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Kelan is one of my oldest childhood friends of more than twenty five years. He met his beautiful wife Joleen when we were in high school. She worked at a smoothie store in our hometown and was Miss Teen Washington that year, so it’s safe to say that Kelan spent a lot of money on smoothies that summer. After spending time apart in college, Kelan and Joleen finally rekindled their romance several years later. After becoming engaged, Kelan asked me to officiate his wedding and I was blown away by the amazing opportunity of performing the wedding ceremony of one of my closest childhood buddies. I mean, how many people get an honor like that?

Both Kelan and Joleen come from good Italian stock and both sides of the family really know how to throw a good party. So we all knew that this best day ever wedding was going to be both classy and a heck of a lot of fun. On an afternoon in October, after months of preparation and planning,  we gathered at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Seattle for what we all knew would be an unforgettable day.

Everything was in place. The venue was spectacular. The bridesmaids, groomsmen, ring bearers and flower girls were all dressed and ready. This best day ever couldn’t have gotten better… or could it?

Kelan and all of his groomsmen present were all huge fans of the HBO series The Sopranos. So it came as the best addition to the day’s festivities that Steve Van Zandt who plays Silvio Dante walked into the hotel lobby just as Kelan and Joleen were taking photos with the family. Steve was in town that evening playing with Bruce Springsteen and was dressed and ready for his show. The second he spotted the bride and groom, he quickly left his band-mates and entourage and B-lined it over to Kelan and Joleen to give them a warm greeting and blessing.

As this was all happening I thought to myself, “There could not be a more random yet personalized impacting way for God to send a message to the bride and groom to say, “I’m for this union because I love it and I love you!””

Fifteen minutes later, Kelan and Joleen walked down the aisle to become husband and wife, and the beautiful ceremony was made all the more special because of all the little blessings and confirmations they received along the way that day – including their unexpected best day ever guest Steve Van Zandt. It just serves as a great reminder that as you prepare for your best day ever, always be looking for those signals from heaven that God is always sending you: “I’m for you and I’m for love!”

Oh and one more awesome thing to make all this even cooler. Kelan and Joleen’s beautiful Tuscan-themed wedding was featured on brides.com. You can check out that RIGHT HERE 

I met Walter and Cat online last week (only four days before their best day ever). After five minutes on the phone with Cat I felt as if I had both made a new best friend and also, met my match in the category of “extrovert extraordinaire”. She had me tearing up as she made me laugh while sharing her story with Walter. In Cat’s words: “Life has been a crazy, difficult adventure and after all these years without him, I’m finally marrying my best friend. There’s no doubt about it: God brought us together!”

For their best day ever, they wanted a small ceremony at the beach in Golden Gardens Park in West Seattle. Of course, because being by the water is their favorite thing to do together, they wanted a ceremony standing out in the waters (with me included). This got me out of wearing a suit, so I 100% consented. But in all seriousness, there was an even more profound aspect of this setting for their special day. For them, water represents peace and refreshing, but also a washing away of old things to bring the new. We all agreed: bring the Kleenex because this is going to be a short but powerful ceremony!

However, Saturday morning I awoke to cold wind and rain. I reluctantly put on shorts knowing there was a possibility we’d still plan on going in the waters together. I arrived at the park and Walter bluntly informed me that he wasn’t planning on going in the water. Myself, the groom and all the guests sat under umbrellas and an easy-up tent waiting for the bride to make her grand entrance. I had prepared myself to officiate a brief ceremony under the little tent keeping my glasses unfogged and Ipad safe and dry…

… until Cat rolled up 10 minutes later.

The first thing that came out of her mouth was “Alright, everybody down to the water!” After knowing Cat for only four days, I knew that everybody was going to do exactly what she said. Two minutes later, Walter, Cat and myself were standing up to our shins in the cold waters of Puget Sound as the twenty or so guests watched from the shore wrapped in blankets and under umbrellas. As I began my opening remarks (through clicking teeth from the shivering), Cat looked up at me nervously and said, “Can we make this quick?”

Love keeps you on your toes. It  pushes you out of your comfort zone. It compels you to ditch the norm while filling you with boldness for sake of something great and new. Love like this is what we were all there to acknowledge and celebrate.

I scrapped all my well-planned notes and took a 15 minute ceremony down to about 4 minutes and 58 seconds. I knew what we were doing and honoring together at that moment in the cold waters was more special and compelling than any words I could ever formulate and say: the beginning of something brand new and powerful that God had made!

We laughed through shivering vows, cried as the bride and groom wept tears of joy, my fingers were so numb I almost dropped the rings and I managed to wrap it all up and got the couple out of the water just as a whopper of crab was getting ready to eat Cat’s feet. As we all sat under the tent drinking hot coffee, eating cake and getting the feeling back in our toes, we all laughed and smiled agreeing that a day like this that kept us all on our toes truly turned out to be the best day ever!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my website which is finally up and running.  Here’s a little snapshot from a beautiful wedding that I recently officiated in Tacoma, WA at the Fine Arts Museum. It truly was the best day ever for this couple! Check out the feedback from their special day below:

We would HIGHLY recommend John as a wedding officiant. He did an amazing job listening to us and catering the experience to what we were looking for while also helping to guide us through the process based on his extensive experience. John took the time to learn about our story and what was important to us as a couple. He was very responsive, organized, and professional in our planning and in the rehearsal and wedding day activities. During the ceremony, he was a dynamic speaker and storyteller, able to deliver a message that was both light-hearted and moving. More importantly, he made us feel comfortable and relaxed. We received many compliments from guests about the ceremony and specifically about John’s ability to tell a great story about us as individuals as well as our relationship. John is a wonderful person and sincerely cares about making your wedding day a very special experience.