Trau[m]ung

Trau(m)ung is a two-person celebrant team from the Basel region: Irina Schweighoffer-van Bürck and Melanie van Bürck, who describe themselves as sisters-in-law, friends and the head and heart of the business. They write and lead wedding ceremonies that can be free (non-religious) or religious, as the couple prefers, and publish a single flat price. The name is a play on Trauung (wedding) and Traum (dream): in their words, "Das Wortspiel Trau[m]ung steht für unseren Herzenswunsch, Eure Trauung gemeinsam mit Euch traumhaft schön und einzigartig zu gestalten" (the wordplay stands for our heartfelt wish to make your wedding dreamlike and unique, together with you). The site is in German.

Free or church, and anywhere

The home page asks: "SEID IHR AUF DER SUCHE NACH EINER FREIEN ODER KIRCHLICHEN TRAUUNG?" (are you looking for a free or a church wedding?) and answers that couples are in the right place either way. The ceremony can take place in a church, in a field, at a castle, in a garden or at the couple's home, and can be religious or free, that is, not religious. Their stated aim is that the couple does not have to make compromises. The motto on the home page sums up their view of marriage: "Liebe ist, wenn aus einem Ich und einem Du ein Wir entsteht" (love is when an I and a you become a we). The About page adds a touch of humor: weddings are their passion, and if they did not have their husbands, they write, you could say weddings were the great love of their lives.

That flexibility comes from their day jobs. Both work in the church, and they write that this gives them plenty of experience of how a classic church wedding runs, but that they find it enormously important to adapt the running order to each couple. They are explicit that through Trau(m)ung they offer free ceremonies "ohne jeglichen religiösen oder göttlichen Bezug (es sei denn, ihr wünscht Euch das explizit)" (without any religious or divine reference, unless you explicitly want it).

The two celebrants

Irina Schweighoffer-van Bürck lives in Basel with her husband Martin and their small dog Cookie. She completed a master's degree in Protestant theology at the University of Basel in summer 2020 and has worked as a pastor in the Wegenstettertal since September 2021. She began leading weddings during her studies, first only for close friends, then more widely, and found she loved the work whether the wedding was a church or a free ceremony. She then trained as a freie Traurednerin (independent celebrant), and Trau(m)ung was born soon after. She writes that each couple's love story should be at the center, combined with rituals the couple chooses, for the 2 of them, with the people closest to them or with all their guests.

Melanie van Bürck lives in Grellingen BL with her husband Raphael and their 2 dogs, Mero and Harvey. She began training as a catechist in May 2022 and since August 2022 has taught religion at several primary schools in Reinach and the Wegenstettertal. She came to free ceremonies through Irina, knew at once that this was what she wanted to do, and also trained as a freie Traurednerin. She writes that she enjoys building each couple's perfect ceremony with them, and that saying goodbye after the big day feels like a cliffhanger in a really good film.

For couples, the combination is unusual: 2 celebrants with professional church backgrounds who offer entirely secular ceremonies, but can also bring in religious elements when a couple asks. That suits mixed families where one side would like a blessing and the other would not.

How it works and what it costs

The Angebot section is brief:

• How it begins. A first conversation to get to know each other, in which the couple describes what they have in mind.
• What comes next. At a second meeting, the celebrants present their first ideas, and together they settle the exact running order of the ceremony.
• Where. A Trau(m)ung ceremony can be held in the Basel region "und natürlich auch in anderen Regionen der Schweiz, sowie auch im Ausland" (and of course in other regions of Switzerland, and abroad too).
• The price. A ceremony of about 35 to 45 minutes costs "CHF 1790.00 pauschal" (flat). The price includes all meetings, all texts and their travel expenses. For ceremonies outside the Basel region, additional costs may apply, which they say are always discussed with the couple in advance.

A flat fee that includes every meeting and all writing is easy to budget, and the note about costs outside the region is clear about where the fee can change.

Their recommendations

A "Trau[M]-Links" section names a few suppliers they like: the team at "Kopfschmuck" in Basel for hair, the Weiherschloss Bottmingen as a setting, and a photographer they call Mar. They also invite couples to ask them for further suggestions.

What the site does not settle

• Language. The site is in German and says nothing about ceremonies in English or French. Given that they offer to work abroad, it is a natural question, but the answer is not on the site.
• Which celebrant. The site presents them as a team and does not say whether both lead each ceremony or one of them.
• Meetings from abroad. There is no mention of video calls for the 2 meetings.
• Lead time and booking terms. No lead time, deposit or contract terms are published.
• Additional costs. The site does not say what the extra costs outside the Basel region are.

Contact is through a form on the Kontakt page, with no obligation, and the menu links to Instagram and an "Impressionen" gallery.

Who it suits

Trau(m)ung suits couples in and around Basel who want a warm, personal ceremony at a clear, published price, and it is a particularly good fit for couples who are unsure whether they want any religious content, since the celebrants can go either way. Families mixing churchgoers and non-believers may find that reassuring.

Couples who need a ceremony in English should ask before anything else, since the site does not mention it, and couples marrying far from Basel should ask for the additional travel costs up front.