5 Favorite Things with Philly Wedding Officiant Colleen McDermott
Marry Me Philadelphia’s Colleen McDermott.
As the owner of Marry Me Philadelphia—a full-service wedding officiant and photography company—Colleen McDermott has performed her fair share of wedding ceremonies here in the city (she has over 350 under her belt!).
She’s traveled near and far to help local couples say “I Do,” and has also hosted plenty of intimate (read: 5 guests or less) affairs on-site at Marry Me Philadelphia’s Northeast Philly location—Colleen tells us they just closed on a new, larger space in the same area and plan to be up and running in their mini chapel by next week. Now they’ll be able to accommodate up to 25 guests for small elopement-style weddings, vow renewals and commitment ceremonies.
We caught up with Colleen to chat about her favorite ceremony reading, what she loves most about getting know her couples and the local venue she can’t get enough of.
Favorite wedding movie This isn’t really a wedding movie exactly (they did get married, though!), but Romeo & Juliet is by far my favorite. For actual weddings movies, 27 Dresses is a good one and so was Made of Honor.
Favorite part of the ceremony I have a few favorite parts: I absolutely love hearing couples share their own vows with each other, and I really enjoy writing a custom love story for couples and sharing it with their guests that day. Also, of course, the pronouncement at the end—I love being able to look the couple in the eye and say, “I now pronounce you …” It’s really special.
Favorite reading or poem to incorporate into a ceremony My personal favorite reading is “Union” by Robert Fulgham. To me, it seems to really depict what marriage is and how there are so many special moments that lead up to the Big Day.
Favorite thing to learn about a couple when you first start working with them It’s definitely fun to learn about how the couples first met. Often times, the stories are very funny and/or serendipitous.
Favorite venue you’ve ever officiated at This is a hard one because our region offers so many unique and beautiful locations. My go-to venue, though, and where I’d love to have my own wedding, would be Tendenza. It’s totally my style and every time I’m there they have it set up so spectacularly; it literally takes my breath away!
To read more 5 Favorite Things with Philly vendors, go here.
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