It’s been an exciting, busy, fantastic year over here. And we aren’t even done . . . we love our December and New Year couples for all the winter sparkle they bring to the holiday season!
But during this Thanksgiving week, it is customary, of course, to name some of what fills our hearts with happiness. This blog is just one of several on the subject of thankfulness. And this is the one that matters the most.
Because at the end of the day, it is the families we create that make our business. Without you, our clients, there is no Central Ceremonies. You are the reason we exist, the impetus for our brand expansion.
You are the ones who consistently push us, challenging us, and give us new ways to think about rituals and relationships. Therefore, we would be remiss if we did not say that you, our clients, are our greatest cause for gratitude within our business.
This year we are so happy to say we helped create 62 new families! Sixty-two knots tied. Sixty-two bindings. Now, that number may seem small to some, and certainly we have colleagues in other areas of the industry with much higher client numbers. But, given what we do, how we do things, and the philosophy that guides our work, that’s a big number!
You see, in the end, what we do and how we do it has little to do with numbers. It has little to do with reviews (although we like good reviews) and followers (also like followers) and social media likes (and yes, also enjoy receiving hearts on Instagram).
Instead, we think what we do – bind you together – should be more than just a ceremony with some pretty words and a signature to a piece of legal paper. For us, it’s a counter-cultural statement. For us, it is saying all those cyber connections, reviews, social media likes, and FB friends are in the end not enough to sustain us.
Here at Central Ceremonies (formerly Central Ceremonies), we believe deeply that what we do fosters the creation of real, incarnational (oh – that’s a big word) communities. And guess what? Apparently you do, too!
Yes, we need each other. It’s being together that matters – at weddings, over a meal, in a home, sharing coffee or tea in a local shop, listening, laughing and crying side-by-side. Each ritual shared not only births new families, new beginnings, and new hope, it reminds us that being with, for, and among each other is really, truly the greatest gift.
So, to each of you we met this year along the way, you mattered to us and made us better. We are grateful to have mattered to you. To those of you we will meet soon — we cannot wait to enter your story and your community. We welcome you.
Thank you. We are truly grateful.
Sarah has been crafting custom weddings for couples of all kinds since 1999. Sarah is a Ravenclaw, and loves mythology, historical fiction, hot tea, and cycling of all sorts. She is an ordained minister who believes in coloring outside the lines. Sarah has been married to her best friend, Joe, since 1994. Together, their greatest treasures are their two children and the marriage they’ve worked hard to cultivate.