It’s not often that a wedding ceremony concept leaves us speechless, but Robbie Campbell and Stephanie Agnew’s Nov. 25 nuptials reminded us just how powerful each couple’s lives and experiences are. In Stephanie’s case, she’s blind. To help their guests understand what this meant to them, and how she experiences the world, the couple handed out blindfolds that the guests wore during the ceremony.

“When we lose one of our senses, the others become heightened, which allows us to experience something as beautiful as these vows in a totally unique way,” their officiant told the blindfolded guests. “Today, we get to experience that in Steph’s way.”

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The wedding ceremony sets the tone for the rest of the wedding celebration, from the entrance of the bride to the start of the cocktail hour and reception  - when the real party kicks off!  If you have ever been to a wedding with a great ceremony, you probably noticed that the guests left the ceremony and carried those feelings of love and joy into the reception - and well into the night.  A great wedding ceremony starts the whole experience off on a positive note. 

“The wedding ceremony sets the tone for how the guests will see the couple’s relationship,” explains Stan, a wedding officiant from the Houston area. “If the couple has a good mix of love and laughter, their ceremony should reflect that, instead of being boring and full of negative marriage advice.”  ...(continued)

The bride might have been smiling, but everyone knew that she was deeply uncomfortable with the language used by the wedding officiant. And as the ceremony went on, the audience grew increasingly uncomfortable. Despite the fact that the wedding was being performed by her uncle, it was clear that his deeply religious language was making the bride, an atheist, unhappy. With all her friends in attendance, her big day was being turned into a religious ceremony, and we all knew that behind her smiles, she was very dissapointed. 

What went wrong? It turns out that her well-meaning but uninformed uncle was not aware that his references to God were exactly what the couple wanted to avoid. 

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Weddings are expensive and it’s important to remember that after the guests have gone home, you’ve still got bills to pay. Life goes on. There’s a reason that DIY weddings are so popular these days.  Couples want a wedding that is less expensive, and yet, still reflects who they are. 

That’s why we recommend a WTF style wedding…a Wedding That Fits. 

This is your special day and you are inviting your closest friends and family to celebrate it with you. Shouldn’t you go as big as possible where it matters to you?  To us, a WTF is created when you decide what is most important to you on your wedding day, and figure out how to make those pieces special. ...(continued)

Telling your story is the key to creating a memorable wedding ceremony, but many couples struggle to translate their love and shared experiences into words. You might be one of them. To help couples, American Marriage Ministries (AMM) has expanded its online tools to make this task a meaningful yet easy part of wedding preparation.

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