Getting to know Kya Rose
Questions frequently asked by Brides, Grooms and their Families.
Believe it or not, this is “the family business” for me. My mother was ordained in 1986 and I have always enjoyed watching her perform weddings. She taught me a lot about the ins and outs of wedding staging that she had to learn through trial and error. (Thanks Mom!)
As for me, I've always been a performer. I took voice lessons and was a church soloist as a teen. I took acting lessons and was a true drama nerd all through school, then became a professional actor/singer/playwright with a traveling theatre troupe after graduation. Along with all of that, I loved the pageantry of the sacraments. My spiritual background is very eclectic and I'd been writing various rituals and ceremonies for over 15 years for a number of groups and individuals; basic name changing ceremonies, baby blessings, seasonal celebrations, etc. I was finally ordained in 2002 in hopes that I could carry a message of love and respect to the world through ceremony and song. I realized early on that I wasn't cut out to lead a church and that I was much happier serving humanity through a more casual ministry of my own.
In 2005 I was asked to perform my first wedding and since then I've performed over 150 handfastings, weddings and commitment ceremonies. I feel I've found the perfect blend of ceremony, theatre and ministry in my new work and I'm honored and humbled every time a new couple asks me to help them through the process of designing a new ceremony just for them.
My favorite part of my wedding ministry is being able to meet with couples who don't really know exactly what they want, asking my extensive series of questions about their style, their needs and their relationship and helping them design a ceremony that they and their guests LOVE. “It was so...THEM!” is one of my favorite compliments and one I get to hear over and over again (it never loses its thrill for me). It's a true delight for me to be blessed with the opportunity to provide this service to couples in love.
I do not require premarital counseling as I am not licensed as a counselor and do not provide premarital counseling services at this time.
First, let me correct the obvious stereotype. I'm not a humorless, solemn person who feels it's my job to eliminate fun and remind everyone that marriage is a serious business. Marriage is serious, but a wedding is a celebration and I love it when my couples and their guests can have fun on their wedding day. Even my funerals are performed as “celebrations of life”. I'm a happy person and my weddings tend to be that way as well.
The next thing people notice about my weddings is that I don't use a lot of the standard lines you hear in traditional weddings. I've only asked guests to “speak now or forever hold their peace” once in my career and that was because the couple really wanted it included. I've spent a lot of time studying the wording of the traditional wedding ceremony and I find a lot of sexist and outdated terms in many of them. Most modern officiants gave up on using “obey” in the wedding vows and almost no one is pronounced “Man and wife” anymore, but there are still a number of areas where the old language persists; brides are still “given away”, grooms are still told to kiss their brides (as if the brides aren't expected to be kissing back!) and couples become “Mr. and Mrs.” (never “Mrs. and Mr.”) before the ceremony is complete.
I ask my couples about the traditional phrases and help them make decisions based on their desires. Sometimes the tradition is something they like and we keep it, but I'm also happy to rework it to better fit them or to scrap it altogether if it just doesn't work for you.
Also, coming from a very mixed spiritual background, I know and appreciate the difficulty of trying to combine traditions or celebrate in a faith that not all of your guests share. I have worked with Atheist, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, Protestant, Jewish, Wiccan, Quaker, Taoist and New Age brides and grooms to blend, honor and share their faiths with each other and their guests. It isn't always easy, but where there's a will, there is always a way!
My weddings tend to be very personal celebrations so I love to share stories about how the couple met or when they knew they were meant for each other. When the ceremony is over I enjoy all of the comments guests make about feeling they know the newlyweds so much better now than before the wedding.
I currently live in Lansing Michigan, but I love to travel and have celebrated weddings on the shores of Lake Michigan, in downtown Detroit and dozens of places in between. According to the laws of each state, I am able to legally solemnize weddings in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and elsewhere (not Ohio...yet). Some of the venues I've enjoyed working in include The English Inn, Bridge Street Wedding Chapel, Hawk Hollow, Eagle Eye, Chisholm Hills, MSU Alumni Chapel and MSU Horticulture Gardens, Canterbury Village, Waldenwoods, The Turner-Dodge House, Frances Park Rose Gardens, Ever After, Wellers, Grand Ledge Opera House and plenty of backyards, hotels, chapels, parks and gardens as well.
If you're planning a wedding anywhere in Michigan, I'd love to help you out. If you're planning a wedding in one of our surrounding states, I may still be able to help by simply helping you write your dream ceremony even if you aren't interested in having me travel to you.
Absolutely. I love meeting new vendors and helping them to help you have the most amazing wedding experience possible. Photographers and videographers tend to love me because I seek them out and ask what I can do to make your photos and videos wonderful. I been know to carry other vendor's equipment and help with set-up too. After all, I feel that it's better that I do it than your family or your guests!
