What did you do today on a Tuesday morning at 10 am?  Why I officiated a wedding!  I can't tell you what a joy it was to work with Susan and Don.  Such a fun couple!  

Together we created a very unique one-of-a-kind ceremony that spoke to exactly who they are as a couple and their relationship.  And even though they are really laid back people and didn't want to make too much of a fuss, it was an emotional day and there was still laughter and tears. 

Lilacs were a theme.  Susan picked lilacs from their backyard and the lilacs were in full bloom at the UW Arboretum where we had the small and intimate wedding.

These crazy times call for crazy love stories, along with clever and creatives ways to get married. Watch John Krasinski's SGN (Some Good News) Episode 7 Virtual wedding. (Wedding starts at 6:00 minutes)

Here is the ultimate guide to throwing a virtual wedding by Brides.  Read through this article for some great suggestions on how to host a micro-wedding.

The most important thing to know about weddings such as these in the state of Wisconsin is that you must have an officiant physically present to do the ceremony.  The officiant cannot do it remotely via Zoom or any other platform.

Additionally, one couple was talking to me about "marrying themselves" without an officiant.  Although this sounds like a great suggestion during a global pandemic, it is not legal in Wisconsin until your religious affiliation, such as Quaker, allows this.  

Be sure to check with the County Clerk of Courts in the county where you live about the rules and guidelines if you want to be legally married by the end of the wedding.

This couple got super creative and came up with an out-of-the-box idea for getting married while we are social distancing- they got married at a drive-in theater. 
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/…/coronavirus-wedding-drive-in…

​Want to try something similar? Here is a link for drive-in theaters in Wisconsin: 
https://www.travelwisconsin.com/…/e…/drive-in-movie-theatres

Megan and John- Thank you so much for writing these incredible heartfelt words of praise.  I am blushing but I am so glad not only that you loved the ceremony but that I was also helpful to you during such a difficult time.  I thought you pulled off an amazing wedding and look forward to the big celebration next April.  Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a beautiful review for me on both The Knot and Wedding Wire.

"I wish I could give this rating ten stars! We were so lucky to find Reverend Pat on “The Knot”. We met with her once and knew immediately that we wanted her to marry us. 

We spent the better half of a year planning and critiquing our ceremony with the help and guidance of Reverend Pat. Her wide array of ceremony suggestions, readings, vows, and styles were phenomenal! She created a very personal and customized ceremony for us, and it was beautiful! 

Unfortunately, COVID19 struck a month before our planned date, and we had to backtrack and re-plan everything. 

Pat was SO quick to help. She immediately gave us different “civil ceremony” options, as well as offered a shortened/revised version of our original ceremony (which we decided to do). 

Our readjusted wedding day was more perfect than I could have imagined! As Pat read our shorter customized ceremony, there was not a dry eye to be seen. Our vows will be remembered forever. 

Pat connected with my fiancé and me immediately. Her kindness and devotion to bring two people together shines through at all times. 

We can’t thank you enough Pat! You are truly wonderful.

Anyone looking for an officiant.... look no further. Reverend Pat will make your day beautiful and intimate. You’ll remember it for the rest of your lives."
Megan and John were married on April 25, 2020, at John's parents' house.

Spring is finally here, which means it is time to vote for the Annual Wisconsin Bride Magazine Best of Awards.  In 2017 Koru Ceremony was a finalist and then won the award for Best Officiant in 2018 and 2019.  We would love to win again for a 3-peat.  Winning this award gives us the “creds” we need to attract new couples looking for a professional wedding officiant. 

Right now in the midst of COVID-19, people are making an effort to support small businesses and this is the perfect way to support Koru Ceremony.   So if you haven’t already cast your ballot, please take a few minutes to go to the WI Bride website to vote for us as BEST OFFICIANT.  Voting closes MAY 4!  

As Koru Ceremony begins our 15th wedding season, we have been so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with so many amazing wedding couples and vendors.  And we feel truly blessed to have family and friends that have supported us along the way.  Thank you!

LINK TO VOTE:
https://wibride.com/vote-now-best-2020-1

Today was supposed to be Megan and John's big wedding day! But a little thing like a global pandemic prevented that from happening. Instead Megan and John asked me to officiate a small intimate ceremony for them at John's parents house earlier today and a large celebration with all their family and friends is planned for one year from now on the same weekend. 

