Wedding Ministry by Design

Pastors Monty & Denise Rainey

Our Story

We are Pastors Monty & Denise Rainey and we thought you might like to know a little about us and how we came to be wedding ministers. To begin our story, Denise and I are one of the very first internet romances, and we owe it all to our oldest son. When I retired from the Navy, I moved to Colorado Springs and had every intention of spending the rest of my life there. Most nights, after hiking through the Garden of the Gods, I could be found on the internet in a political chat room, often visiting with a young man from New Braunfels, Texas who told me on many occasions I sounded just like his mother when it came to politics. 

After a few months of visiting with this young man, he finally asked me one night if I would mind if he gave his mother my email address, as we had a great deal in common and would enjoy talking to one another. I told him I didn't mind at all and a few days later, Denise contacted me. Our political discussions soon led to a deep connection and I found myself thinking about this mysterious woman I had never met. A long distance romance developed and in June of 1999, Denise took a vacation to Colorado where we finally met after hundreds of hours on the internet and skyrocketing phone bills. Two months later, I moved to Texas to pursue this wonderful woman God had brought into my life. Fourteen months later, in September of 2000, Denise and I were married. 

About Denise

To begin with I would like to say how privileged we feel that you are considering us to be a part of such a special day in your lives.  

I am a native Houstonian, the oldest child of two and had the blessing of a wonderful Christian home.  My greatest accomplishment in life has been being the mother of three wonderful children.  I moved with them to New Braunfels shortly after the death of my father in 1993 to be closer to my mother.  I took a job in the courthouse with the County Clerk's office settling in to a much quieter life. One of my duties was to oversee the issuance of marriage license.  Being single at the time I often times prayed that God would send a good loving man to be a part of my life as well.  I am thankful everyday that God heard my prayers and sent me Monty!  He has been the sunshine of my life for more than eight years now and I love him more every day.  My prayer for each of you is to know the joy and happiness of a good marriage, it is truly a blessing.

In my day to day at the clerk's office I heard so many stories from couples about ceremonies that did not live up to their expectations and how impersonal civil ceremonies were.  One evening I was sharing yet another one of these stories with Monty and I asked him if he would be interested in performing wedding ceremonies.  After much discussion we agreed to put his name on the list of officiants at the courthouse.  About that same time I decided to study and receive my ordination as a backup in case Monty was not available. A few ceremonies were all it took for me to really get into adding the special touches to each event.  I believe that whether you are planning a large church wedding or a small intimate wedding, formal or informal you should be able to have this special moment designed especially for you. I even convinced the Clerk to allow me to re-design the Comal County marriage license.  So if you come to Comal (New Braunfels) to purchase your license you will get to see a piece of work I am very proud of.  

We take care to write vows that are meaningful and welcome your input.  We want to leave each event knowing that we have done our best to give each couple a ceremony they will remember for many years to come.

About Monty

I grew up in the ranch country of the Texas panhandle. My first tour in the Navy was as a PBR Gunners Mate. What is called the Brown Water Navy. A couple of Chaplains helped me through a lot and eventually led me to a desire to give something back. One of them introduced me to the R. B. Theime Bible Ministry in Houston. This set me on the road to serving others. I received my Doctrine of Divinity from Dallas Theological Seminary and re-entered the Navy as a Chaplain. 

While serving in the Navy, I performed a few weddings but never really gave it much thought after retiring. Then a few months after Denise and I married, she came home one day and asked if I would consider officiating a wedding. She went on to tell me about a couple that had been in her office that day that was distraught after talking to several Justices of the Peace, being turned down by a couple of ministers because they did not belong to a particular church and had even spoke to a wedding officiant who had dismissed their ideas for their ceremony stating, "It's no big deal, it will only take a few minutes." I agreed to officiate the wedding and it went smoothly. A few months later, Denise came home with another request. This pattern continued and we soon found ourselves greatly enjoying spending a good deal of our time working together to create special and unique vows.

I soon noticed that there was a need to be filled. We have found that there are countless couples who are Christian who, for one reason or another, are not members of a church, or perhaps are from different faiths, who had difficulty finding a minister to perform their wedding. We heard from couples who wanted a small wedding, but something more than an impersonal civil ceremony. We also found many couples who were on a very limited budget, but I believe your financial situation should not hinder your opportunity to have your wedding day be just as sacred and special as any.

Marriage is God's greatest blessing to us on this earth. I take it very seriously. The bride and groom are analogous to Christ and the Church and should treat one another with the same respect, love and devotion. I try my best to impart that into every ceremony I write and officiate. I also firmly believe that, as the wedding officiant, my duties do not end with the pronouncement of marriage. I know difficulties will occur in every marriage and I try to let every couple know that, though we don't have all the answers, Denise and I are always available to help you through those difficult times. 

About Wedding Ministry by Design

In the spring of 2006, Denise and I had become so involved in writing and officiating wedding ceremonies, and had received so much blessing in return, we decided to get even more involved. We decided it was time to put together a website and begin advertising our services to others. We must have looked at hundreds of officiant websites to gain ideas of what we wanted on this one. One thing I found startlingly absent was counseling for young couples, so we've tried to incorporate that here in the "Foundations For Marriage" articles and through marriage coaching classes. 

Our ceremonies are unique and we would also like to make this website unique. If you have any ideas or suggestions that you would like to see here, please take a moment to let us know. 

Whether you choose to have Denise and I officiate your wedding or not, we wish you a life of love and happiness together. We hope your marriage will bring you the tremendous blessing and joy that Denise and I have found in each other. 

  Website designed by Monty Rainey © 2006 Monty Rainey, All Rights Reserved