I would never have imagined in January, 2020 that the new year was going to be so heart wrenching.  I was then, as I am now, looking over our  bookings for the year, planning new strategies, marketing and growth. I wanted to take my business in a new direction.  I was planning to market more international destination weddings - who knew...!  I gathered a team of 3 other Officiants to help me with the growth I expected. They are all long time friends whom I trust and admire. We were all in. And then March happened. 

It was heart breaking to see all the disappointment in the couples who had worked so hard and planned their special day for that spring, summer and fall.  I am proud to say we were able to reschedule (and still are) and work with everyone so that they could have a "happily ever after" day one way or another. After some restrictions were lifted, we were able to marry some couples in the park or back yards with only themselves and me or 1-2 other people present.  As more restrictions were lifted we returned to some venues with limited capacity.  We are following all the CDC recommendations (socially distance, wear masks, meet remotely for pre wedding ceremony planning) and as such are able to officiate weddings again. 

Although as 2021 began we started to see more bookings, it is still more conservative than ever before.  But no matter what, we are here to work with any and all couples who contact us. We are looking forward to the weddings we have booked for 2021 and are hopeful they do not need to be rescheduled.   

​So plan on, we have your back! 

One of the many lessons I have learned over the years, is that referrals from previous customers is golden.  I sincerely appreciate and value all the comments I receive post weddings because it's not just a feel good situation, it's a learning experience.  I learn something new at each and every wedding I officiate and try to apply it to my next weddings.  Good or bad experience, I learn from it.   So I am putting my review link below for Thumbtack so that my visitors may see what other couples have said about my services.  You do not need to contact me via Thumbtack, you may do so here, but I just want you to see the reviews. You may also go to Wedding Wire and search my name (Wedding Ceremonies by Edna) as well as Google search where reviews have been posted.   I look forward to seeing your reviews on one of these sites soon! 
​Thank you, EJB

Family Matters!

This past weekend, as I stood under a pretty wedding arch lovingly designed,  decorated  and mounted by friends and family of the bride and groom, I did what I usually do, I spoke softly to the groom Nick and tried to soothe his nerves. When his bride, Ashley  and her father appeared at the door, he smiled from ear to ear and started to breathe easier. I then turned my attention to the lovely bride as she walked in. As I gazed down the aisle,  for the first time in a long time, my eyes started to water. Now, please know, each of my weddings move me in their unique way; maybe it's the couple's love story, or their challenges, or their union of blended families, no matter,  they are all special in their own way.  What made this day special was when Ashley and her Dad strolled down the aisle, they suddenly stopped midway and waited for her elderly Grandfather to join them.  Grandpa was in a wheel chair pushed by a cousin. When he reached her, he took his granddaughters hand and the three of them continued the wedding march towards the Groom.  Not a dry eye in the house!

For this ceremony, the  bride wanted me to ask "Who presents this woman in marriage to this man?"  You got it, Dad and Grandpa both said, We do...her father....her grandfather. And we all cried again!

Weddings like no other life event,  presents an opportunity for families to come together and support each other at a time  of joy and happiness.  All of the planning and worrying about things that at the end of the day, do not really matter, need to be pushed aside.  What the couple needs is the support and love of their family. Moments like I witnessed yesterday, when a daughter emotionally held on tight to her Daddy and Grandpa as she walked towards her future and the love of her life, says it all.




   

This past week I received a text from one of our June 2014 couples, Lauren and Pablo.  They sent me a picture of their brand new beautiful daughter, Ariana Elizabeth! What a thoughtful gesture! Their baby girl favors her Daddy but has her Mommy's smile and that is not a bad thing (check out their  pic on our wedding pics!). 

Congratulations on your new family Pablo and Lauren. You were a beautiful newlywed couple and are now proud parents!  Thank you for sharing your joy with me. Many blessings to the three of you.

Edna

While preparing a wedding recently the bride asked me to include a poem by Dr. Seuss.  Being creative in my ceremonies and staying true to my goal of making sure the ceremony is all YOU want it to be, yet thinking "Green Eggs and Ham???, really? OK....I said sure! When she sent me this poem I was blown away!

