There are several lodge venues in Ottawa. I’ve enjoyed how the exposed wood adds warmth to their decor and consequently the ceremony. Usually, I am standing in front of a fireplace with the couple to perform the wedding ceremony. Occasionally, my buns get toasty by the flames.

Here is my list of lodges that I’ve experienced. They are listed by the number of people they can accommodate.

Econoniche. A rural conference and retreat centre located in the Gatineau Hills a mere 20 minutes from Parliament Hill in Cantley, Québec. It can accommodate about 20 people overnight and host up to 60 guests.

Canada Club. A gorgeous cottage near Perth on Big Rideau Lake, I’ve performed ceremonies on the dock. It is available by invitation only (you need to apply) but is worth it. It can hold 20 overnight guests. It features a huge common area overlooking the lake.

Stonefield’s Heritage Farm. Located in Beckwith/Carleton Place just 40 minutes from downtown Ottawa. The unique property features a historical stone farmhouse, picture-perfect log buildings and charming country gardens. Their capacity is 50-225 guests.

Strathmere Inn Strathmere’s Lodge is a imaginatively-renovated 100-year-old barn, with 3 fieldstone fireplaces, comfortable lounge, open loft, and large dance floor.  Overlooking rolling farm fields is a charming outdoor ceremony site, with arbor, bench seating and signing table. It is one of my popular spots in Ottawa for wedding ceremonies. It can seat 80-100 people. Strathmere is located near North Gower which is within 25 minutes of most Ottawa locations.

Beantown Ranch Nestled in the countryside, east of Ottawa, near Wendover it features a natural log hall with a capacity of 150 guests and spectacular lakeside terrace wich can accomodate another 75 guests. Make your wedding spectacular with your first dance on a small island with fireworks going off overhead.

Timber Run Golf Course Sculpted from the rugged Lanark Highlands, along the banks of the Clyde River, Timber Run has been desribed as a true “rustic gem”. Timber Run’s clubhouse is one of the largest, most dramatic log structures found in Ontario and can easily host 230 guests.

Temple’s Sugar Camp. Located west of Ottawa, its two hundred seat timber frame building is surrounded by forests and gardens making it a lovely setting for a country wedding through all four seasons. It can host 240 guests for your reception.

Chateau Montebello Inspired by the chateaux in the Swiss Alps, it was built in the 1930′s on the grounds of a Seigniorial estate. The stunning red cedar log cabin exudes a rustic elegance and a warm welcome. It can accommodate a variety of venue choices and can house 211 overnight guests.

The show was hosted at Codes Mill Inn and Spa and highlighted many regional vendors available to brides in the area including excellent photographer Brian Hargreaves and talented musician Kimberley Dunn.

It was a huge success drawing over 150 people from as far away as Brockville.

I love the opportunity to chat with brides about their upcoming event and offer tips how to make their ceremony successful. I was pleasantly surprised to meet one of my couples that booked me for a September wedding in Perth. Their wedding planner Shannon Kennedy was working with them on sourcing local vendors and made it a point to come hear me speak. Congratulations Erinne on a successful show!

My good buddy and terrific speaking coach Steve Lowell says that everyone experiences some nervousness before going on stage. No matter how experienced you are there is a moment where you get butterflies in the stomach. The key to a good performance is taking that nervous energy and transforming it for your audience so that they can feel your message.

Ever speaker has their own method, habit or trick that kicks in this transformation. For me, I look upon all the happy expectant faces in the audience realizing that they are here to share and witness love. I pause, take a deep breath and focus on the present to share and witness love with them. In being present, I open my heart and my mind to the moment – and then I know that this wedding ceremony will get my best for:

The Couple.  They have imaged this day for a long time. Having worked with them on the ceremony, they have it in their mind how it will be. It is their dream come true – and I have the duty to deliver on that dream. I performed an outdoor winter ceremony at Strathmere this January. I was with the guys lined up and the bridesmaids were about to enter the yard. The bride was tucked around the corner in the horse drawn carriage ready to come in when signaled. As soon as the first bridesmaid came out, the skies opened and it poured rain. “The show must go on” I reminded myself and onward we pressed. I focused on their love, their dream and spoke on.

