JLB Ceremonies - Servicing Northwest Indiana and Beyond
JLBofficiant@gmail.com
Services
Sign and Go Special - - - $100
Local Meeting Place of your choice*
Declaration of Intent (required)
Standard Souvenir Marriage Certificate
Private Elopement - - - $200
Local Meeting Place of your choice*
Standard Elopement Script
Standard Souvenir Marriage Certificate
Private Elopement Package - - - $600+
2 week advance booking required
Venue Provided - location based on availability
Standard Elopement Script
Flowers
Gift
Champagne Toast and Individual Cake
Custom Souvenir Marriage Certificate
Photography - based on availability
Intimate Wedding - - - $300
Your Local Venue*
Standard Ceremony Script
Custom Vow Option
Custom Souvenir Marriage Certificate
Intimate Wedding Package - - - $800+
2 week advance booking required
Venue Provided - location based on availability
Standard Ceremony Script
Flowers
Gift
Champagne Toast and Individual Cake
Custom Souvenir Marriage Certificate
Photography - based on availability
Beautiful Custom Wedding - - - $500+
Your Local Venue*
Custom Ceremony
Custom Ceremony Script
Custom Souvenir Marriage Certificate
Rehearsal Option Included
Additional Options
Custom Ceremony Script - - - $100
Custom Ceremony - - - $100
(Handfasting, Unity Candle, Wine box etc)
Custom Marriage Certificate - - - $25
Rehearsal Option - - - $200
*Travel May Be Extra
Private Elopement Package
Everything fabulous about a full scale Wedding, made intimate.
All the ease of going to the Courthouse, made special.
Based on availability.
Requires 2 week advanced booking.
Additional Fees may apply.
Includes:
*Venue *Champagne Toast *Souvenir Certificate
*Ceremony *Cake *Gift
*Flowers *Professional Photography
Elopement
The primary focus of an Elopement is the Couple and the Ceremony. These are intentionally small and intimate experiences. It is truly all about you,
your vows and your commitment to one another.
With this in mind, The Elopement Package is limited to 10 guests, those in attendance are usually only the closest Family and Friends. The Ceremony is kept simple, yet incredibly meaningful. Because the focus is on the Couple, there is no Bridal Party.
Pricing and Payment
Elopement Package pricing begins at $600. Customizations are available for an additional fee. Weekend and Holiday dates are also an additional
fee. Date and Venue will be reserved once Package is paid in full. Package price includes a $300 non-refundable retainer.
Venue
Venue is provided, location based on availability. Indoor and outdoor options may be available.
Ceremony Script
A Standard Ceremony Script will be provided. The couple may use their own vows, or the ones provided. Customizations to the Ceremony are available.
Flowers
A bouquet for the Bride is provided, this will be either fresh or artificial depending on availability. Customizations will be considered, but requires a minimum 2 week advance notice and may have an additional fee as determined by the Florist.
Champagne Toast and Cake
The couple will be provided with a Champagne split. This is intended for the Couple only. A Champagne Toast may be available for guests, at the couples request, for an additional fee. Some venues do not allow alcohol on premises. In this case, Sparkling Juice will be served with the Champagne Split provided for the couple to take home.
A 5" mini Wedding cake will be provided. Flavor and decoration are decided by the Baker, which is based on availability. Customizations will be considered but requires a minimum 2 week advance notice and may have an additional fee as determined by the Baker.
Photography
Professional Photography is provided by Shelby Smith Photography and is based on availability. The Photographer will take approximately 10 portraits, choosing the best 3 to edit and send to the couple. Additional portraits, including family shots, can be arranged for an additional fee.
Souvenir Certificate and Gift
A souvenir Marriage Certificate will be provided to the couple. This certificate is a keepsake only and does not replace the official License obtained after filing with the County Clerk.
A Gift for the couple will also be provided to celebrate your special day!
Intimate Wedding Package
All the tradition of a full scale Wedding, made intimate.
All the ease of an Elopement, made social.
Based on availability.
Requires 2 week advanced booking.
Additional Fees may apply.
Includes:
*Venue *Champagne Toast *Souvenir Certificate
*Ceremony *Cake *Gift
*Flowers *Professional Photography
Intimate Wedding
An Intimate Wedding allows the focus of the Couple and the Ceremony to be shared with a group of Family and Friends. It is an intentionally intimate Ceremony that incorporates the traditions of a full scale Wedding. It is about sharing your day and your commitment with those you cherish.
