VENDOR SPOTLIGHT: KIM ADENEY
We pride ourselves on collaborating with the best in class vendors that our Chapel cities have to offer. This is one of many reasons why we love working with Kim Adeney as one of our star officiants. Kim creates a warm environment where love can blossom and always brings tears to our eyes with her kind words and passion. Take a read below and learn more about why we love Kim Adeney.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS?
I call this my "passion work" and enjoy being a Licenced Officiant for the joy of being part of this intimate, happy and precious moment in a couple's journey together. The experience of joining two hearts puts me ten feet off the ground. There is no greater joy than pronouncing a couple to be married!
I am humbled and delighted to share that I recently performed my 600th wedding … a surprise wedding at an engagement party, no less! It all started in 2006 when a girlfriend asked if I could perform her wedding and pushed me to get licenced. I did and was hooked. From backyards to banquet halls, surrounded by a small group of loved ones to hundreds of family and friends, I have now performed weddings in most of the top venues across the GTA and beyond. What a great way to get to know this great city of ours too!
For many years I did this “work” outside of my regular work, but now this is what I do, full time. For me it is a ministry, a calling, and I approach every wedding with the same passion, care and commitment to my couples as I did that very first one, all those years ago. That I have enjoyed marrying family and friends over the years (including my own two sons!) is sweet icing on the cake. I cannot imagine doing anything else.
WHICH CHAPEL HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE?
That’s a tough one! I am SO impressed by the Pop-Up Chapel design team. Each chapel décor is cleverly unique and perfectly suited to its location. I recall the acrylic chairs with the grid-work pattern that perfectly matched the grid-work windows of Toronto’s high-rise skyline or the poured cement vases that subtly matched the venue’s concrete floors and walls. I always take décor photos at each chapel to share with my network, with a “they’ve outdone themselves again!” Really impressive.
But I have to say my favourite Chapel was the very first one in 2017 in the lower level event space at the Drake Hotel. It was decorated like a garden at night, with twinkly lights overhead, a garden path for the aisle and a wall of flowers as a backdrop. But could we actually marry ten couples in one day? Could we keep on time? Could we make every ceremony and reception feel like the only wedding in the world for each couple, because, for them, that’s exactly what it was? And we did it! Had a ton of fun. And the rest is history. I have been part of the Pop-Up Chapel team ever since and have loved every (every!) minute.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT WORKING IN THE WEDDING INDUSTRY?
This is happy work. That may be what I love most about it, but also the privilege of working with others. Weddings require input from multiple vendors and experts to make happen. Like a finely woven tapestry, all the threads in their proper place create a masterpiece. I enjoy working with musicians, florists, sound specialists, wedding planners, venue coordinators and more to make sure we are all working together, as a team. It is also fun when I cross paths with vendors at other events and develop relationships – and respect – for them as experts. We all want the day to run without a hitch and it feels great when that happens.
I also love getting to know my couples. It is an odd privilege to parachute into a couple’s lives, be part of such a special moment in their lives, and then parachute out! I enjoy getting to know their friends and families and there is no greater delight than being invited back into a couple’s life to marry a friend or sibling, and spend time with them again. That happens often and makes me very happy.
IF YOU COULD DESIGN A CHAPEL, HOW WOULD IT LOOK?
Maybe “heaven on earth?” Cloud nine? Puffy white clouds, sunshine and bright blue sky? I am lucky in that I get to do “work” that centres on love, so my mind goes to where wishes come true. Perhaps we had best leave Chapel design to the experts!
HOW IS THE CHAPEL EXPERIENCE DIFFERENT FROM YOUR TYPICAL WORK?
If there is one thing I have learned in over 600 weddings, it is that you need to be organized. Really organized. With my regular weddings I meet with couples well in advance of their big day to design their ceremony, answer their questions and get every detail right. This way, on their wedding day, everything unfolds beautifully and everyone knows what to do. There are lots of moving parts in even the most simple of weddings and my goal is to make sure everything works like a well-oiled machine … and couples can simply savour the moment.
Now compress that goal and commitment to my couples into the Pop-Up Chapel format, where I meet couples for the first time just before their ceremony begins! I love the challenge of making sure couples feel supported, know what they need to know about the unfolding of their ceremony, and about the paperwork process afterward. I may only have a few minutes with them, but in those moments they are the centre of my world. I am fully present with them and it is a very special feeling for us all.
I have also developed a unique Pop-Up Chapel ceremony process which allows seamless transitions between ceremonies, with everything fully prepared in advance. This includes a package for each couple with a keepsake copy of their script, details on applying for the legal record of their marriage and my contact information. I have received lovely notes from couples afterwards saying how much they appreciated my support and time with them … even though it was compressed! That feedback warms my heart.
TELL US ABOUT HOW YOUR BRAND ALIGNS WITH THE POP-UP CHAPEL VALUES: SIMPLICITY, INCLUSIVITY, SUSTAINABILITY & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS?
Creating and celebrating an inclusive world is central not only to me as a Licenced Officiant, but as a human being. I worked as a diversity and inclusion specialist before dedicating myself to my wedding work, and bring that experience, passion and commitment to humanity to every wedding I do. I appreciate that the Pop-Up Chapel Co. is committed to working with vendors who share this vision of inclusion and social consciousness. It is important.
WHAT US SOMETHING YOU ARE WORKING ON THESE DAYS OR SOMETHING YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT AND WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITY?!
I am excited to have launched my new website … kimadeney.com … this year. It highlights who I am, the wedding packages that I offer, testimonials from couples and how couples can book me for their big day. And I have never been busier!
Accompanying my new website was the release of my new logo and look (modelled after my signature) for the suite of products that support my work as an officiant. This also launched “Kim Adeney - Licenced Officiant” as my own business, focussed solely on my services and my work with couples. It has been a very exciting, busy and rewarding year and I look forward to the great adventure ahead. I am grateful beyond words for all that I have, all that I do and the wonderful people I share this life and work with.
To learn more about Kim Adeney at www.kimadeney.com