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Couple offers weddings outside of religious sites : Local Business News : Redding Record Searchlight
http://www.redding.com/news/2008/jun/30 ... ous-sites/
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Couple offers weddings outside of religious sites
By David Benda (Contact)
Monday, June 30, 2008
Bill Shockley operates Weddings Out of the Ordinary with his wife, Elisabeth Steadman. Shockley recently did a wedding at the Sundial Bridge in Redding.
Photo by Nathan Morgan / Record Searchlight
Bill Shockley operates Weddings Out of the Ordinary with his wife, Elisabeth Steadman. Shockley recently did a wedding at the Sundial Bridge in Redding.
Bottom line
• What: Weddings Out of the Ordinary.
• Where: Bella Vista.
• Owners: Elisabeth Steadman and Bill Shockley.
• Phone: 472-1617.
• Web site:
http://www.out-of-the-ordinary.org.
They officiated their first wedding at Burning Man - the art and self-expression extravaganza that each year draws thousands to the Nevada desert.
Touched by the lives of the couples they wed, Elisabeth Steadman and Bill Shockley came back to the north state and started Weddings Out of the Ordinary.
The married couple have been performing nonreligious weddings since 2000. Weddings Out of the Ordinary also offers vow renewals, baby-welcoming ceremonies and hand-fasting ceremonies, typically a Pagan wedding ritual.
Given the fact the business is based in the predominately conservative north state, Steadman and Shockley know they're going after a niche market.
"We have been asked by people to meet them, and when we get there, they're surprised we don't do religious ceremonies," said Shockley, an ordained clergy member in the Church of Spiritual Humanism. "There are plenty of people in Shasta County that offer that (religious ceremonies)."
With the state Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriages - the first such unions were performed across California on June 17 - Shockley and Steadman have started offering their services to same-sex couples.
"It's an historic decision; we wanted to support the gay people in the community," said Steadman, an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church and an ordained clergy member in the Church of Spiritual Humanism.
Steadman, 48, added that everybody deserves a special and intimate place to share with their friends and family.
"There aren't too many places to go besides the courthouse," Steadman said.
Weddings Out of the Ordinary has yet to perform a same-sex wedding.
Steadman and Shockley charge $200 for a standard ceremony, which includes a consultation with them. A civil ceremony costs $100.
Standard ceremonies can be performed at a specific location or Steadman and Shockley's home east of Redding near Highway 299. Site rental rates start at $250 for a party up to 30.
With the help of its Web site, Weddings Out of the Ordinary has done ceremonies across the West.
Maybe one of the more unique and beautiful weddings happened in Truckee in January 2006, Shockley, 58, recalled.
They hiked to the wedding site in snowshoes in near blizzard conditions. Almost on cue, the snow stopped falling when they arrived at the spot.
"There were two enormous pine trees coming out of the snow. It was just perfect," Shockley said.
Both Steadman and Shockley came to the north state from Southern California. Steadman retired from a career as a marketing executive. Shockley wrote short stories for science fiction and Western-themed publications. They met on Match.com.
"He e-mailed me, and we just corresponded for a while before our first date," Steadman said.
They started dating in 1998 and were married in 2006.
Reporter David Benda can be reached at 225-8219 or at
[email protected].
[Captured: 30 June 2008 21:53:53]
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