CITYWATCH
Minister's Only Calling Is For Better Or For Worse
By Jon Anderson
Tribune staff reporter
January 20, 2004
"Yes, I've done weddings beside Buckingham Fountain," said Rev. Daniel
Harris of Elmhurst, a "wedding officiant" who presides at about 200
weddings a year. His advice: Stay on the south or north sides of the spray
because the wind usually blows from the east or west.
If you're getting married at the United Center during a sporting event, be
prepared for a downer, Harris said.
He did one ceremony, in a skybox, for a couple from Michigan, come to cheer on
the Red Wings. The Black Hawks won by three goals.
And, if you want the water's edge at Illinois Beach State Park near Zion, be
prepared for fog.
"It rolled in during the service, quite mysterious and beautiful,"
Harris reported, making photography a bit difficult. "Then, during the
reception, the sun came through again, magical."
At traditional nuptials, inside a church, synagogue or other religious edifice,
fog is seldom a factor.
But for Harris, everything from the weather to the setting off of public
displays of fireworks can be worked into the wedding planning.
An ordained Baptist minister, Harris has married couples in hotels and
restaurants, on golf courses and more than a few boats.
"I did a ceremony on a charter boat in Burnham Harbor," Harris was
saying Sunday, as he worked his table at the Bridal Expo/The Wedding & Home
Show at the Chicago Marriott Schaumburg hotel in Schaumburg. "The ceremony
started at 9 p.m. We timed it to finish just as the explosions [fireworks]
started."
Part of a new breed--wedding officiants--Harris, 52, is a minister who does only
weddings.
He doesn't do sermons or baptisms or funerals. He doesn't oversee bingo. Or
monitor dances. Or raise funds for a new organ.
"What I try to do," Harris explained, as a line of some 500
brides-to-be, along with moms and intendeds, snaked by his display, "is to
make each wedding unique and personal, focusing on the couple's history and
highlights of their romance."
For Harris, marriage is a full-time job, a calling that includes a Web site (www.chicagomarriage.com)
and marketing. His fees range from $250 to $500, depending on the length of the
ceremony and preparations required.
"Do you have a wedding officiant?" he asked Megan Mennellar, 24, of
Hoffman Estates, as she paged through a photo album of magic moments.
"I've got the guy--nothing else," she replied, taking his card.
These are increasingly good times for those involved in the wedding industry in
the Chicago area, a conglomerate of caterers, formal-wear renters, limousine
owners, florists, photographers, chocolate-makers, disc jockeys and bridal-gown
manufacturers. This year, they expect to gross about $500 million.
The upcoming decade should be even better.
"We're looking toward the biggest increase in 30 years," reported the
day's organizer, Bill Brennan, president of two bridal show companies that this
year will mount 27 events in the Chicago area. "It'll be golden, from 2005
to 2011," he said. "The children of Baby Boomers are getting
married."
That's good news for Harris. Of the 55 vendors at Sunday's show, all signing up
clients, he was the only minister.
Harris can't prove he is the Chicago-area's busiest wedding officiant but, given
the number of popular times, "I'm sure I'm near the top," he said.
"Yes, it would be great if people started getting married on Thursday
mornings," he added.
But he does have limits.
He won't do same-sex marriages. Or arranged marriages, where consent is not
freely given. Nor will he participate in any ceremony not involving a man and a
woman, such as the marriage of pets.
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