With this in mind, The Wedding Package is limited to 35 guests, those in attendance are usually the most cherished Family and Friends. The Ceremony is often simple, yet incredibly meaningful. Because the primary focus is on the Couple, the Bridal Party is kept small.
Pricing and Payment
Package pricing begins at $800. Customizations are available for an additional fee. Weekend and Holiday dates are also an additional
fee. Date and Venue will be reserved once Package is paid in full. Package price includes a $300 non-refundable retainer.
Venue
Venue is provided, location based on availability. Indoor and outdoor options may be available.
Ceremony Script
A Standard Ceremony Script will be provided. The couple may use their own vows, or the ones provided. Customizations to the Ceremony, including Unity Ceremonies, are available.
Flowers
A bouquet for the Bride is provided, this will be either fresh or artificial depending on availability. Customizations will be considered, but requires a minimum 2 week advance notice and may have an additional fee as determined by the Florist.
Champagne Toast and Cake
The couple will be provided with a Champagne split. This is intended for the Couple only. A Champagne Toast may be available for guests, at the couples request, for an additional fee. Some venues do not allow alcohol on premises. In this case, Sparkling Juice will be served with the Champagne Split provided for the couple to take home.
A 5" mini Wedding cake will be provided. Flavor and decoration are decided by the Baker, which is based on availability. Customizations will be considered but requires a minimum 2 week advance notice and may have an additional fee as determined by the Baker.
Photography
Professional Photography is provided by Shelby Smith Photography and is based on availability. The Photographer will take approximately 20 portraits, choosing the best 6 to edit and send to the couple. Additional portraits, including family shots, can be arranged for an additional fee.
Souvenir Certificate and Gift
A souvenir Marriage Certificate will be provided to the couple. This certificate is a keepsake only and does not replace the official License obtained after filing with the County Clerk.
A Gift for the couple will also be provided to celebrate your special day!
Scripts
Standard Ceremony Script
Welcome
We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of and in Marriage as they promise to love, trust, honor and respect one another for the rest of their lives. They have chosen to be surrounded by you - their Friends and Family - to witness the creation of their Marriage which is a result of the love and bond they have been creating together. Thank you for coming together to share the joy of this special moment. On behalf of the couple before me, Welcome.
Reading
Most people get married believing a myth that marriage is a beautiful box full of al the things they have longed for; Companionship, Intimacy, Romance and more... The truth is that marriage, at the start, is an empty box. You must put something in before you can take anything out. There is no love in marriage, love is in people and people put love into marriage. There is no romance in marriage, you have to infuse it into your marriage. A couple must learn the art, and form the habit of giving, loving, serving and praising to keep the box full. If you take out more than you put in, then the box that is your marriage will be empty.
Vows
I take you to be my best friend, my faithful partner and my one true love.
I promise to encourage and inspire you, and to love you truly through good times and bad.
I will forever be there to laugh with you, to lift you up when you are down.
And to love you unconditionally through all our adventures together.
Declaration of Intent
from this day forward do you choose to be your Partner, your best friend and your only love? To live together, play together and laugh together? To work by their side and dream in their arms? Always loving them with all your heart until the end of Forever? "I Do"
from this day forward do you choose to be your Partner, your best friend and your only love? To fill their heart and feed their soul? To always seek out the best in them? Always loving them with all your heart until the end of forever? "I Do"
Rings
The Wedding Ring is a symbol of eternity, it is an outward sign of the inward bond which unites two hearts in endless love. Now as a token of your love and deep desire to be forever united in heart and soul, repeat after me...
*I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you - places ring -
By the same token, repeat after me...
*I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness to you - places ring -
Pronouncement
Because you came here today intending to Marry, because you joined hands and made solemn vows and you exchanged rings to remind you of those vows. Because you are joined as partners in mutual love and respect, it is with great joy that I pronounce your vows sealed. You will now and forever be known as Married.
- You May Kiss -
Sample Readings
Blessing of the Hands
-- Daniel L Harris
These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever.
These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future.
These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other.
These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy.
These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.
These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one.
These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.
And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours.
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The Art of Marriage
-- Wilferd Arian Petersen
Happiness in Marriage is not something that just happens.
A good Marriage must be created.
In the art of Marriage the little things are the big things…
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I Love You” at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of Love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of Joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
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The Poetry of James Kavanaugh
To Love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one’s self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging to childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one’s self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another - and to one’s inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon’s own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child’s scars
Or an adult’s deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are - and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting Love can alone abide.
_____________________________________________________________________
Love Never Fails
-- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
