A Breath of New Life Wedding Ceremonies, Premarital and Officiant Classes

02/09/2017

14 Quotes to Live By if You Want a Happy Marriage That Lasts Forever
Posted by: Chiara Hoogervorst // Love // April 16, 2014
Got the wedding jitters, super excited about getting married, or just dreaming about your future wedding?
Whatever your situation, you just may benefit from the following 14 inspiring quotes on love and marriage that will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy!
In all seriousness, this article is meant to help you lead a happy marriage whenever you tie the knot.
Marriage is not all roses and glitter as some people would like you to believe. There will be arguments, some of which will be trivial (for example, the way the dishwasher is loaded), and some of which will be serious, intense, and painful.
Right now, your whole future is ahead of you. Regardless of whether or not marriage is on the horizon for you, you should know what it takes to build a happy and healthy marriage, especially with the person you believe to be your soul mate. Read on to find out why.
1. In your lifetime, you will find and meet one person who will…
… Love you more than anybody you have ever known and will know. They will love you with every bit of their energy and soul. They will sacrifice, surrender, and give so much that it scares you. Someday, you’ll know who that is. Sometimes, people realize who it was.
If you already know who that person is, do all you can to hold onto him/her (if you love him/her back, of course). It’ll be worth it in the end. If you have yet to meet such a person, you will. It’s just a matter of time!
2. We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. – Sam Keen
Your future spouse won’t be perfect. His little habits that you find cute now may get on your nerves in the future. She might not give up smoking like you hoped she would. He may be cheerful now, but he won’t always be so cheerful 10 years into your marriage. She may eventually lose her looks. Realize that your future spouse isn’t perfect. You just need to find the qualities in him/her you absolutely adore. Sometimes, that’s more than enough.
3. Who, being loved, is poor? – Oscar Wilde
If you have someone who loves you, you’re far richer than any wealthy person who isn’t loved at all. Appreciate it, and realize how lucky you are every single time someone tells you ‘I love you’.
4. You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. – Dr. Seuss
Isn’t that the truth?! When reality is better than your dreams, enjoy it. Bask in it. Soak it in. Devour it.
5. Thank god for all I missed, because it led me here to this. – Darius Rucker
Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect? It’s a concept where the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil can set off a tornado in Texas. Every decision you make, every opportunity you find or miss, and every little thing that happens in your life changes the outcome of your future. Remember that job opportunity you were denied? Remember that vacation you never got to take? Remember that dream you missed? Be happy you never got to experience any of those things, because if you had, you probably wouldn’t have met your future spouse.
6. Whatever you are, be a good one. – Abraham Lincoln
When you become a spouse, be a good one. Your future husband or wife deserves to be treated well.
7. Have a marriage more beautiful than your wedding.
There’s a common belief that the more money you spend on your wedding, the more likely your marriage will end in divorce (ahem, Kim Kardashian, anyone?) Whether or not it’s true, it’s always important to focus on your marriage more than your wedding. Your wedding will only last one day, while your marriage will last forever.
8. Marriage is like fine wine. If tended properly, it just gets better with age.
A happily married old couple finishes each other’s sentences, has a slew of inside jokes, and can go all day without uttering a word to each other and still feel loved. Strive to become one of those couples!
9. Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction. – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
A lasting marriage requires teamwork. You and your spouse need to work on the same goals, compromise on many things, and brave through life together.
10. If it’s important to her, then it’s important to me. – Greg Provance
Even if you don’t care about your spouse’s favorite sports team or his/her big project at work, you should always give support. Whatever is important to your spouse should always be important to you, and vice versa.
11. A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
Sometimes it’s the little things that keep a marriage fun and exciting. Be sure to spice up your marriage every now and then with surprises, spontaneous trips, or anything else that reminds you why you fell in love with your spouse.
12. If I get married, I want to be very married. – Audrey Hepburn
“Very married” could mean two things: bickering spouses who shoot underhanded comments towards each other or happy spouses who know each other so well that they finish each other’s sentences and offer each other support whenever necessary. You decide which type of “very married” spouse you want to be.
13. Imagine a new stack of crisp white paper…
It’s just waiting for you to start writing the pages of your story. No one else’s story will be like yours. So fill those pages however you wish, and sign your story with a flourish. A marriage is a new beginning, or a new stack of crisp white paper. It’s up to you to create a wonderful story.
14. Beginnings are wonderful things…
… They’re free, and they’re full of possibilities. What will you do with yours

