July 9, 2025 • 24 mins
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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 while grooms trend slightly older at 32-33. Nearly a quarter of couples include at least one previously married partner, reflecting evolving attitudes toward second chances at love. But perhaps most surprising has been the surge in waterfall weddings, with six ceremonies taking place at these natural cathedrals already this year. These breathtaking backdrops require extra preparation but deliver unforgettable moments for everyone involved.
Unity ceremonies continue evolving in fascinating ways. While hand fasting remains extraordinarily popular, I've witnessed truly innovative approaches including 3D-printed unity hearts, crystal sand ceremonies featuring meaningful minerals like rose quartz, and even my first lock-and-key unity where the couple literally locked their commitment and tossed away the keys. Equally exciting is the rise of "vow volleys" where couples alternate reading promises to each other—balancing heartfelt sentiments with humorous pledges while reducing the pressure of writing complete vows independently.
The wedding journey continues to surprise and inspire me, whether officiating at a state correctional facility or helping a couple reorganize with just 24 hours' notice when their venue suddenly changed. After 5,000+ miles traveled serving couples across multiple states, I'm taking a brief summer respite to regroup while continuing to share wedding wisdom through upcoming mini-episodes featuring various vow samples. Connect with me at officiatingbyamanda@gmail.com to discuss your own special day or share your favorite unity ceremony ideas!
Thank you for sharing the podcast with others who may enjoy it! Share your funny wedding stories with me at theweddingwherepodcast@gmail.com. Any links referenced are on linktree.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the WeddingWare with officiating by
Amanda.
Welcome back to the WeddingWare.
(00:24):
Something kind of unique todayand a little different.
I just completed wedding number200 and then I instantly went
into wedding number 201.
And I wanted to put out a bonusand kind of highlight some of
the trends that I have seen sofar this year in 2025, things
(00:46):
that have been a littledifferent, a little more unique
increases or even decreases fromprevious years.
And, as we are in the heart ofsummer, I am getting more and
more cognizant to my schedule,more and more cognizant to my
(01:08):
schedule.
So this is my little hey, I'mgoing to take a little break
after this episode of kind ofthe typical content.
I'm still going to work to haveout some almost mini episodes
between July and August.
I'm also noticing that with myschedule, I have quite a few
weeks without weddings, which isnice.
That is not to say I'm not busy.
(01:28):
In the 25 weeks that are leftin the year, I have 22 weddings
booked.
So I will certainly be busy tofive weeks from July 13th until
(01:51):
pretty much the last weekend inAugust.
I don't have anythingwedding-wise and so I'm really
going to use that time to divein with my husband on our house
hunt, going to be focusing onkind of cataloging everything I
did in the first six to sevenmonths of the year.
Get the wedding website up todate, maybe take a look at
packages and offerings and seewhere I can allow for the
(02:12):
business to grow even furtherthan it has this year.
And then, you know, continue onin my job hunt.
So for those of you that mighthave picked up bits and pieces
over time, I have about 10 and ahalf years experience in
frontline fundraising and at theend of 2024, got to a point
(02:41):
where fundraising wasn't funanymore.
So put the normal nine to fivelife to the side and have been
doing weddings, some consultingwork, some odd jobs, selling
commissioned crocheted projects,just a lot in the last six
months as I've tried to findwhat works for me and for where
I want to be.
Obviously we moved, we've done alot of stuff.
(03:03):
Obviously we moved, we've donea lot of stuff.
But it's time to really jumpback in and get myself into a
place where, yeah, I could havebenefits, where I can feel
equally contributing in thefinances of the household.
So just a little housekeepingnote that you'll still have out
(03:27):
some episodes, but they won'tnecessarily be the story times.
I have a few interviews thatI've completed that I have to
edit out.
Gosh, it is really crazy that Ithink, oh yeah, I'll interview
for like an hour.
I sit down with fellow vendorsand my past couples and we're
talking for three hours, fourhours.
(03:48):
So, needless to say, theediting process on those is
quite extensive and a lot.
But I'm looking through all thecontent, looking at what
episodes have done well, whatsort of things have spoken to
everyone.
Please, if you've had a favoriteepisode so far, drop me a line,
let me know.
Let me know what you want moreof.
(04:10):
Do you like the interviews?
Do you like just the storytimes?
Do you want shorter episodes?
Do you want longer?
I'm really going to be takingthe time to look at the metrics,
dive in and work to really keepthis going in a very successful
way, plus line up some moreinterviews, start to get them
(04:32):
into the can and get them readyto go.
Just a lot, a lot happening.
So I wanted to let you know,you know, if you are excited for
your every single Wednesday.