Wedding couples getting married this season are having to make some really hard decisions. Many have postponed their weddings to later in the year or to 2021. But no matter what couples decide to do, the most helpful piece of advice I can give is to remain flexible and not be "married" to your original plans. 

John and Megan were happy with their decision to have a small micro wedding today. They seemed were surprised by how meaningful and emotional it was for them and the few family members that came. I wasn't surprised at all because I know that no matter how small a ceremony is, it is still a wedding and that makes it a special day. Congratulations John and Megan!

 Who knew that a global pandemic would support a new trend that is on the rise in the wedding industry- the sequel wedding. A sequel wedding is when a couple has multiple ceremonies. For example, a microwedding or elopement followed by a larger-scaled second wedding. 
If you are a couple that is disappointed that your wedding got postponed this season but are still planning to have a small intimate ceremony now in the midst of COVID-19 and are planning a bigger celebrate at a later time, you are on trend and what you are doing now has a name. 
What makes a sequel wedding appealing is that there is no need to cram everything into one day. The big take away in this article is “if you’re wondering how to have two wedding ceremonies, you’ll want to start first by creating a distinct vision for both. Since a sequel wedding is comprised of at least two distinct soirees, you have an opportunity to shatter the mold with a range of style options.”  
To read more, click on this article by The Knot- The Sequel Wedding:  What It Is and Why You Might See More of It.

SPECIAL!  2020 COVD-19 Ceremony (20 or less people) - $450 ​
Planning a wedding is stressful enough, but planning it in the middle of a global pandemic is admirable! So we want to help you remove some of that tension and anxiety and acknowledge your perseverance and grit.  If you are getting married in 2020 with 20 or less people at the ceremony, we are offering a special rate with the same level of personalization as our Customized Wedding Ceremony Package. ($725 Value)  Click the FAQs for more information. 
*This special is only valid for weddings occurring in 2020.

I am a big fan of Dr. John Gottman and the research he does with couple in order to create a happy and healthy relationship. 
This online course might be worth checking out? 
https://www.gottman.com/product/the-art-and-science-of-love-online/

Sending wedding couples that are getting hitched in 2020 a big virtual group hug. Our couples getting married this spring and early summer have had some tough decisions to make. 

Here are some of the questions we have been trying to help couples navigate:  
“Should we postpone our wedding and pick a new date?”  
“Should we wait to see what happens and cross our fingers that everything will be back to 'normal' by our wedding day?”  
“Should we have a micro-wedding with just us, our Koru officiant, and 2 witnesses and then plan a larger celebration with all our friends and family at a later time?”  
There are no easy answers but we are reassuring our couples that we will try our best to be as flexible as possible with whatever they decide. 

FOR NEW COUPLES- Good news! We are still booking weddings in 2020 and 2021 and would love to chat (virtually or on the phone) with you about your ceremony and your vision for the wedding day. 

OTHER GOOD NEWS- The Register of Deeds is still issuing marriage license in Wisconsin. In Dane County they have set up a virtual portal. If you want more information about this, email the county at county.clerk@countyofdane.com or call them at 608-266-4121 between 10am and 1pm and they can walk through how to set up your virtual appointment. Those outside of Dane County, contact your county clerk office to see how they are issuing licenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
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Stay safe. Stay well. Stay kind. Stay home. We will get through this together.

Photo by Kristyn Hogan 

One of my all time favorite photographers to work with are Justine and Christine from Natural Intuition Photography!  Here is a snippet from Erin and Luke's February wedding at The Fields Reserve in Stoughton, WI. 

To see the full video click HERE.  It is worthwhile watching the whole thing.
I am blown away by the video they created for Erin and Luke. They perfectly captured this beautiful and amazing couple with such a beautiful and heartwarming video! 

Thank you Kaitlin and Jeff for writing this glowing and very sweet review for me on both The Knot and Wedding Wire. 
"Pat was truly wonderful to work with! Throughout the process, we were able to meet with her face to face to discuss exactly what we wanted our ceremony to look like. She was also very responsive to email communication. Pat was very organized, which made putting our ceremony script together very easy. She facilitated the rehearsal and made sure to check in with our wedding party to answer any questions they made have had and to ensure they were where they needed to be. Pat's attention to detail made us feel confident that our ceremony would be perfect. We would highly recommend Pat to anyone who is looking for an officiant!"