02/08/2017

EMAIL PREMARITAL CLASS
In the state of Minnesota, you can receive a $75.00 discount of your marriage license application fee, if you have 12 hours of premarital education.
The regular fee is $115.00, with the discount it only costs $40.00. Here is a convenient, affordable, online opportunity to receive not only the discount, but to strengthen your relationship.
Premarital education "is associated with higher levels of marital satisfaction, lower levels of destructive conflicts and higher levels of interpersonal commitment to spouses," says the study, published this spring in the Journal of Family Psychology. Based on a random phone survey of 3,344 adults in four states, it says couples who received premarital education had a 31% lower chance of divorce.
Would you like a great alternative to the traditional premarital class options. An online, affordable, way to receive the benefits of premarital education and still have the ability to complete at home in private on your schedule.
Just complete the premarital class activities, send back the 2 verification pages and receive a notarized educators statement to turn into the state with your marriage license application.
The state gives you a $75.00 discount on the marriage application fee.
Build a stronger relationship, by investing in your marriage not in the state.
Prices start @ $50.00, giving you all the benefits of the course and saving you $75.00 on the marriage license fee!
See website for more information.

02/08/2017

Beautiful Spring bouquet

06/19/2016

Rustic wedding agenda, could also spray with chalk board paint and write what ever you wish...

06/19/2016

Great seating, inexpensive for a farm wedding!

06/15/2016

Are you getting married in the next few months? Hire an experienced officiant, Dates are filling fast! For information, pricing and pictures go to Http://www.ourweddingceremony.org

Wedding ceremonies, wedding officiants, reviews, online premarital classes, Venue, marriage certificate signing, Wedding officiant classes, Wedding Ceremonies

06/11/2016

06/10/2016

Wedding Photo checklist

05/14/2016

Only one of its kind in the state, email premarital class, only $50.00 and you save the $75.00. See the last post below...

05/05/2016

TIPS FOR WRITING YOUR OWN VOWS

Writing your own wedding vows is the perfect way to personalize your wedding and to show your guests exactly what you love about your significant other. Your vows should be short and sweet, but they should be able to communicate what makes your relationship special and what you and your partner will hold sacred for the rest of your lives. Then follow these easy steps.

Get clearance from your officiant. Make sure it's acceptable for you to write your own wedding vows.

Agree that you and your significant other will be writing your own vows. Both people have to be equally committed to this concept, or the guests will be able to tell. Writing your own vows isn't for everybody.

Take the time to reflect on your love. Once you and your future spouse have committed to writing your vows, you should take some time, both separately and together, to think about what you love about each other and what makes your relationship special. This will help you brainstorm ideas for your vows.

Here are some ways to reflect on your love:

Make a vow date. Seriously. Go to a romantic restaurant or your favorite restaurant, and talk about what you love about each other. Share your best memories of the relationship, discuss the hardest thing you went through together, and talk about the moment you knew you wanted to be with each other forever.

Write what you love about your beloved. Brainstorm all of the things that make your future spouse so special. This could be his or her beautiful blue eyes, the way your loved one can make you smile no matter how awful you feel, or how your significant other knows exactly what you're thinking even if you're miles away.

Make a list of adjectives that describe your beloved's best qualities. Think about the ones you want to emphasize in your vows.

Decide whether you will write them together separately. Will you share all of your thoughts during the process, run them by each other at the end, or keep them a surprise until it's time to get married?

Decide on a due date. This may sound silly, but you should have your vows done at least a month before the wedding so you don't end up writing them overnight. The more time you take to write them, the more you will be able to express how you really feel.

Write down the promises you want to make to your future spouse. Depending on whom your significant other is and what memories you've shared, you'll write a list of promises you will make to your loved one forever. Some can be serious, like always apologizing no matter what, or never going to bed angry, while others can be more fun, like promising to always do the dishes as long as you can win the thermostat war.

