WEDDING: Officiant for Hollywood Writers' Ceremony at the Elegant Ebell of Los Angeles

CONGRATULATIONS, Christine and Eric!

Officiating the 23 October 2010 wedding of Christine Boylan, writer and story editor of TNT's Leverage television show and Eric Heisserer, screenwriter of 2010's A Nightmare on Elm Street and 2011's the Thing at the EBELL OF LOS ANGELES was truly an honour and a very special experience!

Via email, i collaborated with Eric and Christine to create a wedding ceremony fit for (and out of the minds and hands of) two writers. In the processional, the bride walked down a staircase alone, and proceeded unaccompanied until the groom walked up to meet her halfway down the aisle.Together, they completed the journey to the altar together, to "signal their conscious choice to walk together in their lives". The ceremony included a community vow, where the officiant asks the friends, family and other loved ones in the audience to affirm their love and support for the two people about to be married:

Eric requested we not ask if anyone present objects to his marrying Christine, since there was no room in the budget for trained snipers.  Instead, I would like to invite you, the cherished guests, to give your support to this union.

As they go forth in their life together, Eric and Christine will need each of you to embrace them, help them and lift them, as they experience all the joys and challenges that lie before them.  And so, as their community, do you pledge your support and caring to Christine and Eric?

COMMUNITY: Yes, we do!

i have never performed, nor attended, a wedding filled with more applause!  Gotta love Hollywood people.  ;-P  And, as they stood together beneath their 'chuppah-cabana',  a Khalil Gibran passage, On Marriage, was read by a cherished friend.

Please see the happy couple's New York Times wedding announcement (if link does not work, please see pdf on our website). 

Event coordination and planning by Michelle Buckley herself, of MINT JULEP SOCIAL EVENTS.  Ceremony music by string trio from Essence Entertainment.  Cocktail hour jazz ensemble: _______  Reception big band: the Fabulous Esquires.  Photography by MAX WANGER (not above).  About the location:  The Ebell, originally founded by women in 1864 as an educational and philanthropic organisation, is a historic venue on Lucerne Ave. at Wilshire Bl.  Be sure to see this gorgeous facility with rich wood interiors and details straight out of glamourous old Hollywood's yesteryear and vintage Los Angeles.

NEWS: Prop. 8 Protests, Petitions and Update

People protested Prop. 8 all over Orange County and Los Angeles this past weekend...

Here's a bit more disappointing news from the LA Times this weekend: "Even with 2.7 million outstanding ballots statewide -- some mail-in and some provisional -- the odds aren't in favor of beating out the gay-marriage ban's lead of more than half a million votes."

Also, here is a 'Tale of Two Votes', comparing the Prop. 8 and Prop. 22 outcomes.

As of late, i have been made aware of Equality California's petition, and Courage Campaign's petition to repeal Proposition 8.

Prop. 8 effects have already been felt by same-sex marriage based businesses, including my own wedding officiant business, A NON-DENOMINATIONAL CEREMONY. The New York Times is reporting on economic downturns in the same-sex wedding market.

Memorial Services: Remember and Reflect the Deceased

i feel a memorial service should remember a life that has been lived, and honour the deceased in a respectful, if not slightly irreverent, way, much like Bruce Weber, obituary writer for the New York Times, describes here:

"The general outlook of the obituary department is that our articles are about lives that have been lived, not deaths that have occurred. The idea is to appreciate the character of the subject to the degree that that’s possible, usually based on what we know that person has accomplished and on what we can glean from interviews with family members and others. You never want to make fun of anyone, but you do want to appreciate eccentricities, record unusual events and relay humorous incidents or comments. In that way, a good obituary can be like a good eulogy."

Courtesy of the New York Times, where you should go for the rest of this fascinating and enlightening interview.