How we work together.

A date is held when the deposit is received. Not when it is discussed, not when a form is sent, and not when a date is pencilled in an email. Until the deposit arrives the date stays open to anyone else who asks for it.

The deposit is 30% of the price and it is non refundable. The reason is simple. The moment we take your booking the date comes off the calendar and we turn down every other couple who asks for it. That cannot be recovered later.

The balance is due 30 days before the wedding. If a booking is made inside 30 days, the full amount is due at booking.

Tell us as soon as you know. What happens depends on how close we are to the date.

• More than 90 days before. The deposit is kept. Nothing further is owed and anything already paid beyond the deposit is refunded.
• Between 90 and 30 days. The deposit is kept and half of the remaining balance is due, because the work of writing your ceremony has already begun.
• Inside 30 days. The full amount is due. By that point the date cannot realistically be filled and your ceremony is largely written.

If the wedding is called off for a reason nobody could plan for, talk to us. We would rather find something fair than hold a line.

One date change is accommodated at no extra cost where the new date is open on our calendar, and everything you have paid moves with you. If the new date is already booked we will say so straight away and refund everything except the deposit. Further changes are treated as a new booking.

You can move between our offerings up to six weeks before the wedding. Move up and you pay the difference. Move down and the difference is refunded, less any work already delivered, such as sessions already held. Every price includes everything listed for it. There are no hourly charges and no fees added afterward.

The Get Your Ship Together workbook and book are yours to keep and to write in. The curriculum itself is licensed material belonging to its creator, and it is not to be copied, reproduced, recorded or taught to others without their permission. If someone you know wants to work through it, send them to us or to the creator and we will point them the right way.

It has not happened, and it is very unlikely to. Illness and family emergencies are still real, so here is the answer in writing.

If Matt cannot be there, he arranges a qualified replacement officiant at no extra cost to you, briefs them fully, and hands over the ceremony he has written so your words are still your words. If you would rather not go ahead with a substitute, we refund everything you have paid, including the deposit.

Travel is included for ceremonies within 40 miles of downtown San Diego. Beyond that a flat travel fee applies, based on distance and on whether the date requires an overnight stay. The fee is quoted and agreed in writing before booking, and is never added afterward. Destination weddings are quoted separately and include travel and accommodation at cost.

Obtaining the marriage license and bringing it to the ceremony is your responsibility. We cannot legally perform the ceremony without it in hand on the day. We complete our portion, sign it, and file it with the county within the time the state requires.

Rehearsal attendance is included with the Signature Ceremony and the Marriage Experience. It can be added to any other package as Rehearsal Direction. Rehearsals run for one hour and are scheduled by agreement, usually the day before.

We ask permission before using any photograph from your wedding, every time, and we accept a no without asking again. Permission can be withdrawn later. Write to hello@lovemarriageco.com and the image comes off the site and our social accounts.

We will arrive at least 45 minutes before the ceremony, dress appropriately for your wedding, learn your story, write the ceremony, send you the draft before anyone hears it, make the changes you ask for, run the ceremony as agreed, and complete the license.

You will give us honest answers, return the draft with your notes in reasonable time, obtain and bring the license, tell us the correct time and place, let us know about anything sensitive we should avoid saying in front of your family, and pay the balance when it is due.