A Busy Summer of Beautiful Weddings & Baptisms!

I've been busy this summer!
Here are some highlights of the great ceremonies I've been privileged to officiate in 2009:
A sunrise 4th of July ceremony for Aulynn & Ted, on the beach at Sea Bright... (pic is at the very top of this page!)
A beautiful afternoon ceremony on a humid yet gorgeous day for Elisa and Richie at LBI's Mallard Island Yacht Club 8/22/09 ...
2 great weddings in Perona Farms' new Piazza for Maria & Jabbo en Español, Maria had a bright smile during the ceremony... and Jaimie and Garrett had a beautiful day there as well...
Jackie & Rafael's happy nuptials at Courtyard on Main, Freehold...
Trish & Jared's fun wedding at Glen Island Harbour Club, where their son the ringbearer accidentally burnt his hand before the wedding (he was fine though, just stressed out in a 4-year old kind of way... then he was stunned to discover hundreds of people waiting for him when he entered the room ... they did a beautiful Sand Ceremony together...
Jessica & Matt's personalized vows at Valleybrook Country Club (Blackwood) where they vowed "to be bad-ass full-time" as part of their vows :) ... and I played Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" on guitar as the bridesmaids walked down the aisle. And in spite of these lighthearted touches, this was a remarkably heartfelt and sincere ceremony!
Lauren & Frank's really cool wedding at Studio 450 in Manhattan 6/20/09... I met some cool nuns from their family afterwards... "That Guitar Guy" from Central Park did the music...
Melissa and Luis' wedding in Spanish, surrounded by trees in Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park by the Cloisters 6/19/09... a hot day but great!
Two great weddings at Crystal Plaza for Mike and Thanuja (sunny and gorgeous in the gazebo garden out back) and Camila and Fernando (indoors, where I said some things in Portuguese and English including the Unity Candle... and they presented roses to their parents and each other. Agora pode beijar a noiva! (you may now kiss the bride)
A sunny wedding at Crystal Springs in Vernon for Stephanie and Louis (his family is from the same village in Sicily as Sinatra and Lucky Luciano... 40 minutes from where my family is from (Ciminna))
Cheryl and Greg, a sweet couple, were married at Carlstadt's Il Villaggio...
Suehaydee & Juan's beautiful sunny wedding en Español at Garden Cathay in Plattekill, NY...
Desiree & Walter's delightful Español nuptials at Florentine Gardens...
Victor & Ydalim's bilingual Español ceremony at Voorhees Chapel on the Rutgers campus... it was warm in there but so was the love in the air :)
Deirdre & Fabiano's fun wedding at the American Legion in Edgewater... I played guitar for the processional and recessional...
Karissa & Matt who flew in from Wyoming to marry at the Jersey City Hyatt overlooking the Hudson on a real sunny picture-perfect Monday...
baby Gabriel's baptism in the sunny backyard with loving parents Kerry & Jared, who I was honored to marry in Nyack back on 7/7/07!
Mandyjane & Dan's sunset ceremony in the courtyard of the Olde Mill Inn, can't go wrong at such a nice place! We did a nature-inspired blessing of the rings with water, sweetgrass and herbs which everyone loved...
Gina and Jeffrey's wedding at one of the best kept secrets on cool locations: Adega Grill in Newark! A beautiful small room with amazing fireplace backdrop and ambience, and amazing tapas from the cuisine of Spain/Portugal (I was able to stay for the cocktail hour and glad I did!)
Richard and Annie at the stunning White Meadow Lake in Rockaway NJ, where I got to walk down the aisle to the crooning sounds of Tom Waits during the processional - how cool is that! They are a fun and laid-back couple and we had a perfect day overlooking a perfect lake...
Heather and Marvin at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Laguardia... where I sang "The Wedding Song" with guitar and sang Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" at the close.... Heather shed some soft tears, and her sweet sister Dawn could not do her reading because she burst into tears at that point, so they just held hands while I read it for her... and what a memorable wedding this was! Tears are not a bad thing, folks... it proves that you feel something and what's more moving than that?

Leave a comment