Wedding Services
- Details
- Created on Friday, 19 August 2011 06:01
- Written by Jedi School
Considering a marriage is something that many of us do. It's important to have all of the information present before making such a decision.
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Counselling
Are you not quite sure if marriage is the way you want to go? Our free counselling service can help you decide whether or not it's right to take the plunge. Love is a powerful and important reason to get married; but it should be far from the only consideration. Call or email for a counselling appointment and see if you're ready!
All consultations will be by Skype, telephone, or another voice system. This is because listening to the way that couples speak is important for the process.
Some considerations before you decide:
- Marriage has been around for 17,000 years of recorded human history (and probably before, though we haven't found any cave drawings before that point in time which depict a recognizeable marriage).
- Traditionally, marriage was orginally a means of preventing war;it was never something that one did because of love until the past 3 centuries.
- Marriage is and always has been a political arrangement, and one which the government controls.
- One of the duties of marriage in most traditions is to bear children. This needs to be considered.
- Those who marry for love alone will tend to be together less than 10 years.
- Those who marry before they have matured will be together less than 5 years.
- The divorce rate in the US is nearing 60% within 10 years, and is 52% within 5 years.
- There are added expenses when you are married which are not apparent before the paperwork is signed.
- Compatibility of methods for handling stressful situations is usually overlooked, because before the wedding, the couple is focused onkeeping the other impressed. Be aware of the repercussions of lacking vulnerability.
Our counselling service can help you to enter a marriage with a full understanding of what you're going into.
Ceremonies
Marriage ceremonies will be performed between couples according to the prevailing law. This means that there are restrictions regarding same-sex couples who wish to wed. However, in places where a "civil union" is permissible, the ceremony can still resemble a wedding in function. For those who are not permitted to wed under the law, a reduced-fee dedication service is available on a case-by-case basis (and, while not a legal union, such a dedication is still personal and available).
Marriages
Those who wish a legal marriage will need to assure that they have the correct licenses, permits, and other paperwork. These vary from location to location, as well as from situation to situation. This part is required by law in most places to be the responsibility of the two who will be wed.
The fee for the ceremony itself is based on its location:
- In the USA, the fee is $200 for a wedding.
- In Canada, the fee is $240.
- In the UK, the fee is £150.
One reason the fees are different is because of the difference in the cost of living index. These services are one way our spiritual advisors can be assured that their time is well-spent on a solemn and necessary service.
Polygamy
Polygamy is against the law in all developed countries outside the Middle East. We do not perform weddings, civil unions, or dedication ceremonies between more than one pair of people at a time. It is not our policy to promote polygamy, though we have no teachings which forbid its practice. Abeyance of the law is important to the prevention of suffering in this case; and this is the only reason we will not perform such a ceremony.
Civil Unions
Those who are unable to wed by law may also be able to practice a civil union. In all respects, this is similar to a wedding except that it is not recognized as a legal marriage. The fees are the same as a wedding, though the wording of the ceremony is slightly different in order to accomodate the law.
Life Partner Dedication
Life partners are dedicated couples in every way, and may function as a married couple in a number of ways. However, like a civil union, this is not a legal marriage. It also lacks the status of a civil union and requires a greater amount of effort to assure that one's partner is cared for within the relationship. The fees are reduced for the life partner dedication, to reflect the greater effort that the couple must put into making the relationship work.
