Weddings
Your wedding is important to me. I feel every wedding ceremony is to be as wonderfully different as you are as a couple. Together we will create your wedding with personal, heartfelt and memorable vows that can be non-denominational, spiritual, religious or civil ceremony vows as you desire. I have officiated nearly 900 weddings over the past 15 years and enjoyed every minute of it!
Personalized Ceremonies
I feel passionate, joyous, and honored when I officiate at a wedding ceremony! My wish for you is to have a perfect ceremony which reflects who you are, your hopes and dreams and one which you will remember forever as beautiful and special. It is my wish to help you create a fulfilling and meaningful ceremony that is uniquely yours whether you and your beloved have the same or different faiths or are simply spiritual or non-religious or multi-cultural. You may use my ceremony or you may change mine in any way you wish such as writing your own vows. You may add poems and/or scriptures that have special meaning to you and they can be read by family or friends.
Other ways of personalizing your ceremony are to have non-traditional music such as your favorite songs as recessional/processional music, white rose exchange, Dutch wedding box, glass breaking, butterfly or dove release, rose exchange, Irish hand fasting, shell toss and many other interesting and unique additions. A “Unity Shell Celebration” is optionally using a big beautiful shell that is my gift to you. I have officiated ceremonies in non-traditional settings such as boats, carriages, in the gulf and other fun places, at any time of the day and night. One of my most memorable ceremony time was at 1:00 AM on Christmas morning!
If you have children you wish to include in your ceremony, I have a beautiful family ceremony. A remembrance of a deceased family member in your ceremony is a beautiful and meaningful addition
Unity Shell Celebration
A complimentary Unity Sand Celebration is included in your ceremony, if you wish. The Unity Sand Ceremony is symbolic of your shared commitment and the joining of your lives. It serves to represent the joining of your lives into one. This is done by pouring your sand from your individual shell into a larger shell. If children participate in the sand ceremony, the pouring of each individual’s sand affirms that each is committed to being a family unit. For blended families, the sand ceremony provided a good opportunity for all members to feel they are an important part of the proceedings and the newly formed family. The larger shell is my gift to you.
LGBT/GAY WEDDINGS
Once marriage equality was enacted in Florida in January, 2015, I have had the pleasure of officiating several same-sex marriages. Many of my couples, both men and women, have been together many years and are so happy that at last they can be legally married.
Endorsement by William and Rick
“Rev. Susan. What can I say? Once marriage equality finally became a reality here in Florida, we began thinking about what we wanted to do. The idea of just going to a Clerk of Courts left us underwhelmed so I did a Google search, hit the ‘I’m feeling lucky’ tab, and there she was! We had a beautiful, intimate ceremony on the beach at Anna Maria Island and feel blessed that we crossed paths with Rev. Susan. I can’t imagine a more perfect thing for us than what we had.”
Renewal of Vows
Your anniversary is the time to celebrate all the beauty and growth of your years together. Remember what brought you together and give yourself the gift of a beautiful ceremony to commemorate your union. Many of my couples bring their children, if there are any, to join into a family renewal of vows ceremony. Witnessing their parents join their hands and hearts as they affirm the magnitude and strength of their enduring love is a beautiful experience for your children. They may be included in the Unity Sand Celebration, if you wish. You may exchange the rings from your original wedding again or you may exchange new ones. Your ceremony will be personalized to reflect your lives together. The words of this poem may express your lives together.
“Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years, may happiness be your companion and your days together be good and long upon the earth.
Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship as they threaten all relationships at one time or another – remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives. remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.” ~Author Unknown
Sarasota Wedding Venues and Other Locations
Siesta Key Beach
I officiate ceremonies on Sarasota island beaches for Siesta Key weddings and other ceremonies where the sand is so fine and white it feels like powder and other beautiful Florida beach destination wedding and ceremony locations, such as Lido, Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach, Coquina, Venice, Casperson Englewood, Nokomis, Boca Grande, Palm Island, Manasota Key, Venice, Englewood, North Jetty, Brohard Park, Turtle, Casey Key, and other beaches. Siesta Key was voted the most beautiful beach in the United States in 2011 by Dr Beach.
Here are a list of the Chamber of Commerces where you may obtain information on some our beautiful beaches
Siesta Key www.siestakeychamber.com
Anna Maria www.annamriaislandchapter.org
Long Boat Key and Lido Key www.longboatkeychamber.com
Casey Key and Nokomis www.ospreynokomisflorida.com/about/
Venice www.myvenicechamber.com
Manasota Key www.englewoodchamber.com
Boca Grande www.bocagrandechamber.com
You may choose to have your Sarasota area ceremony in a beautiful garden such Selby Gardens, Ringling Museum Garden, Sarasota Garden Club. Bayfront Park or a beautiful mansion such as the Crosley Mansion or the Phillippi Mansion. Other unique venues are the Mote Aquarium, Sarasota, Opera House, A Floating Chapel, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Venice Train Depot, and the Sarasota Classic Car Museum. Also available are quaint chapels such as Mary’s Chapel at Spanish Point or the Green Street Chapel. Sarasota has many elegant hotel venues and country clubs, restaurants and boats or yachts with inside or outside ceremony locations. If you are so fortunate to live here in the Sarasota area, ceremonies may be held in your home.
FL Marriage Licenses
A marriage license is required to be married in Florida. You may apply for a marriage license in the state of Florida either in person or by mail. If you apply in person, you may go to any Clerks Office in any Florida county courthouse to be married in any county. You both need to bring a photo I.D. which is commonly your driver’s license or a passport along with divorce dates, if any, and your social security numbers. There is a 3-day waiting period for residents of Florida and no waiting period for out-of-state residents. The license is valid for 60 days and needs to be filed at the county clerk’s office within 10 days of your ceremony. I can file it for you and you will get a certified copy in 30 days or I can sign it for you on the day of the ceremony and you can take it to the courthouse and obtain a certificate of marriage immediately. Witnesses are not required, although the license has a place for two signatures, if you wish. I officiate many marriages for couples who live in Europe, Canada and all over the world so US citizenship is not necessary to be legally married in the U.S. Witnesses are not required by the State of Florida so just the three of us need to be present at your wedding.
You may obtain further information on the Sarasota County site by going to http://www.sarasotaclerk.com/about-us/marriage-services
You may obtain a marriage license through the mail (extra fee for processing plus the cost of the license) by contacting Sherry Matthews at www.floridamarriageweddingexpress.com