our mission
My mission comprises three goals:
- To make your wedding experience sweet, easy, personal, thoughtful, meaningful, joyous, memorable, and excellent.
- To help you appreciate and enhance your connection with each other (and your community, if applicable) throughout the entire getting-married process.
- To make you as happy as I can, 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 and officiate custom wedding ceremonies based on your love stories, principles, and outlook, letting you take the lead. My authorization to issue confidential marriage licenses makes the bureaucratic part easier and less stressful, so you can be happier (see above).
- I started this work because I believe it is important to continually challenge the received wedding paradigm and give couples control no matter what culture, family, or corporate interests may say. I was a disruptor before "disrupting" was a thing! This is why I have been since the beginning a strong supporter of marriage equality and LGBT rights and the removal of "marriage penalty" tax codes which mostly harm women and lower-income couples.
- I'm happiest working with couples who want a ritual experience that focuses on depth and connection, honoring the greater role of love in the world with maybe a little gratitude thrown in. That said, sometimes being quick and efficient is the most important thing, and I'm happy to oblige. I try to keep my arms open to all kinds of couples and challenges, because love is needed everywhere.
I'm available for everything from elopements on my couch to huge pageant-like events. I've also volunteered as a Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriage for L.A. County since 2002-performing hundreds of civil weddings each year on my own dime-since I believe every couple should be honored, no matter their economic situation. I also provide at-cost licenses and solemnizations for those with life-challenging illness or in hospice care.
Finally, 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 bring lots of experience and enthusiasm for love, happiness, and ritual to the wedding table; bring yourselves and your story, and we'll see what cooks.
Hope to be of service to you soon.