| YOUR CEREMONY RESOURCE IN ST LOUIS MISSOURI AND METRO EAST ILLINOIS (314) 821-4844 E-mail: info@WeddingLiaison.com Copyright © 2009 Carolyn Burke - Wedding Liaison |
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Can't Wait To Get Married? Here's Who To Call
Carolyn Burke Performs Ceremonies on Just Hours' Notice
By Danette Thompson - St Louis Suburban Journals
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Hazle and Danny Goodson knew they wanted to get married, but they hadn't given much thought to the actual wedding
planning - until one Friday, when they decided today was the day.
"It was very last-minute," said Hazle, a Potosi resident. "We were going on vacation, and we went back and forth over
what we should do. We finally decided we'd get married in Missouri. We got the license on Thursday, found Carolyn on
Friday, and we had the wedding that afternoon."
It's not often a couple can find someone to officiate a wedding on a few hours' notice, but small, intimate, simple and
spur-of-the-moment ceremonies are Carolyn Burke's specialty.
Burke, a Kirkwood resident, is a wedding celebrant, and although not all of the weddings she presides over are arranged
in hours, few are planned very far ahead of time.
"It doesn't matter how short and simple a ceremony is," Burke said. "When the couple looks into each other's eyes, and
the love is there, you get the same feeling of commitment as if they'd planned it for a year. All that planning doesn't
much matter. It's that moment that matters. No matter how many weddings I do, that's the really neat part for me."
Like many of the weddings she officiates, Burke's career as a wedding celebrant wasn't planned.
For three years, she served as the wedding coordinator for her church, Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood, and from there
decided to start a business helping couples find the perfect location for their nuptials. As part of her service, Burke also
helped the bride and groom to locate someone to officiate.
But she started to get more and more calls from people who wanted a short, simple service, often on short notice, and
who were balking at paying the average $250 officiating fee.
"I started researching what it took to perform ceremonies and I thought, I could do this," Burke said.
In 2004, Burke was ordained through the Universal Life Church, and became legally able to marry people. But it wasn't
until a year later, when she received a frantic call from a Clayton couple, that she performed her first ceremony.
"They had taken the day off to get married at the courthouse on the day that marriages are usually performed, only to
find out all the judges were at a conference," Burke said.
The couple found Burke via her website. [www.Carolyn-Burke.com]
"They wanted someone now, so I took along a ceremony I'd whipped up and I did it," she said.
Since then, Burke has celebrated numerous small, often spontaneous weddings. Her favorite location is at Walker Park in
Kirkwood, and if a couple wants to be married in that setting, Burke only charges them $50 for the service.
The park is especially nice, she said, if the couple needs witnesses.
"There's always someone at the park, and most people are flattered to be asked to witness a ceremony," Burke said.
The witnesses sometimes are strangers, and so is Burke to many of the couples she marries. Unless they request it, she
doesn't meet with the couple ahead of time. Her contact with them is limited to a phone call and her presence at the
wedding.
She will travel outside Kirkwood, as far as 50 miles, but her fee outside her home city can be as high as $250 depending on
the distance.
Burke now celebrates about 80 weddings a year. The non-denominational ceremonies she performs are brief - about five
minutes. She says they're meaningful and more personal and creative than a quick wedding before a judge.
Married at Walker Park, Hazle and Danny Goodson's witnesses were two women who happened to be at the park that day.
She brought flowers and wore a veil, and after they exchanged vows, the couple blew bubbles in the park and took a few
photos. Hazle then tossed her veil in the back of their truck and the couple was off to a celebration dinner.
"It was wonderful and a lot of fun," Hazle said. "Everyone we knew was surprised we did it all in one day, but I don't think
it could have been any better if we'd done a lot of planning. This was perfect for us."
Like the Goodsons, many couples have tied the knot at the park, but Burke also has performed ceremonies at hotels, in
back yards and living rooms, with couples of all ages and backgrounds, some wearing T-shirts and blue jeans, others
decked out in traditional formal wear and occasionally some in costume to represent a particular theme.
Burke does have a few rules: no traveling outside her 50-mile radius; no rehearsals; and she refuses to use the word
"obey" that appears in the traditional Christian wedding vows.
"I pretty much will do anything else, anywhere, any time," she said.
No matter where or when, Burke says she enjoys being able to help unite couples in love.
"It's very gratifying," she said. "I like being a small part of making their wedding something special."
