| Reverends Thomas And Sharra McDearmont 877-550-9724 Located in Central Texas The Greater Austin Area |
Frequently Asked Questions
Send mail to smcdee1@beautifullywed.com with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 1997 - 2006 Gateway of Light Last modified: 08/22/2005 |
 | I want to book one of you for a ceremony. What is the next step? |
You can contact us by telephone at 512-248-9027 or contact us via e-mail at
sharra@beautifullywed.com. We will ask you a few basic questions concerning the type of
wedding ceremony you are needing. We will ask whether you want to have a simple ceremony in
our home or a more involved ceremony in a more formal setting with guests. We will usually
start with questions designed to give us an idea of your wishes for your ceremony. We will advise
you of the approximate cost for what you are wanting. For all of our larger packages we will
suggest that we meet in person if possible to design the ceremony.
| Will you meet with us in person before the ceremony? |
For our Private Intimate and Elopement Ceremonies it's really not necessary to meet in person
ahead of time. Most correspondence can be handled by email and telephone. For our larger
wedding packages though (location permitting), we would like to meet personally with you to
discuss your wishes for your ceremony. It helps us to deliver a more meaningful ceremony if we
get to talk with you a bit and hear what your desires are for your wedding. We feel it will
benefit you as well and that you will be more comfortable with us helping you on your special
day. In case of distance and convenience issues, most pre-ceremony conversations can be
handled via phone and/or e-mail. All meetings are handled personally by either Reverends
Thomas or Sharra or both. Sharra will be responsible for planning the details of your ceremony.
| Will you attend wedding rehearsals? |
The Minister's part of the ceremony is never covered during the wedding rehearsal and therefore
the minister's attendance at a rehearsal is normally not necessary particularly if you are using a
wedding coordinator whose job it is to lead the rehearsal. If you do not have a wedding
coordinator though or you are having something unusual in your ceremony that you need the
minister to take the lead on, then we will attend the rehearsal and do a run through so that
everyone is comfortable with their roles for the big day. Usually there is an additional $75.00 fee
for us to attend the rehearsal. The rehearsal is included in our Celebration of Love Package.
| Do you require pre-wedding counseling? |
No we do not require pre-wedding counseling. We do offer a special pre-wedding course available
through email to any couples who want to take it. It consists of seven weekly lessons. If you are
interested in taking these lessons please send us an email. We offer this course to all our couples
free of charge. We feel that counseling should not be required as both of you are adults and your
choice to get married is strictly your own. However, we will gladly talk with you about any
concerns or issues regarding the wedding you may have and we can provide additional counseling
should you request it.
| What are your qualifications and experience to perform weddings? |
We are ordained ministers and active members of Gateway of Light Ministries, Saint Luke's
Evangelical Christian Ministries, the Universal Life Monastery and Seminary (both part of ULC
an interfaith and non-denominational ministry) and the Church of Spiritual Humanism. Our
doctrines embrace a diversity of beliefs allowing us to perform a wide variety of ceremonies ---from
the very secular to the very religious.
We have a combined experience of over 15 years ministering in the official capacity, officiating
weddings and funerals, performing home and business blessings, blessing Little Children,
counseling couples and families, holding weekly services and Bible studies.
| What makes our marriage legal? |
Any ordained minister of a legally recognized church may marry you and we are ordained ministers
in good standing in a legally recognized church. It is the obtaining and filing of the marriage license
that makes a marriage legal. Your marriage license is obtained by you, then signed and filed by us.
| What do I need to do to legally change my last name after we are married? |
After completion of the ceremony which ever one of us is officiating will sign your marriage license
and then return it to the appropriate county clerk's office. The Clerk and Recorder will then certify
the document, record the marriage and return the marriage certificate to you in the mail. You will
need copies of this document for changing your name on credit cards, bank accounts, etc. You will
need the original for your driver's license, passport and social security card. Also, if you are to be
included in your spouse's health insurance plan, do not assume that his is automatic; you will need
to enroll and produce evidence of the marriage (either the original or a copy) before you will be
covered.
