Reverend Gail Swain provides custom designed original wedding ceremonies for those who are not affiliated with a church, or for those who's regular minister is unavailable for their wedding. Reverend Gail Swain’s philosophy is that this special day belongs to the bride and groom. She has done traditional weddings, weddings for couples of different cultures and original ceremonies with custom designed vows & rituals. Reverend Swain does weddings that are completely secular and non-religious, but
if some form of spirituality &/or religion is desired that’s fine too. Most people consider her a very comfortable person to be around. Reverend Swain has seen over 80 weddings to their happy conclusion. She believes in the sacredness of love and commitment, and her focus during the ceremony and its' preparations stays there. She’s professional enough to know exactly what needs to happen when, which allows us to have a smooth flowing, relaxed ceremony. Her goal is for each person at the wedding to leave it with a little tear, and a big smile. She meets with couples to find out what they are interested in, what makes their love work, and what they want for their special day. She also pays close attention to what their family life has been and will be after the wedding. She then designs a ceremony in consultation with them that will be comfortable and lovely for them. She does this work long distance via phone and/or email if a face to face meeting is difficult to arrange. She then creates a draft and then emails and then corresponds with the couple until their ceremony is exactly the way they want it. She offers many resources to couples including web pages, books, magazine articles as well as the benefit of 30 years of working with weddings.
Because she is a professional singer, she can offer a song that reflects your feelings in your ceremony with no charge. Whatever your needs are, Reverend Gail Swain can perform a ceremony designed with you in mind.
All her rates include unlimited phone calls and/or emails to get the details ironed out, and a face to face planning meeting to determine what kind of ceremony will be most comfortable for you (if possible). If you decide you want to save $ by creating the service yourself, she will support you by sending samples of different types of services she's created for your reference. She has also created a handy " How to write your Vows" guideline that she'll gladly send along. Since she is a professional singer she can offer a song or two free of charge in your wedding.
Rate information:
Reverend Gail can negotiate rates if circumstances dictate this. She charges a $100.00 deposit to hold the date, and that comes off your total, so if you need a $350 wedding ceremony, she will charge you $250 after deposit is received.
1. Do you want her to write and create an all-original ceremony & vows?
(Her rate is $400)
2. Do you want to co-create the ceremony & vows with you writing some of it and have her create the rest of the service? Or use a ceremony she's already created?
(Her rate is $350)
3. Do you want to do all the planning and creation of the ceremony yourself, or do a completely traditional or standard ceremony?
(Her rate is $300)
She has an additional flat rate charge of $50 if you want her at the rehearsal, which is recommended if you are having a formal wedding. If you are having an informal wedding, simply telling her where you want it all to take place is adequate.
If you need her to travel outside her home County (Santa Cruz California) she charges $25.00 an hour travel time.
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