This is a guest post from my friend Spike who does some of the most personal wedding ceremonies in Austin, TX.

Enjoy...

All the best,

Will Taylor 512-775-2371

I totally stumbled into being a wedding officiant. In 2004 I came across an article in the New York Times about the growing need for celebrants willing to marry couples who weren’t religious, or who came from different religious backgrounds. The idea of the job appealed to me—I already had decades of experience as a writer and a public speaker and I love being useful.

Some generous friends offered themselves as my guinea pigs. That first wedding was so fun I knew I wanted to perform more. I found another officiant willing to train me and get me started with sample ceremonies. Soon enough, both because I am a writer and because couples I work with want unique ceremonies, I started super personalizing ceremonies.


By “super personalizing” what I mean is, I didn’t just use readings that held great meaning for the couple, though there was that. I also put my twenty-five years of journalism experience to use, interviewing my clients, taking highlights of the story of their life together, and adding in a Personal Story section to the ceremony.


I still do this for many, many couples—it’s not mandatory but so many people ask me to include it. Yes, sometimes their guests already know the story, but it bears repeating, a happy and romantic way to really consider why the crowd has gathered. In other cases, a wedding will be the first time some of the guests have met the bride or groom, and the personal story catches them up on how we’ve come to be here on this day.


There are occasions when the personal story includes hardship a couple has faced together—grief, grave illness, separation due to work or deployment. I like including these elements, too, as a reminder that life is always going to throw curveballs, so remember to stand together.


No matter how many serious elements I include in a story, I also include levity. Because a couple’s wedding is a day to celebrate and be joyful, plus laughter is the best medicine as the saying goes. So it’s important to me that a ceremony includes a range of feelings to reflect how life covers a broad spectrum of emotions.


I love my job so much. I’m about to start my ninth year of being an officiant. Sometime in the middle of 2015 I’ll pass the 1000th Ceremony mark. I never get tired of my work and I never get bored. Because while yes, there is always some repetition (beginning, middle, kiss!) there is also always a unique story behind every union, and I love finding out what that is and including it in the ceremony.


More about Spike Gillespie’s wedding can be found at www.SpikeGillespie.com  She was voted Best Officiant in 2013 by Austin’s A-List.

In the middle of the seating of the parents, James darted up from his chair, tossed his violin in the case, and ran for the cover of a large oak tree directly behind the ceremonial area. Tiny water droplets were beginning to hit the top of my $60,000 violin, so I suggested that we all move under the tree and continue the ceremony as best as we could acoustically.  Just 30 mins ago under grey cloud cover, I asked the wedding coordinator if the couple had a rain plan..  “No, they refused to even consider it,” she said with a humorous smile.

Relocating the string quartet under the tree seemed like the best solution at the time, but I’ll paint the picture a little more for you. This was an elaborately expensive Texas Hill Country wedding with no expense spared. Guests from locations all over the globe were shuttled in to enjoy cocktails before the ceremony, while our classical music was piped through an expensive, hi-resolution Bose speaker system. Four mikes on stands, and an elaborate labyrinth of audio cables weaved around us and the guest seating area. This electrical sound reinforcement maze was designed by a high end sound company all the way from Houston, and monitored remotely on an ipad, by Biff, the sound guy.  This couple wanted it to sound good, and every guest from the front row to their 80 year old great aunt in the back was going to understand every word.

It wasn’t immediately clear to Biff, that the decision to save our priceless instruments from rainfall was a completely necessary one. Biff angrily scrambled to find five workers to quickly reposition all of the sound equipment, while I continued to play, and take cues from the coordinator. Then, the wedding party processed and landed directly in front of the quartet cutting off my line of sight to the coordinator cues.  I had  to stop playing, run 15 feet to relay the cues to the 3 remaining musicians to avoid missing the cue for the bride. What a workout!

We pulled it off and very few even noticed what was going on but it was a close one!

A couple of points you must consider:

1) Have  some kind of rain (inclement) weather plan, even if your part of the woods has been in a drought for  years.  Here’s a nice article on how to have a wedding in the rain.

