The Wedding Where...

Send me a message or any questions! One breathtaking candlelit aisle almost turned into a crisis, and that single moment changed how we think about ceremony safety without sacrificing style. We walk through the real story behind a near-miss with a billowy dress and open flames, then unpack the quiet hazards many couples overlook: narrow aisles, wind-tossed veils, slick runners, uneven pavers, and...

Send me a message or any questions! A thousand listens later, we’re clinking an imaginary glass and sharing the real secret that makes a ceremony feel like yours: a thoughtful consult call. Before timelines tighten and group chats explode, that first conversation gives us a clear read on your voice, your values, and how you want to feel standing there. We walk through the questions that matter—how...

Send me a message or any questions! Love feels invincible at the altar, but real life has a way of testing vows. After officiating around 250 weddings over more than a decade, I’ve seen both the glow and the grit—how small patterns at a rehearsal can foreshadow big challenges, and how couples you’d bet on sometimes unravel while others quietly grow stronger. Today I get candid about divorce, the 4...

Send me a message or any questions! We share the untold realities of backup officiating, from inclusive ceremonies to last‑minute saves that keep couples on track to say “I do.” The throughline is simple: presence beats perfection, and a real backup plan protects the day. • why vendors need clear contingency plans • inclusive officiating when paperwork lags identity • handling illness, emergencies...

Send me a message or any questions! What if the best way to plan a meaningful wedding is to slow it down, laugh on purpose, and design rituals people can feel? That’s the heart of Emily and Bobby’s story: a small, dog-forward elopement followed by a family-packed “sequel” ceremony with a five-cord handfasting that brought parents and godparents into the center of the moment. We talk through the cr...

Send me a message or any questions! The best wedding stories aren’t polished—they’re true. Emily and Bobby take us from OKCupid chaos to a tractor-stalled first date, then straight into two ceremonies that honored both practicality and heart: a tiny elopement with dogs and koi pond serenity, followed by a vintage garden party built on lawn games, Peaky Blinders flair, and a soundtrack curated with...

Send me a message or any questions! Ever wonder why we still say “tie the knot” and what it actually means? We pull the thread from ancient handfasting to today’s ceremonies and show how a simple cord can turn your vows into something tangible, visual, and deeply personal. From Celtic villages and seafaring towns to pagan blessings and churchyards, this ritual has traveled centuries because it ada...

Send me a message or any questions! What if the most important choice you make for your wedding isn’t the venue or the vows, but who gets a seat in the room? We dig into the real work behind guest lists—why they’re emotional, political, and surprisingly revealing—and how to choose people who protect your peace rather than drain it. From intimate ceremonies where every guest was a friend to larger...

Send me a message or any questions! A vow can land like a lightning bolt—simple words that suddenly feel heavier than the room they’re spoken in.  Thank you for joining me back from my break - a whirlwind stretch of 29 fall weddings, a new nine-to-five, and a house move, I’m back with a new idea: officiant reacts. We unpack Frank and Monica Gallagher’s vow renewal on Shameless, and use their messy...

Send me a message or any questions! Love speaks in many languages, and personalized wedding vows might be the most beautiful dialect of all. As we wrap up our six-week exploration of wedding promises, this final episode celebrates the magic that happens when couples put their authentic selves into the words they'll exchange on their special day. What makes personalized vows so powerful? It&ap...

Send me a message or any questions! Searching for the perfect wedding vows that balance tradition with personality? Look no further than "vow volleys," this year's refreshing trend for couples who want custom vows without writing them separately. Vow volleys create a beautiful rhythm to your ceremony through alternating promises—you say something, your partner responds with their pr...

Send me a message or any questions! Amanda explores repeat-after-me wedding vows as part of her six-week mini-series on vow options for couples planning their ceremonies. She provides practical advice for those who want meaningful vows without the pressure of memorization or writing completely custom promises. • Repeat-after-me vows are broken into small chunks by the officiant for easy repetition...

