Frequently Asked Questions

I want to book one of you for a ceremony. What is the next step?

You can contact

by telephone at

512

248

9027

or contact

via e-mail

harra

eautifullywed.com

. We will ask you a few basic questions

concerning the

type of

wedding

ceremony you are needing.

e will ask

whether you want to have a simple ceremony in

our

home

involved

ceremony in a more formal setting with guests.

e will

usually

start with

uestions

designed to give

an idea of

your

wishes for your

ceremony

We will advi

you of

the approximate cost

for

what you

are

wanting

. For all of our larger packages we

will

suggest that we meet in

person

if possible

sign the ceremony

Will you meet with us in person before the ceremony?

or our Private Intimate and Elopement

Ceremonies

it's really not necessary to meet in person

ahead of time. Most correspondence can be handled by email and telephone. For our larger

wedding packages though

(location permitting),

ould like to

meet personally with you to

discuss your

wishes for

our

ceremony. I

helps us

to deliver a

meaningful ceremony

if we

get to

talk with

you a bit and hear what your desires are for your wedding

We feel it will

benefit

you as well

and that you will

be more comfortable with us helping you on your special day.

case of

distance and

convenience issues,

most pre-ceremony

conversations can

be handled

via

phone

and/or

e-mail

. All meetings are handled personally by

either

Reverends Thomas

harra

both. Sharra will be

responsible for

lanning the details of

your ceremony.

Will you attend wedding rehearsals?

The Minister's part of the ceremony is never covered

during the

wedding

rehears

and therefore

the minister's attend

nce at a

rehearsal

normally not

ecessary particularly if

you are using

wedding coordinator

whose job it is

to lead the rehearsal.

If you do not have a wedding

coordinator

though

or you are having something unusual in your ceremony

that

you

need the

minister to take

the lead on, then w

will attend the rehearsal

and do a run through so that

everyone is comfortable

with their roles for

the big day.

Usually t

here is an

additional $

.00

for

to attend the

rehearsal

he rehearsal is included in our Celebration of Love Package.

Do you require pre-wedding counseling?

we do not require

pre-wedding counseling

We do

offer

a special pre-wedding

course

available

through email to any couples who want to take it. It consists of seven weekly lessons. If you are

interested in taking

these lessons

please send us an email. We offer this course to all our couples

free of charge. We feel that c

ounseling

hould

not

required as both of you are adults and your

choice

to get married is strictly

your own. However,

will gladly talk with you

about any

concerns or issues regarding the

wedding you may have and

can provide

additional

counseling

should you

equest

it.

What are your qualifications and experience to perform weddings?

are

ordained ministers and active members of Gateway of Light

inistries, Saint Luke's

Evangelical Ch

ristian Ministries,

the Universal

Life

Monast

ry and Seminary

(both part of ULC

an interfaith and non-

denominational ministry) and the Church of Spiritual Humanism.

Our

doctrines embrace

diversity of beliefs allow

ing

to perform a wide

variety of ceremonies ---from

the very secular to the very religious.

have a combined experience of over 1

years

ministering in

the

official capacity,

fficiating

eddings

and

unerals, performing home and

usiness

lessings,

lessing Little Children,

ounseling couples and families, holding weekly services and Bible studies.

What makes our marriage legal?

Any ordained minister of a legally recognized church may marry you and

are

ordained ministers

in good standing in a legally recognized church. It is

the obtaining and filing of the marriage license

that makes a marriage legal.

Your marriage license is obtained by you, then signed and filed by

What do I need to do to legally change my last name after we are married?

After completion of the ceremony

which ever one of us is officiating

will sign

our

marriage license

and then return it to the appropriate

county clerk's

office

. The Clerk and Recorder will then certify

the

document, record the

marriage and return the marriage certificate to

you in the mail. You will

need

copies of this document for changing

your name on credit cards, bank

accounts, etc. You will

need the

original for your driver's license, passport

and social security card.

Also, if you are to be

included in your spouse's

health insurance plan,

do not assume that his is automatic; you will need

enroll and

produce evidence of the marriage (either the original or a copy)

before you will be

covered.

