wanna get hitched...

badbiddy007
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wanna get hitched...

I am wondering if anyone can help. My girlfriend and I want to get married. We have been engaged for a while and are now ready for the next step. We are finding it very difficult to find someone to marry us and a ceremony that suits us. I am sure that many of you have already crossed this bridge and any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

We live in Northeastern Pennsylvania and would like to get married close to home so that some less mobile relatives can make it to the event.

Any suggestions or advice?

My only fear is that things won't change enough in my lifetime.


djneibarger
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when my sister got married

when my sister got married she had a judge perform the ceremony in our parents living room, with friends and family and a little reception afterwards. and the bride, groom, and judge all signed and notarized the marriage liscence right there as part of the ceremony. kind of cool.

my wife and i were also married by a judge but we just went to the courthouse. 

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Most reception halls have

Most reception halls have rooms that are available for ceremonies.  Who you want to marry you is your own choice.  I've had agnostic friends get married by judges and non-denominational clergy.  While god was never mentioned by the latter, references to a higher 'energy' or 'spirit' were. 

If god takes life he's an indian giver


badbiddy007
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We kind of have a few

We kind of have a few places in mind already.  The Judge idea is kind of a last resort.  We have found a couple of web sites that offer "Wedding Celebrants" to perform customized ceremonies and that does not seem bad.  Has anyone done that?

My only fear is that things won't change enough in my lifetime.


badbiddy007
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We kind of have a few

Any cool ceremony ideas?


Nero
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badbiddy007 wrote: Any

badbiddy007 wrote:

Any cool ceremony ideas?

 

Yes.  I suggest that you hire Whiplash, the cowboy monkey, to be your ring bearer. (See link below to see some of Whiplash's work.) Then, once the ceremony is over, fire your bride out of a cannon into the western sky and the setting sun.  It would all be very romantic.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYNoQZ5djUA

"Tis better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven." -Lucifer


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I don't know if they do

I don't know if they do this in the US but...

My wife and I got married at a registry office in Edinburgh, Scotland. Registry offices deal with all aspects of births, deaths, marriages and naturalisation and can carry out marriage services on the premises. The one we were at - which is closed now as it's moved to bigger premises - had two marriage suites which could accommodate up to 40 people (the new ones can do up to 100 I think). They are smartly and tastefully decorated, bright and roomy and with all the wedding paraphernalia you'd expect, just no religious trappings at all.

The ceremony is conducted by a registrar who has all the bearing and pomp of a minister but, again, without the religious aspects. The service lasts about 20 minutes although you can book for longer if you want music, etc after which you go through to the private office to sign the register.

We then went to our reception which had all the speeches, eating, drinking and dancing to the wee sma' hours.

In other words, we did everything you would do at a church wedding, just without the entire god bothering thing

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Is there a UU congregation

Is there a UU congregation in your area?  I know of atheists who are in the UU church.  Ask a minister if there is one close to you.  There is such a range of beliefs (which includes a lack of belief) in the UU church that I'm sure they personalize every service.  Ask them to leave out God.

 

Good luck and congrats!! 

“The four most over-rated things in life are champagne, lobster, anal sex and picnics.”
-Christopher Hitchens

"I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of Him."
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A mayor is legally allowed

A mayor is legally allowed to perform a wedding in PA. My Dad was mayor of Bernville a few years back, and a Christian man was marrying a Jewish woman and they wanted a compromise and found this out.

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I went to a Universalist

I went to a Universalist Unitarian wedding a couple of years ago, and I was shocked at how decent it was.  The minister meticulously avoided any references to the Christian god, and only vaguely hinted at the "universe" a few times.  The vows were really good... they talked about real life, about having times of "falling out of love" and about how marriage doesn't solve any problems but it does add richness of life, etc... etc...

From what I understand, you can pretty much get a good UU minister to say whatever you want, and if you don't want any prayers, there won't be any.  You should have pretty much complete control.

I normally make a lot of fun of UU's, because I think they're a bunch of very silly people who redefine "wishy-washy" in grand fashion.  However, they put on a good hitchin'.

 

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You could always go on a

You could always go on a cruise or something. Ships captains are another option for marriage ceremonies. Can be expensive though.

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Vastet wrote: You could

Vastet wrote:
You could always go on a cruise or something. Ships captains are another option for marriage ceremonies. Can be expensive though.

Actually that's an urban legend. Ship captains cannot perform legal weddings, unless they have some other reason to be able to.

 

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Blame American television.

Blame American television. Canada is a much looser nation in regards to marriage law, and most if not all cruise ship captains I've known of over my life can perform marriages in Canadian waters.

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Hey I've only known a few

Hey I've only known a few ship captains but they could all legally marry people.

