Rev. Robert and Diane Figley Ministries

Principles
and Guidelines


All Faiths Church
Wedding Ministries
Principles and Guidelines

Rev. Robert W. Figley Wedding Ministries is the outreach of
All Faiths Church of the Pacific Northwest based in Vancouver, Washington. We are wedding professionals who anticipate being referred to couples who are seeking a wedding ceremony celebrant. As professionals, we agree that we will always act in accordance with the following Principles and Guidelines when dealing with a couple referred to us.

God’s Love, First and Always.

In all of our dealings with the couple to be married, we will be concentrating on God’s Love. It is God’s Love that not only guides us in regards to our business, but it is what guides us our everyday lives as well.

We will marry anyone who asks us to marry them and has a valid license from the state where the ceremony is to occur.  There will be no barriers to any religion, any belief on their part, any second guessing or judging by us of their worthiness or fitness for marriage (How could we know what is God’s plan?), any kind of person, and divorced or not ... provided, however, that the couple is seeking a spiritual element to their wedding ceremony.  We may or may not marry them, at our discretion, if they are seeking only a civil or non-spiritual ceremony

At the same time, we will strive to never condemn anyone for any beliefs or practices (e.g., living together), we will not require them to believe what we believe, and we will not tell them what they must do or not do in the future.  However, we shall feel free to share our visions of life and God, as we would ask them theirs.

While we do not require instructions or tests, there may be times that we will recommend them as a useful tool in reducing stress or helping the couple in their relationship with each other. But our relationship with the couple will be in no way affected if they should choose not to participate in them. If the couple should request them, or any other form of pre-marital counseling, we may provide them ourselves or suggest another place to obtain them.

No Pressure, But Support.

The couple can, if they choose to and time allows, meet with us free of charge for an approximate 1-hour visit where we can answer any of your questions and tell you about ourselves. We will not require you to make a decision then and there. Rather, we will hold you wedding date for seven calendar days to allow the couple time to decide.

We feel that the selection of a wedding Officiant is one of the most important that the couple make while planning their wedding ceremony. However, we also understand that there are MANY important decisions that the wedding couple is making during this time. (Many of them NOT related to the planning of there ceremony.) For that reason, we will not pressure any couple into make a decision that may be against their beliefs or ideals.

We will be encouraging and uplifting at all times. We will offer ideals and suggestions. We will encourage every couple to follow their own vision of what their ideal wedding ceremony should be, and assist them in making that ideal a reality.

When planning your ceremony, we will be open to the individual needs and spiritual beliefs of everyone involved. It is our intention to honor each and everyone’s own private spiritual beliefs and practices.

Children, Animal and Photographer Friendly.

We will support and encourage our couples that wish to involve children in their wedding ceremonies, be they their own, or the children of a friend or relative. We understand however, and hope that everyone involved understands, that children sometimes do not comprehend all the emotions that adults can go through during a wedding or other type of ceremony, and therefore at times find it difficult to “behave” in a way that adults would like.  If this should happen, we will do whatever is necessary to comfort or reassure the child involved, knowing that such can only help the child understand better, and in no way can detract from the service being performed.

We will also support and encourage couples that wish to involve their beloved pets in their ceremonies, be they dogs or cats, horses or pigs, birds or fish, reptiles or any other of God’s creatures. We will remind the couple that any animal can become excited of distracted by groups of unfamiliar people and may react in an unpredictable way. However, we will always focus on the fact that, regardless of any outside interruption, the end result of the ceremony will always be the same.

We are, and always will be, photographer friendly. While we would sometimes like to believe that the most important expense that the couple will have is for their wedding Officiant, the fact is that is in their wedding pictures that most couples will need to invest, because it will be the pictures that the couple will have in the future to remind them of their special day. We will put no restrictions on photographers regarding the use of flash, and will at all times be aware of the importance of capturing certain moments of the ceremony in pictures. (i.e., rings placed on fingers, Unity Candles being lit, etc.) Our only request to photographers in general would be that they try not to block the view of others and be courteous to other people wishing to take pictures themselves.

Rehearsals are Important.

We will not charge extra for rehearsals. We feel that the rehearsal is an important part of the wedding ceremony and we will always treat it as such. However, because of time limitations, rehearsals are scheduled on a first come, first served basis. We will do everything in our power to accommodate each and every couple, and may at times suggest alternate times or days for rehearsals.

We also feel that rehearsals should be enjoyable events that should be relaxing as well as informative for everyone involved. We will always be open to the ideas and suggestions of others during the rehearsal, remembering, however, that the most important ideas and visions should be from the couple for which the ceremony is for.

Thank you very much for considering “Weddings and More!” to be your wedding Officiates. We know your time is valuable and we appreciate your interest. If there are any questions you may have, please feel free to call or e-mail us at any time.