{accordion title="Q1: Who is Pastor Vickie?" open="false"}
Pastor Vickie Wong is an ordained Lutheran minister well experienced as the wedding officiant for private and church marriage ceremonies, working primarily with ethnic Chinese, Asian and inter-racial couples in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Weddings are conducted for Christian and non-Christian couples. She continues to be a member in good standing with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
Here is a video of a multilingual wedding conducted in 2016, also shown on this Reviews page. A second video can be also viewed here.
{accordion title="Q2: What Wedding Services does Pastor Vickie provide?" open="false"}
Pastor Vickie is comfortable in conducting multilingual wedding ceremonies as she is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
The STANDARD PACKAGE is defined as simple wedding ceremony (no rehearsal, no wedding address)
The DELUXE WEDDING PACKAGE services include: Planning of the Ceremony, Ceremony Rehearsal, and Conducting the Wedding Ceremony as well as optional Pre-Marital Counselling.
Click here for more in-depth details.
{accordion title="Q3: How is a Marriage Officiant different than a Commissioner?" open="false"}
In British Columbia, couples can choose a civil or religious wedding ceremony that is witnessed by two people.
Civil ceremonies are performed by Marriage Commissioners, who are private citizens appointed by the registrar general of the B.C. Vital Statistics Agency. Commissioners are not authorized to provide wedding planning, coordinating or consultation services.
As a Marriage Officiant, Pastor Vickie does both Christian or non-Christian weddings by:
• Creating a ceremony with the couple's needs in mind.
• Coordinating a rehearsal with the bridal party.
• Conducting the wedding in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
• Providing optional premarital counselling.
This has made Pastor Vickie a popular Marriage Officaint choice in Vancouver, Briish Columbia, Canada as well as for couples from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.
{accordion title="Q4: What if the couple wants a basic, private wedding?" open="false"}
Pastor Vickie has conducted basic, private weddings at a reasonable fee that do not require services in the DELUXE WEDDING PACKAGE such as a Ceremony Planning Meeting, a Rehearsal and Wedding Address [1]. Instead of meeting in person, she is available by email, phone or a brief video chat (Facbook, Facetime or Skype). A basic wedding means that she will arrive 1/2 hour beforehand to briefly review the process, conduct the ceremony, and see that the marriage license is witnessed. She will then mail the license to BC Vital Statistics who then issues a marriage certificate, typically in about a month. These types of weddings are usually conducted in a home or a dining establishment.
Complimentary wedding planning resources are available for all types of weddings, including basic ceremonies, once the booking is confirmed.
[1] The Wedding Address shares with the guests, the meaning of marriage to the couple, and encourages the personal significance of this commitment. It may also include the couple’s relationship up until this point, as well as the story of how the couple met. The Address is only used in the Deluxe Package.
{accordion title="Q5: How many weddings has Pastor Vickie conducted?" open="false"}
While continuing to be a guest preacher at B.C. Lutheran churches , Pastor Vickie's fluency in English, Cantonese and Mandarin has made her popular in conducting more weddings annually year-round. Since 2012, hundreds of couples have used her services as our Reviews pages show why she is popular. She has witnessed and blessed both Christian and non-Christian couples.
{accordion title="Q6: When can Pastor Vickie conduct weddings?" open="false"}
Pastor Vickie requires sufficient time to meet with the couple to know their background and needs, plan the wedding ceremony, coordinate what is to be said at the ceremony, then conduct the marriage. At least two months or more is preferred so Pastor Vickie can be well prepared to make your special day a true blessing. However, special arrangement may be possible if schedules permit, e.g. a basic ceremony (no planning meeting, no rehearsal, no wedding address).
{accordion title="Q7: Where does Pastor Vickie conduct weddings?" open="false"}
Pastor Vickie is a wedding officiant serving Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, New Westminster, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, West Vancouver & North Vancouver.
(Map from writeopinions.com)
Generally, there will be additional mileage and travel fees outside this immediate area.
(Where applicable, the wedding party should provide Pastor Vickie with a parking pass or reimbursement for the rehearsal and ceremony.)
Weddings can be conducted in private homes, chapels, hotels, restaurants, public attractions, etc. where the couple will be responsible for all arrangements.
Be sure to check out some popular Wedding Venues shown in Resources.
{accordion title="Q8: How does a couple qualify for Pastor Vickie's services?" open="false"}
Couples must meet legal marriage requirements for the province of British Columbia and apply in person for a Marriage License. When applying for the licence and ceremony , the couple needs to provide proper individual photo identification — such as a passport, identity card or driver's license. For more details, refer to Getting Married in the Resources section.
(In Greater Vancouver, many couples find it convenient to get a B.C. marriage license from the Insurance Department at London Drugs.)
At the wedding rehearsal, Pastor Vickie will review the Marriage License registration to ensure that it is properly filled out before the wedding ceremony. Once the Marriage License is signed and witnessed during the ceremony, Pastor Vickie will send the completed document to Vital Statistics so an official Marriage Certificate can be issued and mailed to the couple (which typically takes up to a month).
{accordion title="Q9: Is a deposit required for Pastor Vickie's services?" open="false"}
To ensure Pastor Vickie is available to conduct your wedding ceremony, a non-refundable deposit is required when you formally book her services. The deposit amount is one half of the agreed services fee. The deposit can be cash or by cheque made out to: Pastor Vickie Wong. For convenience, and highly recommended, an INTERAC e-transfer can also be used for deposit and payment. Sorry, we do not use Paypal.
For Deluxe Weddings:
• Booking deposit (first 1/2 of full service fee) is due at Ceremony Planning meeting.
• Remaining fee (second 1/2 of full service fee, plus any required parking fee reimbursement) is due at the rehearsal
For Standard Weddings:
• Booking deposit is due 3 days after confirmation.
• Remaining fee (plus any required parking fee reimbursement ) is due on day of the ceremony.
{accordion title="Q10: What type of payment is accepted for Pastor Vickie's services?" open="false"}
Payment by cash, cheque or INTERAC e-Transfer is due upon completion of the wedding ceremony when Pastor Vickie signs the marriage license. She will then mail the completed application to Vital Statistics for the province of British Columbia. They in turn will mail the formal marriage certificate to the newly wed couple typically within a month.
NOTE: Paypal is not used at this time.
{accordion title="Q11: What is the Song of Solomon?" open="false"}
Song of Solomons is a book in the bible about love and intimacy.
Click here to view/download a PDF version of this full size.
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