The First Meeting: I schedule an initial meeting of 30 minutes so that both of you can meet me, ask questions and decide if I am the right person to accompany you on this momentous journey towards your wedding ceremony. If you feel comfortable with my approach, I will send you a packet of materials via email that includes a letter of agreement, a ceremony template to get you started with your brainstorming, and other readings we may have discussed. If you want to secure your date, send the contract back with a deposit and we'll start the process of creating the ceremony. 

 
The Second Meeting: After you have returned the signed letter with the appropriate deposit, we schedule a meeting of approximately one-and-a-half hours so I can learn about you and your vision for the ceremony. Together we create a general outline and rough draft for the ceremony and part with homework for everyone - readings to find, vows to write, music to choose, etc... I will email you my notes from this meeting and you respond with the added details. We work in this way until the ceremony feels complete. 

 
Additional Meetings: Sometimes another in-person meeting feels right, or we can send the ceremony draft back and forth via email or fax until everyone is happy with the final result. A finished Order of Service is sent one week prior to the ceremony, or sooner if you are printing a program. [While not ideal, it is possible for most communication and creation to be done over the internet and by phone/fax. I only recommend this if you live out of state and no face-to-face meeting is feasible prior to the day of the ceremony.]


The Ceremony and After: All ceremonies are done in-person. I can officiate at weddings anywhere in the fifty states, and in a wide variety of settings.  After the ceremony, I complete the official marriage license documentation and return the appropriate forms to the county clerk, keeping a record for my files and sending you a xerox copy for your files. Official copies of the license, if needed, must be purchased (for a nominal fee) from the county clerk. I can provide an elegant Certificate of Union for Commitment Ceremonies for no additional charge. 

Standard Wedding Package - $500

This is the most commonly requested service. It includes the creation of the ceremony, finalizing the order of service with cue-to-cue directions, a walk-through of the ceremony one hour before the real event, officiating at the ceremony, and doing the follow-up paperwork. It generally includes at least two meetings, but may have more of fewer depending on complexity of the ceremony and the couple's needs.

 

Wedding & Rehearsal Package - - $750

Sometimes there are strong reasons why the minister's presence might be required on a day preceding the actual ceremony for the traditional wedding rehearsal and dinner. If the two families are coming from long distances and have not actually met each other, it may be feel very comforting to have someone there who knows the couple and can smooth the transition. If the wedding itself is highly choreographed with lots of players -- half a dozen attendants on each side, flower girls, ring bearers, props to move, people to place, light and sound cues, etc. - it may be advisable to have a thorough rehearsal to raise everyone's comfort level. This package includes everything in the Standard package with the addition of the minister's attendance at the rehearsal. 

Friday Evening & Saturday Morning Office Special -- $250

Rev. Rebecca has a lovely office in downtown Chicago at 151 N. Michigan, directly across from Millennium Park. For couples on a tight budget who have only a few guests (seven maximum, plus a photographer) Rebecca is offering a Saturday Morning Special of $250. Enjoy the privacy of this intimate wedding space and then head across the street for the perfect wedding photographs at great Chicago landmarks. The office has a kitchen where you can keep your champagne cold, as well as a small waiting room, bathroom, and side office for the bride to dress. Please contact Rebecca for availability.

ELOPEMENT SPECIAL -- $350

For couples doing smaller, downtown Chicago elopements at a hotel, restaurant, park or lakefront I offer my $350 special on Fridays and Saturday mornings. Call to see if your date is available.

Ceremony Creation Only - $250

There may be couples who just want help in creating the ceremony of their dreams, but don't need an officiant. Perhaps a friend or a family member will be presiding at the ceremony, or maybe you want to do a ceremony-on-location on a romantic island, but you want to retain control over what is actually said and done during the service. This option gives you the one-and-a-half hour meeting with all necessary email follow-up to produce a complete, personalized ceremony script for you to take with you. [This can be done over the phone and via email if distance is a barrier.]
 
A deposit in the amount of one-half of the total fee will secure my services for your date. I will hold dates on a tentative basis until you've had a chance to make the initial meeting and decide if you want to use my services.
 
Transportation/Accommodation/Parking Fees
The above fees are good for weddings taking place in the city of Chicago or northwest Indiana or southwest Michigan through 2006. If your ceremony is in a suburb or another city, please add $.50 per mile to the round-trip mileage, using downtown Chicago as the start/finish point. (Transportation costs must be added twice if I drive to the rehearsal on a day other than the day of the actual ceremony.) Please arrange parking for me at the ceremony location, and add the parking fee if there is one. If the ceremony is out-of-state, we can discuss airfare as a possibly cheaper alternative to driving. If the location is more than 200 miles from Chicago, I may need overnight accommodations as well.

 

YOU CAN NOW PAY REV. REBECCA BY CREDIT CARD VIA PAYPAL. CALL FOR DETAILS.

For all other ceremonies - Christenings, Cronings, Divorce, Memorials, House Blessings/Cleansings, etc - the ministerial fee is $350 plus transportation.

My office is conveniently located in downtown Chicago at:

151 N. Michigan ~ Suite 905
Millenium Park Plaza

That's the NE corner of Michigan and Randolph across from Millennium Park,
kitty-corner from The Chicago Cultural Center

 
It is easily accessed by the Randolph Street Metra station; South Shore Line; CTA Michigan Ave busses; and the red, blue, orange, green and purple lines of the CTA.


The ground level restaurant, La Strada Ristorante, offers valet parking during lunch and dinner hours to building patrons, and the J. Randolph Spots Pub, also located on the first floor, offers a casual and inexpensive place to meet for further conversation before or after. Other public parking garages are available. Here is a MapQuest link for your use:


http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&addtohistory=&formtype=address&searchtype=address&cat=&address=151%20N%20Michigan%20Ave&city=Chicago&state=IL&zipcode=60601%2d7506&searchtab=home


Other Meeting Locations

I am happy to meet at other locations that you suggest – your home, office, or a neutral setting like a library, coffee shop, bookstore, etc. – but I do request a travel fee of $1 per roundtrip mile to cover my expense.  (i.e. If I travel to Evanston which is 15 miles from downtown Chicago, the travel fee would be $30.)  This option is available Tues, Wed or Thurs evenings.