Marriage is a living promise…
- To reach for your potential as a loving being and…
- To support your partner in his/her/their own reaching
We believe that…
- Love is more than a feeling. It’s a decision.
- A wedding is not an end in itself. It is a portal to marriage.
- Marriage is important. Every marriage should thrive.
- Family is important. Kids need their parents to be a strong team.
- Community is important. Friends and family help marriages thrive.
- Productive communication is essential for strong relationships.
- Marriage relationships are strongest when they are equalitarian.
- Learning is good.
- Beliefs should be informed by both heart and head.
- Every person has inherent worth and dignity.
Say yes
This is me, Vicky Jones. I am an escort officiant. My job is to guide couples on their journey from wedding to marriage.
Counseling credentials
I am a certified as a facilitator of PREPARE-ENRICH. I have benefitted from education by the Smart Marriage Institute, PREP, and the RELATE Institute. I have counseled dozens of couples.
I read a lot of books. I listen to a lot of couples. I grow every day. I am a work in progress, just like the couples I work with.
Officiant credentials
In Wisconsin, I am legally qualified to officiate weddings as authorized by my Unitarian Universalist congregation at First Unitarian Society in Madison. I have legally officiated out-of-state weddings from New York to Hawaii. I have married dozens of couples.
Why I do this
Communication has always been my first love. How do we connect with each other? How do we fail to connect, even when we’re trying really really hard? In school, I studied literature, education, psychology, philosophy.
The decision to marry is a high act of optimism in a world that really needs optimism. It is a leap of faith into the unknown tomorrow. I do this work in service of optimism.
I consider my work to be ‘ministry’ in its truest sense, meaning ‘to serve.’ I am not ordained, but, rather, am a lay minister authorized by First Unitarian Society to serve as a celebrant for rites of passage ceremonies such as weddings, memorials, and child dedications. (Read more about ordination and religious requirements for officiants here.)
I do not have a religious agenda. I have a values agenda. 