Kathryn Blume, Vermont Wedding Officiant Rotating Header Image

Engayged Love

Jan 23rd, 2012
by Kathryn.
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One of the fun things about working as an Officiant is getting to meet all the other nice people out there in The Biz.  While I know the World of Weddings has a reputation for preying upon the hunger of the Affianced (particularly Brides) for the perfect wedding (and jacking up prices accordingly), most of the folks I’ve met do the work because they love participating in such a significant event in peoples’ lives.  It makes their work deeply meaningful, since they know that everything they do really, REALLY matters.

And nowhere is that more true than in the Gay Wedding Community.  And it’s extremely important to me to be able to serve the cause of social justice – all while I’m serving the cause of Love.

One of the nicest people I’ve run into is Britt Jamrock from the website Engayged Weddings. EW is an on-line resource for helping plan gay weddings, and Britt has been incredibly helpful in getting me set up a profile on the site.  This morning she emailed me to let me know I’d been featured on the site.  And indeed, the slideshow on the home page has photos of three different weddings at which I’ve officiated.

I can’t thank her enough for her generosity in promoting my work.  It is indeed an honor to marry folks who can’t marry elsewhere. There’s a part of me which, while performing a wedding ceremony for a gay couple, always feels like I’m giving Texas the finger.  Not a very mature or holy attitude, I know.  But still pretty satisfying.

I look forward, eagerly, to the day when this is a non issue; to the day when people are just people, and we don’t have to fight to treat them that way.  But until then, I’m in the fray, fighting my part of the fight with words and rings and flowers and kisses and joyous celebrations.

Posted in: Marital Miscellany, Same-sex unions.

Ticking Clock Follow-Up

Dec 24th, 2011
by Kathryn.
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"We can't even begin to express our gratitude for the MOST beautiful marriage ceremony!! We were blown away on how connected we were to the words you spoke. It was just perfect!!! It wasn't about the guests, the flowers, the food or what we were wearing. It was truly about our abundant love for one another. Just perfect." - Ellie and Ben

I just got an update on Ellie and Ben!  Turns out they left for the hospital 30 minutes after the ceremony, and 11 hours later, welcomed Miss Aspen Rebecca Hayes into the world.

She is, I’m told, “Cute as a button.”  But don’t take my word for it.  See for yourself:

Welcome Aspen!  So glad you could join us!  We hope you enjoy your stay!

Posted in: Funny Wedding Stories, Marital Miscellany, Weddings.

Ticking Clock!

Dec 17th, 2011
by Kathryn.
1 comment

I’ll add the photo from the actual wedding when Ellie’s sister sends it along.  But this was just so funny I wanted to write about it right away.

So, yesterday afternoon, I went over to the little hamlet of St. George, VT to perform a kitchen wedding for Ellie and Ben.

They’d met while working at Burton Snowboards, are madly in love, and Ben has a beautiful relationship with Ellie’s 7 year old son Keane.

They were very excited to get married – and a little pressed for time, as Ellie is about 11 months pregnant.  Just kidding.  But she is really, really, really pregnant.  In fact, as of this writing, she might not be pregnant anymore!

Yup, as Ellie and Ben moved to the spot in the kitchen where he’d proposed, Keane perched on a stool, Ellie’s mom and sister gathered round, and Ben’s parents joined in on Skype, Ellie announced that she was having serious contractions, and wasn’t going to be able to stand up for much longer, so we better get on with it!

This might explain why there was so much crying…

But what a post-post-modern wedding!  From the rapid bridal dilation to the parental techno-participation, to the fact that Ben read his vows off his iPhone, this was definitely a ceremony to remember.

They’ll be re-hitching up in October with a big, fancy party-style wedding, but it’s hard to imagine anything topping this!

 

 

Posted in: Funny Wedding Stories, Weddings.

Gorgeous Day

Oct 12th, 2011
by Kathryn.
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Erin and Sinan got married on one of those perfect Vermont fall days when the sky is as blue as a sky can be, the air is crisp and cool, and the trees are an utter riot of colors which, if used to decorate your kitchen, would be painfully garish, but out in nature does an awful lot of taking of breath – i.e. GORGEOUS!