Remember that in most traditional vows, people promise to be there for their loved one in sickness and in health, through the good times and the bad, and to support them no matter what. Find a personal way to make some of these same points, since that's what marriage is really all about.

Get feedback. Once you feel confident about your vows, it's time to get some feedback. Though you may think that your vows will bring your audience to tears, you need to make sure that you've set the right tone and have clearly communicated your feelings before you share them with the world. Ask some people feedback. If you and your spouse-to-be have agreed to share your vows, ask what he really thinks. Ask a trusted friend who really knows you. You could ask parents or even grandparents.

Prepare to say your vows. Once you've got your vows down, all you have to do is focus on the ex*****on. You should practice saying them enough times that it sounds natural, don’t worry too much about delivery; just speak from your heart to your beloved. Remember that on your wedding day, your vows won't sound just like they did when you rehearsed them. You will be a little bit choked up, and that's okay! Your vows will only sound sweeter if your audience sees how much you truly love your future spouse.

Just a few thoughts;

After your wedding, you can both frame your vows and hang them up, to remember all of the promises you made to each other.

Put your vows on a card or a piece of paper. You don't have to memorize them as long as you say them with feeling.

Include a vow of saying “sorry” to each other, after every fight and disagreement. This will be the most remembered and reliable vow in your marriage.

05/05/2016

7 Wedding Traditions and Where They Came From
1. The Engagement Ring
There is some evidence to suggest that the idea of an engagement ring was invented in prehistoric times, a caveman would tie a cord made of braided grass around his chosen mate's wrists and ankles. In 1st Century BC, puzzle rings made their debut in Asia, where sultans and sheiks used them to identify their wives. And in 1700s Europe, silver Poesy rings engraved with flowery sayings were in vogue.
2. The White Wedding Dress
"A marriage is no amusement, but a solemn act," said Queen Victoria. Despite her pessimism 175 years ago, it was she who introduced a new era of bridal standards. Red was a very popular color for brides in Victoria's day, but the young queen broke with the status quo and insisted on a white lacy dress for her big day. Afterwards, she re-purposed the lace from her dress over and over again. Not only did the white represent purity and simplicity, it also stood for economy — since she kept pieces of her dress in her wardrobe for years to come.
3. The Wedding Veil
Before dismissing it as a silly piece of fabric, you should know that the wedding veil is rooted in romantic legend. In one myth, the veil is said to disguise the bride from evil, mischief-making spirits who are jealous of her impending happiness. In a more classic tale, the groom is ecstatic about marrying his bride despite her outward beauty. So her face is covered until after he says "I do." In a more fantastical bit of lore, a bride is considered extraordinarily radiant on her wedding
day, so her face needs to be covered to protect her guests.
4. The Garter
In 14th century France and England, wedding guests considered it lucky to get a piece of the brides clothing. In order to preserve her dress, the bride started throwing her garter at the male guests. As the male guests became rowdier, they tried to tear the garter from the bride's leg themselves. To preserve his new wife's dignity, the groom started to remove the garter himself and toss it to the single men.
5. Something Old, New, and Blue
"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe," is the entirety of that charming Victorian rhyme. Something old represents continuity. Something new offers optimism for the future. Something borrowed symbolizes borrowed happiness. Something blue stands for love, and fidelity. And the last part of the rhyme is the sixpence, it was a form of British currency It was given to the bride to keep in her left shoe on the day of the wedding to symbolize a wish for good fortune and prosperity for her and her future husband.
6. The Honeymoon
Some legends claim that the honeymoon existed before the marriage ceremony. Others contend that in its earliest days, the groom simply carried the woman he chose as his wife off on horseback (from which the term "swept off her feet" originates). While they were in hiding, relatives would search for about a month until finally giving up. In the modern tradition, hiding from friends and family for a honeymoon vacation is still very much observed. The question is: how do you make the honeymoon stage last longer?
7. The Cake Topper
A dominant wedding accessory in 1950's America, the wedding cake topper has represented togetherness. There is a legend that suggests a baker created the cake topper tradition over 100 years ago. He wanted something on his daughter's wedding cake to symbolize the love between her and his future son in law. He eventually used a figurine of the bride and groom, placed on top of the cake.