Don't we all say it every year, that we can't believe an entire year has passed by our eyes already? My year was jam packed with celebrations of every kind. I was happy to have married so many unique, interesting and fun couples from all walks of life, in all sorts of places. I am constantly intrigued by what brings people together, what they love and find valuable about their relationship, what matters to them in their lives. I also had the honor of performing a baby blessing ceremony for previous wedding clients as well as the honor of performing some Celebration of Life ceremonies for those who had passed. I am so honored to get to know all of these people, whether they are couples getting married, babies being welcomed into the world, or a dear one whose life is being celebrated as we say goodbye. I love getting to hear their stories and to be the storyteller.
This is Alice & Jim who met after Jim's wife had passed and Alice had recently come to this country. They enjoyed each other's company and getting to know each other's cultures. Now they will be hand and hand as they travel and enjoy what life brings them, together. I love when people find one another "later in life" and feel happy and content as they partner through life.
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Warner
This is Amanda, Tyler and their most adorable little boy, Elijah. They married at beautiful Round Hill Pines, on the beach in Lake Tahoe. I really love incorporating kids into ceremonies and feel it is important to make the kids feel part of it as they become a family. Elijah took his ring bearer job so seriously. His face was so sincere and sweet as he watched his parent's faces during the ceremony. He was definitely a big part of the festivities (as was his little brother Oliver.)
Photo courtesy of DC Photography Studios
And then there were the Yosemite weddings. Oh my gosh how grateful and blessed I was to perform so many weddings in Yosemite this year. This is Anneka and John Paul who married on the lawn outside the Ahwahnee Hotel (now known as The Majestic). I was told after the ceremony that deer had wandered by right behind me during the ceremony, pausing as if to listen for a few moments, passing along their good wishes and then meandering along.
Photo courtesy of Photography by Annie Ruby
And of course my Yosemite weddings included some amazing and heart-filled elopements. This is Brielle & Cameron who married in the meadow in front of El Capitan, while the wind blew pretty fiercely and climbers were headed up the mountain. They did not want to read the ceremony I wrote for them ahead of time, so they heard it for the very first time when I read it just to them and their reactions were priceless, from laughter to tears to "oh yeah, I remember that", "that's right!". I love the intimacy of elopements. "Cindie was an absolute dream to work with!! We contacted her to see if she was avaible on our wedding day and miraculously she was. We had an elopement in the El Capitan Meadow and it was the most beautiful thing ever. After contacting her and arranging our day, she reached out via a scheduled phone call to get a little information about ourselves. After that we electronically signed a contract and put our deposit down. She sent out questionnaires to get to know both of us better. From those, she wrote a beautiful and heartwarming ceremony. She sent us the ceremony about a month before our actual elopement day to read over, but we decided to let it be a surprise and we are so glad we did. Her summary of our love story during the ceremony was such a beautiful little surprise and it made for the best responses. It was so cold when we got married but Cindie toughed it out with us and was professional looking even all bundled up. I would absolutely recommend Cindie, she was incredible!!!!"
Photo courtesy of Siegel's Portrait Design
There were fun and sweet couples like Charles & Steven, who opted to do some pre-marital coaching with me for several months prior to their wedding, so I really got to know them even better and really loved spending the time with them and their two doggie children. On their wedding day I felt as happy as they were. They married at Newcastle Wedding Gardens, with much cheering and elation. "We cannot say enough about Cindie. We met her about 8 months before our wedding in Roseville. We immediately took a liking to her and knew she was the person we wanted to marry us. As a same sex couple, we immediately sensed a feeling of openness and a non judgmental attitude. We took advantage of a service that Cindie provides to meet with couples prior to the wedding. We met with her for six months in a row at our house. We both loved our hour long sessions. I think it really set us off on the right foot. Cindie gave us mini homework assignments to complete prior to meeting with her each month. I will be honest, some conversations were challenging and issues did come up that made us look closely about how we were as a couple. At the end of each sessions, we both felt like it was fruitful and productive. During this time it allowed both of us to get to know Cindie on a personal level, which in turn made the ceremony that much better. I highly recommend that you take advantage of the pre meetings. It was $75 a session, but so worth it. Cindie also gives you extensive questionnaires to answer prior to your ceremony. About two weeks prior to the ceremony, Cindie sent us a copy of our ceremony. Wow! we loved it. So personal and perfect. On the day of the ceremony, it was incredible. To have Cindie stand there with us and perform the ceremony was amazing. We felt a true connection with her as a result of the quality time we had spent together. We could not have asked for anything better. A sheer emotional joy. My partner was "waterworks' right from the get go, but it was something we will never forget. If you live in the Northern California area, Cindie is who you want. Her down to earth easy going personality was something that blended with us to a tee. Thank you Cindie for all you did to truly make our day special! A friend for life! Signed Charles and Steven!"
Photo courtesy of Shauna Castaner Photography
There are so many awesome venues in Sacramento and as much as we tend to have a lot of mild weather, we can also have some more varied days. This is Cherisse and Anthony who married at Granite Bay Golf Club. It had been threatening to rain and the very dark storm clouds were coming right over us just before ceremony time, but as always seems to happen, it all worked out. No rain on our ceremony. "Cindie was just great! She took the time to get to know our story and made to most wonderful ceremony! If you want something that truly is specialized and you will never forget get Cindie on board!!" ~ Cherisse
Photo courtesy of Awe Captures
Danielle & Will enjoyed the beauty of the Barrel Room at the Old Sugar Mill for their wedding. With grape vines right across the street and sunset happening right afterwards, it was an elegant early fall affair.
Photo courtesy of Nirav Patel Photography
And one final Yosemite shot, actually just outside the Park at the beautiful Evergreen Lodge. I so loved our wedding in the woods. It truly felt like a fairytale. Lots of laughter and tears in their ceremony. Elle and Tyler were so very sweet, coming out from Chicago to marry in Yosemite. Jay and I enjoyed staying the night at the Evergreen and hiking at Hetch Hetchy the next day. "Cindie was absolutely wonderful to work with and I wouldn't have wanted anyone else as our celebrant! She thoughtfully got to know my fiancé and I and crafted a beautiful ceremony for us. I'm a writer and so had minor contributions of my own, which she was super amenable to.Overall, she was a joy to work with! At the actual wedding, she was such a calm, lovely presence and walked us through the ceremony with such grace. Our guests gave her rave reviews, complimenting how personal and love-filled the ceremony was as well as her beautiful, kind demeanor. Some guests even thought I wrote the ceremony because it reflected us so well — a testament to Cindie. Plus, she perfectly integrated prayers/religious aspects into our ceremony, which were important to us. I cannot recommend her enough — she is a wonderful soul and a wonderful person to entrust your ceremony to. Thank you, Cindie!"
Thank you to all my clients and other wedding professionals I had the joy to work with this year. It was amazing and I am looking forward to what 2018 will bring.
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