A bit about the Wedding Guy...
Cory grew up in East Peoria and eventually earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religious studies at Bradley University, then his master’s degree in secondary education at the University of Phoenix. He has worked as a substitute teacher and teaching aide in central Illinois and North Carolina for 5+ years and received his teaching certification and for secondary high school social studies in 2023. He is now working as a Special Education Teacher at Pekin Community High School. Cory has years of public speaking experience from giving talks and engaging in discussions and debates on radio shows and podcasts (here in the states and in the UK) about topics pertaining to science, religious studies, and philosophy. He is also a published writer and was the co-producer, co-writer, and co-host of the podcast, Hinge.
How It All Began...
Initially, Cory became a wedding officiant because a friend of his needed someone to officiate their upcoming wedding. However, he soon realized how rewarding and fun the experience was and continued to do it on a semi-regular basis. Moreover, it became clear to him that many engaged couples were in dire need of a wedding officiant who was both easy to work with and fully capable of tailoring the wedding ceremony to their liking/needs.
It is the belief of the Wedding Guy that wedding ceremonies should be about and for the people getting married. Their story, the love they feel for each other and their reasons for wanting to spend the rest of their lives together. The ceremonies that we do, therefore, tend to focus on these themes in particular.
How It Works...
The process of building/writing your wedding ceremony is itself very simple and straightforward and requires very little of the groom and bride-to-be (unless you want to be more involved!). Cory will first interview the two of you together and then separately and use what he learns from those interviews to build and write your own customized, wedding ceremony. Beyond that, however, it’s entirely up to you. Sometimes, for example, we’re given particular quotes or passages that the couple wants in the ceremony. Other times they leave it up to us completely. It’s your wedding, after all, so you choose what and how you want it to go!