Wiccan ceremony

[Elsha]

I'm wondering if anyone has had or is planning to have a Wiccan/Pagan inspired ceremony?
Who did/are you using for your ceremony? Do you recommend them?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks ladies!

 

[Cleofish]

I am Wiccan and DF is non-religious, so rather than having the whole hog with jumping the broom and casting the circle etc, we have agreed to just have a handfasting as part of our ceremony, along with all the other bits and pieces (like the sand ceremony etc). This way our families won't be freaked out, as they're all uber christian.

As for officiants this is a tricky one. I know Kevin Knox does something similar to a handfasting, but it's not pagan, and when one bride enquired about a handfasting he politely refused. Rev Jack Day doesn't get involved at all either. We really like Randall Miller's style, and I'm going to contact him and ask him if he would be prepared to include this in our ceremony. Alternatively I've google for Wiccan officiants, are there are some in Southern Florida, but it's difficult to know who to go with without reccomendations. I think the key is finding someone open-minded who is prepared to embrace your religion without comprimising their own.

Also, on another note, we won't be having a pentacle on the altar or anything, but I'll be placing one in my bouquet somewhere, and most probably wearing the pentacle I wear everyday, so my beliefs will still be part of our special day.

Good luck with your hunt for an officiant - let us know if you find anyone good!! :

 

[honey2741]

I wanted to suggest possibly you could consider bringing your own officiant to perform the ceremony. This way you already know who they are and have a familiarity with them.

 

[rpmdfw]

Also, check out Elf Pessagno. She was on the list of officiants we got from Disney, and in her FAQ she specifically mentions handfasting, jumping the broom, and tasting honey.

http://www.weddingswithmagic.com/meet.htm

 

[Elsha]

I wanted to suggest possibly you could consider bringing your own officiant to perform the ceremony. This way you already know who they are and have a familiarity with them.

Problem is I don't know any. I'm a solitary witch, and haven't really gotten into the local community.

I browsed around some directories for southern Florida, but as Cleofish stated...it is hard to know for sure without some advice.

 

[honey2741]

Problem is I don't know any. I'm a solitary witch, and haven't really gotten into the local community.

I don't know much about your faith but I did a search and came across the following organization in Orlando which may be able to refer you to local officiants if you still are unable to find someone:

http://www.wrcf.org/

I hope this helps!

 

[Cleofish]

Problem is I don't know any. I'm a solitary witch, and haven't really gotten into the local community.

I browsed around some directories for southern Florida, but as Cleofish stated...it is hard to know for sure without some advice.

I think that's one of the drawbacks of being a solitary and not belonging to a covern (I'm in the same boat). In the UK it's not a widely accepted religion, so especially over here it's often not an option to bring your own officiant.

That said, I had forgotton about Elf Pessagno, and seem to remember a few people saying good things about her. I would definately check her out and see what she says

 

[Elsha]

Cool! Thanks

 

[lurkyloo]

Also, check out Elf Pessagno. She was on the list of officiants we got from Disney, and in her FAQ she specifically mentions handfasting, jumping the broom, and tasting honey.

http://www.weddingswithmagic.com/meet.htm

That said, I had forgotton about Elf Pessagno, and seem to remember a few people saying good things about her. I would definately check her out and see what she says

This vendor has been dropped from Disney's list. She moved out of state and neglected to tell her clients until days before their wedding.

 

[dhay]

This vendor has been dropped from Disney's list. She moved out of state and neglected to tell her clients until days before their wedding.

Are you serious? I heard she was not on the list recently and I wondered why. We had her and she was fantastic. We absolutley adored her and couldn't say enough great things about her. I am shocked to hear about this to be honest.

I hope everything is OK with her.

 

[rpmdfw]

This vendor has been dropped from Disney's list. She moved out of state and neglected to tell her clients until days before their wedding.

Wow. That blows!

At the time we booked, she was the only one on Disney's officiant list that was willing to do commitment ceremonies, so we looked at her website. Thankfully we had a friend who could officiate for us.

 

[lurkyloo]

Yeah, it's a real puzzler - before this, I had heard nothing but great stuff about her too!

 

[PipesofLirael]

She's officiating my wedding, actually. She moved out of state and plans to move back, so she still flies down for any weddings. She missed two weddings due to deaths in the family, which doesn't excuse her but does explain.

That being said, I'm having a Wiccan inspired ceremony, and no one else has been willing to help us. Everyone else has said no, some being extremely rude about it and offering to give us other services so long as they didn't marry us! It really depressed me about the whole process for a while.

So, anyway, we are including a handfasting and a broom jumping. We aren't mentioning any deities because of our families and are including a gospel reading, the Spanish/Catholic tradition of "arras", and the Jewish seven wedding blessings to honor both of our families.

Our officiant has designed the entire ceremony for us from the ground up and it's been perfect. I can post it if you want.

 

[dhay]

She's officiating my wedding, actually. She moved out of state and plans to move back, so she still flies down for any weddings. She missed two weddings due to deaths in the family, which doesn't excuse her but does explain.

That being said, I'm having a Wiccan inspired ceremony, and no one else has been willing to help us. Everyone else has said no, some being extremely rude about it and offering to give us other services so long as they didn't marry us! It really depressed me about the whole process for a while.

So, anyway, we are including a handfasting and a broom jumping. We aren't mentioning any deities because of our families and are including a gospel reading, the Spanish/Catholic tradition of "arras", and the Jewish seven wedding blessings to honor both of our families.

Our officiant has designed the entire ceremony for us from the ground up and it's been perfect. I can post it if you want.

I KNEW there had to be a reason. That behavior was completely unlike Joann which is why I mentioned earlier that I hoped she was OK.

We do not affialiate ourseleves with any faith. But our beliefs mostly lean towards the Buddhist faith so we wanted to incorporate somce concepts into our ceremony and she was very helpful in coming up with ideas and was just very open. Her attitude was that this is our ceremony and she was just happy to be a part of the day so I would highly reccomend her based on the fact that what happened was due to deaths in the family and not because she flaked out.

At no point did we ever feel judged. She was not about forcing her beliefs into our day.

Regardless- good luck in finding an officant whoever you choose. And for those people that are judging you- it is THEY who have the problem, not YOU

 

[rpmdfw]

And for those people that are judging you- it is THEY who have the problem, not YOU

Amen to that!

 

[Cleofish]

Oh heck, didn't realise any of that, but glad to hear there is at least one officiant who is willing to encompass beliefs, faiths and situations that aren't always the 'norm', and to echo previous posters we should all stay strong and not worry what other people think!