There will still be stuffcoming out over the next six
weeks.
It might not be Wednesdays.
I might try to play up thedates a little bit and just see
(04:54):
what works.
Maybe people like Thursdayreleases.
I actually get a lot of listenson Thursdays, so maybe that's a
better fit for timing.
Maybe that's a better fit fortiming.
But also, you know, just reallytake the time to not be a crazy
person, as I've been for theprevious six weeks, 12 weeks,
heck.
Since the start of the year, 25weeks.
(05:16):
But thank you all so much forjumping in so far and listening
along.
I've also been thinking aboutwhere do I cut a season off at,
and I think I'll keep it to likethe years.
You know, right around theholiday time this year I'll call
a wrap to the season one andthen start season two of the
podcast with, much like we didthis past year, the overall
(05:37):
stats.
So consider this like yourmidterm, your progress report,
because we are going to betalking about stats and things
that have gone on so far in thisyear.
All right, diving in.
So so far, getting to July 1stof this year.
(05:57):
Yes, lifetime-wise, overall, Ihave done wedding number 200 and
201.
In the year so far I have done37 weddings and when you take
the additional 22 I have on thebooks.
That takes me to 59.
That's just a little shy oflike my highest year, but still
(06:21):
really, really good.
I like to be around 50,.
45 to 55 is a nice range.
Especially when there's only 52weeks in a year.
It definitely means that thereare some weeks of hustling.
I've got in front of me youguys can't see it, but it's a
gigantic spreadsheet of all ofthe couples' ages and if they've
(06:42):
been divorced previously andhow they found me and the
location for the wedding and didthey have unity.
So that's kind of where I'mpulling all of these stats from
to give you the most informationthat we've got going in this
kind of midterm wrap.
There's a part of me that seemedlike at the end of the year I
should put these into chat, gptand be like what's the most
common name and middle name andage of couples and all that jazz
(07:06):
.
So we'll go forward from there.
But giving you some intel, theaverage age of brides so far
this year have been 30 years old, with the youngest bride being
22 and the oldest bride actuallybeing 60.
Absolutely fantastic.
We do have 1, 2, 3, 4,absolutely fantastic.
We do have one, two, three,four, five, six, seven, eight,
(07:30):
nine, nine out of those coupleshaving been, of those brides,
having been previously marriedat least once.
So okay, not crazy, not bad.
Now let's look over at thegrooms, or spouse number twos,
as we look at this beautifulsheet here, and the grooms
(07:52):
actually are older.
So the average age is 32 to 33years old, with the youngest
being 23 and the oldest being 48.
So kind of an interestinglittle balance there.
Definitely some older women,but some younger women and men,
kind of falling right in themiddle.
And I laugh because I'm threeyears older than my husband and
(08:16):
this kind of trend shows itdifferently that the guys are
typically three years older thanthe women, which is a lot of
fun.
Two, three, four, five, six,seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.
We have 11 of the gentlemenhaving previously been married,
including one who this waswedding number four.
So we leave that at that.
(08:39):
All right, how do they find me?
Let's see here.
We definitely have a lotthrough WeddingWire, the Knot I
am looking to in these next sixweeks.
Take the business over a littlebit to Zola and try that out,
because I know that there's alot of controversy with the Knot
(08:59):
and WeddingWire and I'veexperienced some ghost leads and
some fake leads, and I've alsohad some fun with well, I pay
for this, but I don't quite getthat, so definitely looking at
what the cost benefit analysisis for me on that end.
And are there other places tostill get the couples from?
(09:19):
Though, again, with as much asthe Knot and WeddingWire have
kind of against them in theindustry, it is still the
highest place I get couples from, so I got to keep all that in
mind as well.
So let's talk locations, and Iwill say one of the biggest
(09:40):
things this year that I have nothad before is waterfall
weddings, and some of this waseven before I moved up to an
area which does have quite a bitof waterfalls around.
But yes, I have done now somany weddings six of them
actually at waterfalls gorgeous,beautiful.
(10:02):
I will certainly have them in alocation, kind of wrap-up of
where you might want to go orwhat you might want to do, but
absolutely gorgeous, and Ilaughed.
There was one I did a weddingat.
Oh gosh, I'm even trying tofind it on my list here.
(10:23):
Why is it escaping me?
Dry Run Falls, and it was abouta seven to 10 minute walk to
get over to the falls and everystep of the way, I was just, you
know, kind of really reflectingon how far I've come.