Kaitlin and Jeff were married on January 18, 2020 at RiverStone, Fort Atkinson, WI
Photo by Caitlin Stemper, caynayphoto.com

There are some classic and also some new rituals I hadn't heard of before in this article by Martha Stewart Weddings... 
These special rituals will make your wedding ceremony even more poignant.

It's hard to believe that it has been 15 years since I started Koru Ceremony. The first year I had 3 weddings.  I recently read through my very first ceremony and I see a rookie trying to figure out how to have a thoughtful and meaningful ceremony. But the words now feel clunky to me.  I can see how 15 years and literally hundreds of weddings has helped me hone and perfect how we work with couple to make a one-of-a-kind ceremony that will wow their guests.  Some couples I have lost touch with, others I have gone on to baptize their babies and bless their new homes.  Even if I don't continue to connect with each and every couple, I still feel honored to have been a part of one of the best days of each couple's life.  

Over the years as Koru has continued to grow, I began turning away people because I didn't have the time to be at every celebration.  So Amy, then Sarah, and now Peter came onboard to help with officiating.   Grace Episcopal Church subcontracts Koru to help with wedding coordination at the church so I have Sarah M., Caryn, and Gwen to help with those weddings when I am not available.  In other words, in 15 years Koru Ceremony has gone from 3 weddings to about 90 weddings per year.

Who knew 15 years ago that I would be able to do what I love and am passionate about - helping people celebrate various transitions throughout life's journey whether it is for weddings or other rituals like vow renewals, baptisms, house blessings, blessingways, funerals/memorials, divorce, croning and milestone birthdays.  I truly feel blessed and grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many lovely and delightful couples, families, and individuals.  Thank you! 

Here is a good article that explains what Wedding Officiants Cost: ​

At WeddingOfficiants.com – The Wedding Officiant Directory, we’ve been connecting engaged couples with wedding officiants for more than 15 years and one of the most frequent questions we get asked is “how much does a wedding officiant cost?” This is a simple question with a somewhat complex answer, which we have done our best to provide here. After reading, we encourage you to search our directory of professional officiants to find the perfect officiant for your wedding ceremony – thank you for visiting!

Wedding Officiant Fee – What You Need to Know
The cost of a wedding officiant can vary wildly, from free to well over $1000 for a single ceremony. In order to understand the differences in fees between different officiants, it’s important to understand that that the word “officiant” can mean a lot of different things. So, what is a wedding officiant? The term “officiant” refers to anyone who performs a wedding ceremony, from experienced religious priests and pastors, to professional ministers and celebrants who perform wedding ceremonies for a living, all the way to someone’s random friend or relative who performs a single wedding ceremony one time and never does it again.

Because this definition is so broad, it’s important first to decide what kind of wedding officiant you are interested in hiring for your wedding. If your marriage ceremony isn’t particularly important to you, or if you are simply interested in getting legally married and won’t be having any type of ceremony, then perhaps hiring an amateur officiant is appropriate. However, if you are planning to have a ceremony, especially one with invited guests, then hiring a professional officiant or an experienced clergyman is definitely the best course of action.

​What is a Professional Officiant?
While “officiant” is a general term describing any person who is able to legally sign a marriage license, a professional wedding officiant is someone who solicits business from the general public to perform marriage ceremonies for a fee.
This distinction is important, because when couples are searching for an officiant for their wedding ceremony, they are typically only looking for either clergy, which can be priests, ministers, pastors, rabbis, cantors, and other persons ordained by their religious tradition (who typically do not solicit business from the public), or they are looking for an experienced, professional wedding officiant that they can hire.
Professional officiants also differ greatly from amateurs, since professionals maintain high standards of quality because they rely on their experience and reputation among other wedding professionals to garner more business. Amateurs typically solicit their business from websites with little or no quality checks such as Craigslist, Thumbtack, or Respond.com.  For more information and advice on this topic, read our article on how to find a wedding officiant.

What is the Average Cost of an Officiant?
It’s difficult to get a true average price of wedding officiants because there is no reliable data on the subject. While amateur officiants and individuals simply looking to make a few dollars may charge a couple as little as $100-$250, the average fees for professional officiants typically range from $400 to $800 depending on experience and the level of service and customization they provide. Many clergy such as priests and rabbis can cost well over $1000, often asking couples to make a donation to their church or synagogue in lieu of being paid directly. Factoring out the low rates from amateur officiants as well as the impact of individuals performing ceremonies at no charge to the couple, our determination is that the average cost for a professional wedding officiant is roughly $600 per ceremony. 
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