Atlanta wedding officiant and Interfaith minister Rev. Ryan NeuCollins provides affordable, customized weddings for all faiths, ethnicities, and sexualities in Atlanta and throughout NW Georgia. Couples who identify as “spiritual but not religious”, mixed-faith, mixed-race, and LGBTQ are welcome.

Each couple is provided with a wide range of options to express their unique beliefs and spirituality. These options extend from the very beginning of the ceremony to its end. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, I’ll research and find it for you. Couples are limited only by their imagination and their preferences!

The state of Georgia recommends six hours of premarital counseling, and as an experienced Atlanta wedding minister, so do I. If you decide to pursue this, I offer counseling on weekend mornings at my home.

My style of ministerial counseling incorporates the work of Gary Chapman, Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, the Prepare and Enrich System, and other methods I’ve found useful through the years.  These systems emphasize communication and conflict resolution skills, but include much more.

The Prepare and Enrich system, which forms the bulk of my ministerial counseling, is rooted in the Systems Theory and the Couple and Family Strengths Model. It is prevention-oriented and based on over 500,000 couples from various ethnicities, family backgrounds, and religious/non-religious orientations. It profiles each person’s personality, as well as the couple’s relationship dynamics in multiple categories.

By the end of our premarital counseling sessions, partners will understand how to relate to each other on a more mature and rational level. They will also have practiced a proven model for resolving conflict that will enhance their marital satisfaction and success. (And this is important since 40-50% of marriages fail, and for those who have step-children, that figure skyrockets up to 75%.)

How much does it cost? The Prepare and Enrich test costs $35, and couples pay for it online. My own three sessions with you cost $115 per session, and each session lasts for approximately two hours.

WEDDING VENUES

If you are still in search of a wedding venue, there are many distinctive options, including Lanier Islands, The Swan House, the Callanwolde Art Institute mansion, and The Peachtree Club, but there are also many affordable options.

For instance, some couples have rented private rooms in restaurants or country clubs; some have rented bars; some have held ceremonies in their parents’ homes or backyards, and others have held them in national park shelters (typically between $50 – $200). It’s even possible to find beautiful homes on Airbnb if your guest list is small.

Herecomestheguide.com lists venues throughout Georgia at different price ranges and is a useful resource for couples who are still undecided.

Additionally, consider holding your wedding on Friday or Sunday instead of on Saturday, in a small town versus a large city, in the morning (for an affordable brunch offering), and in a space that allows you to provide your own wine and beer. Although many ministers may be hesitant to step outside worship venues, most non-ordained wedding officiants in Atlanta make their bread and butter through these types of ceremonies!

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
—Rumi

“Love is a longing to include someone as a part of yourself. It is a possibility to become more than what you are, by inclusion.“

-Sadhguru