1st Choice Weddings of Southern California, wedding minister

	Non-denominational ceremonies in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Malibu and Los Angeles. Rev. Robert A. Laird Santa Barbara Wedding Minister wedding officiant.

Wedding Ceremony Clergy Traditional or Personalized Services GENUINE, Ordained Minister

Mission Statement

"To be a friend, support, advocate and minister for wedding couples, families, and friends; to provide personal and professional wedding services according to the unique needs and desires of each couple; to provide resources to help couples create and enjoy the wedding day of their dreams."

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Greetings! And congratulations on your engagement!

Now let me guess. You're wondering: "Where do we find a good wedding officiant to perform our wedding ceremony?" The yellow pages? Ugh. Referral from the wedding site? Well, that's an improvement, but you still don't know anything about the person you're calling.

On your wedding day, when you're standing before family and friends, facing each other for the most important event in your lives, you WILL be nervous! At that moment, the wedding officiant you want is someone you know and who knows you; someone you trust and feel good about.

My name is Rev. Robert A. Laird. I'm a Wedding Minister Certified wedding officiant in full-time ministry. As your wedding minister I will not just be a pastor but also your friend. Your wedding day is one of the biggest events of your life that will profoundly change your life. Your wedding ceremony should be what YOU want it to be – magical, romantic, exciting, powerful, and breathtaking. As your wedding pastor, I would partner with you to create a wedding ceremony that is perfect for you.

I WOULD BE HONORED to be your wedding officiant -- the one who pronounces you husband and wife at your wedding ceremony ! It would be my high privilege to introduce you to your adoring family and friends following that memorable wedding ceremony kiss!

As your wedding officiant, making a wedding that is yours is something that is very important to me. You may have a big extravagant event at the nicest hotel or a quiet simple event in your back yard. I will partner with you and we will make your wedding ceremony exactly what you want.

Your wedding ceremony is all about you. As your wedding officiant, YOU are my highest priority. We will design a wedding ceremony together that is a reflection of you and your relationship. As we get to know each other and learn about how you and your future spouse met, what your hope for, what your values are, we will become friends. We can do this through email, phone conversations, and/or in person. This makes a huge difference on your wedding day when you know that your wedding officiant is someone who knows, cares, and is there for you.

You want your wedding minister to knowyou, connect with you, and care about you. The most important thing you need in a wedding officiant is someone you can trust completely for this is a life-changing event that will be both a very public and very private event. You and your fiancé will be in front of family and friends, hand in hand and eye to eye, sharing together the most powerful and deep vows of your lives. This will be a moment of incredible emotion, vulnerability, and love. The wedding officiant can make or break your wedding.

Your wedding officiant needs to be someone that you can entrust this life changing moment to. As your wedding officiant I work to create an atmosphere where you can focus on enjoying the moment with your fiancé, family, and friends. This is your day and I will be there for you.

As the Santa Barbara-Los Angeles wedding officiant for 1st Choice Weddings, I officiate both religious and non-religious ceremonies in a variety of Southern California settings -- from Santa Barbara to Malibu; from Hollywood to Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village; Ventura / Oxnard to Ojai; from chapels, beaches, backyards, and living rooms to elegant five-star resort hotels.

I understand your position. You don't know me. You want to be sure you'll be happy with your choice. I would feel the same way. So I've decided that if FOR ANY REASON you're not satisfied with my services, you get your money back! That is, either you LOVE your ceremony -- or YOU PAY NOTHING! Okay?

Now if you still aren't sure or feel hesitant, I have an idea. Why not just pick up the phone and dial 1-866-FCWEDDING (329-3334) -- it's a FREE call! --and ask for me. You don't even have to give me your name if you don't want.

JUST SAY THIS: "Hello, I don't want to tell you who I am because I don't feel like being pressured. But I'm planning on getting married in a few months, can I ask you a question?"

I'll try to answer any questions you might have (note: my rates/packages are listed below).

I have also designed this website to help you with ALL your wedding planning and ceremony preparations. Take a look at several wedding vows in Sample Wedding Vows. There are so many questions to think about -- questions about wedding ceremonies, the marriage license, other services, etc. My Questions & Answers page has a lot of important, practical information. There's a page of helpful resources. "What about writing our own wedding vows?" In a recent 1st Choice Weddings newsletter there is an article you might want to take a look at. CLICK HERE for article.

We have just added one of the most attractive and easy-to navigate directories you'll find on the entire web with valuable information and links to other wedding professionals here in the Santa Barbara to Los Angeles area and elsewhere (Wedding Links).

Because I have worked with a great many other wedding vendors here in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Malibu, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and elsewhere, I can tell you there are some absolutely fabulous professionals who are an inspiration to work with and who do great work. I have highlighted these outstanding wedding vendors for you in the directory (NOTE: I was not paid, nor did I even consult with them ahead of time. This is for you, not them and certainly not me).

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Oh yes, while I'm thinking about it...

Join our FREE monthly newsletter with lots of helps and ideas to make your wedding planning easier. It is written based on hundreds of conversations with brides AND grooms about things they wished they had known or done differently.

