Yes, joyfully!  I am familiar with many of the summits in Shenandoah National Park, and love exploring new places, as well! 

I will, with pleasure, and a headlamp.

 Having your wedding ceremony in a hot air balloon is a unique and fun way to elope!  I’ve worked with Blue Ridge Ballooning in Charlottesville, and they provide an extraordinarily fun and safe experience.  We all gather at the pre-arranged meeting spot, and then ride to the launch location.  Once we’re up in the air, we can do a 5-10 minute ceremony in between blasts of heat.  That’s enough time for you to say your vows and put rings on each others’ fingers, and for me to do the legal part.  The whole trip is generally about an hour, and I’m happy to take some candid photos while you enjoy the ride.  You leave the ground unmarried, and step back to Earth as a married couple!

My job is to celebrate and support love, and I enthusiastically work with LGBTQ couples!

  The Commonwealth of Virginia has pretty strict regulations about who can sign the marriage license (keep in mind that they don’t recognize online ordination like the Universal Life Church).  I’m happy to work with your friend or family member to co-officiate the ceremony, if desired.  I’m also willing to make arrangements to officiate a small legal wedding before or after your public ceremony, if I’m available (but that’s a whole lot less fun for me!).

  After an initial phone consultation, I send a questionnaire for you each to fill out individually.  Before you send them back to me, you make a date with each other to share your answers and discuss them together.  After you send your questionnaires back to me, I meet with the two of you in person for a more detailed ceremony design process (we can also FaceTime, if necessary). I provide samples of readings, vows, and other ceremony options for you to consider, and you’re encouraged to bring your own unique ideas of what you want, as well. After that meeting, I compile a draft ceremony outline based on our discussion, which is open to your edits and revision up until the rehearsal.

If you’re getting married in Virginia: The two of you together go to any courthouse in Virginia (regardless of where you live, or where your ceremony is taking place), and apply for the license within 60 days before your wedding (be sure to bring along your official ID!).  They’ll give you the incomplete license then, and you give that to me at the rehearsal (or before the ceremony).  After the ceremony I complete the paperwork and send it in!  

If you’re getting married in another state, you’ll need to research about the process for the state in which you’re getting married.  Some states require you to apply for the license in the county where your ceremony is being held. Each state has its own legal quirks.

Weddings offer a variety of opportunities to include children, well beyond the traditional flower girl/ring bearer roles, depending on a child’s age and comfort level.  These can include:

• Family unity ceremonies: creating a family puzzle, sand art, bouquet, or family painting
• Family vows (from parents to children, and/or vows that the whole family takes together)
• Gift from parents to children, and/or from children to parents
• Children can offer readings or music
• Children can support in various aspects of the ceremony, like holding the broom for the couple to jump over, or tying a handfasting ribbon

All of my weddings are unique, because they are custom-designed for each couple.  A few extraordinary ceremonies especially stand out:

• The couple that gave each other tattoos during the ceremony
• A wedding at a skydive center, and the couple went skydiving (for the first time ever) immediately after the ceremony
• An anarchist wedding with specially-written vows
• A week-long festival with a giant bonfire after the ceremony, inspired by Burning Man
• A “hunting” themed wedding, with all the wedding party in camo and hunter orange
• An elopement in a hot air balloon

An interfaith minister provides support by honoring each individual’s path, rather than proclaiming the truth of any one path. At One Spirit Interfaith Seminary, we studied each of the major world religions enough to have a working knowledge of the basic ideas and vocabulary of each major spiritual path, cultivating respect and appreciation while examining our inherent cultural biases and assumptions.
As an interfaith minister, my main goal is to help all of us get deeply present to the beauty, truth, and awe of the moment, using whatever tools can get us there, including silence, prayer, and laughter. I’m happy to include your choice of wisdom teachings, if desired, from sacred scriptures, or song lyrics, or anything in between!

When a couple wants to honor two (or more) different religious or cultural backgrounds, I’m happy to help research readings, rituals, and customs to create a respectful and harmonious blending of traditions.

I especially enjoy working with couples who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious”.  Together, we create a ceremony that feels deeply meaningful and sacred, without religious specifics.  If desired, I can also help integrate more traditional aspects, to honor family members who may be coming from a more religious background.