our mission

Unanimity
Unanimity * photo by Elizabeth Oakes

Our mission statements:

  • MarriageToGo was established in 2002 to give couples freedom to marry without judgment, financial worry, or social pressure. This begins with listening to you and understanding your needs, and letting you define what your wedding will be.
  • I will work towards making your wedding experience as excellent as I can, guided by you and your parameters.
  • I will do my best, whatever the context, to help you appreciate and enhance your connection through the getting-married process.
  • I am dedicated to continually learning and understanding more about my craft, and working with a collaborative spirit that helps everyone shine. I appreciate new perspectives and creative challenges that stimulate fresh ideas and growth. I keep my arms open to all kinds of couples, experiences, and points-of-view, because love is needed everywhere and I haven't learned everything there is to know (yet).
  • I believe it's important to challenge the received wedding paradigm and give couples control, no matter what cultural, family, or corporate interests may say. This has been true since I began my work long ago; I am proud to have been a "disruptor" before disrupting was a thing.
  • I am a strong supporter of marriage equality and the removal of "marriage penalty" tax codes which mostly harm women, POCs, and single-parent families.
  • I believe in the power of ritual for all people, not just those within religious orthodoxies, and acknowledge the rights of all people of conscience to self-determine in matters of belief, non-belief, and spiritual practices.
  • My goal is to make your wedding experience sweet, stressless, and thoughtful, so you can enjoy your wedding day and create meaningful memories.
  • Ultimately, I want to make you as happy with your wedding experience as possible, since a world populated by happy, loving people is the world I want to walk around in.

How I accomplish this:

  • I work with you to create the wedding experience you need, whether that's a minimal sign-and-go or a fully custom ceremony reflecting your love story, principles, and outlook. You take the lead in determining how everything will go down.
  • As a long-time married person, I can authentically speak to what marriage is and honor the greater role of love in the world with gratitude. However, sometimes getting married quickly and efficiently is the most important thing, and I'm happy to help there too. Brief solemnizations are just as impactful and important as elaborate ceremonies; I treat all ways of getting married with the same care.
  • I believe every couple should be honored, no matter their economic situation. I was a volunteer Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriage for L.A. County for two decades, performing hundreds of civil weddings each year on my own dime, and I have always provided free or at-cost services for those with life-challenging illness or in hospice care.
  • I bring years of experience and enthusiasm for love, happiness, and ritual to the wedding table. I invite you to bring yourselves and your story, and we'll see what cooks.

Please note: Since COVID-19 is still with us, I'm currently only available for Safer Elopements, but hope to return to larger events when it's safe to do so.

That's the mission and I'm sticking to it. Hope to be of service to you soon!