When I started in this business, I was a very large woman, I
(10:44):
was over 300 pounds, and I justhave reflected that there'd be
no way I could have done thatsort of a hike over some
unstable ground, some precarioussteps, kind of leaning on the
edge, any other time in my life,and so I'm really grateful for
(11:06):
those moments when I'm able toget them and to really take the
time to reflect with it.
Mileage let's talk about howmuch I've traveled, because some
of these falls and some ofthese venues have been in the
middle of nowhere.
So, round trip, wise, wise.
So far this year we're at 5073miles.
(11:30):
My poor, sweet car oh my gosh,she's a 2010 blue super outback
named savannah.
I call her savvy, savvy, thesubi, and she is, she's my go-to
.
I know I have to start planningto let her go and to find my
next business ride, but, man,the adventure she's been on for
(11:55):
this.
The states traveled all overthe place and especially, I
couldn't have done the movewithout her, really could not
have.
But yeah, that's a lot of milesto put on and that's just for
the start of the year.
I still have, like I said, 22more weddings at this moment
that I know of.
(12:15):
So if anyone's gotrecommendations for a good,
reliable car that couldtransport people or just lots of
wedding supplies, good gas,mileage, dependable in rain,
snow, sleet, hail all theweather that we get in Northeast
Pennsylvania I would be morethan happy for it.
(12:37):
So far this year we've had 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.
We've had 17 couples with aunity ceremony.
In fact, my 200th wedding did adouble unity ceremony.
I'll be covering that in anepisode.
(12:57):
Hopefully be able to get thecouple on Hand fasting very
popular this year, which isawesome.
It's one of the unities I dofull inclusion on and I will
have an episode out that is allabout hand fasting where we get
the tradition from symbolism andcolors, the cords, different
(13:18):
designs you could do with yourhand ties.
I love it.
Uniquely, I had a 3D printedunity ceremony earlier this year
.
The couple combined a hearttogether like an outer heart and
inner heart and it was 3Dprinted, so that was really cool
and unique for this year.
(13:38):
I've done a bunch of sandceremonies.
But very uniquely, one of thecouples that got married at a
waterfall wanted a crystal sandceremony.
So that's not one of my typicalofferings so they had to get
the crystals.
But really great, there wasrose quartz and there was like a
little graphite really justcool.
(14:00):
They loved it.
They loved the symbolism in theminerals and in the crystals
even more so than just thenormal color symbolism that I do
with sand ceremonies.
And we also had my very firstlock and key unity where the
couple put their locks together,locked them up tight and
(14:20):
literally tossed the keys, threwaway the key.
So I was excited to get towrite that around.
We've got counties all over theplace.
We even have a couple NewJersey weddings I don't really
see kind of a trend yetSchuylkill County, luzerne those
two stick out a little bit.
Always happy when I can get aBerks County marriage license.
(14:43):
For the number of years I didweddings based in Redding
Pennsylvania, I know BerksCounty licenses really really
well, which is great andfantastic Because it kind of
(15:08):
incorporates a lot.
As we've talked aboutpreviously.
You're in a nice 20-minuterange within a 30-minute kind of
ceremony space.
It's got Unity.
It allows for customization.
It's pretty cool.
A lot more Zoom rehearsals thisyear, which I'm not mad about
(15:29):
Because I actually don't takethat mileage into account in
this tracker.
I should.
But going back and forth forin-person rehearsals I'm sure
would absolutely destroy mybottom line, would raise prices
insanely.
So for those of you that areout there looking for an
officiant, definitely thinkabout could you be comfortable
(15:49):
with a Zoom rehearsal where it'sjust the two of you getting
kind of the marching orders anddo you have a day of coordinator
who's already going to line upeverybody and tell them to stand
there and look pretty?
Do you really need to have yourofficiant in person?
I get now why some of the otherofficiants in my area charge
(16:09):
$200 separately to includerehearsal because, yeah, the
time it takes, the travel range,it's a lot.
So I definitely recommend thatyou think about that.
I do offer my couples kind of a.
Do you want to guarantee me forin-person kind of a do you want
(16:29):
to guarantee me for in person?
Do you want to have it pendingavailability or do you want to
go with zoom?
And even you know option numberfour of do you want anything at
all, which for paperwork andtwo-person elopement weddings I
normally recommend that they?
They don't do anything at all.
Really nothing is.
If you hear licking in thebackground, it's a dog.
(16:50):
It's not my dog, but we're dogsitting a little bit here,
aren't we, aren't we?
Onyx Electronic is the highestversion of payment, so shout out
to all of my Cash App ZelleVenmo, out to all of my Cash App
Zelle Venmo Payment Friends,even Apple Pay, love it, thank
(17:11):
you.
