Longboaters in love can keep it local with new wedding officiant business

Patrice Fanning’s second act came out of a simple question: What’s next?

It was September 2024, two weeks before Hurricanes Helene and Milton would bring their destruction to Longboat Key. Fanning had just retired from a 41-year career in counseling, where she focused on psychotherapy, addiction rehabilitation and group therapy.

“I couldn't really wrap my head around what was next," she said. "I just asked myself, ‘What makes me happy?’ And I am so passionate about this."

“This” refers the new job and business she has dedicated her life to since: officiating one of the most memorable and cherished days of others’ lives — their wedding.

The Longboat Key resident’s new venture started as a simple seed, planted when she a friend run a service she attended as a guest. Seeing the possibilities, she got certified to officiate through the Universal Life Church about 10 years ago.

She started casually, doing the occasional event. Then she found herself overseeing more ceremonies, averaging about one a year.

"I started doing it just for friends and family, and I realized how much I liked it because I love working with the couples," she said.

Then came the post-retirement and pre-storm epiphany.

Now, Fanning has started her own business, Forever without Borders, to serve the wider Longboat community.

The name of the business reflects her desire to be inclusive of everyone, offering services that are non-denominational and personalized for each couple’s story.

And that is the fun part for Fanning, she said, getting to sit down with each couple, hear their story and put together a customized ceremony.

"I get to figure out what they want from their wedding, whether it's a short ceremony or a long ceremony, religious or nontraditional," she said.

Considering she is a neighbor to the St. Regis Longboat Key Resort, Fanning hopes to be a resource for locals and visitors coming to the Key. But she said she is also able to cater to destination weddings. The last ceremony she oversaw in the fall was in Lake Cumberland, Kentucky, and her next one on the books is at a small island near Fort Myers. From tropical islands to cornfields to ballrooms, she has seen it all.

"I've done weddings in Colorado on a ranch," she said. "I've done them in Denver, in the city, and in Indiana. I will go anywhere."

Her experience helps her guide couples on everything from thinking about what song they’ll want to play as they walk down the aisle to whether they need microphones for their vows at a larger venue.

And, her experience as a counselor doesn’t hurt, either.

For most weddings, Fanning spends hours coaching and counseling her couples. But it’s also nice to have an expert on hand for when emotions run high around the big day.

She remembers one wedding where a member of the wedding party hyperventilated during the rehearsal. Fanning said that is one of her favorite parts of the job — getting to be there for the couples, talking them through the emotions that can surface during this happy but also stressful time.

Working with couples to make their day special resonates with Fanning because it's something she wanted for her own wedding, which she held in Colorado. Just like she advises her couples, she added personal touches including giving herself away at the altar and holding a reception in Cincinnati, where she wore her wedding dress cut to tea length.

If there is one central piece of advice she has to offer couples embarking on marriage, it is to keep open, honest communication at the heart of it all.

"Right up front, it is important to say exactly what you want,” she said. “And for the wedding, to share what your hopes and dreams are for the day. Can it always pare out exactly that way? Maybe not. But dream big."