Trillium Ceremonies
Reviews for Trillium Ceremonies
GUEST




Melissa provides not only an excellent and professional service, but is also a genuinely nice and helpful person. She allows you to make the ceremony completely yours, while also coming up with great ideas to make it even more unique.
She was a great help in organizing not just the ceremony of our wedding, but other aspects as well. Officiating weddings is obviously more than just a business for her. Thanks, Melissa!
GUEST




It is difficult for me to write a review because Melissa went way above and beyond our every expectation, and I don't think I will be able to convey how perfect she was for our wedding. We wanted to create a unique ceremony that was non-religious in tone but still respectful of religion and spirituality. From the moment I first spoke with Melissa, I could tell she knew exactly what I meant. She suggested many different pieces we could include in our ceremony. For example, when I mentioned the groom was wearing a kilt to honor his Scottish ancestors, Melissa introduced us to the Scottish tradition of handfasting. She even sent us research so we would know the history behind the custom. I feel like I bombarded her with a million little questions, but she never seemed frazzled and always answered each question promptly and thoroughly. As an out of town bride, she was happy to make suggestions about vendors and about Asheville amenities in general. We received so many compliments on our actual wedding ceremony-- about how personalized and fitting the ceremony was to us. Quite a feat considering Melissa didn't officially meet us until the day before! I think it is truly an honor when your guests talk about the wedding ceremony as much as the reception afterward, and Melissa had a huge impact in making our wedding truly wonderful.
GUEST




Melissa did a great job officiating our ceremony!! Our wedding was definitely interesting, as we planned everything in less than two months and things were kind of crazy, but she was very flexible and patient working with us! And our ceremony was absolutely beautiful, we had several friends tell us how much they enjoyed it. I would DEFINITELY recommend Trillium Ceremonies!
About Trillium Ceremonies

Congratulations on your engagement!
Whether it has been a long time coming, or is a spur of the moment decision, your wedding ceremony is an incredibly personal and important experience! As a non-denominational wedding officiant, I craft unique marriage, vow renewal, and commitment ceremonies that honor your own beliefs and traditions. My philosophy is that couples should have as much (or as little) input as desired in creating their ceremony. I'm comfortable with both longer and shorter ceremonies (there are only a few pieces of a wedding ceremony required by law) and am happy to officiate before crowds of any size.
If you are coming from out of town, I'm also happy to help you locate local vendors. A recent bridal party used the salon I recommended and their hair and make-up was gorgeous!
Western North Carolina is a beautiful place to get married year-round. From indoor locations (historic inns, Biltmore Estate, Bohemian Hotel, castle-like venues, mountaintop cabins) to outdoor locations with unforgettable scenery (Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest, Linville Gorge, waterfalls, mountaintops, meadows, your backyard, and even during a private Hot Air Balloon flight!), there is a perfect spot for every couple. And for the budget conscious, many outloor locations are free if your group is small!
If you are interested in learning more about whether I am the right fit for your ceremony, please call or email me. There's more information on my website http://sites.google.com/site/trilliumceremonies, including sample vows and readings. My average fee is $275.
I look forward to hearing from you and wish you the best!
Sincerely,
Melissa Smith, Ph.D.
Wedding Officiant
828-712-6803
trilliumceremonies@gmail.com
FAQ for Trillium Ceremonies
"Sonnet 17” - Pablo Neruda
I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz or arrow of carnations that propagate fire: I love you as certain dark things are loved, secretly, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom, and carries hidden within itself the light of those flowers, and thanks to your love, darkly in my body lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where, I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I know no other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you; so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.
"On Marriage" - Kahlil Gibran
Then Almitra spoke again and said, and what of Marriage master? And he answered saying: You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone.
From the "The Alchemist" - Paulo Coelho
When he looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke -- the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert. Something that exerted the same force whenever two pairs of eyes met, as had theirs here at the well. She smiled, and that was certainly an omen -- the omen he had been awaiting, without even knowing he was, for all his life. The omen he had sought to find with his sheep and in his books, in the crystals and in the silence of the desert.
It was the pure Language of the World. It required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. He was more certain of it than of anything in the world. He had been told by his parents and grandparents that he must fall in love and really know a person before becoming committed. But maybe people who felt that way had never learned the universal language. Because, when you know that language, it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people
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