But I uniquely have to say thatthis year so far I've done a
few prison weddings, and one ofthem I was paid from the inmate,
(17:34):
so I got a check from theprison and that was really kind
of cool and special.
And, lastly, some of the thingsof issues that we've seen this
year.
We had a wedding where thebride changed the venue in 24
hours, had some issues, and so Iwas booked on 24 hours notice.
I really hadn't done a lot withmy rush fee before, and so it
was my first time implementingit and really trying to figure
(17:55):
out like, okay, you know, I wantto be really thoughtful of what
the couple's going through andknowing that they're in a
situation where, yes, they needan officiant and they need them
for tomorrow, but wanting tobalance out my need to like,
just step in, help save the day,if you will, and you know,
(18:16):
getting what is respectful formy time and the rush kind of
time of everything.
I've had a couple of weddingsthis year that I threw in hand
fasting for, either because itwas before I was going on a trip
or it was my anniversary ofofficiating, which I've said it
before that I'm open to advicefrom others on how to put
(18:53):
together elements to back chargefor these late starts.
I do have it in my contractthat I can charge fees and I ask
for a Venmo or a Cash App name,but, as we all know, there
isn't really a guarantee thatthey're going to pay that and I
don't feel like going to likesmall claims court over 50 bucks
(19:16):
or 100 bucks.
But what's the best way?
Do I turn the deposit, insteadof it being a deposit, into more
of an incidentals hold?
So, for example, if a couple'swedding was $500, I in turn ask
them for $600, that firsthundred being $600.
This holds your date and then,after final balance, after the
(19:39):
wedding, after everything issaid and done, that first $100
was also for incidentals and ifyou don't have any additional
charges, congratulations, I cangift you back $100.
I don't know, very interestedto see what people think about
that and if you've got any ideas, you you know I'd love to hear
(20:00):
it.
What makes sense to you?
Or do I just kind of shut up,take it and, as couples run 15
minutes late, think aboutforgetting it?
But I've had some significantdelays waiting on a guest,
waiting on the couple, waitingon the bride yeah, it can really
(20:21):
throw off my day and my time,and outdoor weddings and the
summer heat as I'm in right nowyeah, it's not how I like to
spend my time.
So that's where we kind of sit,kind of a state of the business
.
It's been really cool so far toput this all together for this
(20:43):
year and I'm excited for whatall is going to happen next.
Oh, one of the other things Iwill say that's been more unique
this year has been doingpersonalized vows either.
That the couple just wants tobe asked the question and they
say I do, but I've worked withthem to personalize it out, so
(21:04):
it's not kind of the typical.
And the other element that'sgotten more common is doing a
vow volley, so the couple wouldwork together or work with me
even, and come up with hey,these are the six to ten things
we would want to promise eachother, and some of them can be
funny and some of them are moresincere.
(21:24):
And then the couple divides itout and have it on pieces of
paper and read back and forth.
I vow to always share theremote control.
I vow to look at you like I didthe first day we met, but that
way each of them didn't have tonecessarily craft things
themselves to get across thisimportantness and this
personalization, but then theycould also, you know, pre-hear
(21:49):
what the other person's going tosay.
They still get to say somethingduring the wedding.
It's a really cool idea.
And, speaking of vows, that'sactually going to be the content
that you guys will be gettingin the coming weeks with what
I'm calling mini episodes.
I'm not even sure how I'm goingto log them in, maybe five
(22:09):
minutes at a time.
All of them are going to besamples of vows, so you'll get
to see some fandom vows.
You will get to see some vowvolleys.
You'll get to hear some of thetypical and traditional vows
that we have going.
That's kind of going to be whatgets us through as I take this
(22:32):
little respite.
Trust me, I'm not restingAnyone who knows me personally
knows I don't really rest, butI'm going to do some pivot and
focus and make sure that I cankeep on top of everything, make
sure that things get edited andI'm not too much on a backlog or
(22:53):
under the gun to try to put outcontent.
So that'll be that.
Thank you so much for listening.
In so far we have not yet hit athousand listens.
I'm really hopeful that overthe next six weeks new people
will find the podcast, do somebinging I've done that recently
on a few podcasts myself andthat when we resume up at the
(23:14):
end of August we will be soclose to hitting a thousand.
I think that might be one of myfirst ones where I tandem film
a video.
I want to kind of go over someof the locations that I've been
at a lot, put dots on a map,kind of make that investment in
as well.
Thank you all so much.
Happy belated 4th of July.
(23:36):
I hope that your summer isgoing well and smoothly and, as
always, this has been Amanda.
Thank you for listening to theWedding Wear with Officiating by
Amanda.
