Destination Weddings and Honeymoons

Lauren and Rev. Schulte

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Have you ever met someone who was (as we say in my family) an answer to prayer? I’ve felt that way about a few people in my life — most recently, the man who will officially marry Tim and me.

We went around and around about asking a friend to get ordained to marry us, but we kept coming back to having a traditional Christian service, performed by a pastor. Traveling to another state, you usually have to look into a few logistical things — the laws regarding who can marry you MAY be different (or not!) depending on where you’re getting hitched; it’s definitely something to be aware of.

One thing that was very important to me was that we have a “personal” ceremony — meaning the person performing the service knew us in some capacity. But when we started going through the list of potential officiants, it felt very one-sided every time. Tim had a great friend who could perform the ceremony, but I had no relationship with him. My childhood pastor would do an amazing job, but Tim had never met her. So we started hunting and asking our vendors for recommendations. We got the same answer every time:

Rev. Steven Schulte.

Tim and I set up a time to chat with him over the phone so we could get a sense of his personality (like, does he have one?). As soon as he answered, we were so relieved. He says “ya’ll” and laughs a lot. That first night, Tim and I sat in the parking lot of an Asian bistro for an hour, talking to him about our beliefs, our goals, what we love about each other … it was strange, talking to someone we’d never met (or even seen!) but feeling close so quickly. When we hung up, there was no doubt in our minds — this was the guy for us. He was so loving, so compassionate, so … us.

When we went to Savannah, we had coffee with Rev. Schulte on Saturday, then went to his church. It was fabulous being able to meet him and talk about our wedding, and then see him in his element. It just sort of made that final puzzle piece fit together.

My mom and I went back to Savannah last weekend and caught up with him again. We dished about him marrying Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams (at the same chapel I’m getting hitched in!) and talked about certain specifics we want (and don’t want) in our wedding. It was so nice being able to bounce ideas around with someone who does this every day (no, seriously — he averages four to five weddings a week). When I walked away, I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. This ceremony is going to represent us, completely. From music to prayer, it’s going to be exactly what we both want.              

So ladies, if you’re getting hitched away but still want your faith to be represented in your wedding, search! Find someone who will make your ceremony exactly what you want. Sand ceremony, unity candle, communion or Maya shaman — make it your own.

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