Small wedding, intimate wedding, elopement, they all kind of mean the same thing nowadays...A gathering of your closest people you love, a short and sweet wedding ceremony and signing your license to make it legal. 

I have recommended some locations here as you will see I have 3 great outdoor locations that are free to use as they are public space. I also have listed a few venues that offer small wedding packages that are wonderful for a all in one...location and reception for your small wedding. I will go anywhere within the Holly, Fenton and Clarkston areas, so if you have a preferred location, let's use it! 

As long as you are flexible with the time of your ceremony I can usually accommodate any day. I often recommend a sunset weekday though as the outdoor locations surely are not as busy and the sunset will make for fantastic pictures. 

Speaking of pictures, any wedding needs to be captured! I have some great photographers to recommend, but if cost is tight, I suggest at least dedicating one of your guest to capture the day for you. 

For the ceremony, the wedding ceremony is sweet and simple under 10 minutes and includes exchanging vows and rings (if you like). 

My small wedding's typically do not have a wedding party (groomsmen, bridesmaids) as it's a less formal event. Should you wish to have a wedding party you absolutely can, just please be aware of arriving on time and organizing yourselves so we may begin on time. 

The day of your wedding I will arrive 15 minutes before our start time, I will meet with you to review the ceremony and collect the marriage license, I will then direct guests to take their place along with me. You are welcome to "walk down the aisle" or casually gather with us. We will perform the ceremony, once I pronounce you as married, you can greet your guests for congratulations and then we will sign the license. Remember you will need two witnesses to be over 18 as they must sign the marriage license with us. 

And there you have it, small, intimate, elopement weddings are simple and beautiful. 

Right now, things are changing, slowly and rapidly and as soon as I think I've got my wedding's rescheduled and figured out, a new wave of couples are contacting me to move dates and I support all of them. 

Sometimes when you choose that new wedding date you may find it difficult to locate a professional Officiant on short notice so you make the choice to ask a family member or friend to help you out, I support this to! It's how I got my start after all. But asking that special person to write a ceremony, or taking on the task of writing your own ceremony can create undo stress. That's where I come in and save the day. 

I can draft a wedding ceremony for you, we will discuss the details of your day and once drafted I will email the wedding ceremony to you for review, at that point we can do a phone call or exchange emails to continue to edit the wedding ceremony until it is perfect for you. 

On top of writing your wedding ceremony I offer a consultation with your new Officiant. I can walk them through becoming legally ordained in the state of Michigan and offer tips on how to best perform your wedding ceremony and how to sign the license. 

Performing a wedding ceremony is no simple feat, I always suggest hiring a professional to be with you on your day, but when that's simply not an option I am here to help. 

I've contacted my local county clerk offices and most are issuing marriage licenses by mail - each has their own process in placer so please call your clerk's office or visit their website for their specific directions. 

Michigan is currently under a stay at home order and we are only to leave for critical essential duties. That being said, if they are issuing licenses you will need someone to make it legal. 

I can do a very limited wedding "ceremony" at this time. Email me for details. 

It's difficult knowing that there are so many loving couples out there who simply want to be married and are just stuck in a holding pattern, left wondering and waiting. 

I am here with you, I'm standing with you also wondering when and where and what it will look like when were able to get back to the happy place of weddings again. 

I love talking about everything wedding and that has not changed. If you need to talk about your wedding day, if you just need to vent to talk about the loss of what has not happened or talk through how to postpone, how best to move forward I am here. You can contact me and we can talk it through, we can make a plan, we can cry together or just be quiet together. 

The thing is, we can do it together - whatever the it  is that you need right now. 

Nichole Bertucci 
nicholebert@gmail.com 

It's Sunday, March 15th and I learned that Oakland County, Michigan has now limited the capacity of all event spaces, restaurants, bars, etc. to 50% of their original capacity. 

We also know that we must protect our older relatives those over 65 and anyone with underlying health conditions. 

This is going to effect your wedding. 

But, I have some thoughts on how you can be a helper...

1. Allow yourself the grace to feel heartbroken, to feel overwhelmed and to feel upset. Now, give yourself the ability to take a deep breath and understand what you are about to do is for the greater good of all humans, those you love and those you don't even know. 
2. If at all possible postpone your wedding, I know these are not the words you want to hear, but it's what has been asked of us. We have all been asked to social distance ourselves and holding a wedding where people will be seated directly next to, behind and in front of each other is not social distancing. 
3. Work with your venue and vendors to find out what their plan B is, are you able to postpone, reschedule hold your funds for a future date? I will honor all payments towards a new booked date that I am available for. 
4. If you have made the call to postpone you can still get married on your wedding date. I will meet you and two witnesses at a park, in the open air and we can do an intimate ceremony, exchange vows rings, or do your original ceremony, whatever  you want and afterwards we will sign your license and file it. Then you can plan to host your reception when the time is right. I will offer this until we are told we may not do so any longer. 