2) If you decide to have an outdoor wedding, be aware that most musicians will flat out refuse to play in the rain, direct sunlight, or cold/icy situations.  Consider a venue that has both indoor and outdoor options and make sure its available on the day of your wedding.

3) If you’re planning to have friends or amateurs play at your wedding, ask yourself:


    Do you think they would know what to do when things go wrong?


    If you’re ok with cues being missed, ackward silences or pauses, and your friends being under a little stress, rather than getting to enjoy the wedding,...then consider your friends...and save a little $ as well.


Otherwise, hire professionals that know what to do when Murphy’s law visits your special day.


If you are even remotely obsessed with making sure your wedding day goes off perfectly, then go to the pros.


Its ok to have a little worry, just remember to have a sense of humor if something does go wrong.


That’s all for today,


Will Taylor - 512-775-2371


P.S. If you’re interested in professionals handling your wedding music, put “Austin Wedding Band” in your cell phone now: 512-775-2371 or visit here and we’ll give you a free price quote over coffee, tea, skype or in person..  Ask about our Attached at the Hip package.

What if you could go back in time and do your wedding or wedding music over knowing what you know now?

Wouldn’t that be really helpful information for someone planning a wedding….?

Like for you maybe...or your daughter or a friend who’s going this journey now?

So...That’s the question I ask our customers 30 days after their event and here’s what some of them revealed to me:

The primary piece of advice I would give someone is to make sure you sit back and take a good long moment to absorb everything taking place at your wedding.  Time moves so quickly and there is so much going on that I think it is important to let yourself just relax for a bit and look around to see the joy and happiness that spreads throughout the crowd.  -Dustin

I would not change a thing about the event---I loved the Alan House, enjoyed the addition of the Peached Tortilla food truck, thought the wedding taking place on New Year's Eve was perfect, and especially loved the music provided by Strings Attached.  One of my favorite photos of the wedding is at Midnight with Kara and Michael standing just in front of the band with the entire reception AND band rasing their glasses at Midnight to toast them---what a way to ring in 2014 and start your married life!

Having now been the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom, my advice to anyone planning a wedding would be enjoy the planning and the big day!  Do not turn every decision into a monumental decision---in the end is really just about the celebration of your love for each other!  - Suzette

I would first scrub down the guest list and take several weeks to do this.  I might not hire a full blown wedding coordinator but I would certainly consider hiring a “day of coordinator”.  Above all…make sure you plan to spend more than you budget because the incidentals will break the bank! - Kim

 Advice I would give is make sure to have a day-of coordinator, that is a must-have. Also, get a string trio or quartet for the ceremony, it makes it seem so much more emotional and real. The weddings I've been to that have an iPod or DJ playing recorded songs sound so awful. (And one that I just went to that had a single violinist was bad too...you couldn't hear a thing). And lastly, you'll never please everyone, just do what you want and it will all work out in the end. - Brigett

If we could change anything, it would’ve been to have a PA system. You might recall being set up in a nook at one end of our office. It seemed like people were congregating around the music because it could only be heard from a certain distance.  - Chelsea

I probably would have had Strings Attached for everything and paid for the extra songs myself... but y'all were truly awesome and I wish I could have had y'all set up in a better spot so you could have been featured more. - Kelsie

Austin's most romantic and unique venue with timeless old-world charm. Dunvegan Keep is Austin's hidden jewel and bridal paradise.  An old-world estate from the pages of a fairy tale, reflecting romantic European architecture with its lush gardens, stone arches, old ironwork, stained glass, outdoor mosaics & sculptures, and hand-painted murals.
 http://www.dunvegankeep.com

Subscribe to Will's Six Steps to an Unforgettable Wedding by Will Taylor here:

http://sixeasysteps.safechckout.com/

View all of Will's Unforgettable Wedding Video Tips here:

http://celebratewithstringsattached.com/blog

Contact Celebrate with Strings Attached
512-775-2371
or [email protected]

In a sublime setting of grand and mystical ancient oaks, nature surrounds you and your guests in a majestic Great Hall created by the team behind Ian's Chapel, the original venue at Camp Lucy. This magnificent structure features dramatic timbers, gorgeous flooring, and a spacious porch perfect for cocktails and Hill Country sunsets.

