NEWS: Los Angeles Marriage License Fees to Increase Starting January 2010

Los Angeles County will soon begin charging more to issue marriage licenses beginning in the new year, as heard on local news outlets and in the L.A. Times. A memo recommending the marriage license fee increase to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors states the new fee would go into effect on January 21, 2010 or "thirty days from the date of Board passage" (which in this case was December 22, 2009).

This would make the cost of a public marriage license to go up from $70 to $90, and the cost of a confidential marriage license to go up from $70 to $85. To see the difference between public and confidential marriage licenses, please see this earlier post.

The fee increase is expected to bring another half-million dollars in revenue to L.A. County. A quick google search did not produce any planned increase in Orange County, nor did the O.C. Clerk-Recorder's website state anything, but considering how large the deficit is across the state of California, similar fee increases cannot be far behind...?!

ELEMENTS: Acknowledge Family/Friends or Honour Deceased in Your Ceremony

i saw the following on POSTSECRET.COM this week:

Frank,
My father, who I was very close to, passed away when I was 21 very suddenly and unexpectedly. 2 years later I met the man of my dreams and could not imagine getting married without my dad there.

To this day, whenever anyone asks me who walked me down the aisle the true and honest answer is: "My dad did".

Maybe someone else out there will find this to be a small comfort during the sadness of not having their dad.

My father passed away when i was fourteen, so not only do i empathise with this writer, i understand how important and meaningful it is, to acknowledge loved ones. Those unable to attend a (wedding) ceremony may still be made present! And, this can be done without bringing the mood down, taking the focus away from the celebration, or implying an afterlife. Consider these suggestions:

• Use of a short verbal passage or introduction - to be read by the officiant or other participant.
• Creating a symbol of the honoured person - through jewelry [see above], flower, dove release, candle lighting, balloon, ringing of a bell, etc.
• Moment of silence - before proceeding with the main body of the ceremony, encourage a simple bowing of heads so believers may offer a prayer and non-believers can stop for a moment of reflection.

MAP: Southern California Beach Ceremony Locations

The beach is an ideal location for a ceremony in Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange County. The map below illustrates a fraction of possibilities, after having created, written and performed many weddings and funerals/memorial services on Southern California beaches.


View Southern California Beach Wedding Sites in a larger map

For more information, or if you are looking for an officiant in Los Angeles, Orange County or greater Southern California, please see my website:A NON-DENOMINATIONAL CEREMONY!

WEDDING: Officiant for Interfaith Multicultural Ceremony in Ontario, CA

Congratulations, Amar and Chase, married 8/8/09!



The best part about this wedding was the bringing together of two families and the cultures each belonged to. As the bride is Indian, [above right] the morning consisted of a sacred Sikh marriage ceremony, complete with traditional dress, symbols and rituals. i was fortunate to have conducted the afternoon Western marriage ceremony in the atrium of the hotel! [above left]

Photography by RC PHOTOGRAPHY.

Officiant for WEDDING: Breeder's Cup, Santa Anita Racecourse in Arcadia, CA

Wedding Officiant at Santa Anita Racecourse in Arcadia, CA, originally uploaded by dj venus.

Hi Venus!

We got back safe-and-sound on Sunday night. Needless to say our celebration on Saturday went for about 15 hours which isn’t too shabby...

Also, there were nothing but compliments on the way you handled the ceremony. You were fantastic and I’ll be sure to express that when I put my comments on those websites for you in the next few days.

M sends a thank you, thank you, thank you, for everything that you did for us. The day could not have been any more perfect.

I’ll keep in touch,
K

Vice President, Commercial Lending
*** Bank & Trust Co.
Florence, KY

Photography (not above) by Teri of MILLER ART PHOTOGRAPHY.

WEDDING: Two Officiant Interfaith Ceremony at Mission Inn in Riverside, CA

Congratulations, Drs. Robin and Matt!!

What a fantastic ceremony it was, blending the cultures and backgrounds of these two young scientists! Before the wedding, the couple and their witnesses signed the marriage contract (Ketubah). Under a chuppah [see above], Robin and Matt exchanged personal vows, as well as traditional wedding vows. To make sure the ceremony represented both their backgrounds, they incorporated several readings from the Bible, and the groom's uncle gave a Jewish prayer and blessing as the couple shared wine from a Kiddush cup.


Allison from the Mission Inn took care of all of our needs. Day-of coordination by Monika and Donna of YOUR DAY 2 REMEMBER. Chuppah provided by HAPPY CHUPPAH. Photography by DEE DEE DALLAS of D2 and DJ services by Von.

READING: David Whyte's Poem - The Truelove

The Truelove

by David Whyte

There is a faith in loving fiercely

the one who is rightfully yours

especially if you have

waited years and especially
if part of you never believed

you could deserve this

loved and beckoning hand

held out to you this way.

…because finally

after all this struggle

and all these years

you don't want to any more

you've simply had enough

of drowning

and you want to live and you

want to love and you will

walk across any territory

and any darkness

however fluid and however

dangerous to take the

one hand you know

belongs in yours.

- from The House of Belonging

Officiant for WEDDING: Outdoor Ceremony at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, CA

CONGRATULATIONS, Jessica and Matt!
This was a perfectly simple and lovely ceremony, tucked away in the MINERAL WELLS PICNIC AREA of Griffith Park. The bride and groom stood alone and exchanged vows in front of their friends and family, with the trees and grass and sky as their backdrop.

One of the beautiful things about this particular wedding was how the ceremony text itself was created.  Most all of the wedding words and ceremony sentiments were from the couple's letters to each other, over the years. They also incorporated a poem written by David Whyte, which was read by a friend.

After the ceremony, Hall & Oates' recently revived You Make My Dreams Come True was blasted through a portable powered speaker.

Photography by LISA DRAGANI.

Officiant for WEDDING: Outdoor Ceremony at Franciscan Gardens in San Juan Capistrano, CA

CONGRATULATIONS: Tiffany and Wendell!

This venue is tucked into a beautiful little space next to the San Juan Capistrano train station. The ceremony and reception took place with a gorgeous black and white colour scheme that looked so elegant!

DJ services provided by _________ and photography by GREG WYATT.

NEWS: The Knot website/magazine's networking event at Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA

The Knot website and magazine's annual event was held at the Aquarium of the Pacific last night. Hundreds of vendors were in attendance, as you could imagine. Many people were difficult to approach, but some people were very kind. Although i am usually reluctant to participate in networking events, i am grateful to have been there, and i had the pleasure of meeting:

• DARIO PUIG of Dario and Drew Event Design in Newport Beach


• My old friend (in longevity, not age-wise!) DUANE GREENLEAF of Colette's Catering from the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton


• COURTNEY OZOVEK: dancer, choreographer and booking liaison for several wedding bands


• LINDA LY of Grand Soirees Event Design and Coordination


• FAYTH VUONG of 3 Petals fine chair covers and linens


• CHI CHAN and ALLEN KING, photographers extraordinaire

i also met Macheline and Eva from Red Velvet Occasions, Shauna? from East West Productions and Wendy from Just Wenderful. DJ services were provided by DJ Nahchey of DASH Entertainment, and catering by Savor/SMG Long Beach.