Your Wedding
Are you looking for a Northern California minister offering a non-denominational service which is spiritual in nature but imposes no creedal tests? As an ordained minister serving the Northern California Wine Country, I have officiated at many of the beautiful Sonoma and Napa county winery sites as well as numerous sea-shore ceremonies and redwood grove services (see Other Matters). I believe my ceremony will touch your heart as well as the hearts of your guests.
Your Wedding Ceremony
The ceremony I offer is nondenominational but spiritual in nature. By this I mean that while it imposes no creedal tests, it does touch peoples hearts. You may use this ceremony as is, or as a basis upon which to build your own. It adapts well to the inclusion of selected readings and/or musical selections by one or more of your guests, and can accommodate special desires such as honoring the mothers, remembrance of a loved one, or lighting the unity candle.
The ceremony usually begins when the mothers are seated. If appropriate, I ask the guests to please stand as the bride is escorted in the processional. After a few words of welcome, we proceed with the vows, the exchange of rings, and finish with a blessing or prayer, the pronouncement as husband and wife, a kiss and a few concluding words.
Occasionally a couple chooses to compose their own ceremony, writing it yourselves or combining selections you cherish from other sources. This can be a rich and insightful experience and serve to clarify the commitments you are making to each other. If you are creating your own ceremony, I would want to confer with you as to its final form a week or more ahead of your wedding to be sure that I too am comfortable with its content.
Choosing Your Officient
Your Wedding is a milestone event in your lives. It may be a small, informal service with one or a few witnesses in attendance, or it may be an elaborate, formal event with hundreds of guests and include dining and dancing and go on for hours and hours. In either event, my role is to render a moving and meaningful experience for the two of you.
In choosing your wedding officient you are encouraged to give high priority to both the words used in the ceremony and the manner and voice in which it is delivered. To this end it is desirable (but not absolutely necessary) for us to meet prior to the wedding date. At that time I go over the ceremony with you, answer any questions or concerns you may have and provide you the opportunity to decide if I am the person you would like to have perform your ceremony. There is no charge for this meeting. If it is not practical for you to meet with me ahead of time, perhaps much of the above can be accomplished by phone.
The following audio examples showcase Bryan's voice during various moments of the wedding ceremony.
About Bryan
Bryan received his ministerial calling later in life. After a career as an engineer and statistician he completed two years of formal training at the Ernest Holmes College of the United Church of Religious Science. He has served as a hospital chaplain in the Sonoma County Hospital Chaplaincy Program and since 1995 has performed over one hundred wedding ceremonies.
During his early professional years Bryan helped found a Unitarian-Universalist church in Dallas, Texas, and served on its board of directors as treasurer. In other years, he has sung in church choirs , participated in spiritual training programs and served on various committees.
Bryan's open-hearted open-minded way of faith affirms diversity and imposes no creedal tests. Couples desiring a ceremony which is spiritual yet non sectarian, in which the spirit of God is present, whether or not named, are frequently surprised and pleased to find this kind of service available. Do not be surprised if any number of your guests tell you how much they enjoyed the service.
