Life Deservers Ceremonies

Services

Thank you for your interest in my services. I believe that there are many things in life that can be celebrated through ceremony. On this page you will find information about wedding ceremonies, but I also perform child ceremonies and life milestone ceremonies. I invite you to look through the description of the services and to contact me to see how we can develop a ceremony that suits your individual needs.

Wedding Ceremonies

Types of Wedding Ceremonies

I can marry you in as many ways as two people can be married and will do my best to help you create a specialized ceremony. I can perform small or large ceremonies and can accommodate you based on your needs. You choose your own special time, place and style.

Planning Process

The process of planning a wedding involves many elements to consider. My primary objective is to support you in planning the perfect ceremony for your special day. To do this I am available for consultation by email, phone, or Skype at any time leading up to the ceremony. Please contact me to see if I am available for your wedding place, date and time. We can set up a consultation so that I can get a sense of who you are and the traditions that you hold dear. Once you decide to work with me, I will ask you to complete some paperwork and provide a deposit (cash, cheque, or bank transfer). I will provide you with a package of sample ceremonies for you to consider. These are only examples as we can draw on the greatest traditions of your families, create new traditions and a truly personalized ceremony that you will always remember.

For example, please see the video of Erin and Steve's wedding.

As your Officiant I'm licensed to perform legal marriages in the Province of Ontario and the services I perform are secular and nonreligious in nature. It is my duty to pronounce you married and ensure that your Marriage Licence (Something you obtain. See Q & A) and the Marriage Registrar (Something I bring) are complete. I also mail your Marriage Licence to the government.

Other Optional Services

I have over twenty years combined experience counseling and specialization in marriage preparation. Along with being a Humanist Officiant, I'm also a Registered Social Service Worker and a university Lecturer for Introduction to Sociology, and the Sociology of Child, Youth, Aging, Health, Justice, and Crime and Punishment. I offer an optional premarital preparation course that helps couples identify and work with their individual strengths to continuously develop their relationship. If you are interested, please ask me for more details about this course during our consultation or at anytime before or after you are married.

Child Ceremonies

I truly believe that life — as precious as it is — deserves ceremonies. A ceremony is a public celebration. I would love to help you celebrate important aspects of your life with your children. I offer ceremonies to bring your children into the fold of your community.

Child ceremonies are about the community welcoming and respecting the child, and the parents and other supportive adults taking responsibility for the child or children involved. It's a way to celebrate one of life's continuous marvels, publicize relationships, announce new additions to the family, and build ties with your friends and family. If you are adding someone to your family or declaring a relationship between parent and child and would like to celebrate it with friends and family, contact me to see how we can develop a ceremony ther suits your individual needs.

Milestone Ceremonies

I truly believe that life — as precious as it is — deserves ceremonies. A ceremony is a public celebration. I would love to help you celebrate those important milestones that you reach throughout your life. Marking accomplishments and turning points in our lives helps to strengthen our bonds through the community and to each other. Possibilities include:

If you are approaching a milestone and would like to celebrate it with loved ones and family, contact me to see how we can develop a ceremony that suits your individual needs.

Pre-Marital Program

Pre- and Post-Marriage Preparation & Preservation Program

Suzanne spent many years designing a marriage preparation and preservation program for couples looking for a personalized service from a nonreligious perspective.

She has an extensive background in counselling and teaching and studying the sociology of family, marriage, the life course, children, adolescence, aging, health, sexuality, finances, the economy and more.

What you can expect

Generally, five 75-minute sessions are recommended.

Step 1: Take Prepare-Enrich Relationship Inventory. Suzanne will provide you with an extensive questionnaire to complete independent of each other. You submit this privately, confidentially, electronically. Suzanne will provide you with an access code so that you can retrieve a print out of the results of the questions you and your partner answered. The inventory includes some bar charts and pie graphs and explanations of where you are more or less compatible. Suzanne receives a more extensive print out showing more information about both of you. This helps Suzanne fasciltate the sessions you have with her.

Step 2: Four 75-minute Sessions with Suzanne. Suzanne will provide you with a workbook for exercises you can do between sessions. If you wish to add couples’ yoga before or after each session, this can be set up with Suzanne. She is a 275-hour certified yoga instructor and has developed yoga poses to highlight and focus on the needs of a lifelong relationship.

Step 3: Certificate of Completion. You will receive a certificate after your four sessions.

Step 4: After your wedding, you will set up a follow-up 75-minute session with Suzanne. This is included in your package. We will review your relationship goals, objectives and any particular aspect of your relationship you wish to focus on.

Relationship Inventory of Strength and Growth Areas

Cost $500.00