Erin is a one of a kind officiant: sweet, humble, capable, well spoken and kind-hearted. She works in education in her day-job and she raises a family with three young children. Erin is experienced and able to perform all kinds of ceremonies in and around the Central Coast. In the world of wedding officiants there are many who shine. Then there’s Erin! Her caring and attentive disposition is matched only by her professional attention to detail. She is experienced in performing weddings and elopements and is available for any and all kinds of ceremonies. Contact:   Erin@OliveTreeOfficiating.com Olive Tree Officiating partners with the Goves on Hwy 41 in their beautiful Olive Tree farm , located in Templeton, California! What a beautiful venue and couple!...

Elopement at the race track. Just another awesome place to say your vows. Unlike most raceways Laguna Seca is set amidst the rolling, golden countryside of Monterey County. As you approach the track you’ll notice two striking differences between this track and others. First, no grandstands. Second, plenty of space for onlookers to watch from lawn chairs, tents, fifth-wheels or track-side. Mazda Raceway is completely open for anyone with admission to wander about freely and to take any perspective they’d prefer. The family was invited from near and far to witness this young couple’s marriage. The unique layout of Laguna Seca played well into the Raceway nuptials of Claire and Joe. Joe, a pit-crew worker with his entourage of mechanics still in their scrubs, came over the rise overlooking the corkscrew turn just as a pack of formula-1 cars went speeding by. Claire met his gaze in a striking red dress with a front zipper reminiscent of a mechanic’s jump suit. They said their vows with the corkscrew turn in the background and the setting sun in illuminating their faces. They chose a setting that was unique to their lives and expressed their beliefs about their future together: exciting! Their vows were quick with frequent pauses due to passing race cars. Claire’s only request was that she be able to say, “I do.” Of course she and Joe did and the couple became one as the oil stained pit crew, distracted race-watchers, a few friends and family looked on. Contact: ...

Sometimes money isn’t the problem even though money seems like the problem. Sometimes we just can’t seem to figure out what the root of a problem in our marriage is so we bring up another, different and just-as-irritating issue. Money gets a bad rap in a relationship. Money is blamed for problems that come up that have nothing to do with money. Money isn’t always the root of our relationship evils even though we try to blame it. Matt and Sarah will provide us with a real life example of how money-talk isn’t always what needs to be talked about. Matt goes out with his two buddies once a month to play music. His wife is happy to see him go because she knows how much he loves music and his buddies. However, she does not condone Matt’s drinking and driving. Regardless of how much he reassures her that he hasn’t had too much to drink, she grows more and more irritated that he goes out each month. She finally says, “I wish you wouldn’t spend so much money on beer!” Matt responds, “What? I hardly spend anything on beer! What about those new shoes you just bought? They we’re like $200!” Freeze! What’s going on here? Can you see the deception? Can you see how things aren’t as they seem? Matt and Sarah are fighting about money when the underlying fears they have are about other things. Matt is afraid of losing his friends and freedom and Sarah fears for her husband’s life. Both are valid fears. Neither of them are addressing their fears directly. Instead they have brought an unnecessary third party – money, into their conflict. The problem is, their frustrations don’t have anything to do with money. Until Matt and Sarah make their true reasons for being irritated known, they will continue to bang their heads against the “money-problem,” and wasting time trying to come up with “solutions” that don’t address the real issue. Money becomes a convenient excuse, a kind of cork-board on which we pin all of our relational fears. This happens when we don’t address our spouse’s irritating behaviors head on. Matt may admit, “Yes. I spend too much money on beer.” That admission doesn’t mean Matt’s going to stop drinking and driving. He doesn’t think there’s a problem and Sarah hasn’t directly told him that she is afraid. Conversely, Sarah might acknowledge that she has bought several pairs of expensive shoes. Admitting this won’t address Matt’s fear that she doesn’t like his bro-time. Both Matt and Sarah are using money to manipulate one another and it won’t work because the root issue is not about finances. Without realizing it, couples frequently miss talking about the...

BANG! The wedding ceremony planning begins! The racers were off. Each stride brought them closer and closer to the tape. The final line was just within their reach. They pushed with every fiber of their being, stretching to close the gap, straining and heaving as though held back by some invisible force.  SNAP! You’re there. You’ve made it! The tape broke and the winner was crowned! Does this describe your marriage? Do you resonate with rushing to either the starting line to ‘get this thing going’ or heaving toward the ‘finish line’ as though your wedding day were just the “starting gun” that began an emotional marathon we need only survive? The expectations for planning your wedding ceremony might kill you if they aren’t properly managed. Part of the problem with societies conception of marriage is connected to the negative ways we characterize marriage. Our collective thoughts on marriage are either negative i.e. battle field, or war zone or exhausting i.e. race, journey etc. We need to think about our marriages as experiences composed of more than just impossible encounters with reality that end in trivial rewards. Your wedding ceremony planning should incorporate your beliefs just as much as your wedding itself. Buddhist and Christian beliefs about marriage emphasize cooperation and mutual service. Christianity works on the moral of “love your neighbor as yourself.” Buddhism functions by the principle of practicing compassion toward all sentient beings. Marriage, in both religions, is a practicing ground in which the bride and groom give and receive the loving benefits of cooperation and affection that only an intimate lover can provide. In these systems of belief, neither the wedding day nor the day your partner passes, are adequately characterized as a “race.” There are no onlookers, no crowd cheering you on. Everyone present is engaged in the act of showing compassion to one another. There is no track, since the path of learning to love others is never linear. Rather, marriage is an unknown, day by day unfolding of the needs of others and how we might meet them. The behaviors you exhibit under pressure, the way you act on your beliefs during the wedding ceremony planning will follow you throughout marriage. Day-one, your wedding day, is not the beginning of your life-together with the one you love. The wedding day is one of many expressions of love given between lovers that communicates the reality of present love and creates hope for a loving future. As your wedding day approaches, or if you’ve been married for decades, let go of unhelpful perspectives of your marriage and re-learn the simplicity that today is the day for you to practice loving your neighbor, your spouse, your lover.   Contact: Ric Latendresse...