The Family & Guests. They want to part-take in the best ceremony too. I can’t imagine how many times I’ve heard couples complain about sitting through a tortuous ceremony. With the rain pouring, the family and guests were there to witness the couples love but at the same time were getting sopping wet and cold (it is January in Ottawa after all). I had discussed this possibility with the couple in our planning meeting. So instead of hurrying through the heartfelt words, I skipped over some bits. The result was a well felt yet shortened ceremony. Once having witnessed the warmth of the couples love, they gratefully retreated to the warmth of the lodge where they were served hot apple cider.

Me. I take it upon myself to be there for the event and give it my best every time. I want to be satisfied with every wedding so that everyone present – the couple, family, friends, wedding vendors and me – know that we shared something special. When I walk back to my car, I like to be able to recite a  quote from the movie Shrek -  “That’ll do, Donkey. That’ll do.”

Large weddings are the domain of the hotels. They have the room and associated facilities to make your wedding a success. I’ve performed many weddings at hotels and they have all been super to work with. They have the professional coordinator to help out and make things run smoothly. Not all of them can execute both a large wedding and a small weddings. Their operating size can require a minimum number of guests to be booked. As one example of a job well done for both large and small weddings, my experience with the Westin Hotel is superlative.

The Large Wedding: This wedding showcased the ability of a hotel to handle large numbers of people. I performed the wedding in one room. After the ceremony, the roughly 200 guests moved to the hallway for drinks and apps. The dinner was handled in another room. Kim Dunn played her portable piano during the ceremony and simply moved to the hotel’s grand piano during the cocktail hour. Everything flowed superbly.

The Small Wedding: Weddings don’t just occur on weekends. For this wedding, I made it to the Westin for a ceremony at 9:30 am on a Monday. It was an intimate ceremony for 12 people in one of their boardrooms. The couple rented some faux shrubs to really give it a nice look. The ceremony was followed by pictures along the Rideau Canal and brunch. It didn’t matter that the wedding was small, the Westin gave them the attention they deserved to make it a memorable day for them.

I have been attending wedding shows since I started officiating in 2004. They are a super way for me to see what trends are emerging in the wedding world. Even as an experienced as I am, I found the show overwhelming with a great selection of Ottawa’s best suppliers. Because I chat with so many vendors, it took me three hours to complete the circuit.

Aside from trends, I hunt for those vendors which offer something different or new. Today, I found three who impressed me.

Stiltskin’s Spindle is a new label created with the intention of giving women the opportunity to consider alternatives to the traditional white wedding dress. Located in Carleton Place, they design and make their own dresses! Their vision is to honor the mid 19th century tradition where wedding dresses were any color a bride or her family chose and it was actually more often a strong or vibrant color to symbolize status. They want to give todays bride the opportunity to choose the color they want to wear, not have only one option.

Blumenstudio Cafe + Floral is already a unique concept in being a florist and coffee shop in one location. They opened their location on Parkdale Ave in April 2011. Kat Kosk adds her 17 years of floral experience flare to the creations.  I was really intrigued by their wedding bouquets. One was crafted to look like a bird’s nest with eggs.

@THESPACE just opened two month ago as a new venue on Bank Street. A super downtown location that offers 1500 square feet on two floors. They can accommodate around 65 people and you can arrange for your own caterer and drinks. It is a nice venue with a lounge feel to it that will enhance an intimate wedding.

With these and the many talented vendors present at the show, brides and grooms have a plethora of choices to make their wedding day special for them.

The set up was truly magical. About one hundred guests were taken to the wooded area for the ceremony by three sets of horse drawn sleighs. Snow had been cleared and packed at the ceremony site. The trees provided shelter from the wind. The only challenge was the -20C temperatures.

Most people were appropriately dressed. Guests huddled around a fire trying to keep warm. Nonetheless, it took around thirty minutes to transport all the guests to the site. Despite being bundled up myself, I was getting cold waiting for everyone to arrive.

