I Do: A Guide to Creating Your Own Unique Wedding Ceremony [Paperback]

Sydney Barbara Metrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Planning a wedding can be an emotional and logistical nightmare, especially if you want your ceremony to be as unique as you are. Well, forget about the three-tiered cake, stop obsessing over what Martha would do, and make your special day a walk down the aisle less traveled with I DO, a creative, accessible guide to designing unique marriage ceremonies. Beginning with an explanation of traditional wedding elements-the bridal veil, the exchange of rings, the cake, the vows-author Sydney Barbara Metrick offers inspired wedding alternatives drawn from ancient Greece and Persia, pagan Europe, and Elizabethan England, among other traditions. Planning guides include sample ceremonies and instructions for personalizing them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Not your typical bridal bliss guide, this wedding primer seriously considers the symbolic as well as the practical.”-Booklist"Couples who want to do it themselves will find no end of inspiration here." -Dallas Morning News

About the Author

SYDNEY BARBARA METRICK is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with a Ph.D. in expressive arts therapy. She is the author of I DO and CROSSING THE BRIDGE, and co-author of Art from Ashes. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Celestial Arts; Revised edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587610906
• ISBN-13: 978-1587610905
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,230,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sydney Barbara Metrick is the author of The Art of Ritual : Creating and Performing Ceremonies for Growth and Change (with Renee Beck) and I Do: A Guide to Creating Your Own Unique Wedding Ceremony (both published by Celestial Arts). For more than twenty five years, she has worked with individuals, couples and groups to support or celebrate various 'rites of passage' in the circle of life. Using creative expression, ceremony and strategic planning techniques, Dr. Metrick addresses 'new beginnings' like births, weddings, and house blessings as well as healing, aging and memorials.
Committed to building community through the arts, Dr. Metrick has worked with the Richmond Arts and Culture Commission and Point Richmond Music bringing visual arts projects and performance to children and adults.
Dr. Metrick has a master's degree in transpersonal counseling psychology and a doctorate in expressive therapy. She is also a certified clinical hypnotherapist and a certified professional co-active coach. A long time animal lover, Dr. Metrick is a pet bereavement counselor through the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement.
Originally from Chicago, Dr. Metrick resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and looks forward to an eventual move to Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to creating an original ceremony., July 19, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Emeryville, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Do: A Guide to Creating Your Own Wedding Ceremony (Paperback)

I loved this book. My partner and I come from totally different backgrounds and were not comfortable going with either of our traditions. Metrick helped us draw the best from our histories and blend it with our values and desires for an original ceremony. The book is comprehensive and easy to use, offering lots of great examples. There are wonderful quotes, great humor, practical advice, and answers to many questions.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best resource for wedding ceremonies I've ever had., December 14, 2006

By 

Gina M. Pace "wicce" (Scranton, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Do: A Guide to Creating Your Own Unique Wedding Ceremony (Paperback)

I'm a minister, and I collect books on wedding ceremonies, particularly alternative ones, because I end up helping the bride/groom to plan and organize things. When it comes to the actual ceremony, we sit and write the ceremony together. This book contains everything in ONE work that is necessary to do the job.

Had I bought this early on, I could have saved myself lots of money. It has lovely examples and explains how and why to put each part of the ceremony in, or to skip if you prefer.

Other books are more geared towards the bride only, and focus on all aspects of putting together a wedding. This is the best resource on just the ceremony.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything I wanted and more, June 8, 2006

By 

Rudolfo Cicco (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Do: A Guide to Creating Your Own Unique Wedding Ceremony (Paperback)

This book is comprehensive and easy to use. I had no idea how many options there could be for a ceremony or how to put one together. Metrick, has provided a step by step guide with wonderful examples. I've seen reviews of her work as an officiant on the Knot, and apparently she's draws from many traditions with ease and is great to work with. I loved the excerpts of ceremonies that she includes in the book. What a good way to see possibilities.