“What questions do you have for me?” I try to remember to ask each couple this question at the end of our first conversation. Most of the time, couples don’t have any questions at the time (they always have questions later!) But sometimes, they come with questions, and I am always excited to hear what they ask. One of my very favorite questions addresses why I do what I do. It typically goes something like this:
How did you find your way into this business? How did you get into this work?
I love this question. For me, it is an opportunity to share a little bit about myself. And for me, as well as my business partners, this is what I believe makes us a little different from our colleagues. You see, for me, this is far more than a way to make money, entertain folks, or make me a star. It isn’t a side hustle or a secondary gig. It’s what I was meant to do.
I actually never saw myself in this line of work. In some ways, it was serendipitous.
Following in the path of my mother who was also a wedding coordinator, I was a wedding coordinator for quite a few years. It was a really fun job, and I loved my clients as well as my colleagues. However, I became restless with the work even as I began to face the balancing act of marriage, family, and career. I wrestled with work-life balance (it’s a myth), selfhood, marriage balance, and motherhood. Not that I didn’t like any or all of these things, but they sure didn’t match what I’d imagined them to be, nor what society deemed them to be. Almost at the very moment, my colleague, Veronica*, who originally owned this business, asked me to join her in marrying couples.
Agreeing to marry a few couples here and there for Veronica ended up changing my life. As I began to engage with couples, I found my own marriage enriched, and my own life’s trajectory altered. A lifelong learner, I began to dig more deeply and intentionally into intimate relationships, marriage, and theology. In “Seminary-speak” we refer to this as finding our call in life.
So, truly, this is why I do what I do. Because I believe it is what I was meant to do. It makes me a better person, makes my marriage better, and I hope better equips each of my couples for the journey of marriage.
*Stay tuned, friends. Veronica, my long-time friend and colleague, will be sharing some of her story, as well as re-joining us in this adventure of marriage, weddings, and business!
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.