The Wedding Ceremony Planner: The Essential Guide to the Most Important Part of Your Wedding Day

by Judith Johnson

Book Overview

Many couples want a spiritual but not a religious ceremony that truly celebrates their unique set of beliefs, values and life circumstances. They want their ceremony, their way but don't know where to begin or what questions they need to ask. The Wedding Ceremony Planner is a comprehensive and user-friendly guide. It covers everything you need to know to create a beautiful ceremony text and to anticipate and address all the profound and mundane logistics...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402203438
• ISBN13: 9781402203435
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Erased any jitters I had and replaced them with the perfect plan

I was a first time officiant about to perform the wedding of two dear friends. I was nervous. Who did I think I was to perform a wedding? I knew I had the credentials, but did I have what it takes? Under the tutelage of this phenomenal guidebook, I found that I did. Part One didn't have anything to do with my part of the wedding, but the information is invaluable. It sets the context for the ceremony. Who is involved, where the wedding is, what intention do the bride and groom have for there special day, what is the tone they want to create... that sort of thing. Part Two was all about the ceremony, in other words - my stuff. In these pages, Judith Johnson laid it all out succinctly while at the same time gave me many ideas. I got a blueprint and a variety of ways to bring that blueprint to life. Reading this section really boosted my confidence. Part Three included the nitty gritty of weaving all of this together. It gave samples and suggestions, fleshing out some of Part Two and offering the expertise of Johnson's many years of experience. I know this is a reference book I will refer to over and over and over again. I will recommend it to both officiants and couples alike.

The most helpful book

I just performed my first wedding ceremony and found this to be the most helpful book of all I consulted. In addition to all that the other reviewers have noted, I found the section on doing the rehearsal invaluable. It had many tips that I never would have thought of (and I'm a very organized person who has put together all kinds of events); as a result the rehearsal went very smoothly, which in turn led to a ceremony in which all the participants were clear and able to be emotionally present. Thank you Judith!

Perfect Guide for Planning Your Ceremony

I used this book to customize every aspect of my recent wedding (one month ago today), from the opening prayer & gathering words to the final blessing & pronouncement. There are several passages of each "section" of the ceremony for you to choose from, as well as suggestions on personalizing each section. The sample ceremonies will give you a great place to start if you know you want to personalize your ceremony but aren't sure where to start. The book isn't just geared towards those looking for religious ceremonies: there's a perfect balance of ceremony passages for those looking for religious words as well as passages for non-traditional unions (ex: same-sex ceremonies, second marriages, marriages with children from previous relationships, etc). The helpful hints, practical advice, and checklists throughout the book made this an indispensable resource. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Our wedding ceremony was so beautiful and personal that every guest told me afterwards how much they'd enjoyed it & that our wedding was the best they'd attended; even our ecumenical minister was impressed and teared up while performing the ceremony. In summary, this is a wonderful book.

Got our non-religious ceremony off the ground!

Rev. Johnson's Wedding Ceremony Planner was a lifesaver for my husband and I when planning our wedding. Neither of us are religious, but we still wanted to have a meaningful ceremony to initiate our marriage. When we sat down to write the ceremony, however, we were lost at sea! Rev. Johnson's guide navigated us to the creation of a beautiful, personal ceremony. We even incororated many parts of the sample ceremonies into our own. My brother and his fiance are now in the process of planning their own wedding, and I just bought them a copy of The Wedding Ceremony Planner to help them along.

The Wedding Ceremony Planner: An Essential Resource

This book is surely a "must have" for anyone planning a wedding, including those who believe they know exactly what they are doing. Rev. Johnson's book clearly elucidates all of the subtleties of planning a successful wedding. She provides excellent anecdotal support to deeply insightful direction which evidences years of experience in conducting wedding ceremonies of all kinds. She offers guidance for both traditional and original style weddings, and excellent comparisons of the merits of each. She also offers many excellent examples of the exact language used for each part of the ceremony, and many example prayers, which makes planning a non-traditional service a less daunting exercise. Most importantly, this book provides an excellent center of focus from which a couple can improvise and customize their own perfect wedding.