According to the laws of the State of Michigan, marriage licenses must be applied for and picked up by the Bride and Groom, not the officiant. If you are both Michigan residents you must apply for your license in your county of residence but you can use it to marry anywhere in Michigan. Out of state residents must apply in the county where the ceremony is to be performed. For more information, check with your county clerk's office.
I do, however, provide a keepsake version of a certificate for display purposes. I have several styles and colors to choose from, so I'm certain to have one that will look lovely framed and displayed in your home.
I charge according to the amount of work and time I expect will go into designing, researching, writing, editing, rehearsing and performing your ceremony and my prices are pretty average for this area.
It's true, I'm not the cheapest officiant in Michigan but there's a big difference between “cost” and “value” in everything and wedding officiants are no exception. If your budget is so tight that you feel you must find the officiant that costs the least, I'm probably not the one for you. You might be best served by a courthouse wedding or by a newly ordained officiant looking to train themselves by providing low cost weddings.
However, if you value quality, experience, talent and creativity – my prices are more than fair. If you have any doubts, call me to schedule your FREE wedding design session so we can discuss them. Meeting with me won't cost you anything, so it's a great value!
I work very well with all sorts of couples, but honestly I seem to connect the most with couples who want a somewhat non-traditional ceremony and who consider themselves to be either non-religious or “spiritual but not religious”. I call these couples "spiritually independent" as they tend to reject traditional religious labels.
I also work best with couples who care about the words that make up their ceremonies. If you really want your guests to get emotional and/or laugh out loud during your ceremony, we'll get along very well.
I'm very open to working with couples from all sorts of backgrounds, but I do find that people with strong religious beliefs and those who want to be told “the right way” to perform a wedding don't always feel comfortable with my style. Also, if you're just looking for the fastest, easiest (and cheapest) way to get married so you can get to the really important part of your celebration - the reception - I may not be the right officiant for you.
Regardless, I do organize a network of Michigan wedding officiants and if I'm not the right person for you, I can almost always find someone in my network who is a better match. So even the people who don't want to work with me can benefit from contacting me anyway!
Yes, with joy.
This is an excellent question. First, as I mentioned, my mother is a retired wedding officiant who is willing to cover for me in a pinch. Additionally, I am a member of the American Association of Wedding Officiants (AAWO) and can call on any of the 50-odd fellow officiant members in my region.
I am also the founder of the Michigan Independent Wedding Officiants Network (MIWON) and have 20 fellow officiant members that are happy to back me up if the occasion arises.
Thankfully, I am in excellent health. I have only needed to ask for a replacement officiant once in my entire career and that was to attend the funeral of my Grandfather when he passed away suddenly in 2009. I am a Michigan native and will drive through snow, sleet and floods to reach a wedding (and I have the testimonials to prove it!)
I take my commitment to professionalism very seriously, so I never sell, rent or share information about the couples that contact me unless I am asked, by the couple themselves, to provide them with another officiant. In that case, I will ask for your permission before forwarding your contact information on to the members of the Michigan Independent Wedding Officiants Network (MIWON) and/or the American Association of Wedding Officiants (AAWO) in my region.
This site does not use cookies of any kind. The only information I collect is the information you offer me and I only use it to provide you information about my services, weddings in general and, if (and only if) you request it, information about my fellow officiants. I cannot guarantee that all of my fellow officiants are as committed to your privacy as I am, but I believe that most of them are
Wonderful! Please call me, either at home (517) 316-1379 or on my cell at (734) 255-1009, fill out my contact form or email me so we can schedule your free ceremony design consultation session and begin discussing your needs and ideas for your ceremony. Once I have a better idea of your needs I can suggest one of the packages I currently offer and we can work from there.
Absolutely. I maintain a list of couples who have indicated they are willing to talk to couples considering booking me for their upcoming weddings. I send copies of this list to the couples who contact me. Additionally, you can look at some of the testimonials I've collected - check out the messages in my guestbook – and see my reviews on Wedding Wire!
That's not a problem, I'll be happy to answer your remaining questions. Please call me at home (517) 316-1379 or on my cell (734) 255-1009, email me or complete the form on the contact page so we can schedule your free consultation right away.
I look forward to meeting you soon and helping you design a wedding ceremony that's uniquely and completely you!
Blessings,
Kya Rose
Lansing, MI
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My Couples Say:
"...I still get comments from people today about how great they thought our ceremony was. Thank you very much Sister Kya - you helped create some of the best memories of my life!"
Lisa and Tom Lott -
Married August 18, 2007