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Make your big day as polished and professional or as funny and silly as you want! I've enjoyed working gatherings in many different roles. I've facilitated celebrations of newborns and new homes, businesses and careers and helped people mourn their pets. I've addressed crowds of thousands as a speaker and held vigil with families with loved ones in hospital or hospice care, or who have just passed; I've even been present with someone as they passed then spoke at their memorial! This is deep work, impossible to understand other than experience but weddings celebrate living here and now with someone the best we can and sharing that. Deep calls to deep but you know what? I love celebrating and having fun and understand you do too!  Weddings are nearly always a family reunion and often have elements of funerals or memorials. I can help with that if called for but in ANY case, people are coming together without an agenda other than joy and celebration. Where else do we do that in the way a wonderful wedding offers? The game, show or party is great but this isn't just watching the game or show or attending a party is it? It IS ALL of that...and so much more. The rest comes in right time but right now, I'm here for you.  

DREAM BIG and just know we will craft the day of your dreams. It’s your day, your life, and your experience. I'd be honored to be in service to you,your family and friends.

(BTW, Love IS my real given name since birth. Classically British, to our families knowledge it was never shortened from Lovelace, Lovelady, Lovejoy etc. going back as far as we can trace.)

Preferred Venue Partners

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I've collaborated with a vast array of gorgeous venues. From rustic-chic barns, garden fairy tale spots, exquisite ballrooms to  breathtaking outdoor locations. A small sampling include Rock Creek Gardens, The Seattle Aquarium, iconic Smith Tower,  Axis in Pioneer Square; Salty's on Alki and Canlis urban restaurants; the Thompson, Four Seasons and Sound Hotels; east-side favorites such the Clubs at Newcastle and Snoqualmie Ridge, Swiftwater Cellars in Suncadia; Shafer Baillie and Stimson-Green mansions and the timeless Arctic Room, Monte Cristo and Fairmont Olympic.

I have hiked trails and performed outdoor weddings with only the couple, witnesses and photographer and have met couples in parks and picturesque locations we find together. I am scuba certified and very open to participating in your unique wedding adventure such as taking vows underwater with radio equipment or while skydiving. Really.  

A familiar and positive working relationship among your vendors translates to an exquisite seamless wedding handled expertly by a team of pros with far fewer worries for you. It's helpful to have experience and knowledge with your venue including their key contacts and operations, facilities, spacing, layout and more leading to very well informed consultations for us. I've enjoyed each and every venue with whom I've worked in various ways. 

My venue selection recommendation is simple. Follow and trust your instincts while keeping your final choices to a minimum. The number of decisions you're facing is overwhelming enough. Narrow it down to three choices remotely and just know that your best selection will reveal itself to you with a visit to each on a single day. Trust yourself. 

The Role of Officiant

For most full and part time pastors, clergy, ministers, rabbis and others, weddings are seen, perhaps subtly, as an opportunity to teach or sermonize, even if just a little. I've watched charismatic ministers upstage their couple stepping in front of them to deliver a message. I believe your wedding should always be focused upon you. This isn't to say you must be comfortable being the center of attention because you don't. It also doesn't mean there shouldn't be beautifully delivered content that best represents you and your love. It means that the role of a great officiant is to facilitate, not dominate. 

Traditionally, officiants, (clergy AND a friend or family member) wait for their perceived role in the ceremony, looking to the DJ/emcee, (I have experienced this), venue representative, coordinator (experienced again) or planner for direction. In this way, officiants were not regarded as vendors or industry professionals. They did not facilitate rehearsals, pre-gatherings and/or meaningful connection experiences with wedding parties and family prior to the wedding day, nor did they help couples with logistics. They may have provided "couples counseling" as mandated by their faith tradition. Logistics, at the very least, include entrances (bridal party processional and entrance of the bride) and exits (recessional), all part of your ceremony. There is limitless potential for creative and fresh approaches. For those who have hired a private coordinator or planner, (and I love collaborating with great planners), the ceremony should be the officiants responsibility as this is what is being officiated. This departs from old traditions but the wedding industry is evolving at a rapid pace. Weddings are smaller, trending toward fewer guests, a more intimate and personal experience for everyone, (3-20 for elopements and micro weddings or 20-120 for larger experiences). They are also more innovative and fun and as wildly different as people are. 

I'll work with you to craft your perfect style which may include old traditions or not. I've experienced so many different approaches, whether cultural traditions, ideas from couples or things I've created and tried, often organically in the moment. I've felt what really clicks and flows and can share with you insight as to why.

If you utilize me as your DJ and master of ceremonies, (please see my DJ page), you'll experience a seamless transition from ceremony to party with lots of fun guest interaction. Focused appropriately brief ceremonies work wonderfully every time and that is what I craft and deliver. I can hardly wait to get started for you!

                                                                          So HAPPY with our decision to hire Matthew!                                                                                We hired Matthew to be our officiant at our wedding at Columbia Winery and are absolutely thrilled with our decision to go with him because he incorporated everything we wanted into our ceremony including Filipino traditions. He's so easy to work with and will do all he can to make your ceremony perfect and personalized. Our wedding party and guests loved him as well because he really gets the guests involved and engaged. You won't regret hiring him!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              - Rae and Mitch Zabala

Promises and Vows

Promises could be distinguished from vows by being the whimsical, lighter aspects that come before your vows and allow for humor and fun, unique to each of you. The style could involve short call and response statements, speaking from your heart or merely tiny two word agreements. My ceremonies often have promises, personal messages (the vows you write) and final vows (I shall, I will, I do and for everyone else? WE do!) There will little placed upon you so you can be present and enjoy the process.

I have assisted every couple with their vows including those who either planned or did in fact write personal statements. It's easy to end up so entrenched in the production of the wedding that when it comes time, (ALWAYS sooner than we imagine), clients find the vows still aren't written. In many cases, my couples find the content we craft perfectly represents them. I have an ample and gorgeous repertoire of material that works wonderfully as a tool for crafting your perfectly tailored promises and vows you and your guests will deeply feel and love. 

...and finally,

I often meet with couples prior to finalizing our contract. Others find video calls or just the three of us on the phone sufficient for their decisionmaking. I always meet my booked clients at least twice prior to their big day. I want to get a feel for who you are, individually and as a couple and discover your vision and perhaps help you form it. I want to learn about your beliefs, be they secular and science-based, among the faiths of the world or very personal spirituality. (You may wonder, "what about you? What are your personal beliefs?" I would LOVE to have that conversation with you. If I HAD to choose two words, they would be Christian and Buddhist. Buddhism is more a philosophy about how to live our best lives than a religion, completely compatible with all faiths).

There may be tension between our ideas and those of close friends and family. Some find it easier than others to create what they want free of outside influences. That said, I often help clients with hybrid ideas that work beyond everyones expectations. While we choose a public ceremony to share our wedding with loved ones, I may help you discover why you're doing this and what this is really all about for you. I look forward to speaking with and meeting you both soon. Let's get started making your magic! 

All of these shots click through too!