“How much?”

That is the most common question Rev. Phil hears.

He has a question for you:  What is most important to you on your wedding day?

• The reception? Which part: the food, the drinks, the music?
• The place where the wedding and/or the reception will be?
• The dress?
• The photos and video?
• The flowers?
• The invitations?
• The ceremony?

Here is how you can tell — what are you willing to spend the most money on, to make the biggest investment in? An investment is something you hope to get more back than you put in.

Rev. Phil believes that the wedding ceremony is the most important part of your wedding day. If that is true for you, too, then it is worth investing in your ceremony, investing in Rev. Phil.

Please note the return on investment that this couple got from Rev. Phil

Here is the answer to answer your question, “how much?”

 Platinum Ceremony — $750 to $850

It is by far the most popular choice. Why spend so much on a great reception but precede it with a ho-hum, same-as-everybody-else’s ceremony? 

Three things that make a platinum ceremony so special:

• Rev. Phil tells your love story at your wedding — so it’s personalized, romantic and fun! Weddings should be fun, not boring. View videos of Rev. Phil sharing couples’ love stories!
• You get a complete script ten days before your ceremony — so you know it is just the way you want it to be. It allows the person responsible for the music to know exactly when to play.
• Rev. Phil will spend more time with you — 3 hour planning meeting, e-mails and phone calls to get your script to be just right, lead a one hour rehearsal — than any other officiant in Chicagoland. Isn’t that what you want — someone who will take the time to get to know you, to invest in you, to guide you through the whole process?

 Gold Ceremony — $425 to $500

Typically, there are 10-75 guests — so they already know your story. Although you do not meet Rev. Phil until the day of your wedding — no planning meeting, no rehearsal — you still get to customize your ceremony in several important ways. You get to choose vows and readings, have Rev. Phil tell your guests what you two love about each other and have the option of me ask the audience for their blessing, etc. He will guide you through all of this.

You will get a complete script ten days before your ceremony with everything that will happen during your ceremony. It will even include the line-by-line processional order so you can do your own rehearsal, if you feel it necessary.

Because it takes less of  Rev. Phil’s time, it costs less than the platinum ceremony.

 Silver Ceremony —$325 to $400

Typically, there are fewer than 10 guests, if any — a very intimate affair. (Legally, you do not need any witnesses — just a bride, a groom and Rev. Phil.)

You do not get to customize your ceremony or get a script. However, you still get Rev. Phil’s passion, education (a Master of Divinity degree) and 20 years of experience at the location of your choosing.

Did you know you can do a wedding like this at Millennium Park, Navy Pier, a park, a forest preserve or any other public space for free! It is no different than a few friends gathering at a park to play a game. While you will not have exclusive use of the space, people are always respectful when they notice it’s a wedding. (If you want to have chairs, electricity for music, food or drink, then you need a permit.)

How to Lock Your Wedding into Rev. Phil’s Calendar

It takes two things to lock your wedding into Rev. Phil’s calendar:

• Sign an agreement
• Make a payment

The next step for a platinum ceremony is for the bride, the groom and Rev. Phil to get together for a 3 hour planning meeting, typically at Panera Bread. Rev. Phil is available on evenings and weekends. At the meeting, he gets to know you two, you get to know him, he will plan out your ceremony in great detail, he will hear your story and then you will get to hear him share the first draft of your story!

At the end of the meeting, you can lock your wedding into his calendar by signing an agreement and making an initial investment. (Rev. Phil does not charge a meeting fee. If you do not book him, you pay nothing.) All he asks is that he has a clear shot at being your officiant — that if the meeting goes well, you would sign the agreement and make a payment at the end of the meeting. 99% of couples who meet with Rev. Phil have him officiate at their wedding.

The next step for a gold or silver ceremony is for Rev. Phil to e-mail you an agreement. Once you tell him that you have put the signed agreement (it only takes one signature) and the payment in the mail, he will lock your wedding into his calendar at that moment. He will not wait for the mail to arrive. Rev. Phil does everything on a first come, first served basis. It is the fairest way that he has come up with.