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Getting to know Kya Rose

Questions frequently asked by Brides, Grooms and their Families.

Photo Credit:
Faerin Cassidy

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!)

I'd been writing various rituals and ceremonies for over 15 years - basic name changing ceremonies, baby blessings, seasonal celebrations, etc. - before I was finally ordained in 2002. 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 200 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 unique ceremony just for them.

I do not require premarital counseling as I am not licensed as a counselor and do not provide premarital counseling services at this time.

Photo Credit:
Tiffany Whitsitt

First, let me address 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. 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 I've spent a lot of time studying the wording of the traditional wedding ceremony and I find a lot of sexist and outdated terms in many of them. Few modern officiants still use "obey" in the wedding vows but I still hear couples pronounced "man and wife", 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 over.

I'll ask you about each of the traditional phrases and encourage you to make decisions based on your feelings. Sometimes the tradition is great, but when it's not I'm happy to rework it to better suit you or scrap it altogether and create something brand new in its place.

Also, coming from an eclectic 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!

Weddings are very personal celebrations so I love to share stories about how the two of you met or when you realized that you were meant for each other. When the ceremony is over, don't be surprised if your guests tell you that they feel they know you better now than they did before the wedding!

Photo Credit:
Faerin Cassidy

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, Pine Knob, Chisholm Hills, MSU Alumni Chapel and MSU Horticulture Gardens, The Kellogg Center, Canterbury Village, Waldenwoods, The Turner-Dodge House, the Bavarian Belle riverboat in Frankenmuth, 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 don't need me to perform it for 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 have been known 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 can provide a keepsake version of a certificate for display purposes if you desire one. I have several styles and I'm certain I have one that will be perfect for your home.

I charge according to the amount of work and time I expect will go into designing, researching, writing, editing, traveling to and from your venue, rehearsing and performing your ceremony. Because every wedding is different, my pricing structure is very flexible. As I explain on my pricing page, my prices are based on 4 factors; date, location, ceremony type and rehearsal plans. A basic ceremony, on a weekday, in Lansing with no rehearsal is $150.00 and my prices go up from there.

I know that I'm not the cheapest officiant in Michigan but there's a big difference between "cost" and "value" in everything wedding related. I do realize that your wedding budget is tight, but if you're looking for the cheapest officiant you can find you might want to look for someone newly ordained online who is just starting to learn the business by providing low cost weddings.

Photo Credit:
Erin L. Thoresen

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.

Ring Bearer
Photo Credit:
Erin L. Thoresen

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,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 if you don't want to work with me you might want to contact me anyway!

Yes, with joy.

This is an excellent question. 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 to fill in if need be.

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 always 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 and leave a message at (517) 927-0752 or text me at (734) 255-1009 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 offer and we can get to work designing your perfect wedding ceremony.

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 - and see my reviews on Wedding Wire!

That's not a problem, I'll be happy to answer your remaining questions. Please leave me a voicemail at (517) 927-0752, text me at (734) 255-1009, or email me 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!

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My Couples Say:

"Kya -

Luke and I wanted to thank you so much for being such an amazing officiant at our wedding. You did a phenomenal job - we had so many compliments on our ceremony. People couldn't stop talking about how great it was!

You went above and beyond to create and pull off the perfect ceremony that was personalized to us as a couple.

We cannot thank you enough for making the most important day of our life such a success. It meant so much to us that you were part of our special day, and that you put so much effort into making us happy.

THANK YOU KYA!!!"

Becky Chipchase-VanAtta and Lucas VanAtta -
Married June 2, 2012
in Elsie

 

My Couples Say:

"Kya,

Now that everything has calmed down from the wedding & honeymoon madness, I just wanted to write u a quick email telling u how amazing of a job you did on our wedding day. You went above & beyond the call of duty & I honestly cannot thank u enough for it. We have received soooo many compliments on the ceremony & I have referred a handful of ppl who were at our wedding to you, so you should be receiving some calls :)

Again thank you SO SO SO much for an absolutely beautiful wedding ceremony, going above and beyond the call of duty, putting up with my crazy family & bridal party, and most of all for coming to the rescue at the last minute as our officiant when our other Officiant backed out on us. You are amazing!!

Wishing you nothing but the best :)
Thanks again!"

Miranda and Joel Stapleton -
Married April 15, 2011
in Southfield

 

My Couples Say:

"Kya Rose was amazing to work with throughout the whole wedding process.

She was more than willing to email back and forth many many times until we felt that our ceremony was perfect. She always emailed back within a day or two, I was never left waiting.

She took full control of the wedding rehearsal, which was a huge stress reliever for myself. She was right on time for the wedding, and the whole ceremony went smoothly.

We had so many people compliment us on the creativity of our ceremony and even more people ask us where we found our officiant. Everyone was so impressed, especially Julian and I.

Thank you Kya Rose for everything!"

Kelly and Julian Quick -
Married August 11, 2012
in Grand Ledge

 

My Couples Say:

( I was asked, at the last minute, to fill in for the officiant that Suzanne and Chris hired for their wedding)

"Although the circumstances were not ideal on our wedding day for our first (and unexpected) meeting, we greatly appreciated your kindness, understanding, and professionalism. You did a fabulous job during our ceremony!

Thank you for helping make our wedding day so wonderful and go as smoothly as possible considering you were a last minute fill-in.

We should have located you first!"

Suzanne and Chris Latkowski -
Married September 19, 2009
in Union Pier

 

My Couples Say:

"Kya,

Thank you so much!!

The ceremony was perfect and was exactly what we wanted. We received many a compliment all night on both you and the ceremony: "non-denominational done right" was perhaps our favorite! Everyone was impressed with how "us" it was after just a few meetings with you :)

Thank you so much again for traveling such a long distance for us; very appreciated!"

Erin and Jim Simon -
Married July 9, 2011
in Shelbyville

 

My Couples Say:

"Kya officiated our wedding and I just can't say enough about how impressed we were with her. She is very pleasant to work with, extremely professional, and will work with you the whole way to make sure your wedding is going to be just how you want it.

We used several of her suggestions in our ceremony, such as the sand ceremony, roses for the mothers, etc., and I still get comments from people today about how great they thought our ceremony was.

Thank you very much Kya - you helped create some of the best memories of my life!"

Lisa and Tom Lott -
Married August 18, 2007
in Lansing

 

My Couples Say:

"Kya, you did such an amazing job yesterday!!!

Thank you so much for all your help through this process. You have been great to work with, and all of your hard work is greatly appreciated!

I can't tell you how happy we are that you were our officiant.

I had guests coming up to me all night long telling me how wonderful the ceremony was, and asking how we ever found you.

THANK YOU!!!"

Michael Bachelder and Jake Darabos -
Married July 11, 2009
in Grand Ledge

 

My Couples Say:

"Kya Rose,

Thank you so much for officiating our ceremony. You were so flexible, easy to talk to and you showed up right on time!

Our wedding day was perfect and you were the perfect choice to present our vows and handle the official details.."

Again, thank you!!!

Paul Banas and Jennifer Sharpe -
Married June 8, 2007
in Mason

 

My Couples Say:

"Corey and I were complimented all night about how beautiful our ceremony was and how unique and personal it was to our family.

I am still receiving compliments, weeks after the ceremony, on how beautiful everything was."

Mollie and Corey Buzinski -
Married June 21, 2008
in Lansing