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WM CERTIFIED WEDDING OFFICIANT

Officiating a magical wedding is an art. No two wedding ceremonies are quite the same. What works in one wedding ceremony can be most inappropriate in another. As a wedding officient, knowing when to speak and when to remain silent, what to say and do (or not do) to nurture the moment -- YOUR moment -- is the product of preparation, sensitivity, awareness, discernment, timing, intuitive understanding, and knowing your people.

Personality and chemistry matter more with the wedding officiant than any other wedding professional (with the exception of a wedding consultant). Do you want a wedding officiant who relates well to you? A more wedding officiant more authoritative and proper or a more down to earth wedding officiant? A wedding officiant more outgoing who might be more unpredictable or perhaps a wedding officiant more reserved and less personal but safe and predictable?

Two essential factors to consider in selecting a wedding officiant are professional qualifications and ministry experience. Officiating weddings is more than reciting words and making pronouncements. Weddings are about people. And the experience and professional ministry training in dealing with a variety of people -- wedding couples, families, future in-laws,-- particularly at a time of such heightened feelings as a wedding, is essential to the success of your wedding. Weddings are, in fact, moments of CRISIS (mostly positive crisis, happily) that demand special pastoral sensitivity and intuition from your wedding officiant.

As you might have noticed, I am a Wedding Minister Certified wedding officiant (required of all 1st Choice Weddings wedding ministers nationally). WM Certified officiants are trained professionals who have fulfilled the following requirements for WM Certification:

Completed the WM Professional Wedding Ministry Certification Training Program (or equivalent).

Demonstrated competence as a wedding ministry professional. This includes familiarity with a variety of wedding ceremonies and rituals, ceremony structure and design, officiating, basic personal ministry skills, legal responsibilities and more (see Training Comparison to the left).

Not every minister who applies for certification receives it automatically. WM Certification is competency-based. Officiants must demonstrate mastery of basic wedding ministry knowledge and skills to be identified by the WM Certification Seal of Trust.

Which brings up another issue...the matter of MAIL-ORDER OFFICIANTS...

Believe it or not, ANYBODY can write to a group calling itself the Universal Life Church and receive credentials that give them the title "Reverend" and allow them to legally perform weddings!!! That's right! So a person with absolutely NO training, NO qualifications, NO experience, NO education, and NO ministerial background can -- in literally a matter of minutes -- become officially "ordained" to officiate weddings and assume the title of "Reverend." Their "ordination" is nothing more than a bulk e-mail!

You would be amazed how many mail-order wedding officiants are out there -- particularly on the Internet!! -- appearing as professionally trained, educated, "ordained" clergy to unsuspecting couples.

Now to be fair, there absolutely are some mail-order wedding officiants who, through other professional training and experience, are truly qualified and carry on a fine ministry. My point is not to discredit true professionals. However, it's important to realize how VERY undemanding the credentials and ordination standards of the ULC and other mail-order ordination institutions are.

I only desire you be aware that the title "Reverend" and the terms "credentialed" and "ordained" do not, in many cases, mean a wedding minister with actual training or professionally recognized education. It's okay to ask a wedding officiant where they got their training or education.

Depending on where you live in Southern California, you should expect to pay between $350 and $800 for a fully-credentialed (from an accredited college and/or seminary) ordained wedding minister with church pastoral experience (less for a mail-order wedding officiant). I know of one person who charges $1,500. I'm trying to keep my wedding officiant rates affordable without compromising the priority of personalized attention to each couple and their own wedding.

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MOST POPULAR WEDDING VOWS

The wedding vow is often the most personal, powerful, heartfelt, and emotional element of the wedding ceremony. Increasingly couples write their own distinctively personal wedding vows. They may be read, repeated, memorized, even put to music and sung. The wedding vow encompasses the lifelong promise of love and commitment.

Below are a few samples of the most popular Marriage and Wedding Vows from various weddings I officiated. We have many additional samples and other readings for you to choose from on our Wedding Vows page (CLICK HERE).

(Groom/Bride): I, ____________, take you, ____________, to be my wife/husband; to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, through good times and bad, as long as we both shall live.

(Groom/Bride): I, ________, do vow, before God and these witnesses, to love, honor, and cherish ________, and to commit to (him/her) my fidelity, my honor, and my trust. With God as my witness, I do pledge this sacred vow from this day forth, as long as we may sojourn upon this earth.

(Groom/Bride): I, ________, take you, ________, to be my (wife/husband). And I promise and covenant, before God and these witnesses, to be your loving and faithful (husband/wife); in plenty and want, in joy and sorrow, in sickness and health, as long as we both shall live.

(Groom/Bride): ________, today I promise to love and honor you all my life; and to give you my strength, and to stand by you in joy and in sorrow, and ask you to stand by me. I want you to share your hopes, desires, and dreams with me. I pray that our home will be one of love and understanding. I promise to care for you when you are sick, stand by you when times are difficult, and to share the warmth and joy of life. I give you all my trust and all of my tomorrows. I will grow with you as long as I live.