We are all in this together and by working together we can all help each other, because that what love truly is supporting, helping and being generous and kind to each other. 

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Many couples choose a courthouse wedding, and then, call the courthouse only to find out that: 
     1. The courthouse no longer performs marriages 
     2. The courthouse only performs them on limited days
     3. The waitlist is months long 

Enter me, Nichole Bertucci, Ordained Officiant and Minister. I love to make couples happy. And so, if for you that means a quick meeting to sign the marriage license with no ceremony so you can simply get married then that's what we will do. 

I offer my Justice of the Peace, Signing only service for any couple that wants to keep getting married simple, or is getting married outside of the US or state or really for any reason they deem (it makes no difference to me). 

You will need to apply for your marriage license at your local court house, once you have your marriage license you have 30 days to make it legal! So call me, we'll schedule at time to meet and sign the license. Remember you will need to bring two witnesses over the age of 18 as they will need to sign the marriage license also. Heck, you can bring the whole family or all of your friends just make a dinner or lunch reservation, we'll sign real quick and then you can celebrate over dinner or lunch!

Whatever your reason know that I am here to help. I want your wedding day (yes even the simple ones) to be special to you and to meet your needs. 

​Getting married your way is what works best.  

Many couples in Michigan want to have a courthouse wedding but quickly discover that can be harder than they think. Many counties in Michigan no longer offer courthouse wedding's or if they do they have a 3 month or more wait list! So, if you called your courthouse to schedule a wedding and learned this news, don't fret, I am here to teach you how to have a courthouse wedding outside the courthouse. 

You may have wanted a courthouse wedding for the simplicity, low cost and speed in which you thought a courthouse wedding could provide. You can still accomplish all of those things and even more by simply hiring a wedding Officiant to marry you. Many wedding officiants offer services in small packages for just this reason, a courthouse wedding is no longer available. 

For example, I offer couples a few options that are very similar to courthouse weddings. One offering is an "elopement ceremony" for this service you would gather your closest 15ish family and friends find a venue that suits your needs and I would perform a simple and sweet marriage ceremony. Venues can range from your favorite restaurant to a free park or even your local greenhouse...ooh think of all the lovely pictures you could take. 

I also offer an even smaller service called a simple signing. For this service I meet with the two of you, your two witnesses and we simply sign the license to make it legal, there is no formal ceremony, I do however ask you if you promise to continue to love and then pronounce you married and you can even seal your simple signing with a kiss. 

Tips and tricks for your off site courthouse wedding: 

1. Hire a wonderful officiant who will personalize the ceremony to suit your needs. 
2. Hire a photographer, it's worth it! Get those pictures of your wedding day. 
3. Have it your way! Outdoors, inside, over dinner or brunch, you get to decide what you want for your courthouse wedding. 

Your wedding ceremony will set the tone for your wedding celebration and wedding reception. It is important to make sure your wedding ceremony is well drafted to include details of your love, the moments that brought you to the decision to marry each other. It's great if your wedding ceremony can include moments of laughter and love and sweet sentimental moments all things that will draw your guests into your wedding ceremony. 

But...there is one thing, one big thing that will make your wedding ceremony truly magical, are you ready? I've got the secret ingredient to making your wedding ceremony truly one of a king...here it is...

YOU

Yep, you read that right. If you want a wedding ceremony that is truly magical then you are the secret. I can write a magnificent wedding ceremony that includes all of the right things but...if you the two of you are not truly in the moment then your guests won't be either. 

So here is my suggestion to you on how to make your wedding ceremony magical. 

1. Be yourself, don't try to hold anything in or anything back. Your guests are watching and they want to see YOU, they want to know you are feeling all the feels that this day is as important to you as they know it is.
2. Let the tears flow, honestly if you hold back that's when the ugly cry face comes, so let it go! Just bring a handkerchief and don't be afraid to use that sucker. 
3. Laugh and smile and enjoy the your wedding ceremony. I've seen happy giggles take over, I've seen pure out spontaneous laughter and snorts that set a crowd on fire. If you can relax and enjoy the moment your guests will also. 
4. Look at each other, really look at each other during your wedding ceremony. Don't shy away because if you look you might cry, honey, you do you! In a world telling you to be authentic there is no more of a right time than the day you stand in front of each other and declare you are ready to take on the world as a married couple. 
5. Finally, breathe, yes, sounds simple but really relax and breathe in the moment that is your wedding ceremony. Your wedding ceremony is typically 30 minutes or less so breathe and relax and enjoy this little bit of stillness on your wedding day. 

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