OUR WEDDING OFFICIANT NYC IN THE NEWS

(or, I googled myself so you don't have to.)

2020 was the year that Love Won. Couples postponed their weddings -some, multiple times. An unexpected gubernatorial Executive Order allowed online weddings. At first, couples married online out of desperation. Then it became "normal" and couples like Janine and Stephanie embraced the idea and turned their homes into stage sets for their zoom weddings. It was a big affair, and truly a joyous celebration!

As a wedding industry educator, I normally speak to wedding professionals. Thanks to this video interview I was happy to share my expertise on the role of the wedding officiant with engaged couples. The Wedding Common, a collaboration between Tatiana Valerie, owner of the award-winning NYC wedding photographer Artvesta Studio, and television host Amy Klewitz is a great place for anyone to learn about the wedding industry from experts!

NYC National Public Radio affiliate WFUV's Cityscape host George Bodarky focuses on the people, places and spirit of the city with an insider's perspective. When he explored New York City weddings in a March 2019 episode, he asked about the places that make an impression on me.

It's always an honor to receive an award. It seems like Kev's Best has been striving to review the entire internet since 2011. Publisher Kevin Osbourne uses 60 criteria (experience is number 1!) to select the best in every category. Kev's Best is an independent blog. You can't buy an award from them, so I am proud to have been included in their list of 5 Best Marriage Celebrants in New York.

Wedding Rule is the latest entrant in editorial websites that highlight the best in the wedding industry, which is a good thing considering how many of the early online listing sites are now defunct! Since vendors can't apply to be included on their ten best lists, I'm honored to have been selected as their #1 Wedding Officiant in New York City.

What does a wedding officiant do? What inspired me to become a professional wedding officiant? Why should couples hire a professional wedding officiant? All of your burning wedding officiant questions are answered in ABM FM host Robert Whetham's wedding officiant interview with yours truly. (Sadly, their audio archive has been purged.)

What makes Michelle's stylish wedding inspiration website so valuable to couples planning a wedding is that she doesn't just share the brides' experiences, but she let's her readers see these gorgeous weddings from all the vendors' perspectives, too. Here I revealed to her my most memorable weddings, and what makes a wedding memorable to me.

Every wedding is special to me. Some brides don't know where to start, some brides want to keep it simple, some brides want to pull out all of the stops. After their road-tripping, globe-trotting courtship, Kaileigh had a vision! To fulfill it she hired the hippest designer in the city, an over-the-top florist, and an amazing photographer to capture it all. It's always an honor to be chosen for such an event, especially when the Bride calls your ceremony "absolutely perfect" in print.

Would you believe me if I told you that back in the olden days, people kept online diaries where they wrote eloquent personal essays 100s of words longer than 140 characters? Back then it was unusual to find a wedding officiant online, and people who disapproved of the idea were not shy about saying so. So I am indebted to Emily for writing about choosing me as her wedding officiant on her blog. It was the first online mention of my wedding officiant services.

I was sad to read about a bride whose biggest wedding regret was that she didn't pay more attention to the ceremony, because no professional wedding officiant should allow that to happen. The ceremony is the reason for the celebration that follows. That's why my motto is "Your perfect wedding starts with your perfect ceremony." So I wrote an article for Wedding Lovely about the three essential choices every couple should make to have their perfect wedding ceremony.

Lindsey's favorite memory from her wedding is "laughing so uncontrollably" at the altar when "the officiant read a poem that talked about us tickling each other and I lost it after the 3rd tickle". When the Bride's favorite memory is the ceremony, I know I did my job! I smile whenever I think about this gorgeous NYC rooftop wedding.

"New York City elopements never get old." It's true! Especially when the handsome couple's summer solstice tour of NYC is vividly captured by wedding photographer Priyanca Rao, and climaxes with an intimate Central Park ceremony at the Ladies Pavilion.

What could be more sentimental than a "personalized, heart-felt and romantic ceremony" with a big group of family and friends in the hippest intimate venue in town?" How about holding the wedding on your parents' 44th wedding anniversary?

Wedding Officiants are the writers, producers, directors and lead performers of the wedding ceremony, but we make sure that the Brides and Grooms are always the stars. Still, it's disappointing when, as usual, the media doesn't print your name...unless they print a picture of you from your stint on TV's Married At First Sight that your friends see first!

The SPRING/BREAK Art Show is easily the hippest art event in NYC. I officianted the show directors' [artists Ambre Kelly and Andrew Gori] legal "matrimonial ritual" as a piece of performance art during the opening press conference of the 2015 edition of the show, whose theme was "Transaction." A limited edition print of the marriage certificate was sold at subsequent shows. You can see me in the photos of other reports.

Connie and Fabiana went to high school together, but didn't know each other. When the internet happened, they reconnected on an early social network platform. Theirs is an old story with a very modern twist. Connie said she "hung on to every word that was spoken by our officiant," not wanting the ceremony to end. As is often the case with magazines, my name was removed from the draft-which I saw. (Do you see a pattern here, too?)

It's crazy how much can change in a lifetime, and I'm not talking about the internet. It's hard to imagine that some people used to argue that 2 people who loved each other were not entitled to marriage equality-now, thankfully, a minority viewpoint. So when New York State legalized marriage equality, a few of us wedding ministers were invited out to Fire Island to bring legal equality to gay couples. When I officiated the wedding of two men who'd already been together for 58 years, the whole town showed up in their honor!

What you find on Google: My first review! In the New York Times! Back when off-Broadway was downtown, Tin Pan Alley was a real place, and alligators still occasionally crawled out of manholes, theater critic Mel Gussow called my performance in Side Street Scenes "engaging" - sort of. Mom and Dad were so proud.

Contact me directly at
peter@ourweddingofficiantnyc.com,

or call
917 523 1438