The groom and his party arrived. I was astonished to see that they were only in suits and wearing regular shoes. When the bride and bridesmaids appeared in the sleigh, I was truly surprised. They were merely in strapless dresses and shawls! Upon seeing this, I wasted no time in starting the ceremony so that I could get these gals back to the warm reception hall.

Having pronounced them husband and wife, the couple kissed and we all headed back immediately on the waiting sleigh. The groom was shaking uncontrollably on the return trip – probably suffering from mild hypothermia. The bridesmaids made a dash for the hall once we stopped. Finally, settled in warmer quarters we took the time to sign all the paperwork to complete the wedding.

Hot apple cider and other beverages were waiting for the guests when they made their way back. I heard one guest laughingly tell the bride, “I will certainly remember YOUR wedding!”

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 28,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Copies of my book “From the Heart! Wedding Ceremonies That Work” will be available at a show discounted price of $15.

Perth Winter Bridal Show, Jan 15, 2012 from 11am -5pm.Presentation at 1:30pm

Wed-by-Hand, Ottawa’s Indie Wedding Show, Feb 11, 2012 from 11am -5pm

I love you… that’s how it starts doesn’t it?

You look into each others eyes, you sense there’s a chemistry there, a great feeling and you know – they’re the one.

The next thing you realize is that you are heading down that aisle. And that’s where you meet me. I’m the guy who stands there and declares you married as a couple.

But there’s a dot dot dot with that isn’t there? For some, they dream of happily ever after, others til death do you part or others still “don’t I find you messed up with my best friend.”

I perform about 80 weddings per year and every time when I come home my Sweetheart asks “How did it go?” And I tell her of the love and affection that envelopes the event and how I love doing this because it is always such a happy time.

It was November 11, Remembrance Day, and I performed a wedding for Greg and Patty. It was his first and her second wedding. They were so happy. She had found the love of her life and he believed the same. “How did it go?” Sweetheart asked. “I didn’t like her smokers cough” I said. Other weddings came and went and I thought nothing of it until a call in January from Greg. “Alan, Patty has terminal lung cancer. We can’t treat it. All we can do is keep her comfortable.” My heart sank. “She’d like you to do her memorial service.”

July came and I sat with Patty to find out what she wanted said. She and Greg had moved to a smaller apartment. He had quit his job to dedicate his time taking care of her 24/7. Their families provided the financial support they needed. Every morning she saw the sunrise. Her only regret was taking so long to find her true love.

Patty died in October, never having seen her first wedding anniversary. The love that Greg and Patty had was so intense that it was worth a lifetime – it was a happily ever after and a til death do you part. It spoke of living today with the love or your friends, your family, your partner – not waiting for tomorrow.

I love you is how it starts. I love you is how it ends.

Guest Blogger: Larry James

I recently had a meeting with a couple who were searching for the right wedding officiant. I was impressed.

Never having been married before, they brought a list of questions that helped both of us to get to know each other better. They interviewed me, not the other way around. Some of their questions led to discussions of other areas of the ceremony that kept the conversation centered on what they needed to know to make an informed decision.

Write down ideas for questions whether they make sense or not. A professional wedding officiant will be willing to answer all of your questions. If you have never hired a wedding officiant or minister before, you may not know what questions to ask. Here are a few questions you might consider asking:

• How flexible is the wedding officiate to changing parts of the ceremony that you may not like?
• Will they permit you to write some of your own vows? (I call them, “Personal Promises!)
• What is the process for creating your ceremony?
• Is there anything that they will not say or do?
• How many wedding ceremonies have they performed?
• Have they ever been late for or missed a wedding?
• How many weddings do they perform in an average year?
• Do they have a “back-up” in case of extreme illness of emergency?
• Talk about your spiritual faith so the officiant can adjust the ceremony accordingly.
• Will they marry you if you are of different faiths?
• Will the wedding officiant perform “theme” weddings?
• Are there any restrictions as to your attire, or the bridal party’s attire?
• Who gave them the right to perform wedding ceremonies in your state?
• Can they legally perform wedding ceremonies in your state.
• What are their spiritual beliefs? (Be sure to tell them what YOUR spiritual beliefs are and ask if they will make changes to honor your beliefs)
• Will the ceremony be a religious, non-denominational or secular ceremony?
• Will the ceremony be traditional or non-traditional?
• Will they provide a little light-hearted humor if that is what you want?
• Do they require premarital or religious classes? Is relationship coaching available, if you want it? What are those requirements?
• Are they qualified to offer premarital relationship coaching if you want it?
• What is their fee? Do they require a deposit to secure the date? Does the fee include the rehearsal?
• When is the balance of the fee due? What forms of payment do they accept?
• Are there any hidden charges?
• How many meetings will be necessary to finalize the words in the ceremony?
• Do they attend the rehearsal dinner and the reception, if invited?
• Will they give a blessing or prayer before the meal at the reception?
• How will they be dressed? Will they wear a suit or a robe?
• If you have children, do they have some creative ideas of ways to include them in the ceremony?
• Do they have a “Refund Proceedure or Cancelation Prceedure and is it part of the agreement?
• Do they have references that they are willing to share with you?
• Would they allow another Officiant, Minister/Rabi or Priest to take part in the ceremony?
• Is flash photography allowed during the ceremony?
• What kind of microphone does the officiant perfer?
• Are there any restrictions on photography or videography?
• How accessible/responsive are you by phone and by e-mail?
• Do they work well with other wedding vendors? Will they recommend other wedding vendors?
• If you have been living together, be sure to ask if they will preform your ceremony.

Remember, this is YOUR wedding, not the wedding officiant’s or the minister’s. There are no stupid questions. Ask about whatever you want to know.

The couple I referred to above got all their questions answered and the meeting ended with them presenting me with a deposit to secure the time and date of their wedding.

If the vendor does not have a written agreement (contract) you might be wise to hire someone who does. All the details of the wedding should be covered.

Go with your gut feeling or intuition. If it feels right and your personalities click, hire them.

This is your very special day. It will only happen once. A lackluster minister or wedding officiant with a boring ceremony – like most of the others you’ve heard – can leave the guests cold and uninspired. They should be the very best you can hire. I know its cliché, but you really do get what you pay for. Perhaps the primary deciding factor should be a wedding officiant/minster performs the most memorable and unique wedding ceremony for you and your guests and what other extras do they offer in their package that other ministers do not. You will enjoy the comfort and assurance of knowing you are contracting with a first-class minister who comes with professional experience, impeccable integrity, commendable references, a gentle and enthusiastic spirit and a subtle, but delightful sense of humor (hmmm, sounds like a description of Larry James).

I would never recommend that you make your decision to hire a wedding officiant or minister on price alone. There are numerous other areas that you can cut back on when the $$s are tight. Read, “How Much Will Your Wedding Cost? + Ways to Save!“ (See the BONUS Articles listed below).

Ask yourselves: Do we feel comfortable with this person? Is there a clear green light to engage their services? If not, don’t move forward until all your questions or concerns are completely resolved. Often, just talking about your concerns with the officiant or minister will help you be clear.

The busiest months for weddings in the Greater Phoenix area are: March, April & May and October, November & December. The summers in Arizona are often to warm for outdoor weddings. That’s when couples book their wedding indoors. To see the times for sunsets and the average temperatures in the Greater Phoenix area, click here.

Choice dates book quickly. If the wedding officiant is good their schedule is most likely very busy. Why does that matter to you? If you wait to book them, the date of your wedding could be booked by someone else before you offer a deposit to secure the date. In the Greater Phoenix area this happens frequently, especially after a bridal show or during the busy season.

Copyright © 2011 – Larry James. This article is adapted from Larry’s “romantic” Wedding Website. Larry James is an award winning, full-time, non-denominational wedding officiant and performs the most “Romantic” wedding ceremony you will find anywhere! Every wedding ceremony is customized to your complete satisfaction. He is the author of 3 relationship books including, “How to Really Love the One You’re With: Affirmative Guidelines for a Healthy Love Relationship.” Call to check availability: 480-998-9411. You will find more than 455 pages of Wedding ideas, tips (90 tips and growing), ceremonies, and more at: http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com. Something NEW about weddings is posted every 4th day on Larry’s Wedding BLOG - http://CelebrateIntimateWeddings.wordpress.com.