Kristen Olynick Interviewed By Fraser Valley Lifestyle Magazine
Kristen Olynick
Kristen is the owner of Vancouverofficiant.com which is a team of individuals who love connecting with people and walking along beside them to their wedding day. Typically, if people have found her website they can take a look at the team, their photos bios, and testimonials, and then choose to meet with the officiant and decide if it’s a good fit. Kristen says she handles all of the bookings so she is right in the middle of all the goodness that is going on.
Kristen became a wedding officiant after her husband told her that he thought she’d be good at it. He knows that Kristen has had a diverse background working as a nurse, teaching, living in different countries and that she loves serving and listening to people and hearing their stories.
She says being a wedding officiant isn’t about being a dynamic speaker. It’s about going on the journey with a couple. It’s highly relational so you have to love people. She says don’t get into this field if you’re not people-focused.
Dreams and Farytales
As far as COVID-19 is concerned she observed that starting in March, April, and May couples realized that their weddings weren’t going to look like they wanted them to look before the virus hit. Thoughts and dreams of a fairytale wedding were being lost. She says March, April, and May were the rescheduling months. The vast majority decided at that time to reschedule to a date in the summer or into 2021. Rescheduling and changing wedding dates causes chaos. Couples don’t know if they can get their venue again, so they often have to come up with a whole different plan.
A Wedding Therapist
Kristen mentioned that in June, July, and August people began to realize that we are in this for a long time. These months are typically high volume wedding months. It was a difficult time for couples to decide, should they go ahead with their wedding? Kristen said she felt like a therapist at times. Her coaching and educational background came in handy. How do you think about planning a wedding with everything going on in the world? It’s one of the most important events in your life. For some the decision was really clear because relatives couldn’t come from overseas, so they postponed. But for others, it was a decision to have an intimate ceremony, or take the risk of putting their lives on hold for a year.
A Silver Lining
Kristen has observed that a lot of couples do see a silver lining. It can be magical to only have 50 guests or less. Also, it’s more affordable because large weddings can cost a lot of money.
A Dream Come True
One story that Kristen finds really touching is that of a couple where one participant was from the United States and one was from Canada. They were able to get married in the Peace Arch Park neutral zone. The couple was in their 60s and they fell in love a few years ago and wanted to be together. Once the paperwork was final the groom broke down and wept with joy. Kristen says she’ll never forget it. She felt privileged to share that moment with them. Their dream came true in a very difficult time.
Currently, we’re still permitted to have weddings. Kristen says she’s not there to regulate the COVID-19 guidelines. As a citizen, she wants to do what is mandated. Kristen says one of the minor challenges for her early during the pandemic is that she is a hugger and there is none of that going on.
Kristen is also trying to be positive and to see the silver lining. She says we’re still seeing couples getting married and she loves that. Kristen said she saw a surge of couples deciding to have a ceremony in recent months.