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode and found some
inspiration or insight for yourown special day.
This podcast is hosted onBuzzsprout and can be found on
(23:57):
all major platforms.
If you haven't already, pleasesubscribe, like, comment and
share to help us reach even morelisteners who might laugh a
little at the wedding wear Forthe links referenced in the show
.
Visit Linktree at Officiatingby Amanda.
You can also follow thebusiness on Facebook WeddingWire
and the Knot to stay up to dateon everything going on.
(24:17):
If you have a question you'dlike me to answer on the podcast
, just send an email totheweddingwirepodcast at
gmailcom, and if you're ready toinquire about officiating
services for your own big day,you can reach me at
officiatingbyamanda at gmailcom.
Thank you so much for tuning inand until next time.
This has been Amanda.
Welcome to the WeddingWare with officiating by
Amanda.
Welcome back to the WeddingWare.
(00:24):
Something kind of unique todayand a little different.
I just completed wedding number200 and then I instantly went
into wedding number 201.
And I wanted to put out a bonusand kind of highlight some of
the trends that I have seen sofar this year in 2025, things
(00:46):
that have been a littledifferent, a little more unique
increases or even decreases fromprevious years.
And, as we are in the heart ofsummer, I am getting more and
more cognizant to my schedule,more and more cognizant to my
(01:08):
schedule.
So this is my little hey, I'mgoing to take a little break
after this episode of kind ofthe typical content.
I'm still going to work to haveout some almost mini episodes
between July and August.
I'm also noticing that with myschedule, I have quite a few
weeks without weddings, which isnice.
That is not to say I'm not busy.
(01:28):
In the 25 weeks that are leftin the year, I have 22 weddings
booked.
So I will certainly be busy tofive weeks from July 13th until
(01:51):
pretty much the last weekend inAugust.
I don't have anythingwedding-wise and so I'm really
going to use that time to divein with my husband on our house
hunt, going to be focusing onkind of cataloging everything I
did in the first six to sevenmonths of the year.
Get the wedding website up todate, maybe take a look at
packages and offerings and seewhere I can allow for the
(02:12):
business to grow even furtherthan it has this year.
And then, you know, continue onin my job hunt.
So for those of you that mighthave picked up bits and pieces
over time, I have about 10 and ahalf years experience in
frontline fundraising and at theend of 2024, got to a point
(02:41):
where fundraising wasn't funanymore.
So put the normal nine to fivelife to the side and have been
doing weddings, some consultingwork, some odd jobs, selling
commissioned crocheted projects,just a lot in the last six
months as I've tried to findwhat works for me and for where
I want to be.
Obviously we moved, we've done alot of stuff.
(03:03):
Obviously we moved, we've donea lot of stuff.
But it's time to really jumpback in and get myself into a
place where, yeah, I could havebenefits, where I can feel
equally contributing in thefinances of the household.
So just a little housekeepingnote that you'll still have out
(03:27):
some episodes, but they won'tnecessarily be the story times.
I have a few interviews thatI've completed that I have to
edit out.
Gosh, it is really crazy that Ithink, oh yeah, I'll interview
for like an hour.
I sit down with fellow vendorsand my past couples and we're
talking for three hours, fourhours.
(03:48):
So, needless to say, theediting process on those is
quite extensive and a lot.
But I'm looking through all thecontent, looking at what
episodes have done well, whatsort of things have spoken to
everyone.
Please, if you've had a favoriteepisode so far, drop me a line,
let me know.
Let me know what you want moreof.
(04:10):
Do you like the interviews?
Do you like just the storytimes?
Do you want shorter episodes?
Do you want longer?
I'm really going to be takingthe time to look at the metrics,
dive in and work to really keepthis going in a very successful
way, plus line up some moreinterviews, start to get them
(04:32):
into the can and get them readyto go.
Just a lot, a lot happening.
So I wanted to let you know,you know, if you are excited for
your every single Wednesday.
There will still be stuffcoming out over the next six
weeks.
It might not be Wednesdays.
I might try to play up thedates a little bit and just see
(04:54):
what works.
Maybe people like Thursdayreleases.
I actually get a lot of listenson Thursdays, so maybe that's a
better fit for timing.
Maybe that's a better fit fortiming.
But also, you know, just reallytake the time to not be a crazy
person, as I've been for theprevious six weeks, 12 weeks,
heck.
Since the start of the year, 25weeks.
(05:16):
But thank you all so much forjumping in so far and listening
along.
I've also been thinking aboutwhere do I cut a season off at,
and I think I'll keep it to likethe years.
You know, right around theholiday time this year I'll call
a wrap to the season one andthen start season two of the
podcast with, much like we didthis past year, the overall
(05:37):
stats.