They were married on the Middlebury Town Green – proof positive that you don’t need to spend a gazillion dollars on a fancy wedding venue.  A few artfully placed pumpkins and mums can pretty much do the trick. Though they did have to push the wedding from 4 to 4:30 so that the previous event – a pig roast – could get cleaned up.  This was doubly important because Sinan is Turkish, and Muslims tend not to go in for pork products.

I had to modify the repeat-after-me vow section, as Sinan’s English is a little rugged, and I can be, admittedly, a little fancy-pants in my writing style.  But I slowed way down in the delivery, knocked it back to a few words at a time, left out as much extraneous verbiage as possible, and, so far as we can tell, still managed to get Sinan promising enough to make it sound like actual marriage vows.

Then, after the ceremony and big group shot, I was heading back to my car, when I saw one of the women from the inn where they were staying peering intently at the ground. Apparently, Erin’s Maid of Honor had dropped her ring on the way to the Green and nobody could find it!  I have no idea whose ring the little Ring Dudes brought to the altar, but Mystery Donor gets double-dog thanks for helping keep Crisis at bay.

Posted in: Marital Miscellany.

Utter Sweetness!

Sep 8th, 2011
by Kathryn.
1 comment

I got the sweetest thank-you note from Kristen and Justin, who got married in a lovely lakeside ceremony in upstate New York (yes, I do cross the border sometimes!).

Thank you once again for making our ceremony perfect.  It was the most accurate description of Justin and me.  It brought out many different emotions from not only us but our families too.  Everyone was crying at one point, even Justin’s dad :)  We cannot thank you enough for the beautiful job you did for us.  I wish you could have stayed a bit longer to celebrate!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

-Justin and Kristen Delisle

I really have to thank them back for sharing as much of themselves with me as they did, and for being willing to have both poignancy, romance, and humor in the ceremony.

And in case you’re wondering what poignancy, romance, and humor actually look like in action, here’s an excerpt from their ceremony:

You know the ease with which you communicate and share and engage with the world, and the huge amount of trust and respect which you bring to your partnership.  Well, trust and respect, but also pizza, chicken wings, Chinese and ice cream.  Proof positive that you are, indeed, the male and female versions of exactly the same person.

You also know exactly how much you adore each other.  Kristen, you know Justin loves your personality, and how much fun you are to be around, and really, he loves pretty much everything about you.  Justin, you know Kristen thinks you’re the most caring man she’s ever met, and that she relishes your generosity, your work ethic, and your mere presence, which gives her so much comfort.  You also have no idea how fortunate you are to have found a woman to whom you can communicate the power of your feelings through a judicious and masterful use of greeting cards.  Once again, proof positive that you are the same person.

They’re a totally delightful couple, and I wish them all the best!

Posted in: Marital Miscellany, Weddings.

Mighty Mini Music Maven

Aug 29th, 2011
by Kathryn.
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Generally I tend to focus on the part of a wedding where I’m doing a lot of the talking and the couple is busy getting wed to each other.  But sometimes, other bits of enchantment catch my attention, and this photo is a beautiful illustration of just such a moment.

We were at Mills Riverside Park in Jericho, Vermont waiting for Ethan and Alicia to arrive. Well, actually, Ethan was already there. We were really waiting for Alicia to arrive. But I never like to blame the bride.

Anyway, the band played for a while before things got rolling, with a lovely set that included some of my favorite Sing-along-ables, including One Love, One Heart and Here Comes the Sun.

Much as I was enjoying the concert, this little guy was utterly into it.  He stood there, as documented in this photo, staring at the musicians, for a good 20 minutes until his mom had to pick him up because Alicia was about to walk down the aisle.

I would give a serious chunk of change to be able to travel into the future and see whether or not this micro-dude becomes a rock star.

Posted in: Funny Wedding Stories, Marital Miscellany, Weddings.

Until Bananas Turn To Ink

Aug 29th, 2011
by Kathryn.
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A wedding should be a celebration that fits the people getting married and you really helped us achieve that. It has been a joy working with you. - Deanna and Guy

Guy and Deanna came all the way from St. Louis to get married at a rented farmhouse in beautiful Craftsbury, Vermont.  They had about 10 friends and family there with them, and we did the ceremony out underneath a couple of old apple trees called “The Married Couple” by the owners of the farmhouse.