What a hoot! What fun! How Beautiful!
I have to share....Here it is....

"Places You Will Go"  by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to great places! You’re off…and away!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the COUPLE who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.

About some you will say,
“I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do,  to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that life’s a great balancing act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

So… be your name Buxbaum or Bixby, Robert Richard or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van or Allen O’Shea,
You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting.  

So… get on your way!





The weekend of June 19th through June 21,2014 was a busy one for Weddings by Edna! We  performed 4 weddings from Orlando to Kissimmee to Tavares! Each of our weddings are customized to meet the Bride and Groom's wishes so of course, each one of these weddings was not only celebrated in very different venues but in very different styles and delivery as specified by our couples. 

• We had a couple on vacation from Massachusetts in FL for a reunion of the war in Iraq veteran buddies who married in front of especially treasured and meaningful friends at Kissimmee Lakefront Park right before sundown; 
  
• A beautifully happy couple expecting their first child in a few months who wanted to have only themselves and their soon to be born baby girl at the ceremony at the quietly beautiful Baldwin Park Lake;  
  
• To a lovely non-traditional in style yet very traditional wedding ceremony invoking weddings vows of Love and Cherish at the exquisite Ming Court Restaurant Gardens on I Drive in Orlando  followed by a lunch reception of delicious Asian food and really really fun quests! 
  
• To a casual family wedding by a lake in Tavares, FL surrounded by many friends and family, food and drink!  
  

We posted some pictures in our gallery....take a peek! 

As all Brides and Grooms, each of our couples had  wonderful reasons for choosing their venues and style, but I am especially happy and honored to have had the opportunity to share their special days and met so many terrific people and their loved ones. I love my job! 

Greetings Brides and Grooms!
If you've clicked through my web site you will already know I have been around weddings for some time now and I really love it!  My sister and I started our own shop in 1999 as an investment for me and a business for her to run. We had so much fun with it. Unfortunately, after only a few years, my sister was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and she just could not keep up with the demands of running a wedding business and also get healthy. We decided she needed to get healthy and I could not run the business alone,  so we closed the shop. Still, because preparing weddings allowed us to work together in spite of our otherwise busy and sometimes complicated lives, we continued working as freelance Wedding Coordinator and/or Officiant.  As she became stronger and healthier, we coordinated and performed  all sorts of weddings and events, large, small, double weddings, bilingual weddings (ceremonies performed in English and Spanish!) vows renewals. We even coordinated Quincea~neras (a Hispanic rite of passage for 15 year old girls similar to a very fancy sweet sixteen party or debutante ball).    
Over the years I did less of the event coordinating because I enjoyed the officiating more while my sister enjoyed the coordinating. She continued as long as she could,  but had to eventually stop, again her health.   For me, because my "regular" job at the time, required I travel a great deal, after a while, I too stopped officiating. Fast forward to last year. In December 2013, my best friends' daughter asked me to please perform her wedding ceremony right before the holidays.  I thought sure! What could be better than to solemnize the marriage of a bride I have known and loved since she was 7 years old.  While preparing for the ceremony, I remembered how much I loved doing this and at the wedding people keep complementing me on the ceremony and how meaningful and beautiful it was. Guests commented that I looked like I truly was enjoying it. I did!  Not just because I loved the couple I was marrying, but because I loved what I was doing. Since I wasn't traveling for work anymore, and I have the time to prepare and deliver a great service, I decided then and there to return.  And that is exactly what I have been doing since. My sister, Thank God,  has been in remission for a while now and is healthy again.  So,  although I am a sole source operation, if I ever need help, she is right there to back me up. Scheduling has not been and will not a problem.
I am going to use this blog to talk about my experiences as I travel around Central Florida performing weddings. I will be sharing pictures of my couples on my web site (with their permission of course) and I am also going to write tips I discover from various weddings  and share ideas about venues I go to or even recommend really good vendors I meet along the way.  So visit me frequently because even if you don't use my services for your wedding ceremony, you might get some ideas you can use... and I would love that!