Officiant Betty Fernau, LLC

04/24/2024

Sad day.

The lawyer, who primarily practiced in the area of domestic relations, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, according to his law firm.

03/18/2024

I received two new reviews on Wedding Wire.

03/17/2024

even in the toughest
and most adverse circumstances,
something beautiful and resilient
can emerge

12/11/2023

Too bad we don’t get powder snow in Arkansas. A winter wedding would be gorgeous!

If you love celebrating the holidays with friends and family, you should definitely consider having a December wedding date.

08/13/2023

I officiated a wedding today at Angelo’s Garden in Mayflower. What a gorgeous venue!

07/07/2023

I love this!

06/30/2023

Today, the Supreme Court ruled that a business can refuse service to same s*x couples. In light of that horrible ruling, I want to make it known that I do no discriminate.

Apparently, I have the right to refuse service to anyone. I may turn you away if you’re hateful, have n**i tattoos, or if you’re a much older man who is marrying a teenager. But I will never turn you away for your race or LGBTQ status.

SAME S*X COUPLES ARE SAFE AROUND ME AND ALWAYS WELCOME.

TRANS COUPLES ARE SAFE AROUND ME AND ALWAYS WELCOME.

IN*******AL COUPLES ARE SAFE AROUND ME AND ALWAYS WELCOME.

Those couples are the entire reason why I got ordained on November 15, 2012. I knew that same s*x marriage was on the horizon, and I already knew that justices of the peace had turned away in*******al couples in Central Arkansas. In fact, I had to step in with only minutes notice because a young in*******al couple had made an appointment with a JP who I will not name, and when they got to her house, she pretended she was not home. They called and couple hear her cell phone ringing in her house, but she refused to answer or come to the door. That couple was an Air Force couple, being deployed the next day, and wanted to be married before they were separated. Time was running out. The bride was wearing a wedding dress, and had her hair and makeup professionally done. Then the JP made her cry over the blatant racism. I got the call, got dressed, and rushed to the Old Mill to officiate their elopement as the sun went down. I’ll never forget them. After same s*x marriage was legalized, I got tons of calls from same s*x couples who had been turned away by the JP. Just awful.

So my promise is, I will not turn you away on the basis of race or gender. Wanna get married? You’re the reason I do this. I’m happy to help.

05/16/2023

This is so sweet!

04/22/2023

These are great!!!!! Did you taken any fun photos when you got married?

03/05/2023

Fernau Officiant FAQ

Q. Do you do ceremonies for same-s*x couples?

A. Absolutely! That’s actually the reason I became ordained.

Q. Can we have a last minute wedding?

A. In most cases yes. If you want to have a same day wedding, please give me a call or text at 501-310-9090 and if I am available, I’m happy to help

Q. How do I hire you as my officiant?

A. If you would like to hire me, I will send you a contract and payment invoice. My preferred way to receive payment is Apple Pay, Venmo or Cashapp.

Q. How many guests can I have at an elopement?

A. A true elopement is a couple running off in secret to get married. I understand that you may also want to avoid the stress of a large wedding and have invited a couple of close family members or friends along. This is great! However, when there are more than 5 guests, you may want to upgrade to a more substantial ceremony than a 6 minute elopement.

Q. Will you attend the rehearsal?

A. My attendance is rarely needed at the rehearsal unless you choose a unity ceremony. If you require my attendance at the rehearsal, there will be an additional fee. An additional mileage fee may also apply.

Q. How do I get my marriage license?

A. You must have a marriage license from any county in Arkansas. There is no waiting period. You can find all the information you need to know athttps://static.ark.org/eeuploads/pulaski/MLInfoSheet.pdf

Q. Do I need to write my own ceremony and vows?

A: No need to write your own ceremony. I write my own ceremonies. You can certainly write your own words to say to each other. Some couples prefer to whisper those words to each other for privacy.

Q. What should we wear?

A. You can wear whatever you like. You can be as casual or as formal as you want. Please let me know what you’ll be wearing so I may dress appropriately.

Q. Can we meet before we decide to book you?

A. I am happy to schedule a free video chat or phone call. In person meetings are subject to my schedule, and a fee will apply for an in person meeting.

Q. Can I have my dog(s) in my wedding?

A. Yes! I absolutely love dogs, so as long as they are allowed at your venue, I am happy to include them.

Q. What happens if I am running late to begin my ceremony?

A. Most ceremonies start late, and it’s usually not an issue if you are a few minutes late. However, being excessively late has become a real issue. If you cause your ceremony to be more than 30 minutes late than the scheduled start time, I will need to charge an additional fee for my time. The late fee information will be included in the contract.

Q. What happens if you, the officiant is late to my ceremony?

A. I typically arrive 30 minutes early to every ceremony that I officiate. If I’m not early, I feel like I am late. In the past, I have only been late to a ceremony when a previous ceremony started very late. In that case, I communicated the issue to the couples to let them know a delay in my first ceremony has put me behind schedule. Since then, I try to schedule my bookings with enough time to allow for the first ceremony to start late. Not only is it stressful for couples it’s stressful for me to be running late. If I am late, I will refund $50 of your fee.

Q. What happens if there is bad weather?

A. In the event of rain or other bad weather, there are a couple of options. If it’s just raining, we can wait for the rain to pass or I can hold a large umbrella over the three of us. If there is lightning, we will need to agree on an indoor location. If we need to reschedule due to bad weather, there will not be a rescheduling or cancelation fee.

02/08/2023

Sunrise is so gorgeous here.

10/12/2022

Event planner recommendations needed for Hot Springs for a wedding on 11/21/22. And go!

10/02/2022

The groom at today’s wedding walked down the isle to a Jerry Garcia song, and check out his grooms cake! I love it!

09/24/2022

Wow!

07/26/2022

I really love this!!

.universe: “Run to him! 👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️ By ”

07/13/2022

The sun sets behind us, so we don’t usually get gorgeous sunset photos. But this is what it looks (and sounds) like right now.

06/29/2022

The couple who got married today decorated the arch, and it looked beautiful! Purple is my favorite color.

06/17/2022

I officiated their wedding at Garvan Gardens a few months ago, and they send me these photos today. Is this not the most beautiful couple?!?! They drove in from Texas just to get married at Anthony Chapel. Here’s to happily ever after! Champagne 🥂

06/06/2022

What a sweet review!

06/03/2022

Don’t let rain get you down. Rain on your wedding day is supposed to be lucky. It’s a symbol of fertility, of new starts, unity and renewal. Some say it’s supposed to represent the last tears the bride will shed for the rest of her life. I like to think of like this: today you are tying the knot, and a wet knot is hard to untie.

05/19/2022

I had a Scottish Handfasting ceremony in Hot Springs tonight. My husband took the first two photos with his phone, and I took the vivid third photo with my phone. I love sunset weddings! This beautiful couple married, had children, raised their children, divorced, and then they fell in love with each other all over again. They have a beautiful love story. What a wonderful couple they are!