A collection of essays and resources on ceremony, ritual, weddings, poems, Jungian depth coaching, midlife, spiritual life, and the thresholds that shape us. Here you’ll find practical guidance, personal reflections, and the occasional wander into myth, symbol, and soul.
Off the beaten path poems for a wedding ceremony
Adding readings to your ceremony is lovely opportunity to add more beauty to the moment. Obviously, lots of folks are moved to include poetic words words on love. But I encourage folks to think outside the box... poems can help you present your world view, what moves...
On Beauty & Ceremony
On a recent wintry walk, I was listening to Michael Meade. Stories + Walking = Happy Jen. His words and stories got me thinking about beauty & ceremony, and how they are so linked for me... Michael Meade said, "To put more beauty into the world is to change the...
Rocky Mountain Elopement Ceremony
Sometimes I wish I could just be the official Rocky Mountain National Park Wedding Officiant. I mean... what an office! From the drive up to the park, to the gorgeous scenery of the park itself, it might be one of my favorite places for the quintessential Rocky...
A Non-Religious Wedding Ceremony Can Still Feel Sacred
Most of the couples who reach out to me are looking for a non-religious wedding ceremony... and Kaitlyn and James were no different. They wanted their ceremony to feel sacred, intimate and magical. They wanted to express their world views and their values, but also...
Destination Wedding Officiant
Sometimes you just want to gather up all you favorite folks and go somewhere magnificent to get married. If your destination is Colorado -- great, I am here for you as your destination wedding officiant. But, if your destination is other than Colorado, I am ready to...
Poems To Help You Renew your Wedding Vows
A vow renewal is not quite the same as a wedding. By now, love has had time to become real. It has moved through so many ordinary days, hard seasons, repairs, laughter, disappointments, growth, change, and the quiet work of continuing to choose each other. The best...
Colorado Elopement Tips: 7 Things to Know Before You Elope
Colorado Elopement Tips: 7 Things to Know Before You Elope Lots of couples dream of a perfect elopement in Colorado, on a beautiful mountain top. And while elopements can be the simplest choice when getting married, don’t let that simplicity distract you from some of...
How to Officiate a Wedding: A Checklist for the Friend or Family Officiant
Learn how to officiate a wedding and you too can be cool as a cucumber up there. Updated September 2026 A wedding ceremony is not a great time to fully wing it, unless the couple has very clearly asked for something casual, brief, and super loosey-goosey. Most couples...
Della Terra Mountain Chateau: Venue Review
I figured I'd start a new feature giving reviews of some of my favorite Colorado wedding venues, and the Della Terra Mountain Chateau seems like a good place to start. Location: I love Estes Park weddings. Estes Park is easy to get to, close enough to airports, has...
Gals from Texas have a Grand Lake Elopement Ceremony
I have to say, I fell in love with these two pretty quickly. From our initial phone call, it was clear we were a fit, and I was delighted they chose me to officiate their Grand Lake elopement ceremony. While I always appreciate when I can get to know a couple in...
River Bend Wedding Ceremony in Lyons
Folks, my list of favorite ceremony spots in Colorado keeps growing, and this River Bend Wedding Ceremony pushed the River Bend to a top spot. The river, the redstone cliffs, the greenery strung with twinkling lights, the easy access... truly, an exceptional and...
Encircled: Planet Bluegrass Wedding Ceremony
There's something quite remarkable about a Planet Bluegrass Wedding Ceremony. One really can't go wrong in just about any location in Colorado -- such is the magnificence of this state and the Rocky Mountains. Planet Bluegrass is one of Colorado's typically beautiful...
Have Love, Will Travel: Intimate Wild Basin Lodge Wedding Ceremony
Their original plan was a tiny destination elopement, just them and his two sons, in Allenspark, Colorado. By the time their Wild Basin Lodge wedding ceremony rolled around, a handful of family and friends had squirmed their way into an invite for a glorious long...
May Blizzards of Love: Rocky Mountain National Park Elopement
They contacted me in March for their May Rocky Mountain National Park elopement, and it sounded perfect. The park is breathtaking year round, but springtime is extra magical, with all the new green shoots, baby aspen leaves, and the smell of renewal in the air. Mother...
Musing on the gift of a well-crafted funeral ceremony
In writing my page about my services as a funeral officiant, telling the story of my experience at my young cousin's funeral ceremony was the first thing that came to mind. I have been thinking again and again about this...
Rocky Mountain National Park Elopement Ceremony
We got Rocky Mountain National Park'ed at this quintessential Colorado elopement ceremony, by the side of Sprague Lake. At 4:30, it was sunny and warm. By ceremony's start at 5pm, a storm blew in and it was cold and drizzly. No worries though, I just asked the couple...
Washington Park Custom Wedding Ceremony – Denver
The earth was well dressed for this Washington Park wedding ceremony -- what a stunning location, what exquisite flowers, what a magical day, and what an honor to be entrusted with capturing the love of this couple. Kent Meireis captured some beautiful love in these...
Transgender Naming Ceremony: a new name, an open door
The shortened story of transgender naming ceremony: For as long as she was aware of having a gender, which for most children awakens around three, she knew she was a girl. Her parents were a bit mystified, as she was born male. They set up rules: you can be a girl at...