Named Sacred Oaks to honor the space's remarkable setting, the new venue expertly blends the impeccable design and enviable style that are the hallmarks of Camp Lucy with the natural surroundings. The ancient oaks themselves are the venue's stars as their grand trunks and elegant, twisting branches are thoughtfully enveloped with thousands of perfect, tiny lights, creating a truly magical ceremony site. Sacred Oaks also features a soaring bell tower, separate from the Great Hall structure.  http://camplucy.com/sacred-oaks-venue.html

Subscribe to Will's Six Steps to an Unforgettable Wedding by Will Taylor here:

http://sixeasysteps.safechckout.com/

View all of Will's Unforgettable Wedding Video Tips here:

http://celebratewithstringsattached.com/blog

Contact Celebrate with Strings Attached
512-775-2371
or [email protected]

Will Taylor's Wedding Tips #6 featuring Emmy® winner Curt Darling.

Curt Darling is a Dry Cut expert and Organic Hair Care developer. For over 20 years Curt has cut and styled top celebrities such as Mick Jagger and Elizabeth Taylor with his trademark method Darling DryCut™ .

A native of Seattle, Curt began his career at the age of 17. Curt spent many years honing his skills in advanced training centers of London, Hong Kong and Los Angeles, as well as many Hollywood film and television sets.
Curt services clients and offers advanced training to hair stylists at his new downtown location at 440 S. Main st. in the historic core of Downtown Los Angeles.Curt Darling Salon is a full service salon specializing in the owners unique Darling DryCut along with a full range of hair color and styling services. We offer a fine selection of Organic Hair Care and Beauty treatments featuring Curt Darling Organic Hair Care and Blending Bar where essential oils are infused into our shampoo's and conditioners in dependence upon the individual needs of our guests. We also carry Number 4 High Performance Hair Care, ORG Organic Mineral Peel for face and body and Herban body care. Please view our Service Menu and List of Organic Hair Care products.

Tips to make your hair fantastic on your wedding day from a world class hairstylist to the stars of movies, TV and music.

Subscribe to Will's Six Steps to an Unforgettable Wedding by Will Taylor here:

http://sixeasysteps.safechckout.com/

View all of Will's Unforgettable Wedding Video Tips here:

http://celebratewithstringsattached.com/blog

Contact Celebrate with Strings Attached
512-775-2371
or [email protected]

Will's tips for unforgettable weddings brings you a tour of the Neil Cochran House in Austin, Texas.

Classic Doric columns characteristic of the Greek Revival style convey a sense of urban sophistication on the porch of the 1855 Neill-Cochran House Museum. Yet in the mid-19th century, this site was over two miles from Austin, a young city of around 1,000 inhabitants.

Austin had become the state capital in 1845 by a constitutional decree that required a statewide vote in five years to reaffirm its status. Following the election of 1850, the State of Texas began planning and building permanent government buildings, and by 1853 was in the midst of its first boom.

Subscribe to Will's Six Steps to an Unforgettable Wedding by Will Taylor here:

http://sixeasysteps.safechckout.com/

View all of Will's Unforgettable Wedding Video Tips here:

http://celebratewithstringsattached.com/blog

Contact Celebrate with Strings Attached
512-775-2371
or [email protected]

Ever wonder how the ceremony musicians at a wedding know what to play and when? This is how they do it.

Subscribe to Will's Six Steps to an Unforgettable Wedding by Will Taylor here:

http://sixeasysteps.safechckout.com/

View all of Will's Unforgettable Wedding Video Tips here:

http://celebratewithstringsattached.com/blog

Contact Celebrate with Strings Attached
512-775-2371
or [email protected]