Wedding Hits and Misses: The Ceremony

HITS:
(There are several.)

First, we asked one of our very best friends to officiate for us, and he was fantastic. We got to work with him on every part of the ceremony, including very nitpicky things that were really important to me. For instance, I do not like the phrase "You may now kiss the bride." I perceive it to be sexist, because I am kissing the groom just as much as he is kissing me. I also wanted no mention of God or Jesus - to us, marriage is a legal contract. We also wanted NOTHING about a woman being subordinate to man. I don't care if that violates rules of traditional etiquette or chivalry, it's sexist.

Second, the chapel. We got married at the Tillman Chapel at the Church Center for the United Nations, across the street from all the flags. It was the perfect size, we had about 110 guests and it fit everybody, but I don't think we could have fit 10 more people. It was very intimate, and very affordable. It is also an interfaith chapel, so the altar looks like this



Third, the guitarist. I hired Scott Samuels off of Gigmasters, and he was so great. Very accommodating, and the single acoustic guitar was perfect for such an intimate space.


MISS:

The staff at the chapel was less than reassuring. Now, I'm not the kind of person who needs a lot of coddling, but I never felt like everything with the chapel was squared away until the rehearsal. The staff is just slightly disorganized and are slow to respond to emails. There also wasn't an off hours contact person, which was a little unnerving because our wedding was on a Saturday. Dude and I went to visit the chapel during February, and it was locked, so I was worried - what if it was locked on our wedding day? The only answer I got was, "I don't know why it was locked, it should have been open." Not reassuring, right?

Also, since the UN wasn't in session, there were no flags flying. I was pretty sad about that, I wanted them for pictures.

That said, everything worked out, and the chapel was wonderful. The man who worked the front desk, Hector, was so sweet to us. In the end, everything went great.