Ceremonies by Rev Tim Herring

[tinkerbell 766]

I have Rev Tim booked for my VR in May and I know he has mixed reviews on the boards. He has been lovely to me and answers e-mails very efficiently, so I am comfortable with my decision so far.
I e-mailed him today asking for sample ceremonies, and he replied that he does not have samples as he tailors each ceremony to the couple. He destroys the ceremony afterwards so that the ceremony is unique to the couple. He said that if there was anything at all I wanted included, he was more than happy to include it, but he would not be drafting our actual ceremony until about a month before our VR.
So, I would like to ask the brides who have used Rev Tim, how your ceremony worked out and did you leave it all to the Rev or did you add in your own ideas.
Thanks so much

 

[april2011bride]

AHHHHHHH We have him booked for our wedding in April and you just made me very nervous! How can he draft it personaly when he doesnt know us very well!

 

[julierocks]

We have Rev Herring booked for our wedding and met with him in person in May. He was extremely personal and we loved speaking with him. He was also the one who was televised during a Wishes wedding for "Disney's Dream Weddings" that aires on WE every now and then. I've seen it on WE two or three times. He was very personal with the bride and groom, so I believe it when he says he makes each ceremony very personal. I think everyone should do what they're comfortable with, but I hope this makes you feel a little better.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

AHHHHHHH We have him booked for our wedding in April and you just made me very nervous! How can he draft it personaly when he doesnt know us very well!

Oh I did not mean to frighten you!!!
Here is what the e-mail says

'I do not have sample services. I write each service for each couple as all couples are different and I do not begin doing that until about two weeks to a month prior to the service. Then I discard the service.

If you have something you find you want included please send it to me and it will be in your service.'

 

[CaptainObvious]

LOL

he's full of it. we had him for our wedding and he was fine. but he does not do a custom ceremony for each couple...unless that's something new. in fact, every wedding i've ever seen him do, he has used the same vows...even for my wedding where i specifically requested the traditional Catholic vows

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Perhaps he means just for VR when the actual wedding vows are not actually a requirement. I would kind of like to re-new our original vows though - we'll have to see!!

 

[CaptainObvious]

Perhaps he means just for VR when the actual wedding vows are not actually a requirement. I would kind of like to re-new our original vows though - we'll have to see!!

Tell him that 876 times for real. Email it to him & say it on the phone!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Oh help - are you saying that you don't get what you want from him!!! Now I am a little nervous

 

[CaptainObvious]

Oh help - are you saying that you don't get what you want from him!!! Now I am a little nervous

I'm sorry, I don't want to make you nervous before your vow renewal. It's just he's old and kinda forgetful and used to doing things a certain way, so if it's something that's super important, I'd be sure to repeat it a few times!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Got the message - thank you. Can I ask, did he e-mail you a copy of the service beforehand so you could look it over before the day?

 

[CaptainObvious]

We wanted a traditional [pseudo] Catholic ceremony so he sent us a book and we picked out the readings we wanted and we put together the ceremony and sent it back to him. On the day of, the vows were not the ones we had picked and he added some things in that I did not include (like an Apache blessing ). All in all though, our ceremony was beautiful and was well over 30 minutes long and it ended up accomplishing what it was intended to- we were married!

 

[Dreams595]

We had Rev Tim last month and loved him. That being said, I think it was because we had no special requests at all. We never even met with him before the rehearsal the day before the wedding. All we cared about was saying I do so whatever he said was fine with us. Luckily we really liked the things he said and a lot of or guests commented that he was great. Also, my dad was (unfortunately) admitted to the hospital 2 days prior and was unable to make the wedding. Rev Tim offered to call him on his personal cell phone and hold it so my dad could hear the entire ceremony. That meant a lot to me so I have no complaints at all with him. But if you're looking for very specific things to be included he might not be right for you.

 

[kmaclou]

We had Rev. Tim and he was great. My (at the time) fiance and I met with him in January before our May wedding and he asked us a lot of questions getting to know us. If you want something unique he will do it. He'll tell you he's even worn Hawaiian shirts and monk's robes to go with the theming of the wedding.

If there's something special you want, tell him. He and I determined the flow of the ceremony, where I wanted prayers, readings, etc. And then I let him do the rest. He picked out the scripture and the readings and the homily and did a beautiful job. I didn't ask to see them, I didn't request to review the service ahead of time or anything like that. He's done it a million times, and I had other things to worry about. And I was right not to micro-manage him, our ceremony was perfect.

You'll be fine.

 

[Boston Disney Bride]

My experiences with Rev Tim are quite negative. When DH and I emailed him telling him we wanted to personalize our ceremony, he told me that MOST couples allow him to take the reigns and write the ceremony. But DH and I knew we wanted to personalize our vows. He wrote this exact response and I quote:
"Most couples let me write their service so that it is warm, loving and special. You can go to the web site or the Disney dish boards to see what brides have said about their service. In over 10,000 weddings I have only had on bride who did not like her service and she was Looney."

I should have seen the red flag then! Fastforward to our wedding day, and we were so disappointed his service. He stumbled over our ceremony like it was the first time reading it. I just wish he had looked over our ceremony before performing it. This is just my experience I have read plenty of positive feedback...that was just not our experience.

 

[CaptainObvious]

I can't believe he stumbled over it when he says the same thing every time

Sorry, I don't mean to laugh at your situation, sucks that you were not happy with your ceremony.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Thank you all so much with your help and advice!!
I think I will let him know about the reading we want and leave it at that. I trust his judgement. When you are planning a VR in Florida from the UK (ie I cannot meet up with him), you have to take some things on trust I guess!! I am sorry that some have had negative experiences and I just have to hope I am one of the (seemingly) many who has a positive time with Rev Tim!!

 

[Bride-to-be]

We loved Rev Tim! We honestly could not have been any happier - he was great and I would highly recommend him. He asked us a lot of questions about what we wanted and wrote the perfect service.

We just got our video back and I feel like I need to write him another thank you note - we were/are just so happy.

My best suggestion to you if you are unsure is to watch other peoples videos with him.

Also the rehearsal was great. It was super organized and he had everyone laughing the entire time. My sister used a reverend at home who was not so good. The difference was night and day. I can't imagine not using Rev Tim.

 

[Kimmers127]

We loved Rev Tim! We honestly could not have been any happier - he was great and I would highly recommend him. He asked us a lot of questions about what we wanted and wrote the perfect service.

We just got our video back and I feel like I need to write him another thank you note - we were/are just so happy.

My best suggestion to you if you are unsure is to watch other peoples videos with him.

Also the rehearsal was great. It was super organized and he had everyone laughing the entire time. My sister used a reverend at home who was not so good. The difference was night and day. I can't imagine not using Rev Tim.

Cassie,
Would you be willing to let me watch your video? I wasn't aware of this quirk of Reverend Tim's, and I assumed that of course, I would be able to choose my ceremony. So now I'm feeling kind of anxious... but my planner told me that she thinks he is FANTASTIC, and I love her so I kind of want to trust her judgement... I feel like maybe if I could see him in action I'd feel better.
Thanks in advance if you don't mind, and no problem if you do!

 

[Bride-to-be]

I will send you a PM

 

[Princess85]

I just had my planning session last Friday and Diane could not stop raving about him!! I am really on the fence too as I want to write the ceremony, or at least have some imput in it and it makes my stomach kinda flip with the idea that I can't really have any imput. I think I might go with Rev. Day!