About Sarah Pete

INTRO 

As your officiant, I will learn a lot about you and your partner. Therefore, I’m sharing a lot about myself below. Some of you will eat this info up, while some of you just want to know if I like puppy dogs and chai lattes… the answer is ‘yes’ and please make mine dirty. 

But in all honesty, I believe that by investing a little time into getting to “know me” you will feel more confident about our ability to connect and talk openly with each other. 

Thank you for spending some time with me today! I look forward to finding out about you too.

BACKGROUND

I have more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality, wedding & event industries. My diverse background includes everything from planning weddings & diplomatic events at the Willard InterContinental in Washington, D.C. to the coordination of large-scale conferences for the Department of Defense all over the country. I launched the event departments at several popular Washington, D.C. event venues including The Loft at 600 F and Malmaison (now the Berliner), and helped raise over $1 million dollars working in events and fundraising for local nonprofit Food & Friends. 

In the Fall of 2015, I launched Sincerely Pete Events, a wedding planning and design company focused on cultivating meaningful, beautiful, timeless, and equality-minded events. My designs and weddings are published on Martha Stewart, Inside Weddings, 100 Layer Cake, Catalyst Wedding Magazine, Washingtonian, and more.  I am a featured blogger on United with Love, GayWeddings.com, WeddingWire, and Love Inc. Magazine.  I am honored to be a featured contributor to the 2018 & 2019 International Wedding Trends Reports and to design and style Pantone x WeddingWire’s Wedding Colors of the Year in 2019.

As an active educator and speaker, I am proud to lead talks on topics around LGBTQ+ inclusivity, diversity, and best practices for small business owners as well as larger organizations such as The Rising Tide Society, HoneyBook, and WeddingWire. I am proud to represent the LGBTQ+ community and to be a safe space for people in this industry to ask difficult questions. I was honored to be one of the Rising Tide Society’s Top 20 Wedding Professionals on the Rise in 2018.

SO… WEDDING OFFICIANT?

In 2019, I started the process of considering a pivot from my wedding planning business. Ultimately, I decided to no longer book planning or design clients in preparation to have time to devote to the next “thing”.

The decision was difficult but I needed time to reflect and then pursue those endeavors that make me the happiest, not just in work, but in life. That led me to consider becoming a wedding officiant and pursuing additional education in diversity and inclusion. It also led me to Humanism.

[You can read more about what Humanism is and what it means to me by clicking here].

When March 2020 came around, I had only two weddings left on the books for my planning company. The world was on lockdown and the wedding industry as we knew it, and took for granted, was brought to a stop.

I ended up “Hosting/MC-ing” one of the first Zoom weddings (which happened to be my little brother’s). Their 120-person winery wedding in Northern California became a backyard, socially distanced, ceremony & cake-cutting with just the couple, the bride’s parents and sister, a friend of the groom, a photographer, the couple’s dog as the ring bearer, and the Officiant.

My parents were in their living room in Virginia Beach and I was standing at my kitchen table in Northern Virginia, along with more than 120 other guests, logged into Zoom, from all over the world.

The experience really moved me.

It solidified what I already knew; what I love about weddings are the couple and their story. The bond between humans, the goodness and the hope they have and share, is lovely. And being a part of that is amazing.

Over the years, I’ve helped so many couples navigate their wedding days, including writing and creating personalized ceremonies, merging two belief systems, family customs, or cultural beliefs, and helping couples stay focused on what is important to them.

LEGAL JARGON

I am currently certified and endorsed as a Humanist Celebrant through the American Humanist Association. I am also a registered Officiant/Minister with The American Marriage Ministries, the Church of Spiritual Humanism, and Universal Life Church. I can legally perform weddings all over the USA, including in Virginia and Washington, D.C., and in some locations abroad.

PERSONAL STUFF

I moved to Richmond, Virginia in March of 2022 after a stint on an old farm in Charlottesville, Virginia, and 12 years in Washington, D.C.

There was a time I couldn’t keep a plant alive but since moving to the country, I now self-identify as a farmer and am continuously planting seeds, experimenting, and have made full meals from the food I’ve grown in my gardens.

I enjoy cooking for others, especially over a fire or in a cast iron pan. Farmer’s markets are my preferred grocery stores and eating outdoors makes the food taste even better.

I’m a former opera singer (fact: I studied Vocal Performance at JMU along with Music Industry), big band frontwoman (if you were wondering where my dog’s name came from), violist, pianist, and ukuleleist.

Newport, RI was the land of my birth and I was born ready to go sailing. As the child of a Navy dad and always living on the coast, I’m still adjusting to the mountains in Central Virginia, noting the beach is just a couple of hours away!

I have my “woo woo” moments - born on the cusp of Capricorn and Aquarius, I have a Leo Moon and Gemini Rising. I’m learning Tarot and have practiced yoga for a number of years.

What else do you want to know? I’m an open book – let’s chat!
[or maybe you have a question I’ve already answered in my FAQ’s]

more fun facts, as we’re getting to know each other . . .