| At what type of locations will you perform weddings? |
We will perform ceremonies in reception halls, churches, in parks or lake fronts, restaurants,
outdoors, on boats, at the beach, at private residences - wherever you like! Just be certain that you
have acquired any necessary permits beforehand. If you require our presence for longer than an
hour ceremony - for example, an afternoon on the lake on a boat - add an additional $50.00 per
hour for our time.
| Will you do out of town weddings? |
We will do weddings anywhere within the Greater Austin Area including Travis and surrounding
counties. We are qualified to do weddings anywhere in the state of Texas. We add travel charges
to any weddings more than 100 miles away. Any wedding over 3 hours each way from Round
Rock, Texas will require an overnight hotel stay, which will be added to the cost of the wedding
package.
| How far in advance should I confirm a wedding officiant? |
As Thomas and I conduct all ceremonies ourselves, many dates are booked well in advance. You
will want to book your date and place a deposit to guarantee your date and time as soon as you
can, the sooner the better.
| What about last minute requests? |
As long as there is room on our calendar, we can officiate for you.
| How do we reserve our date with you? |
To reserve your date, please call us at 512-248-9027 or e-mail us smcdee1@beautifullywed.com.
Except for our Elopement Package we do require a deposit to hold the date. See Wedding Packages
and check the package you have selected for the actual amount of deposit needed. You may call or
e-mail us to find out about availability, but you must actually put down a deposit to guarantee the
date. In case of cancellations, $100 of your deposit is non-refundable.
| What if you are unavailable for our date? |
Sorry, there is not much we can do about that, but we work with other ministers in the area and
will be more than happy to refer you to. However, we will gladly put you on a waiting list in case
the booking cancels and we should become available.
| How long does a ceremony take? |
This depends a lot on which wedding package you choose. Typically, a ceremony will last about
20 to 25 minutes. However, if you wish to add extra readings or other things such as songs, candle
ceremony, or dove release to your ceremony, it will last longer.
| What do you as ministers wear during the ceremony? |
Typically, Thomas will wear a dark color suit, or a shirt and tie with a clergy robe and stole. We
keep various colors in robes and stoles. Sharra typically will wear a white robe with a stole. We
have red, green, purple and white long stoles and shorter gold stoles.
| Can we write our own vows? |
Definitely! ... In fact, personalizing a ceremony can make it truly rich and meaningful. Even if you
don't feel you can write your own vows, Sharra has put together a Wedding Ceremony Guide
available for help and inspiration if the need should arise. With our beautiful Celebration of Love
package Sharra will actually help you write your own vows. Sharra is a Poet Laureate and has
won many awards for her poetry and verses and will be well qualified to help you. If you use our
Create A Ceremony Guidebook, You can pick the various parts of the ceremony you like and we
will put them together for a very special and personalized wedding ceremony designed especially
for you.
| How do we work together to create our ceremony? |
We will share with you our Create A Ceremony Guidebook and will schedule a mutually
convenient time to meet with you either in our home or at a convenient location such as a
'Starbucks' to go over the details of the wedding ceremony with you. If you are writing your own
vows you should present them to us at this time so we can include them in the customization of
your ceremony. We will take our notes from this meeting and custom create the ceremony for
you. We will send you a copy of the ceremony text well in advance so you can look over it and
make any changes. You will usually receive a rough draft of the ceremony within 48 hours of our
meeting.
| Does it matter what religion or spirituality we practice? |
No. What matters is that we serve you in a matter that brings joy to your day. We will help you
to bring your own spiritual experience to the ceremony.
| We want a non-religious wedding - will you do that? |
It is YOUR ceremony, and we will do it YOUR way. Except for a couple of legal restrictions, you
have ultimate say over how your ceremony is to be conducted.
| Can we have a non-religious yet spiritual ceremony? |
Certainly. In fact many prefer a "spiritual" rather than a "religious" ceremony.
| Can I include elements of different religions and religious traditions in our ceremony? |
Of course you can! These make for interesting, rich meaningful ceremonies. We will work with
you and your various traditions to develop a ceremony that truly represents your spiritual values.
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