Wolfgang Weigand

Wolfgang Weigand is a celebrant based in Winterthur who designs and leads freie Trauungen, personal wedding ceremonies independent of any church, through his business schritte.ch. He also leads welcome ceremonies for children and farewell ceremonies, works as a grief counselor, couples counselor and biography writer, writes books and performs cabaret. His home page claims "langjährigen Erfahrung von über 1700 Ritualen" (many years of experience with over 1700 rituals), and his tagline is "Zur richtigen Zeit das richtige Wort" (the right word at the right time). The site is in German.

The wedding offer

The freie Trauung page is headed "Die Liebe feiern, die Liebe teilen" (celebrating love, sharing love). It speaks to couples who want a ritual wedding but do not belong to a church, or cannot or do not want to marry in one for other reasons. He designs, together with the couple, a personal ceremony in a festive setting, with their story and their shared path at the center. The page presents it as a way to experience their love "neben der standesamtlichen Trauung" (alongside the civil wedding) and to celebrate it properly with friends and family.

He is explicit about who is welcome: "Paare aller Art sind bei mir herzlich willkommen, unabhängig von Religion, Konfession, Kulturkreis oder sexueller Orientierung" (couples of every kind are warmly welcome, regardless of religion, denomination, culture or sexual orientation).

There are, he writes, no fixed rules. Couples decide what they promise each other and how religious, spiritual or philosophical the ceremony should be. If they want particular rituals, they tell him, and their cultural or personal backgrounds will find a place in the ceremony. The setting can be a grand castle, a beautiful church or chapel, their own garden or a lakeshore, "in der Schweiz oder im Ausland" (in Switzerland or abroad). He wants the ceremony to fit the whole wedding day and the couple's family systems.

The first conversation is free and without obligation.

How he works

His "Feiern" page describes an approach that leaves room for the moment: "Ich gestalte Feiern, die sich dynamisch entwickeln dürfen – angepasst an die Menschen, die sie erleben, und die Situationen, die sie prägen" (I design ceremonies that are allowed to develop dynamically, adapted to the people who experience them and the situations that shape them). The idea is to act in the here and now, without a rigid plan, and to stay open to the emotions that show up. On the home page he adds that at his ceremonies people may laugh, cry or improvise, as feels right.

Couples who like everything scripted should talk this through with him; couples who want a ceremony that feels alive will find it appealing. His testimonials suggest the result lands: Daniela and Claudio, guests at another couple's wedding, wrote in June 2024 that he brought exactly the right pinch of wit, charm and emotion to the ceremony, and that you can tell he is also a cabaret artist who knows how to perform.

The site also explains why he thinks rituals matter. Rituals, he writes, mark turning points such as birth, commitment to a partner, separation and death, help people move consciously from one phase of life to the next, and give life meaning beyond work and entertainment.

What it costs

The Feiern page gives his rates plainly: "Mein h-Ansatz beträgt CHF 150.-" (my hourly rate is CHF 150), and for a wedding, as a rule ("in der Regel"), he works with "einer 12-h-Pauschale all inclusive" (a 12-hour flat package, all inclusive). For comparison, he estimates 7 to 12 hours for a farewell ceremony and 5 to 8 hours for a welcome ceremony. The site does not break down what the 12 hours cover beyond "all inclusive", or whether travel is part of it, so couples marrying away from Winterthur, or abroad, should ask how travel is charged.

What couples say

Three testimonials on the wedding page, all from 2024:

• Alexandra and Jens (November 2024) call the ceremony a little firework and praise his earnest, humorous and personal manner, adding that their friends were delighted too.
• Marc and Stefanie (August 2024) thank him for telling their story with a great deal of wit, seriousness and feeling.
• Daniela and Claudio (June 2024), writing after attending another couple's wedding, say they were looking forward all the more to their own ceremony with him.

Beyond weddings

Under "Begleiten" he offers grief counseling, couples counseling and biography work for individuals, couples, families, teams and companies. He also writes books, gives seminars and readings (listed in an agenda), runs a blog and sends a newsletter four times a year with philosophical and spiritual reflections. His About page, headed "Der Mann mit Eigenschaften" (the man with qualities), says he found his calling in putting moments, emotions, experiences and stories into authentic words, spoken in ceremonies and counseling, or written as an author and biography writer. Words, he writes, are his tool, whether as a grief counselor or a cabaret artist. For a couple, the relevant point is that the person leading the ceremony is a practiced writer and stage performer.

What the site does not settle

• Language. The site is entirely in German and does not mention ceremonies in English or any other language. An English-speaking couple should ask first.
• Process. The page does not say how many meetings the 12 hours include, whether they can happen by video, or how far ahead to book.
• Length of the ceremony. No typical duration is given.
• Travel costs. He offers ceremonies abroad, but the site gives no travel rate.

Contact: Mühlestrasse 5, 8400 Winterthur, T +41 44 941 00 59, M +41 79 359 56 46, or the contact form.

Who it suits

Wolfgang Weigand suits German-speaking couples, or couples whose families mostly speak German, who want a warm, witty ceremony led by an experienced performer, and who value a published hourly basis for the fee. His openness to every kind of couple, to any degree of spirituality and to ceremonies abroad makes him flexible on the essentials. The main questions for couples from abroad are language and travel, and both are best raised in the free first conversation.