Yes, even with the steady downpour of rain, it wasn't going to get in the way of having a great wedding ceremony.

Remember back to some of the wedding ceremonies you've attended over the years and think about what stood out in your memory. Was it passively sitting there for about an hour or more looking at the bride and groom's backsides? Was it trying to hear what the minister/priest/officiant was saying only to realize it sounded essentially the same as every other wedding you had prevously attended? Was it listening to readings that made no connection to you at all? Was it the heaviness of the dogma which permeated everything during the ceremony? Was it the sheer impersonalness of everything other than the occassional mention of the couple's names, which were perhaps, pronounced incorrectly?

We are all too familiar with these awful types of wedding ceremonies as they still occur that way much of the time in Ottawa and everywhere else. Since we perform many wedding ceremonies each year and didn't want to be bored by them as well, we decided to make our ceremonies very different. We researched extensively throughout the western world for creative approaches to ceremony development, design, and execution. We coupled these new insights with our own experience in the world of theatre and came up with a unique style that effectively blends tradition with innovation and puts a fresh face on a tired, old ritual that has been unchanged for centuries.

Since 2004, when we were first licensed to perform ceremonies in Ontario, we have progressively evolved with an unmatched style of performing wedding ceremonies. At most of our ceremonies, many guests and couples consider our ceremonies as being the best weddings that they have ever attended in their lives.

How do we achieve this qualitative ultimate consistently, wedding after wedding, you may ask?

First of all, we take the time to meet each couple at length before we accept taking on the couple as their clients. We meet the couple many months (and sometimes over 1-2 years) before the wedding date. The intial meeting usually lasts over one hour and covers a wide range of questions and topics. If the chemistry isn't right for everyone, then that's the time to pull the plug.

Second, we start off with some very progressive ideas about placement of the couple, their wedding party, their parents, how the chairs are laid out, etc. Yes, this does matter, a lot more than you might think.

Third, we abandon the standard templated one size fits all (insert bride's name here) script and work with each couple to craft a ceremony script that is customized and personalized to fit each couple as perfectly as a custom made suit. Ever seen attendees at a wedding waiting anxiously to see and hear what coming next? You will at our ceremonies.

We feel that your marriage vows should not just be carbon copies of each other using the same old words. We help you create truly unique individual vows that allow all of your emotions and individuality to be felt as they should in such an intensely personal expression.

Next, we encourage you to add some light personal humour into your ceremony. We suggest that wedding ceremonies should really be less solemn than funeral and memorial services which means they should lighten up a bit on the seriousness at specific times and and places. Guests appreciate having an enjoyable experience during the ceremony and not just afterwards.

Finally, as two of the top professional marriage officiants in Canada, we regularly observe each other in action. Our approach to ceremony design and delivery is constantly evolving and improving as they tweak their performances to achieve even higher levels of executional excellence.

If you think that your wedding ceremony deserves to be the one that your guests will remember as having been the best that they've ever experienced and you want the peace of mind that comes with it, then contact us (Lynne or Keith) either by e-mail at Keith@ExceptionalCeremonies.com or inquire by phone at (613) 831-7555 to secure a reservation for your preferred ceremony date & time.