Tätschmeischter

Tätschmeischter is a Lucerne business for "Freie Trauungen & Moderation": Paul writes and leads freie Trauungen, symbolic wedding ceremonies designed around the couple, and works as a host and master of ceremonies for weddings and other events. Photographer Nadja Zeisler is promoted alongside him under the line "Paul redet. Nadja fotografiert." (Paul speaks. Nadja photographs.) The name is the Swiss German word for a master of ceremonies. The site is in German, and publishes clear prices.

The ceremony and what it costs

The price page, "Leistungen & Preise", opens with the line "Wenn ein Zeremonienmeister zum Gast und Freund wird" (when a master of ceremonies becomes a guest and a friend). A freie Trauung costs CHF 2900 and includes:

• a first meeting to get to know each other in a relaxed setting
• a detailed conversation with the couple
• writing the ceremony speech and leading the ceremony on the wedding day
• a final conversation before the ceremony to settle the details
• coordination with the witnesses and wedding suppliers (photographers, music, singers and so on)
• organizing and carrying out individual rituals during the ceremony

All prices are "exkl. Spesen" (excluding expenses) and the business is not subject to VAT. The page also says that 11 % of turnover goes to the association account of soulfoundation.ch.

Other services

Moderation & Anlassbetreuung (hosting and event support). After a first meeting and a 1-hour preparation and briefing, a full day of up to 12 hours costs CHF 2900, a half day of up to 5 hours CHF 1900, and each further hour CHF 300. This block carries the language line "Auf Schwiizerdütsch, Hochdeutsch, Englisch und/oder Französisch" (in Swiss German, standard German, English and/or French).

Freie Taufe & Willkommensfest (secular naming and welcome ceremony). CHF 2400, with the same structure as the wedding offer, available Sunday to Thursday.

Lieblingspartner (favorite partners). Paul writes that after all these years he has a wide network of artists, caterers and other wedding suppliers, and that he brings this knowledge into the conversation when needed, advising on other parts of the celebration and helping the couple keep a common thread through the day.

His approach

The home page sets the tone in a few lines: "Ich rede für Euch." (I speak for you.) Couples who want to enjoy their own party like an invited guest are promised his word, signed simply "Paul." The ceremony he offers is described as one without imposed duties and rulebooks, shaped freely by the couple's hearts, and about the couple and their bond.

The wedding page states: "Die Liebe des Brautpaars steht im Zentrum der Zeremonie" (the couple's love is at the center of the ceremony). He sees his task as making the couple's subtle bond of love visible through words, gestures, symbols and rituals, and strengthening their promise in front of the people they love. Toward the guests, he sees himself as the teller of a unique love story. A marriage, he writes, is also a serious, life-changing decision, but love includes humor too, and taking yourself seriously without taking yourself too seriously.

A section headed "Die Sache mit dem Glauben" (the question of faith) is unusually frank. Paul writes that every wedding has a spiritual component in some form, whatever the couple believes, and that in marriage one and one make not two but something third: "Aus Eins und Eins entsteht Drei." He then states his own Christian faith, distances himself from all religious organizations, and describes himself as "konfessionslos. Gläubig aber nicht religiös." (non-denominational, believing but not religious). He adds that it would never occur to him to press his faith on anyone, least of all a couple at their ceremony, and that he states it publicly out of honesty toward clients. Couples can decide for themselves how that sits with them; it is to his credit that he says it up front.

Past ceremonies on the blog

The blog gives a few real examples:

• Freie Trauung in Lugano (5 August 2017). Paul was originally asked to be the DJ, but led the ceremony instead at the Hotel Principe Leopoldo above Lake Lugano; it was his first wedding couple. When guests asked afterward whether Paul was a real pastor, the couple answered: "Nein, er ist DJ." (No, he's a DJ.) Photos by Nadja and Marian Bader.
• Sommerhochzeit in Luzern (23 September 2017). A wedding in his hometown, where he was present when the couple's son was baptized in the Hofkirche alongside the wedding, and afterward led the guests through the city with balloons while the new family rode in a carriage. Photos by Reichart Fotografie.
• Other posts include "Für die Liebe im Wallis unterwegs" (on the road for love in Valais), interviews, and a piece on couples choosing to marry outside the church.

For couples from abroad

The price page lists English and French among his languages, which makes him a Lucerne celebrant a couple can approach in English. The blog shows him working in Lugano and Valais as well as Lucerne. The site invites couples to call, write or visit.

Contact: +41 78 647 70 77, briefe@taetschmeischter.ch, Ruopigenring 113 in Lucerne.

What the site does not settle

• Ceremony language. The language line sits in the hosting block of the price page. A couple should confirm that the ceremony itself can be written and led in English or French.
• Expenses. Prices exclude expenses, but the site gives no travel rate.
• Photography prices. Nadja's photography is promoted with Paul's offer, but the pages here give no photography prices.
• Meetings from abroad. The site describes meetings in a relaxed setting but does not say whether they can be held by video.
• Same-sex couples. The faith section speaks of a man and a woman saying yes, and the pages here do not mention same-sex couples either way. Couples for whom it matters should ask.
• Recent work. The blog posts shown date from 2017, and the footer from 2018, so a couple should ask about recent ceremonies.

Who it suits

Tätschmeischter suits couples marrying in and around Lucerne who want one person who can lead the ceremony and host the rest of the day, with fixed, published prices for both. The option of booking a photographer from the same business will appeal to couples who want fewer suppliers to brief. Couples should be comfortable with a celebrant who is open about his personal Christian faith, even though he promises not to bring it into their ceremony.