So consider this like yourmidterm, your progress report,
because we are going to betalking about stats and things
that have gone on so far in thisyear.
All right, diving in.
So so far, getting to July 1stof this year.
(05:57):
Yes, lifetime-wise, overall, Ihave done wedding number 200 and
201.
In the year so far I have done37 weddings and when you take
the additional 22 I have on thebooks.
That takes me to 59.
That's just a little shy oflike my highest year, but still
(06:21):
really, really good.
I like to be around 50,.
45 to 55 is a nice range.
Especially when there's only 52weeks in a year.
It definitely means that thereare some weeks of hustling.
I've got in front of me youguys can't see it, but it's a
gigantic spreadsheet of all ofthe couples' ages and if they've
(06:42):
been divorced previously andhow they found me and the
location for the wedding and didthey have unity.
So that's kind of where I'mpulling all of these stats from
to give you the most informationthat we've got going in this
kind of midterm wrap.
There's a part of me that seemedlike at the end of the year I
should put these into chat, gptand be like what's the most
common name and middle name andage of couples and all that jazz
(07:06):
.
So we'll go forward from there.
But giving you some intel, theaverage age of brides so far
this year have been 30 years old, with the youngest bride being
22 and the oldest bride actuallybeing 60.
Absolutely fantastic.
We do have 1, 2, 3, 4,absolutely fantastic.
We do have one, two, three,four, five, six, seven, eight,
(07:30):
nine, nine out of those coupleshaving been, of those brides,
having been previously marriedat least once.
So okay, not crazy, not bad.
Now let's look over at thegrooms, or spouse number twos,
as we look at this beautifulsheet here, and the grooms
(07:52):
actually are older.
So the average age is 32 to 33years old, with the youngest
being 23 and the oldest being 48.
So kind of an interestinglittle balance there.
Definitely some older women,but some younger women and men,
kind of falling right in themiddle.
And I laugh because I'm threeyears older than my husband and
(08:16):
this kind of trend shows itdifferently that the guys are
typically three years older thanthe women, which is a lot of
fun.
Two, three, four, five, six,seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.
We have 11 of the gentlemenhaving previously been married,
including one who this waswedding number four.
So we leave that at that.
(08:39):
All right, how do they find me?
Let's see here.
We definitely have a lotthrough WeddingWire, the Knot I
am looking to in these next sixweeks.
Take the business over a littlebit to Zola and try that out,
because I know that there's alot of controversy with the Knot
(08:59):
and WeddingWire and I'veexperienced some ghost leads and
some fake leads, and I've alsohad some fun with well, I pay
for this, but I don't quite getthat, so definitely looking at
what the cost benefit analysisis for me on that end.
And are there other places tostill get the couples from?
(09:19):
Though, again, with as much asthe Knot and WeddingWire have
kind of against them in theindustry, it is still the
highest place I get couples from, so I got to keep all that in
mind as well.
So let's talk locations, and Iwill say one of the biggest
(09:40):
things this year that I have nothad before is waterfall
weddings, and some of this waseven before I moved up to an
area which does have quite a bitof waterfalls around.
But yes, I have done now somany weddings six of them
actually at waterfalls gorgeous,beautiful.
(10:02):
I will certainly have them in alocation, kind of wrap-up of
where you might want to go orwhat you might want to do, but
absolutely gorgeous, and Ilaughed.
There was one I did a weddingat.
Oh gosh, I'm even trying tofind it on my list here.
(10:23):
Why is it escaping me?
Dry Run Falls, and it was abouta seven to 10 minute walk to
get over to the falls and everystep of the way, I was just, you
know, kind of really reflectingon how far I've come.
When I started in this business, I was a very large woman, I
(10:44):
was over 300 pounds, and I justhave reflected that there'd be
no way I could have done thatsort of a hike over some
unstable ground, some precarioussteps, kind of leaning on the
edge, any other time in my life,and so I'm really grateful for
(11:06):
those moments when I'm able toget them and to really take the
time to reflect with it.
Mileage let's talk about howmuch I've traveled, because some
of these falls and some ofthese venues have been in the
middle of nowhere.
So, round trip, wise, wise.
So far this year we're at 5073miles.
(11:30):
My poor, sweet car oh my gosh,she's a 2010 blue super outback
named savannah.
I call her savvy, savvy, thesubi, and she is, she's my go-to
.
I know I have to start planningto let her go and to find my
next business ride, but, man,the adventure she's been on for
(11:55):
this.
The states traveled all overthe place and especially, I
couldn't have done the movewithout her, really could not
have.