Wedding ceremony elaborations include those parts and pieces of the ceremony that communicate the specific beliefs and values of the bride and groom. Elaborations include spoken portions of the ceremony i.e. vows. They can also include unspoken portions of the ceremony such as lighting candles or Sand Ceremonies. The elaborations you choose should fit your overall wedding theme. Beach weddings are perfect for Sand Ceremonies. The reasons are obvious. This is an example of how an elaboration fits into the ceremony theme. Remember: just because a wedding happens in a specific location doesn’t mean the theme is going to reflect that location. You might have a rock-n-roll wedding in a barn. Elaborations should be consistent with your beliefs. Sometimes a wedding includes elaborations that don’t fit. For instance, communion. Communion historically is used by religious couples who come from a traditional Christian, Protestant or Catholic background. If your ceremony does not include references to God or the Bible, including communion might not make a lot of sense. However, other elaborations such as the use of floral crowns or specific decorations may work very nicely sans the religious overtones. Tradition should drive your choice of elaborations. The Hispanic culture frequently uses the Lasso Ceremony. The Lasso is symbolic for connection and commitment and it has many religious undertones. The Lasso ceremony may fit will into a traditional Hispanic wedding but it may need some tweaking for an Anglo wedding. For instance, central European cultures have a ceremony called “hand fastening.” It’s the same idea as the Lasso but with a small rope that secures only the hands together. Elaborations should be personal. Every bride and groom wants to have fun. Unfortunately, many never achieve fun in their wedding because they are so hindered with traditional expectations of what a wedding should look and sound like. You have to force creativity into weddings sometimes. This is how we make weddings fun: by making them personal and unique to the bride and groom. If the couple loves a specific movie, book series or set of paintings incorporate those as decorations, use the lyrics in your vows or dress up like your favorite literary character. Elaborations should inform your assembly. Who is the assembly? Those are your friends and family, guests and relatives whom you have invited to your wedding ceremony. Each of the specific elaborations you’ve included in your ceremony should communicate something about who you are and what you believe. The most obvious example of this is the backstory. The backstory is a brief, 3-8 minute (2-3 pages, typed, single spaced) introduction of the couple. It introduces the bride and groom to the assembly. It answers the question, How did they meet?...

Wedding ceremonies take time to create. Olive Tree Officiating ensures that your ceremony planning will be perfect. How do I do this? By working with each client and offering my experience as an Officiant/Celebrant, working with you, your Planner/Coordinator, the Photographer and all other support professionals to ensure that your ceremony is exactly the way you want it to be. Contact:  Ric@OliveTreeOfficiating.com Like any creative, unique work of art, planning a wedding ceremony that reflects the values and beliefs of the couple requires time and attention. For each minute you invest in the planning of your wedding ceremony, you should expect to receive back, years of satisfaction. A bride and groom will ask all kinds of questions about their special day. Flowers, food and fabric are only part of the total picture you will hope to create for your guests. Ceremony planning should receive the same attention to detail as picking out colors, flowers and food. Those minutes, hours, days and months you spend creating the vision that will become your wedding day, must include specific attention to the details of the ceremony. Music, vows, rings, bridal parties, attendants, guests of honor and special ceremonies are just a few of the components that bring out the “special” in your special day. Wedding Ceremony Planning Most modern weddings include a Wedding Planner or Coordinator. At the very least, you’ll consult with a site or venue coordinator or manager, someone who ensures a basic level of support so that the important things aren’t forgotten. The same is true for your ceremony. Olive Tree Officiants provides Ceremony Planning. Now you have an OTO officiant and a wedding planner looking over and designing your ceremony. Wedding Ceremony Planning ensures your creative past and present are included into your unique, and customized wedding ceremony. The Ceremony Planner is an experienced Officiant, someone with years of knowledge in the wedding industry, specifically focused on the ceremony planning, design and execution you will need on your special day. This person is kind of like a planner, and they work in partnership with you, your fiancé, your Wedding Planner and all the other professionals present, to make sure your wedding ceremony happens without a problem. The Ceremony Planning Specialist is present to maximize your creativity as it shows up in the ceremony. Olive Tree Officiants have seen a few weddings. We live and breathe the wedding industry. That means we are ready to make suggestions for you, wording, ceremonies, inclusions and exclusions to your ceremony that will best embody your beliefs, values and history while painting a picture of the future you will lead with your fiancé. We are here to help you capture the joyful past...