 

Disney puts on amazing weddings and a not too unreasonable price.  They supply everything...except the person to actually marry you.  They do provide a list of people that can do it of various styles and faiths.  I was looking at them a couple years ago but never went through with it.   


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I'm afraid I'm not

I'm afraid I'm not experienced in this. I agree with the Patrician though, the registry office seems like the obvious solution. But if they don't have them in the US then that's a bugger!

You can also in this country, apply for a liscense for a certain building or area of land to do weddings.

There are also large country houses that can be hired for such events. Some people also have two ceremonies, a major but unofficial one, of their own design and then a quickie registry office one to make it official.

This is probably of absolutely no help to you living in a different legal system.


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I have also heard that UU

I have also heard that UU is a good place to have a ceremony and that the ministers or whoever are quite agreeable in keeping religion out of the ceremony. 

 In NJ you can be married by a Judge.  I don't even think it really matters who marries you as long as you have the proper forms filled out and the marriage license, to be perfectly honest. 

If god takes life he's an indian giver


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badbiddy007 wrote: I am

badbiddy007 wrote:

I am wondering if anyone can help. My girlfriend and I want to get married. We have been engaged for a while and are now ready for the next step. We are finding it very difficult to find someone to marry us and a ceremony that suits us. I am sure that many of you have already crossed this bridge and any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

We live in Northeastern Pennsylvania and would like to get married close to home so that some less mobile relatives can make it to the event.

Any suggestions or advice?

 

Margaret Downey owner of the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia is licensed and enjoys performing secular weddings.  She's a freethought hero and one of the most important atheist activists of our time.  I can't say enough good things about her.  If you came to the Philly area she would probably do it for free, however you really should pay her.  I would think she would drive up to your location, and the proper thing to do would be to offer her a several hundred dollar fee to do it.  Somewhere between 300-500.  Her number is listed on her site, tell her I referref you, her site is www.fsgp.org  

I speak on assumptions, she might actually have a fee and rules that I don't know about.

 

 


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There are atheist

There are atheist "ministers" around. From Brian Flemming's Weblog on March 13, 2007:

 

I myself am an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church. In fact, tonight I am meeting with the first couple I am going to marry. They're interested in talking about what I'm going to say at their wedding. I'm more concerned with what I'm going to wear.

What does an atheist minister wear to preside over a wedding? I do have this costume, but I think it may send a confusing message:

 

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I can do weddings. A few

I can do weddings. A few years ago I married a couple that didnt want any religuous stuff. Instead they got a guy standing in his boxers in my kitchen with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a pen in the other hand signing there paperwork. The only thing I asked for for payment was a 12 pack. You want that kind of wedding? I can make that happen!


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AbandonMyPeace wrote: I can

AbandonMyPeace wrote:
I can do weddings. A few years ago I married a couple that didnt want any religuous stuff. Instead they got a guy standing in his boxers in my kitchen with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a pen in the other hand signing there paperwork. The only thing I asked for for payment was a 12 pack. You want that kind of wedding? I can make that happen!

That kind of wedding sounds awesome!! Plus... I always have your fee on hand. LOL 


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Yeah Im real cheap. Beer

Yeah Im real cheap. Beer will get almost any result you want out of me. Important thing to remember though is you dont give me my beer until after I have finished my work. My wife has learned this the hard way. She use to give me beer if I told her I would do the dishes. Now she only gives me beer after the dishes have already been done.


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Here's An Idea

Here's something you can sink your tooth into (inside joke I know this guy) Write your own vows and perhaps have some of your friends and family say a few words about you two. Even the toothless, freaks will leave you alone. Smiling


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Well I can't speak from

Well I can't speak from experience here, although I do find the topic interesting, because my boyfriend and I are both atheists, and also hope to marry someday in the [far] future. (We're 20 year old undergraduate students, who both plan to finish grad or med school before getting hitched - if we manage to stay together that long - so we've got a wayyyys to go.) But hopefully my tidbits of advice will be of some help.

First of all, especially since you are not religious, and are (I assume) avoiding a religious theme or message, it is not necessary you get married in a church. You can get married pretty much anywhere. If you want a simple ceremony, a courthouse or some of the suggestions others have posted would work fine; for a more elaborate event, you could try renting out a garden (depending on the season), a ballroom, or any other local venues for the ceremony and/or reception. I have a cousin who decided to marry his fiancee at a very scenic winery in California's Sonoma Valley area.

Now the "clergy" is a bit trickier. The same cousin and his fiancee chose to have one of their best friends ordained in the Universal Life Church, and he married them off. The two wrote their own vows, also. I thought this was a good option, because the friend was someone they were comfortable with, and knew he wouldn't do anything they didn't want him to.

I don't know if judges or other similar officials are willing to travel to the site of a wedding venue, but if this is a possiblity, that could also work.

Anyways, that's pretty much it for my suggestions, hope this helps!