At the end of the ceremony, Deanna and Guy handed out little books called Until Bananas Turn To Ink.  It’s a love poem written by William M. Perry for his wife and runs along the lines of:

Until bananas turn to ink
I’ll keep you in my heart.
Till helium begins to sink
I’ll hope we never part.
Until pillows grow on trees
And the ocean turns to glue
And polar bears raise honeybees
I always will love you.

It’s very sweet and whimsical, and the entire assembled gang read it out loud, each person taking a line.  It was a terrific moment of easy group participation, and highly recommended for anyone looking to get their wedding guests more involved in the ceremony.

Posted in: Funny Wedding Stories, Marital Miscellany, Wedding Advice, Weddings.

Rock Star Princess

Aug 28th, 2011
by Kathryn.
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"You helped make our wedding amazing! thank you for your professionalism and great attitude. your vows were perfect! Oh, and thank you for calling me a rock star princess- my friends thought I planned that!" - Tamsn

I hadn’t met Tamsn and Renny in person before the wedding, but once I got to the ceremony site at beautiful Button Bay State Park, and found Renny setting up the ceremony site himself, I immediately liked him.

Tamsn I met when she came down the isle – by herself – looking like she’d just won an Oscar, but was trying to play it cool.  She had on this strapless, bell-shaped fairy dress and long rhinestone earrings with stars on the ends.  Totally endearing and scrumptious!

So when I got to the part of the vows where I ask each partner if they’re ready to marry the other, I referred to Tamsn as a “rock star princess.”

Apparently it went over pretty well.

Posted in: Funny Wedding Stories, Marital Miscellany.

Midnight At The Treehouse

Aug 9th, 2011
by Kathryn.
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“We want to thank you again so much for everything Kathryn. Marriage is amazing and you helped us to make it all happen.”

Dee and Shannon met on line in 2nd Life, and managed to translate their romance to the Real World (although it took Shannon 3 solid months of asking Dee out before she finally said yes).

They’d originally contacted me about getting married next summer, but decided at the last minute that it was time to get married NOW!  So they piled themselves and their dog into their car, and drove 17 hours from Indiana to Burlington.

Their big goal was to get married at midnight in the now-famous treehouse at Oakledge Park, and brought a battalion of candles with them with which to light the ceremony.

When we got to the treehouse, it was empty but for a gigantic growler of beer and a large, beautifully intricate, blown glass bong.  We wondered who would have been so blasted out of their mind (or scared off) as to forget both the beer and the bong!

Then, just as we’d lit the candles and were about to start the ceremony, a young guy came riding into the treehouse on his bike, apologized for the interruption, grabbed his Implements of Destruction, and wheeled back out into the night.

The rest of the ceremony proceeded without further incident, Dee and Shannon went back to the hotel, caught a few tiny winks of sleep, piled back into the car, and drove the marathon home.

They just sent me this photo, and I’m so glad to know they made it back safely, and are loving the Married Life!

Posted in: Marital Miscellany, Same-sex unions, Weddings.

What Lies Beneath

Aug 7th, 2011
by Kathryn.
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We just wanted to say a huge thank you! The wedding was beautiful and we couldn’t have asked for more. We got many compliments about you from friends and family. We feel so lucky to have found you and know you were the perfect match for us. Our day was perfect beginning to end, so thank you for the role that you played in making that possible!!!!

Stephanie and Elizabeth were friends for ages before discovering that something was happening between them, and lo and behold they were falling in love!

They had a beautiful rooftop ceremony at the Sunset Ballroom in Shelburne complete with a handfasting…

As well as speaking vows they wrote themselves…

And exchanging roses as the beginning of a relationship ritual which they hope will last a lifetime…

But what I didn’t know until I saw the photo gallery from the ceremony was that lurking underneath all the hair and makeup and beautiful dresses and flowers and shining smiles was some seriously rompy sassiness!

These gals are amazing together, and I wish them all love and happiness and years and years of stripey socks!

Posted in: Funny Wedding Stories, Same-sex unions, Weddings.

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