For a traditional Southwestern wedding, Wild West Wedding knows the ropes

Please introduce yourself to our readers.

We are a Swiss couple fascinated by the Wild West. After we spent our honeymoon in Arizona and Utah., we moved back to the southwestern U.S. many times. So we got to know this area very well through.

As a young couple, we got engaged in 2012 at the Times Square in New York in our very first USA-vacation. In 2016, the time had come, we officially decided to marry in Switzerland and celebrated with friends and family.In our honeymoon, we were married again on horseback by a Navajo Indian at Lake Powell. This special experience has left a deep mark on us.

The desire to dare something new and to accompany other couples in marrying in the Wild West grew ever greater. We have now turned our great passion for our profession and founded our own wedding planning and officiant company in 2018. We left our old life, friends and family behind us and started living our dream, in the beautiful southwest of the U.S.

We now plan and conduct weddings in the fascinating landscape of Arizona and Utah. In addition, we offer a stretch-limousine service for our bridal couples and other occasions.

How did you become a wedding officiant?

Inspired by our own wedding we wanted to make couples dream wedding come true and registered to be a minister. This allows us to officiate weddings in the U.S. Because we are Swiss, this wasn’t everything we had to do. We also had to apply for a Visa. First, we had to found the company, that we named Wild West Wedding L.L.C. We gave all our passion for the planning of our own business, made a business plan and applied for the Visa.

Finally, the day had come, that we were invited to the U.S. embassy to have an interview. After months of incertitude, we finally got the approval of the U.S. embassy to start with the business in the U.S. After all the time, we were so happy about the positive answer and couldn’t wait to start with our first wedding.

We love to play a big part in a couple’s love story and help them to make their dream wedding come true. It is exciting to meet all the different couples and personalize the perfect wedding or wedding speech for them.

How do you personalize a wedding?

We try to get to know the couple as well as possible before the wedding. First, we ask them about their wishes and imaginations for the wedding. A couple can be inspired by our suggestions of options and unique locations in the Southwest, but can also customize a classic wedding at their home or more usual place. We are committed to responding to our couple’s desires. For that reason, we will talk to the couple and ask them to provide us with all they want us to know about their wishes for the wedding and the wedding speech.

It is helpful to us for personalizing the wedding speech, when the couple tells us about their love story, moments and elements they want to be mentioned in the wedding speech. Because we serve all persuasions, it is also important to us, that we know if the couple wants a denominational or non-denominational wedding.

Are there things that differentiate wedding officiants?

We think that a good officiant asks the couple what they expect and responds to their wishes. It is important that the couple have a good gut feeling with the officiant they choose. The officiant will be an important part of their wedding ceremony. Brides or grooms should ask about the services the officiant offers. Does he or she include couples own vows? What persuasions does the officiant serve? Does he or she personalize the wedding ceremony and speech that is just unique and perfect for this couple? Will the officiant also serve extraordinary ceremonies? Does he offer to officiate the wedding and will take care of all the paperwork after the marriage?

In your opinion, why do you think wedding ceremonies are important?

Wedding ceremonies are the main part of a wedding. It is the moment when two lovers become husband and wife before their friends and family. . It is a very emotional and life-changing situation when the couples makes their promises to each other. It is the beginning of their future life as a family.This magic moment will be remembered for their lifetime.

How does a wedding ceremony typically go?

If a couple chooses us (Wild West Wedding) to conduct their dream wedding, the wedding ceremony will be customized. Our specialty are destination weddings with a smaller number of guests or intimate weddings only for the bridal couple. But of course, we offer our service to all kinds of wedding whether they are big or small, in common places or at our breathtaking outdoor locations in the Southwest.

Classic ceremonies with guests can include a procession, welcome statements family blessing, a customized wedding speech, personal vows of the couple, exchange of rings, kiss, pronouncement and recession. With some of our options for weddings in our outdoor locations, the ceremony will start or be followed by a horseback ride or can also include a gun shooting- or zipline-adventure. Our possibilities are almost limitless, we are open to own wild ideas of our couples for their perfect wedding ceremony in the West as the word Wild is included in our company name. Themed weddings are also welcome and we will be excited to realize any kind of our couples imaginations for their dream wedding.

We offer attractive packages for destination weddings that include photos of the ceremony and an After Wedding shooting on the wedding location in the sights of the West.

What information should the couple provide prior to the ceremony?

It is important for us to know the wedding date and the wedding location the couple wants. The couple should tell us what kind of ceremony, package, options or services they want. After we checked the availability of this basics, we can continue with going into detail. What elements should occur in their ceremony? How many guests are expected? We like to get to know the couple a little bit. As inspiration for our wedding speech, they could tell us, how their love story began. When and where did they finally know, that they were made for each other? How did they engage? What are the couple’s dreams and visions for their future?

Do you think it is a good idea to renew wedding vows?

We love the idea of renewing wedding vows. We think the vows could be enriched with all the new memories and experiences, that the couple shared in their married years.

It is very romantic to promise each other again to go through good and bad times, after all the past years they went through. It is also a good opportunity to have a different wedding and to dare something special, that some couples wouldn’t do for their official wedding day with all the family and guests of a classic big wedding near home. Why not having a destination wedding for your vow renewals in the majestic landscape of the Southwest. Or combine your honeymoon with an intimate vow renewal destination wedding after your big wedding at home.

What is the typical officiant's cost?

Our officiant package starts at $450 and includes the wedding ceremony with wedding speech. The bridal couple can also take advantage of our additional services like assistance with the paperwork and accompaniment by receiving the marriage license.

We also have wedding packages with more services, these packages are starting from $950 and offer the same services as the officiant package, but includes wedding photos and an after-wedding shooting additionally.

What is your policy toward loud/unruly guests or children?

I think the most important is to stay calm and polite. If the bridal couple feels comfortable, we can take it with a sense of humor. But if we see that the couple is getting disturbed by some guests, we would tell these guests in a polite way to keep silence, that the couple can enjoy their wedding.

Luckily we never had a case of unruly guests, so all our couples were able to enjoy their ceremony.