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“The
time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here.”
Robert Green Ingersoll
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In the past,
brides were promised, sold or given away without their consent;
grooms traded titles for dowries and married women they had never
met. Marriages were arranged, sometimes by a marriage broker, by
village elders or by parents. There were "marriages of convenience"
and "shotgun weddings." For most people, things have changed
for the better -- we marry someone we choose ourselves
and we marry for love. Celebrations
is here to make your choice a beautiful and joyous occasion.
Sometimes a person is
being married to a second or third partner. Many times, a
couple's union is not recognized by an established church, family
or community. Sometimes, one or both of the partners holds
no religious belief and refuse to join a church to celebrate life's
many passages. Celebrations
offers unique, romantic ceremonies that are personalized to the
couple.
We acknowledge the special circumstances
of same-gender partners and conduct beautiful, life-commitment celebrations
that two people bring to their union. We are Humanists and
recognize the rights of all humans to choose their own life paths.
Love makes a family.
IMPORTANT:
Wedding license requirements for Pennsylvania.
The
current rate schedule for weddings is as follows:
- $400
Base price for all weddings
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$100 Deposit is due at time of obtaining
the wedding license
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Balance is due on date of wedding or shortly thereafter
Links to marriage laws by state:
Below is what the Bible says about marriage. These passages are the reasons I will never place my hand on the Bible and why I custom design marriage ceremonies:
Wives are Subordinate to Husbands
You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.
(Ephesians 5:22-24)
Kill Women Who Are Not Virgins On Their Wedding Night
But if this charge is true (that she wasn't a virgin on her wedding night), and evidence of the girls virginity is not found, they shall bring the girl to the entrance of her fathers house and there her townsman shall stone her to death, because she committed a crime against Israel by her unchasteness in her father's house. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst.
(Deuteronomy 22:20-21)
Wives Must Submit to Husbands in Everything
You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything. (Ephesians 5:22-24)
All couples who
want to be married in a "guaranteed secular ceremony" through
Secular Ceremonies must obtain a Self-Uniting Marriage License. Due
to misinformation and the lack of training given to marriage license
clerks, difficulties have arisen. Margaret Downey is happy to escort
all couples in order to guarantee that the proper license is obtained
and that clerks will not force the couple into obtaining any license
other than the Self-Uniting Marriage License. If a couple attempts
to obtain the license on their own, the couple must be prepared for
possible difficulties. All secular/atheist couples have the right
to obtain a Self-Uniting Marriage Licenses! Do not let an uneducated
clerk tell you any differently. By law, you do not have to be a Quaker
to obtain a Self-Uniting Marriage License! There may be confusion
in due to a lack of education and proper training, but The Pennsylvania
Human Relations Department has process several complaints and has
promised to intercede should difficulties arise. Remember, you do
NOT have to be a Quaker to get the Self-Uniting License and this is
the only way that your secular ceremony will be recognized by the
state of Pennsylvania.
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