE at minimum three times before the day, and rehearse the ceremony once beforehand with all the participants. Once we have decided on the ceremony, I will collaborate with your wedding planner, photographer and venue to ensure your vision is realized and all the audio-visual equipment is in place. Most importantly, this is a happy day and our planning will be reflective of this joyous occasion.
Traditions & New Traditions
This is Your Day… so really anything goes. There are many beautiful cultural rituals which have been used by Officiants and couples to symbolize their unity and love. You may wish to incorporate one of them into your ceremony. Certain rituals can add drama like the Jewish tradition of breaking a glass at the conclusion of the ceremony while others may resonate symbolically of your union, such as the pouring of sand into a vessel.
There is the conventional and the unconventional and sometimes the blending of the two. A canopy held up by members from both families. I will share with you my knowledge of different traditions, listen to your thoughts and together we will create a ceremony which will reflect your values, traditions, and be respectful of your worldviews.
Humanist Celebrant, a secular humanist officiant, the secular ministry endorsed in all 50 states by The Humanist Society, an educational arm of The American Humanist Association
InSight certified Life Tribute Professional
ABOUT ANITA PETERS
My personal journey, has taken me around the world (worked over two years in the Far East) and across the United States (New Orleans, Los Angles, New York City, Westport). My professional background is in international development, community building and education. I have twenty plus years of experiences event planning here and abroad, organizing conferences, providing intercultural counseling and consulting, creating communications, teaching.