At what type of locations will you perform weddings?

will perform ceremonies in reception halls, churches, in parks or lake

fronts, restaurants,

outdoors, on boats, at the beach, at private residences

- wherever you like! Just be certain that you

have acquired any necessary

permits beforehand. If you require

our

presence for longer than an

hour

ceremony - for example, an afternoon on the lake on a boat - add an

additional $

.00 per

hour for

our

time.

Will you do out of town weddings?

We will do weddings anywhere within the Greater Austin Area including

Travis and surrounding

counties

. We are qualified to do

ddings

anywhere in the state of T

xas. We

add

travel charges

to any

ngs

more than 100 miles away. Any wedding over 3 hours each way from

Round

Rock, Texas

will require an overnight hotel stay, which will be added

to the cost of the wedding

package.

How far in advance should I confirm a wedding officiant?

homas and I

conduct all ceremonies

urselves

, many dates are

booked well in advance. You

will want to book your date

and place a deposit to guarantee your date and time as soon as you

can,

the sooner the

better.

What about last minute requests?

As long as there is room on

our

calendar,

can officiate for you.

How do we reserve our date with you?

To reserve your date, please call

512

248

9027

or e-mail

sharra@beautifullywed.com

Except for our Elopement Package w

require a

eposit

to hold

the date

See

Wedding

ackages

and c

heck

the

package

you have selected for the actual amount of deposit needed

You ma

call or

e-mail

to find

about

availability, but you must

actually put down

eposit

uarantee

the

date.

In case of cancellations, $100 of your deposit is non-refundable.

What if you are unavailable for our date?

Sorry, there is not much

can do about that, but

work with other

ministers

in the area

and

will be more

than happy to refer you to. However,

will

gladly put you on a waiting list in case

the booking

cancels

and we should become available

How long does a ceremony take?

This depends a lot on which wedding package you choose.

Typically, a ceremony will last about

20 to 25 minutes. However, if you wish

to add extra readings

or other things such as songs, candle

ceremony, or

dove release to your ceremony, it will last longer.

What do you as ministers wear during the ceremony?

Typically,

homas will

wear a dark color suit

, or a shirt and tie with a clergy

robe and stole

keep various colors in robes and stoles. Sharra

ypically will wear a white robe

with a

stole.

have red, green,

purple

and white long stoles and shorter gold stoles.

Can we write our own vows?

Definitely! ... In fact, personalizing a ceremony can make it truly rich and

meaningful.

Even if you

don't feel you can write your own vows,

harra

has

put together a Wedding Ceremony Guide

available for help and inspiration

if the need should arise.

With our beautiful Celebration of Love

package Sharra will actually help you write your own vows.

Sharra is a Poet Laureate and

has

won many awards for her poetry and verses and

will be

well qualified to help you. If you use our

Create A Ceremony Guidebook,

You can pick the various parts of the

ceremony

you

and we

will put them together

for

a very special and personalized

wedding

ceremony designed especially

for you.

How do we work together to create our ceremony?

We will share with you our

reate A Ceremony Guidebook

and

will

chedule

mutually

convenient

ime to meet

with you

either in our

home or

at a

onvenient

location

such as

Starbuck

' to go over

the details of the

wedding ceremony with you

If you are writing your own

vows you should

present them to us at this time so we can include them in the customiz

ation

your ceremony

will take our notes from this meeting and custom

create

the

ceremony for

you. We will send you a

copy of the ceremony

text

well in advance

so you can look

over

and

make any changes. You will usually receive

a rough

draft of

the ceremony within 48 hours of our

meeting.

Does it matter what religion or spirituality we practice?

No. What matters is that

serve you in a matter that brings joy to your

day.

will help you

to bring your own spiritual experience to the

ceremony

We want a non-religious wedding - will you do that?

It is

YOUR

ceremony, and

will do it

YOUR

way. Except for a couple of

legal restrictions, you

have ultimate say over how your ceremony is to be

conducted.

Can we have a non-religious yet spiritual ceremony?

Certainly. In fact many prefer a "spiritual" rather than a "religious"

ceremony.

Can I include elements of different religions and religious traditions in our ceremony?

f course you can

! These make for interesting, rich meaningful

ceremonies.

will work with

you and your various traditions to develop a

ceremony that truly represents your spiritual values.