Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Gasaway.
Greg, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in west Texas and have lived in Texas essentially all my life. And I knew from a young age that I really enjoyed working with and helping people. Prior to coming to work for Sensational Ceremonies, I was a Youth Pastor for 10 years and a Senior Pastor for 4 years in west Texas and the panhandle of Texas. I thought that I would be in ministry all my life, but my path took a detour away from ministry and out of Texas for a few years. When I moved back to Texas, I began working in higher education doing recruiting and admissions, but I still felt a void in my heart not being able to work and serve people like I had when I was on staff at a church. In 2014, I found out that Sensational Ceremonies was putting a team in the DFW area, and they were looking for someone like me, a former minister who still wanted to serve and work with people. I applied, interviewed and started doing weddings. Now 11 years later, I’m still working in higher education, and recruiting and doing admissions for a wonderful university. I’ve also had the opportunity to not just perform weddings but move into the role of team leader for our DFW team. It has truly been a blessing for me to have this opportunity to be a part of Sensational Ceremonies. And I think back over 11 years, and well over 300 weddings, and know that I’m very blessed because of the company I work for, the couples I’ve gotten to work with and marry, and the venue owners, wedding planners and vendors I have built relationships with. For me personally, it is truly special.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being part of essentially a startup had its challenges. While Sensational Ceremonies as a company was not new(we were well established in Florida), it took a little time to get our name and brand out into the DFW area. There were some officiant teams/companies that had been around here for a while, so the first year there weren’t many weddings. But our DFW did bridal shows, were a part of venue open houses, spent time visiting venues to introduce ourselves to the owners and begin building relationships. Slowly but surely the weddings started to come our way. Things were going swimmingly for about 5 years then COVID happened. That set back the wedding industry, but by that point I had built relationships with several wedding planners. We worked and found creative ways to keep performing weddings, even if it was on a smaller scale(Bride/Groom, parents, photographer). People still wanted to get married, so we did elopement packages that included a public ceremony at a date TBD. I must have done half a dozen elopements in the spring then turned around and did the public ceremonies six to nine months later. While COVID provided challenges, it was amazing to watch the planners I was blessed to work with get creative. It gave me the change to serve and work with some amazing couples at an uncertain time for everyone.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Sensational Ceremonies?
As a company, Sensational Ceremonies has been around for about 17 years. It was founded with the idea having real pastors and ministers work with couples, many of whom are looking outside the walls of a church to have their ceremony and being able to serve them at this most joyous time in their lives. We have 15 teams in various parts of the country, including three here in Texas. I’m very proud to have spent the last 11 years as a wedding officiant here on the Dallas/Fort Worth team. We have a great team and are currently in the process of expanding and growing the DFW team.
The obvious answer for what we do is we are the people who stand up and marry a couple. But that’s just the end product. Once a couple contacts Sensational Ceremonies and secures their wedding date on our calendar, we begin working with them to help customize a ceremony that is a reflection of their relationship. We provide every couple with our wedding words planning kit document that gives them ideas and a starting point to make their ceremony just as unique and special as they are. We take the time to talk them through the process of planning and putting the ceremony together, making sure it has a nice natural flow, and then standing there and smiling as you have the opportunity to deliver the perfect ceremony for the couple standing in front of you. And it’s a good feeling to hear a bride and groom, or family and friends, say to you how wonderful the ceremony was or how beautiful it was, and how great of a job you did. That feeling of knowing you did good, and a couple and a family is happy is part of the reason you can’t wait for the next one.
But our services don’t just stop and start on a couple’s wedding day. We believe in spending time when given the chance by a couple prior to the ceremony to sit down and visit with them so we don’t feel like strangers once the ceremony day arrives. And after the ceremony, I make it a point to do my best in sending a note to them every year on their anniversary to let them know I am praying for them and so excited for them as they are celebrating their love on this special day. And I encourage my team to do the same.
Another thing I take great pride that we do at Sensational Ceremonies, is not just being there on someone’s wedding day, performing the ceremony, signing a marriage license and posing for a picture, but to actually say to a couple “if you ever need me for something or if you find yourself in a crisis situation and you don’t have someone to call, please call me. I’ll be there for you.” I remember when I interviewed with the company owner, Glynn Ferguson, and him telling me the opportunities he had to minister and serve his couples long after the wedding day. And this was something as a pastor that I was truly on board with, and a company I wanted to be a part of. It has given me to chance to minister and be there for my couples. And I have had couples, and even a venue owner, who have reached out asking me to pray from them or to be there in their time of loss or crisis. And for me, that is what Sensational Ceremonies really is all about, being there for a couple “for better or worse, till death do us part”.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
One book that has helped, especially as I get to visit and counsel couples prior to the ceremony is Dr. Gary Chapman’s “The Five Languages of Love.” I had heard of it and knew the concept and the love languages written about prior to me coming on board with Sensational Ceremonies. Going back and actually reading through the book and taking those lessons and concepts to heart really impacted how I counseled couples. I also saw my relationship with family and friends through a different lens as well because it made me think how I can better love on them if I know what their love language is. I encourage couples I marry, whether they are going through premarital counseling or not, to read the book together and see how the concepts can affect them and their relationship. And for those couples I do premarital counseling with, I buy them a copy of the book and we talk about it in our sessions.
Pricing:
- $300/Wedding Ceremony & Deposit
- $70/Deposit
- $230/Balance to Officiant
- $150/Rehearsal
- $TBD/Mileage to Wedding or Rehearsal
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sensationalceremonies.com
- Instagram: @sensationalceremoniesdfw
- Facebook: https://ww.facebook.com/p/Sensational-Ceremonies-Dallas-FtWorth-Tyler-100063614708993/
Image Credits
1. Chevy Chey Photo
2. Greg Gasaway
3. Lizzie Allen Photo and Film
4. The Lockharts
5. Greg Gasaway
6. Kate Panza Photography
7. DJ Kelly Hooper
8. Joshua Aull