But yeah, that's a lot of milesto put on and that's just for
the start of the year.
I still have, like I said, 22more weddings at this moment
that I know of.
(12:15):
So if anyone's gotrecommendations for a good,
reliable car that couldtransport people or just lots of
wedding supplies, good gas,mileage, dependable in rain,
snow, sleet, hail all theweather that we get in Northeast
Pennsylvania I would be morethan happy for it.
(12:37):
So far this year we've had 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.
We've had 17 couples with aunity ceremony.
In fact, my 200th wedding did adouble unity ceremony.
I'll be covering that in anepisode.
(12:57):
Hopefully be able to get thecouple on Hand fasting very
popular this year, which isawesome.
It's one of the unities I dofull inclusion on and I will
have an episode out that is allabout hand fasting where we get
the tradition from symbolism andcolors, the cords, different
(13:18):
designs you could do with yourhand ties.
I love it.
Uniquely, I had a 3D printedunity ceremony earlier this year
.
The couple combined a hearttogether like an outer heart and
inner heart and it was 3Dprinted, so that was really cool
and unique for this year.
(13:38):
I've done a bunch of sandceremonies.
But very uniquely, one of thecouples that got married at a
waterfall wanted a crystal sandceremony.
So that's not one of my typicalofferings so they had to get
the crystals.
But really great, there wasrose quartz and there was like a
little graphite really justcool.
(14:00):
They loved it.
They loved the symbolism in theminerals and in the crystals
even more so than just thenormal color symbolism that I do
with sand ceremonies.
And we also had my very firstlock and key unity where the
couple put their locks together,locked them up tight and
(14:20):
literally tossed the keys, threwaway the key.
So I was excited to get towrite that around.
We've got counties all over theplace.
We even have a couple NewJersey weddings I don't really
see kind of a trend yetSchuylkill County, luzerne those
two stick out a little bit.
Always happy when I can get aBerks County marriage license.
(14:43):
For the number of years I didweddings based in Redding
Pennsylvania, I know BerksCounty licenses really really
well, which is great andfantastic Because it kind of
(15:08):
incorporates a lot.
As we've talked aboutpreviously.
You're in a nice 20-minuterange within a 30-minute kind of
ceremony space.
It's got Unity.
It allows for customization.
It's pretty cool.
A lot more Zoom rehearsals thisyear, which I'm not mad about
(15:29):
Because I actually don't takethat mileage into account in
this tracker.
I should.
But going back and forth forin-person rehearsals I'm sure
would absolutely destroy mybottom line, would raise prices
insanely.
So for those of you that areout there looking for an
officiant, definitely thinkabout could you be comfortable
(15:49):
with a Zoom rehearsal where it'sjust the two of you getting
kind of the marching orders anddo you have a day of coordinator
who's already going to line upeverybody and tell them to stand
there and look pretty?
Do you really need to have yourofficiant in person?
I get now why some of the otherofficiants in my area charge
(16:09):
$200 separately to includerehearsal because, yeah, the
time it takes, the travel range,it's a lot.
So I definitely recommend thatyou think about that.
I do offer my couples kind of a.
Do you want to guarantee me forin-person kind of a do you want
(16:29):
to guarantee me for in person?
Do you want to have it pendingavailability or do you want to
go with zoom?
And even you know option numberfour of do you want anything at
all, which for paperwork andtwo-person elopement weddings I
normally recommend that they?
They don't do anything at all.
Really nothing is.
If you hear licking in thebackground, it's a dog.
(16:50):
It's not my dog, but we're dogsitting a little bit here,
aren't we, aren't we?
Onyx Electronic is the highestversion of payment, so shout out
to all of my Cash App ZelleVenmo, out to all of my Cash App
Zelle Venmo Payment Friends,even Apple Pay, love it, thank
(17:11):
you.
But I uniquely have to say thatthis year so far I've done a
few prison weddings, and one ofthem I was paid from the inmate,
(17:34):
so I got a check from theprison and that was really kind
of cool and special.
And, lastly, some of the thingsof issues that we've seen this
year.
We had a wedding where thebride changed the venue in 24
hours, had some issues, and so Iwas booked on 24 hours notice.
I really hadn't done a lot withmy rush fee before, and so it
was my first time implementingit and really trying to figure
(17:55):
out like, okay, you know, I wantto be really thoughtful of what
the couple's going through andknowing that they're in a
situation where, yes, they needan officiant and they need them
for tomorrow, but wanting tobalance out my need to like,
just step in, help save the day,if you will, and you know,
(18:16):
getting what is respectful formy time and the rush kind of
time of everything.
