vendor reviews: ministers & officiants

detailsdetailsdetails • A $100 deposit books your wedding day with Paul Knauer. • Balance is due 1 month before the wedding. • Paul will travel within Southwestern Ontario, with a basic mileage fee applying for weddings outside of London. • Paul books 6 to 12 months in advance in most cases, though all inquiries are welcome. • Marital preparation sessions are scheduled at the convenience of the couple, most often occurring 2 to 12 months prior to the wedding. • Paul is available by email and in person, though he prefers to have at least two face to face meetings before any wedding ceremony.

Sonshine Weddings plays a supporting role in life's most defining moments

Reviewing Paul Knauer, Officiant of Sonshine Weddings

Staff at The Ring liked officiant, Paul Knauer, right away. We liked him because of who he is as much as what he does for local engaged couples. He has made it his personal journey to play a large supporting role in as many of life's defining moments as he can, including your wedding ceremony.

Paul is a non-denominational minister, a retired teacher and a chaplain in the local community. His specialties in wedding marital sessions and customized wedding ceremonies (and essentially ensuring that your new path in life begins in the right direction) have made his company, Sonshine Weddings, popular with London area brides. Let us explain...

From teacher to student to minister
With a BSc., BEd., and M.A. to his credit, Paul Knauer taught for fifteen years before feeling the call to go into the ministry. So, after years spent shaping other young minds, Paul went back to school himself - the Ontario Theological Seminary in Toronto. In 1996 he earned his MDiv. and became a Non-Denominational Minster under his company, Sonshine Weddings.

In the London area, Paul has officiated countless weddings, vow renewals, baptisms, funerals and memorial services. He is also the Chaplain at the Dearness Home and has been for the last seven years. From birth to death, Paul's gift seems to be his ability to reach the hearts and minds of people who need him – in good times and in bad.

Wedding style
To Paul, a wedding is one of life's most defining moments of love and marriage. "I consider it an honour to be part of the celebration of this defining moment in a couple's lives," he told us. He says he truly cares about each couple he meets, and that he takes pleasure in helping them build a strong foundation for their relationship through his optional marital sessions. "I like to meet with each couple, get to know them and make them feel comfortable." Then the designing of both the wedding ceremony and a lifetime of marriage begins.

The couples that choose Paul are most often planning outdoor weddings. "Out of all the weddings I was a part of last summer, only two were indoors." They are looking for the personal service that he specializes in. "Getting to know who the bride and groom are as individuals and as a couple is important to me," he explained. Paul believes that because he truly cares about each couple, it gives the bride and groom comfort and trust in him as their officiant. "I feel privileged to be there for them." That's why Paul recommends a minimum of two consultations before the wedding date.

Paul's ceremonies are most often twenty to twenty-five minutes, light-hearted and sincere. He says that they range from traditional to contemporary in style. "I am very flexible and will work with the bride and groom to achieve the type of wedding service they want." In fact, he starts off by giving each couple a nineteen page booklet called Helping Couples Personalize Their Own Wedding Ceremony which includes suggested readings, vows, ring exchange wording and other crucial tips and information. Together with Paul, the bride and groom can customize and plan a ceremony that will be the most meaningful to them.

Paul says that wedding vows can be personalized or memorized, or both. The bride and groom can choose to honour their mothers, grandparents, and those loved ones who are unable to attend due illness or death. "Parental vows for blended families can also be included and are in fact encouraged as you mutually support each member of this new family... Personalized readings of your choice (inspirational, romantic or sacred)... Creating a ceremony to be specifically designed to you is our goal. The ceremony may also include a time of words of encouragement or wedding meditation."

One of Paul's previous brides, Aileen, said she couldn't remember being at a more meaningful and warm wedding. "... Larry and I had many people tell us how much they loved the ceremony. Usually I find people stiff and uncomfortable at weddings, but as I said, I found there was a lot of love and warmth in the room (which may be why I didn't cry, I thought for sure I was going to!). I highly recommend [Paul] to anyone looking for a minister..."

Your ceremony plans, step by step
Your first step down the aisle begins with your first consultation. This is where you get to meet and share information or ideas with Paul. This is also when you sign the contract and leave your deposit, if you decide to choose Paul. Afterward, you have the option to prepare or enrich your relationship through pre-marital preparation sessions. Your second consultation is one month before the wedding and gives you a chance to finalize your ceremony details and pay the balance of the officiant fee. The week, or day before the wedding, you have the option of having a rehearsal at the wedding venue. On the day of the ceremony, you will be able to finish your walk down the aisle.

Marital sessions - building foundations
Last year, Paul officiated approximately forty wedding ceremonies. Of  these forty ceremonies, he offered formal marital preparation sessions to 25% of the couples. "Marital sessions offer a strong foundation of love and marriage that will help the couple at every stage of their future life together," he says.

These sessions are not only optional, but they are in high demand. The sessions ask 'big' questions that many couples either haven't encountered yet or were afraid to ask out loud. For many other couples, the sessions just reaffirm the fact that the bride and groom are ready to take on the world together.

As a result of these sometimes life-changing sessions, the bride and groom often find themselves turning to Paul in the future, post-wedding. "They feel comfortable confiding in me, so when something happens, whether it be good or bad, they know I'm always available to them in the future for any ministerial services they may be needing."

"I believe that preparation for your life after the ceremony is very important," explains Paul, who covers fifteen different areas of married life in these sessions. He says the sessions help couples identify areas of strength and growth, improve their communication, increase their ability to resolve conflict, deal with financial goals or budget, and much more. Chris and Terri took Paul's marital sessions. "...We were so glad we took these sessions! We learned other ways to communicate with each other, we felt very comfortable talking to Paul, and he was a wonderful listener and mentor. We highly recommend to anyone to take these sessions... Paul is truly a wonderful minister and we are very lucky to have had this experience. "

Budgeting for your officiant

Wedding ceremonies begin at $275 for the entire planning process and wedding day. An additional $50 fee allows you to have Paul attend (or run) the rehearsal for you to make sure you're comfortable with who does what, when, and where! Sonshine Weddings' popular marital sessions cost $150 and are up to 4 sessions of meaningful couple interaction with a trained counsellor.

Inotherwords...
"We cannot describe our feelings of gratitude for the personal touch you brought to our wedding day. What an awesome job. Our guests and family were overwhelmed by your sincerity. You took the time to know us personally and your heartfelt words touched all our guests individually. Thank you for taking the time to see exactly what was meaningful to us. Thank you for being a great part in the best day of our lives. We could not have found a better person." - Margi & Victor

"My fiancé and I both really enjoyed our PREPARE sessions with Paul. He made us feel very comfortable, and we had a lot of fun with it. We thought we had a very good relationship going into the sessions, and we just learned so much more about each other, how to make our relationship even stronger and how to keep it that way. I would highly recommend to anyone to take these sessions, even if your relationship is 'perfect'." - Angela & Blaine

"Paul, you were a great officiant. We were so pleased with our wedding ceremony. It was the most meaningful and memorable part of the day and we could not have done it without you. Thanks again for everything." - Kelly & Cam

Contacting Sonshine Weddings

For Paul Knauer, email or phone works to get in touch with him. You can call him at 519-868-3131 or email him at pgknauer@gmail.com. He is located in Komoka, near London. There are more details about Paul and the services Sonshine Weddings can provide brides and grooms on their website, www.sonshineweddings.ca. There, you can also find a photo gallery and a feedback form.

- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca

* Prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of Sonshine Weddings.