Send me a message or any questions! Amanda explores the art of "repeat after me" wedding vows in this episode of the Vow mini-series, offering practical guidance for creating simple yet meaningful promises that couples can easily repeat during their ceremony. • Part of a six-week deep dive into different wedding vow options • Explains how any traditional or custom vow can be adapted into...

Send me a message or any questions! Have you ever wondered about all the different ways to say "I do"? In this episode of the Vow mini-series on The Wedding Where, I'm exploring one of my favorite traditional vow formats—a comprehensive four-question approach that packs multiple commitments into one powerful moment. As a wedding officiant, I've seen firsthand how this particula...

Send me a message or any questions! What exactly are you promising when you say "I do"? Wedding vows represent the heart of any marriage ceremony, yet many couples don't fully consider their options beyond tradition.  In this first installment of our special mini-series on wedding vows, we explore question vows – those traditional promises where the officiant asks and the couple res...

Send me a message or any questions! Milestone moments deserve reflection! Having just completed my 200th wedding ceremony, I'm pulling back the curtain to share fascinating trends emerging in 2025. This mid-year review reveals how modern couples are reshaping wedding traditions while honoring meaningful commitments. The data tells an interesting story: today's brides average 30 years old...

Send me a message or any questions! Ever wondered what surprises lurk beneath those winter wedding parkas? Let's wraps up the "We Listen and Don't Judge" series with a heartwarming tale of unexpected revelations and thoughtful timing.  This episode features a seemingly straightforward winter elopement that took a surprising turn when the bride removed her heavy coat after the c...

Send me a message or any questions! Have you ever sat through a wedding speech so painfully long that it made you reconsider your own wedding plans? That's exactly what happened when I witnessed a father of the groom deliver what might be the most uncomfortable wedding toast I've ever experienced. The speech started with an ill-conceived toilet paper prop (yes, really) before launching i...

Send me a message or any questions! Wedding traditions carry the weight of generations past, but do they still serve today's couples? That's the exciting journey we embark on in this episode of The Wedding Ware, where we explore how time-honored customs can be reimagined, refreshed, and sometimes respectfully retired. From the classic "something old, something new, something borrowe...

Send me a message or any questions! Amanda shares a unique wedding scenario where she conducted a non-legal commitment ceremony for a couple who were still married to other people. Let's explore the ethics and practicalities of commitment ceremonies versus legal marriages, unpacking various reasons couples might choose this path. • Couples requested a budget ceremony on the opposite side of P...

Send me a message or any questions! Verlyn Tarlton returns to share insights from her work as a pre-marriage counselor, including a revealing wedding story where a bride's disrespectful cake-cutting behavior foreshadowed their eventual divorce, and three key pieces of advice for couples planning to marry. • Spend more time planning your marriage than your wedding—many couples invest more ener...

Send me a message or any questions! Most couples will spend a year planning their wedding but barely a moment envisioning their actual marriage. In this eye-opening conversation with Verlyn Tarlton, author and host of "The Before You Do Podcast", we explore the critical conversations every couple should have before walking down the aisle. Verlyn shares how she started her podcast after y...

Send me a message or any questions! Amanda shares a memorable wedding story where the mother of the bride was significantly intoxicated during the ceremony, offering thoughtful reflections on how alcohol impacts wedding celebrations. • The mother of the bride had consumed too much champagne during morning preparations • She treated the wedding ceremony like a call-and-response church service, voca...

Send me a message or any questions! We celebrate 11 years in the officiating business by sharing milestones in our podcast journey and revealing the scams targeting wedding vendors. This bonus episode combines gratitude for our growing international audience with practical warnings about common industry fraud schemes that nearly ended our career. • Our podcast has reached 622 listens across 22 epi...

Send me a message or any questions! Ever wonder where wedding officiants draw their ethical lines? That dilemma sits at the heart of this raw, unflinching look at one of my most challenging ceremonies - a wedding where the groom showed up sporting a fresh black eye. The journey began with troubling signs: a bride who initially canceled because "the groom hit her," only to reconcile weeks...