Embracing your lifestyle, national origin, gender expression, ability, culture, traditions and values.

Dan Jones, Wedding Officiant

Embracing Ceremony Blog

Planning Your Ceremony with Your Officiant

Couples of all ages are planning their wedding. Where do you fall on this spectrum? Is it your first wedding and you want to plan it carefully and have every detail dialed in? Or is this your second or third time around and you just want a simple no-frills ceremony? Do you want to provide your officiant with lots of information so your guests can enjoy a personalized ceremony? Or do you just want brief, standard vows so you can move on to the party?

El Monte Sagrado elegance

My officiating work is with everyone from both ends of the spectrum and every conceivable step in between. I’m adaptable – you just need to let me know what it is YOU want so that I can provide it. Your time is precious and I respect that and do my best to minimize how much of it I take. It is really up to you.

I do have some minimum information I need in order to provide you with a ceremony that is appropriate. In working with you, all I ask is that you communicate clearly with me. When you don’t I’m left in the awkward position of pestering you – something I really don’t want to do. The last impression I want to have of you is that you don’t care about your wedding! So, knowing you do care, get in touch with me now so we can start planning your unique wedding ceremony!

I’m a professional wedding officiant in Taos, New Mexico and work in most areas of northern New Mexico. What kind of information am I going to want? It all depends on the level of service you choose.

A good starting point for me to help you with that decision is to know how many guests you’re expecting.

Another question will be if you’re having a processional and if so, with how many attendants?

Next, it helps me craft your ceremony to know whether you want it to be spiritual, secular or religious. I can hybridize between those categories as well. To the extent you want to share details within that to help me better know you, that is great.

Other things that guide me as a Taos wedding celebrant are hearing about your passions in life and favorite activities. Are you a hiker, a reader, a rugged outdoorsperson or city-loving foodie?

If you’re eloping or doing a very small intimate ceremony I’m ready to go, crafting your ceremony based on the input from the above questions.

Enjoy the beauty of Taos when getting married

If you want something more personal and customized I’ll have you complete a simple questionnaire. Additionally we can spend around an hour together in discussion about the ceremony you want. I’ll guide you through all the possibilities and then craft a ceremony based on your desires. If you’re having a processional we can talk about all the ways to do that, who to include, where everyone will stand and I then write that out in detail, almost like a theatrical script. That will help a lot with your rehearsal.

The thing I hear most often is “Ack! I don’t know where to start with planning a ceremony. I’ve never done this before.”

And the thing I hear most often after meeting is “Whew! You made that so easy. I get it now and feel great about how the ceremony will be handled.”

Let’s get going on planning your ceremony! Check out the rest of my website or contact me now.

Early spring elopement in the shadow of sacred Taos Mountain

Want more information on this topic? Email Dan at Dan@EmbracingCeremony.com

Need more information on planning a wedding in northern New Mexico? Request our informative listing that includes options for other services such as wedding cakes, accommodations and fine dining.