• What Is Journeys of the Heart?

• What distinguishes Journeys of the Heart from online ordinations

• I want Journeys of the Heart to perform a ceremony for me. What happens next?

• How are you legally allowed to perform wedding ceremonies?

• What qualifications do your officiants have?

• What happens if my officiant cannot perform my ceremony due to an emergency?

• Where do you perform ceremonies?

• Do you have a location where we can get married?

• What happens to the money given to Journeys of the Heart?

• We don't belong to a church but want to get married in one. What do you suggest?

• What is the process for getting a marriage license?

What Is Journeys of the Heart?

Journeys of the Heart is a non-denominational ceremonial ministry that was founded by Marguerite Sexton and has been legally incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since the year 1996. Journeys of the Heart performs weddings and commitment ceremonies, baby blessings, funerals, house blessings, and any other ceremonies to mark life events. As stated in the mission, Journeys of the Heart is dedicated to the advancement of Universal Love. It was founded to provide meaningful ceremonies to people, who, for whatever reason, cannot or choose not to receive these rituals in a traditional church. No matter what your beliefs or your faith background, sexual orientation, ethnicity or national origin, Journeys of the Heart welcomes you. Back to Top

I want Journeys of the Heart to perform a ceremony for me. What happens next?

Contact our Administrator, Diane Smith-Hoban, whom you can by telephone at 877-WE-MARRY or via email at journeys@journeysoftheheart.org. She will gather information about you and the type of ceremony that you want, and she can answer any questions that you have about our services. If you like, she can ask one of our officiants to set up a consultation with you. The officiant will then meet with you to talk in depth about your ceremony. Besides planning your ceremony with you, he or she will handle everything needed to enable Journeys of the Heart to perform your ceremony. Back to Top

How are you legally allowed to perform wedding ceremonies?

Journeys of the Heart is legally recognized as a religious organization. It holds the same legal status as any traditional church or religion. The difference is that we are non-denominational so that we can meet the needs of all people who come to us seeking meaningful ceremonies, regardless of creed. Back to Top

What qualifications do your officiants have?

To become certified and commissioned by Journeys of the Heart, our officiants have undergone a thorough training and internship program through Journeys of the Heart. Our officiants come from diverse spiritual backgrounds, several have been ordained by other churches, and all of them can create ceremonies for a wide range of faiths. Back to Top

What happens if my officiant cannot perform my ceremony due to an emergency? Once we have agreed to perform your ceremony, we consider this a very sacred pact. You can rest assured that with more than ten ministers, even in the event of an emergency, Journeys of the Heart will be able to find someone to perform your ceremony. In fact, in their emergency situations, other ministers sometimes rely on us. We will do everything in our power to be there for your ceremony. As you can see in the picture on the right that was featured in the Bucks County Herald, our Irene Fulton presided over a wedding during the flood of the summer of '04. Back to Top

Where do you perform ceremonies?

Journeys of the Heart has officiants in the Philadelphia metropolitan region, as well as the Lehigh Valley, Lancaster and Berks Counties. We can perform weddings in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and the New York metropolitan area. We can officate weddings wherever you are getting married, including churches, reception halls, outdoors, or even at your home. Back to Top

Do you have a location where we can get married?

If you are having an intimate wedding for less than 20 people, we have
several facility options in and around Philadelphia. There would be a nominal rental fee of $50 for use of a small ceremony space.

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What happens to the money given to Journeys of the Heart?

Some of the money goes to the officiant, some goes toward Journeys of the Heart's operating expenses, and since Journeys of the Heart is a tithing organization, a percentage of all fees we receive are given to benefit charities, individuals and organizations in need of financial support. We give money to Children International, Helping Hand Foundation, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Mercy Corps and Project Rainbow, to name a few. Back to Top

We don't belong to a church but want to get married in one. What do you suggest?

Most traditional churches only rent their churches to members. However, Quaker Friends and Unitarian are both willing to rent their churches.

For a listing of Quaker churches: http://www.quakerfinder.org/

For a listing of Unitarian churches: http://www.uua.org/CONG/index.php

Another possible option is the Wayside Chapel 1151 Horsham Road in Ambler PA. Their phone number is 215-542-9132.

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What is the process for getting a marriage license?

The rules for getting a marriage license depend upon the state you will be married in. Here is a website that provides information for all states of the U.S., and also provides a list of the county offices where you can go to apply for your license: http://www.usmarriagelaws.com/

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