I've had a couple of weddingsthis year that I threw in hand
fasting for, either because itwas before I was going on a trip
or it was my anniversary ofofficiating, which I've said it
before that I'm open to advicefrom others on how to put
(18:53):
together elements to back chargefor these late starts.
I do have it in my contractthat I can charge fees and I ask
for a Venmo or a Cash App name,but, as we all know, there
isn't really a guarantee thatthey're going to pay that and I
don't feel like going to likesmall claims court over 50 bucks
(19:16):
or 100 bucks.
But what's the best way?
Do I turn the deposit, insteadof it being a deposit, into more
of an incidentals hold?
So, for example, if a couple'swedding was $500, I in turn ask
them for $600, that firsthundred being $600.
This holds your date and then,after final balance, after the
(19:39):
wedding, after everything issaid and done, that first $100
was also for incidentals and ifyou don't have any additional
charges, congratulations, I cangift you back $100.
I don't know, very interestedto see what people think about
that and if you've got any ideas, you you know I'd love to hear
(20:00):
it.
What makes sense to you?
Or do I just kind of shut up,take it and, as couples run 15
minutes late, think aboutforgetting it?
But I've had some significantdelays waiting on a guest,
waiting on the couple, waitingon the bride yeah, it can really
(20:21):
throw off my day and my time,and outdoor weddings and the
summer heat as I'm in right nowyeah, it's not how I like to
spend my time.
So that's where we kind of sit,kind of a state of the business
.
It's been really cool so far toput this all together for this
(20:43):
year and I'm excited for whatall is going to happen next.
Oh, one of the other things Iwill say that's been more unique
this year has been doingpersonalized vows either.
That the couple just wants tobe asked the question and they
say I do, but I've worked withthem to personalize it out, so
(21:04):
it's not kind of the typical.
And the other element that'sgotten more common is doing a
vow volley, so the couple wouldwork together or work with me
even, and come up with hey,these are the six to ten things
we would want to promise eachother, and some of them can be
funny and some of them are moresincere.
(21:24):
And then the couple divides itout and have it on pieces of
paper and read back and forth.
I vow to always share theremote control.
I vow to look at you like I didthe first day we met, but that
way each of them didn't have tonecessarily craft things
themselves to get across thisimportantness and this
personalization, but then theycould also, you know, pre-hear
(21:49):
what the other person's going tosay.
They still get to say somethingduring the wedding.
It's a really cool idea.
And, speaking of vows, that'sactually going to be the content
that you guys will be gettingin the coming weeks with what
I'm calling mini episodes.
I'm not even sure how I'm goingto log them in, maybe five
(22:09):
minutes at a time.
All of them are going to besamples of vows, so you'll get
to see some fandom vows.
You will get to see some vowvolleys.
You'll get to hear some of thetypical and traditional vows
that we have going.
That's kind of going to be whatgets us through as I take this
(22:32):
little respite.
Trust me, I'm not restingAnyone who knows me personally
knows I don't really rest, butI'm going to do some pivot and
focus and make sure that I cankeep on top of everything, make
sure that things get edited andI'm not too much on a backlog or
(22:53):
under the gun to try to put outcontent.
So that'll be that.
Thank you so much for listening.
In so far we have not yet hit athousand listens.
I'm really hopeful that overthe next six weeks new people
will find the podcast, do somebinging I've done that recently
on a few podcasts myself andthat when we resume up at the
(23:14):
end of August we will be soclose to hitting a thousand.
I think that might be one of myfirst ones where I tandem film
a video.
I want to kind of go over someof the locations that I've been
at a lot, put dots on a map,kind of make that investment in
as well.
Thank you all so much.
Happy belated 4th of July.
(23:36):
I hope that your summer isgoing well and smoothly and, as
always, this has been Amanda.
Thank you for listening to theWedding Wear with Officiating by
Amanda.
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode and found some
inspiration or insight for yourown special day.
This podcast is hosted onBuzzsprout and can be found on
(23:57):
all major platforms.
If you haven't already, pleasesubscribe, like, comment and
share to help us reach even morelisteners who might laugh a
little at the wedding wear Forthe links referenced in the show
.
Visit Linktree at Officiatingby Amanda.
You can also follow thebusiness on Facebook WeddingWire
and the Knot to stay up to dateon everything going on.
(24:17):
If you have a question you'dlike me to answer on the podcast
, just send an email totheweddingwirepodcast at
gmailcom, and if you're ready toinquire about officiating
services for your own big day,you can reach me at
officiatingbyamanda at gmailcom.
Thank you so much for tuning inand until next time.
This has been Amanda.
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