Gregory Lee Schmalfeldt

ABOUT THIS WEDDING

"This was my first wedding as an officiant and the entire experience made me appreciate the ceremony so much more. First let me say I appreciated everything AMM did to help me prepare for my first ceremony to officiate. I look back on my wedding 38 years ago and I remember having zero input into the words said at the ceremony. Being able to work with the bride and groom to get the script exactly how they wanted the ceremony to flow made the experience for them and their family and friends so much more meaningful. I of course had to add my flare with humor and getting the attendees to participate, so it was a great experience for all, and I received a lot of feedback that everyone enjoyed the experience. As a first timer, I could not have done it without your training and educational information to help me prepare. Once ready, I was then able to guide the bride and groom during our sessions. A couple things I would add to your training include: - it is important at the ceremony for everybody to hear both the officiant and the bride and groom. I have attended wedding where that did not happen, so as I made announcements to silence and put away devices I started by saying can everybody hear me in the back. That gave us feedback for me as a speaker and the sound engineer to adjust the volume. This is a big deal, and I am sure everyone appreciated our effort to make sure they all could hear the ceremony script and interactions. - Once the sound is right, then I took the time to tell their Love Story and at the end I asked is everybody ready to get these two married as they have been working towards this day for ..... My point there is if you can give the attendees an opportunity to participate you get their attention and they feel that they are a part of the ceremony. Bottom-line with public speaking you give your audience the opportunity to be involved and they have a better experience. These are comments about conducting the ceremony and delivery, but a few tweaks in actually conducting the ceremony can make a big difference in the outcome. AMM Team - Thank you for preparing me to be an officiant as I might not have done this without you. A funny story - When asked to officiate my niece's wedding, my first comment was what is an officiant? I thought I would be sending people down the aisle or something, and she said I want you to marry me. I told her it was an honor that she asked, but I needed to do some research before committing. I googled and found your site, and in short order I was licensed and had spent a few hours with your training. Your information gave me the confidence that I could do this for them. A great experience!!!"

-Gregory Lee Schmalfeldt