(Groom/Bride): ________, from today, I will belong to you for the rest of my life. I promise to love, to honor, and to cherish you always. To do all I can to make our home a place of love, peace, joy, and understanding. To care for you when you are sick, to share both the burdens and the triumphs of our lives together. I will support your hopes and dreams. I will respect your views and consider them as important as my own. I trust you with my future, and promise to share with you all of my joys, my sorrows, my compassion, my hopes and my dreams as long as we both live. I promise to always stand by your side as your partner, your love, and your best friend.

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Wedding Minister PACKAGES AND RATES

How much do you charge?

1st Choice Weddings now offers you a broader range of wedding minister options available based on your own particular priorities, needs, and available resources. All wedding minister packages come with our money-back guarantee for your own quality assurance!

Simple, same day backyard weddings begin at $197 (certain restrictions apply). Here are the fees for conducting wedding ceremonies for any location in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, or Ventura:

1. Last Minute or Weekday (M-Th) Special $297 plus mileage* (if wedding is within next two weeks)

Description: Beautiful, personalized wedding ceremony.

Features:

One-time, in-person consultation with your wedding officiant
Personalized wedding ceremony
Officiate service
File license
Guaranteed satisfaction
Original Parchment copy of wedding ceremony

(add $75 plus mileage to officiate separate day rehearsal)

2. 1st Choice Wedding $547 plus mileage* (Most popular -- the kind of service I describe on this website)

Description: Beautiful wedding ceremony, day-of-wedding personal/pastoral support, and wedding ceremony coordination with musicians, DJs, photographers, florists, videographers, and wedding party (as necessary) led by someone you know and who knows you.

For ASSURANCE and PEACE OF MIND - My personal investment in YOU!

Features:

Regular and/or periodic consultations with your wedding officiant
Daily toll-free accessibility
Support/assistance as needed
Basic wedding ceremony coordination with other wedding professionals
Personalized wedding ceremony
Guaranteed satisfaction
Original Parchment copy of wedding ceremony
Beautiful commemorative wedding certificate (unofficial)
Officiate service
File license

(add $75 plus mileage to officiate separate day rehearsal)

3. PREMIER Package $747 plus mileage* (Complete Ministry Package plus EXCLUSIVE weekend support/care)

Description: Beautiful wedding ceremony, day-of-wedding personal/pastoral support, and ceremony coordination with musicians, DJs, photographers, florists, videographers, and wedding party (as necessary) led by someone you and your whole family know and trust. Includes pre-marital counseling and wedding rehearsal.

For ASSURANCE and PEACE OF MIND for YOU and Your Family

Features:

EXCLUSIVE attention/devotion to you and your wedding (no other wedding ceremonies booked all weekend)
Regular and/or periodic consultations with your wedding officiant
Priority accessibility for you and family leading up to day of ceremony
Support/assistance as needed from your wedding officiant
Wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner
Basic ceremony coordination with other wedding professionals
Personalized wedding ceremony
Two one-hour Successful Marriage Tooling sessions
Guaranteed satisfaction
Original Parchment copy of wedding ceremony
Beautiful commemorative wedding certificate (unofficial)
Officiate service
File license

* no mileage expense if within 20 miles; .50 cents a mile RT thereafter

DEPOSIT for all weddings: A minimum $199 non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your date/time.

ONLINE CREDIT CARD PAYMENT AVAILABLE!!! You may book your wedding date/time online! ALL major credit cards accepted! CLICK HERE to pay for your deposit online (secure server)

Do you perform Renewal of Vows ceremonies?

Yes. I also do dedications and memorial services.

Are you actually a minister and where did you get your credentials?

Indeed , I am. I am national director of student ministries for Sanctuary Christian Ministries, pastor for "Splash" (twice a month worship service) and lead Christian personal development training programs in southern California. We host "Mesami" (French for "friends") groups every other week. In addition I am author of the "Living to Love" series of personal and relational skill-building courses.

For more information about Sanctuary Christian Ministries CLICK HERE.

What is the process for booking the wedding ceremony and getting ready? What are the steps?

You may contact me through this web page or by phone (TOLL FREE 1-866-329-3334). If you like, I will then contact you -- usually by phone -- to set up a time to meet in person (if practical), either in your own home or site of your choosing. At this meeting we get to know each other, go over the ceremony, and discuss any questions or concerns you might have.

Or if the phone feels too threatening (that's the LAST thing I want you to feel!!), complete the easy form at the bottom of this page to receive more information or to inquire about available dates. When you're finished, click the "Submit" button. I promise to respond within 24 hours. Be sure and include your e-mail address! Click HERE TO RESERVE YOUR WEDDING now.

I would LOVE to help you create the wedding day of your dreams! It would be an honor to be your friend and -- as both friend and minister -- to perform your ceremony. And remember, you'll love your ceremony or it's FREE!! You have nothing to lose!

Please don't put off calling if you're at all interested. There's NOTHING more difficult or heartbreaking than having to tell a bride her date is no longer available (I don't even want to THINK about that!).

Best wishes and, again, congratulations on your engagement!!

Sincerely,

Rev. Robert A. Laird,
Wedding Officiant / Marriage Coach
Last updated December 9, 2006
website created by WeddingMinisters.com

For more information or to inquire about availability, please complete form and click "Submit".