For more information about Burke's services, visit www.carolyn-burke.com.
Carolyn Burke Performs Ceremonies on Just Hours' Notice
By Danette Thompson - St Louis Suburban Journals
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Hazle and Danny Goodson knew they wanted to get married, but they hadn't given much thought to the actual wedding
planning - until one Friday, when they decided today was the day.
"It was very last-minute," said Hazle, a Potosi resident. "We were going on vacation, and we went back and forth over
what we should do. We finally decided we'd get married in Missouri. We got the license on Thursday, found Carolyn on
Friday, and we had the wedding that afternoon."
It's not often a couple can find someone to officiate a wedding on a few hours' notice, but small, intimate, simple and
spur-of-the-moment ceremonies are Carolyn Burke's specialty.
Burke, a Kirkwood resident, is a wedding celebrant, and although not all of the weddings she presides over are arranged
in hours, few are planned very far ahead of time.
"It doesn't matter how short and simple a ceremony is," Burke said. "When the couple looks into each other's eyes, and
the love is there, you get the same feeling of commitment as if they'd planned it for a year. All that planning doesn't
much matter. It's that moment that matters. No matter how many weddings I do, that's the really neat part for me."
Like many of the weddings she officiates, Burke's career as a wedding celebrant wasn't planned.
For three years, she served as the wedding coordinator for her church, Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood, and from there
decided to start a business helping couples find the perfect location for their nuptials. As part of her service, Burke also
helped the bride and groom to locate someone to officiate.
But she started to get more and more calls from people who wanted a short, simple service, often on short notice, and
who were balking at paying the average $250 officiating fee.
"I started researching what it took to perform ceremonies and I thought, I could do this," Burke said.
In 2004, Burke was ordained through the Universal Life Church, and became legally able to marry people. But it wasn't
until a year later, when she received a frantic call from a Clayton couple, that she performed her first ceremony.
"They had taken the day off to get married at the courthouse on the day that marriages are usually performed, only to
find out all the judges were at a conference," Burke said.
The couple found Burke via her website. [www.Carolyn-Burke.com]
"They wanted someone now, so I took along a ceremony I'd whipped up and I did it," she said.
Since then, Burke has celebrated numerous small, often spontaneous weddings. Her favorite location is at Walker Park in
Kirkwood, and if a couple wants to be married in that setting, Burke only charges them $50 for the service.
The park is especially nice, she said, if the couple needs witnesses.
"There's always someone at the park, and most people are flattered to be asked to witness a ceremony," Burke said.
The witnesses sometimes are strangers, and so is Burke to many of the couples she marries. Unless they request it, she
doesn't meet with the couple ahead of time. Her contact with them is limited to a phone call and her presence at the
wedding.
She will travel outside Kirkwood, as far as 50 miles, but her fee outside her home city can be as high as $250 depending on
the distance.
Burke now celebrates about 80 weddings a year. The non-denominational ceremonies she performs are brief - about five
minutes. She says they're meaningful and more personal and creative than a quick wedding before a judge.
Married at Walker Park, Hazle and Danny Goodson's witnesses were two women who happened to be at the park that day.
She brought flowers and wore a veil, and after they exchanged vows, the couple blew bubbles in the park and took a few
photos. Hazle then tossed her veil in the back of their truck and the couple was off to a celebration dinner.
"It was wonderful and a lot of fun," Hazle said. "Everyone we knew was surprised we did it all in one day, but I don't think
it could have been any better if we'd done a lot of planning. This was perfect for us."
Like the Goodsons, many couples have tied the knot at the park, but Burke also has performed ceremonies at hotels, in
back yards and living rooms, with couples of all ages and backgrounds, some wearing T-shirts and blue jeans, others
decked out in traditional formal wear and occasionally some in costume to represent a particular theme.
Burke does have a few rules: no traveling outside her 50-mile radius; no rehearsals; and she refuses to use the word
"obey" that appears in the traditional Christian wedding vows.
"I pretty much will do anything else, anywhere, any time," she said.
No matter where or when, Burke says she enjoys being able to help unite couples in love.
"It's very gratifying," she said. "I like being a small part of making their wedding something special."
For more information about Burke's services, visit www.carolyn-burke.com.
| Carolyn Burke - Wedding Liaison All Couples ~ All Faiths ~ All Budgets Saint Louis MO and Metro East IL (314) 821-4844 |