By Sarah Cottrell
If you’ve found yourself wondering where all the happy, kind people have gone on social media, wonder no more. No matter how depressing the news might make us feel, The Weeping Wedding Officiant is always there, casting a warm and welcoming glow in her small but growing part of the internet, where she proudly highlights bringing couples together in matrimony. She’s also got some pretty solid relationship advice that she gives out for free.
Winterport mom-of-two Jaime Cole has always wanted to be a wedding planner. “I was a wedding bartender for a long time. Weddings are just so much fun, so I’m always trying to be involved in them,” Cole said. “I was talking to my husband and saying how my dream job is to help people plan their weddings from start to finish. So, in January 2021, I got ordained.”
Why is she called The Weeping Wedding Officiant? Well, because she cries at every ceremony that she becomes involved in. Cole explains that her husband came up with the name after a particularly emotional ceremony when she helped a woman who had lost her husband of 20 years to cancer find love a second time.
“She is my cousin, and her husband had sadly passed away, so this wedding was a really big deal,” Cole recalls. “She was planning a Celtic ceremony, and they did this ritual where the bride and the groom hold hands like they’re shaking hands, but cords are laying across their hands. At the end, after we do the blessing, they pull the ends of the cords, and they create a knot. They literally tied the knot. It was such a beautiful moment; I’ll never forget it.”
But in case anyone wonders if weeping at a wedding is just a gimmicky selling point, Cole says that she talks to each couple she is asked to help organize a ceremony for since she knows that the tears will likely flow.
“Weddings are so special, and people can get sensitive about what happens so, I am really honest that I will definitely cry, and not all brides and couples want that,” she says.
While Jaime has a handful of beautiful ceremonies to her credit, she plans to take her new business seriously and expand her services. When she gets a new client, she tells them to expect that she’ll likely get teary-eyed at the ceremony. But she’ll also work with the couple to plan out what type of ceremony they want, including what she should say and wear.
“I’ve worn everything from a Harry Potter robe to formal black and white. It all depends on what the couple wants,” Cole explains.
Cole says that her goal is to retire from the corporate world when she reaches the age of 50 to pour her time into making her dream of organizing wedding ceremonies become her full-time career.
“Uniting people is such a joy. There is more negativity now than there ever has been in my lifetime. It feels so good to see people in love,” Cole said. “On Instagram, I try to keep it light and funny, and all of that comes from moments in my marriage that make me smile. For a wedding, everyone is there to celebrate love, to see joy, and honestly, what could be better than that?”
You can find The Weeping Wedding Officiant on Instagram, where she gives poignant and sometimes hilarious relationship advice for any couple hoping to tie the knot next.
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