We were lucky to catch up with Rev. Tade Credgeur recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rev. Tade, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard
When couples decide to get married, they find themselves limited between a traditional, religious wedding or a scripted City Hall ceremony. This is especially challenging for couple’s who are spiritual, but not religious; couple’s who from two different backgrounds; religious lgbtq2+., or simply couples who want a personalized ceremony with creative and contemporary vibes. There are thousands of wedding Officiants in my area, but the majority of them have been ordained under a religion which is not inclusive of non-binary people and same sex couples. I am not only a woman, in a typically male dominated industry, but I am also open to marrying all people from every background and orientation.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m what you might call an ‘unwedding’ wedding Officiant. As a feminist, I strip out the dark, misogynistic aspects of the ritual and focus on themes of connection and partnership. As a bubbly person, I elevate the ceremony from a solemn, often boring scripted performance, and use my voice to bring a poetic and often unpredictable essence to the moment. Having travelled, worked and studied around the world, I not only bring a wealth of cultural understanding to the diverse community I serve, but I also apply the best aspects from what I’ve learned. For instance, Western weddings are very static with a focus on only the couple, as if watching a show. Indian weddings are quite dynamic and recognize the importance of the families joining together. I like to draw the guests in and acknowledge their role in being a part of the celebration, as they are a big part of the couple’s lives.
Have you ever had to pivot?
In April of 2020, gatherings were terminated and City Hall Wedding Chambers closed down. Like the rest of the world, I assumed weddings weren’t essential and I prepared for a quiet year. Boy was I wrong! As one of the few people willing to stand outside and help couples elope, Many couple’s, who would otherwise go to City Hall, started calling. There are many reasons that couples needed to simply have their marriage licences solmenized. If they were immigrating to another country, adopting a baby, applying for mortgages, needing to be on their spouses health benefits, etc, they just needed the legal parts of their union recognized, and fast! Some people who never dreamed of having a wedding for fear of being the center of attention, or resistance to the costs involved, all saw that period of time as a wonderful opportuntiy to just tie the know and a valid excuse to not invite anyone. At first, I didn’t expect to enjoy these small elopements because I liked getting to know my couples over time and preparing their customized ceremonies. However, these new influx of clients have been absolutely delightful. I’ve married people from all walks of life and have learned so many stories about their relationships.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
The one major turing point in my career was in 2014. World Pride was coming to my city and I wanted to be able to perform weddings for free for couples coming from all around the world and many countries where their relationship wasn’t recognized by their governments. As a lone person, the calendar for Pride events would make planning this challenging. However, the city decided they were going to have a mass wedding celebration, and they were more than happy to bring me on board. I was one of 10 Officiants many other religions who performed the mass ceremony for 115 couples that summer, which put us in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest wedding ceremony in North America.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sheisthemarryinglady.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themarryinglady/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567360816767
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadecredgeur/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarryinglady-weddings
Image Credits
Sarah Monika Photography
Olive Photography
Liat Photography
Scarlet O’Neil Photography
Whim and Willow Photography
Liza Litvinovich