Dear engaged couples—Recently several potential clients have asked me what would happen if, at the last minute, I could not perform their wedding ceremony. I know it can happen. I have officiated at two weddings in the not-so-distant past, one as a fill- in for an offficiant who threw out her back just before a wedding, and another, who had some health issues which were never revealed to me.
Just so you know, up to this point, and I have officiated at over one hundred weddings, probably inching up on two hundred weddings, I have never once missed a wedding or a rehearsal. However, I realize that this may not be the assurance you are looking for. I mean, there has to be a first time, right? So, in the event that something SHOULD ever prevent me from officiating at your wedding, let me tell you the plans I have in place:
First, I would contact my two associates. Jay McNeal and Susan Blanchard both work with Wedding Preacher for Hire, both have your interests at heart, both are ordained and certified to perform marriage ceremonies, and finally, both are good natured, folks, who are fun to work with. I would certainly do the same for them, should they not be able to keep a commitment.
Ok. So, say that I am flat on my back with a back injury, or my leg is in a cast and I’m not supposed to move, and Susan and Jay are both busy with other weddings that weekend.
In that case, I would turn next to other wedding officiants I have come to know in the Richmond and Charlottesville areas. We don’t consider ourselves competitors. We are colleagues. I occasionally send inquirers their way, if my calendar is full for a particular day, and they do the same. So, again, if Susan and Jay were busy, I would send you to them.
Just to put your mind totally to rest, though, let’s say that everyone was booked—Jay, Susan, and my other officiant colleagues. In that event, my options STILL aren’t exhausted! Take heart! Since I am a pastor, I regularly network with other pastors in the Charlottesville and Richmond areas. Some of these pastors are retired, and a few of them have actually told me, “Gay Lee, if you ever need someone to fill-in, I’m available.” These are capable souls who have the training and the necessary authorization to perform weddings in the state of Virginia.
I’d be very surprised if all of those people were unavailable.
Shall we chalk this up to Fate?
Ok. So what if I was in a car wreck on the way to the wedding, and I injured my head so that I got amnesia and I couldn’t remember that I had a wedding to perform–or what if I suddenly acquired some horrible disease, like TB, that was highly communicable and unfortuntately it went undiagnosed until the day before your wedding? Or, what if, while I was walking my dog I fell and hit my head and I became unconscious? And what if my cell phone was not on me, so despite your phone calls to ask me where I was, there was no one to pick up the phone, which I had left on my coffee table back home.
The Science Fiction writer Arthur C.Clarke has said, “All human plans are subject to ruthless revision by Nature, or Fate, or whatever one prefers to call the powers behind the Universe.” So in the last few scenarios, I guess we would just have to chalk it up to fate or nature. Yes, fate intervened, and maybe for good reason?
In closing, I want you to know that I consider what I do more than a business. It is a ministry with me and I honor my ministerial commitments—always have. Last year I turned down a trip to Australia because I had committed myself to officiate at several weddings during the time I would have been traveling. You come first.
So, if you want to worry, worry about the dj, the cake decorator the caterer, or the seamstress altering your dress. Your wedding service is 99.9 % safe with me!
Happy wedding planning.
Your wedding preacher for hire
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