Michelle Trumble of Indiana Township is a marrying machine.
“I’m a hopeless romantic,” Trumble said of her wedding officiant occupation of 16 years.
When Trumble faced difficulties booking a suitable wedding officiant for her second wedding, she recognized the need for a professional and versatile wedding officiant in the Pittsburgh region. After calling almost 30 officiants to secure her nuptials, Trumble discovered her calling for couples and launched Michelle Trumble Wedding Officiant in 2009.
“I had such a hard time finding someone who really understood what I wanted. Many of the officiants I contacted wouldn’t even have a regular conversation on the phone with me,” Trumble said. “My job is to make your wedding day not only perfect, but relaxing and fun.”
To date, she’s officiated more than 535 weddings ranging from casual to formal, luxury nuptials.
She works just about every weekend.
Trumble, 55, grew up in the South Hills and graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School in 1987.
She has a background in psychology and previously handled promotions for Steel City Media, worked as a bartender and preschool teacher, and she recently got licensed as a nail tech.
But marrying couples is her primary occupation and passion.
“I think brides need me,” Trumble recalled of how she initially told her husband of her wedding business idea.
Trumble earned her certification online in two days from the National Christian Church. She’s technically a Reverend due to her certification but doesn’t use the title. Trumble is certified to marry couples in all 50 states.
Her first ceremony as officiant was while she was pregnant, and it’s etched in her memory.
“It was an older couple, just the two of them, so it was a good, easy way for me to start,” Trumble recalled. “But after that, it just snowballed.”
Trumble’s fee is generally $500 per wedding.
“Once, I had eight weddings in one weekend. It was a little crazy,” Trumble said.
The pandemic provided plenty of wedding bookings.
“I thought I would do this every once in a while, but during covid I was so busy — 50 weddings during covid,” she said.
Wedding venues visited by Trumble have included lots of farms, private residences, courthouses, The Grand Estate in Warren, Ohio, Fox Chapel Golf Club and Nemacolin Resort.
The Pittsburgh Field Club is on her wedding wish list, as she’s yet to officiate there.
“I live three minutes away,” Trumble said. “I would love to work there.”
Other wedding bookings have required travel to Maryland, West Virginia and New York.
Couples can select between five established ceremonies and choose add-ons.
“I customize the ceremonies for the couple. I marry same-sex, all religions, and I will do anything except anything with witchcraft,” Trumble said.
That’s a deal-breaker.
“I’ve been asked to stir a cauldron six or seven times. I draw the line at that. I wear a cross when I officiate,” Trumble said.
Wild, wacky and wonderful weddings
One elaborate, large wedding with more than 300 guests was a fanciful affair, but the couple divorced just six months later.
“She took off, left him and went to California,” Trumble said.
She married another couple perched on horseback and has seen plenty of dogs and horses participate in ceremonies.
“Lots of dogs dressed up,” she added.
Not all weddings have resulted in happily-ever-after, like the time one of her wedding bookings was canceled two days before the ceremony.
“He just said he couldn’t get married. I felt so bad for her — she was devastated,” Trumble said. “Another wedding involved the mother of the bride describing her daughter’s wedding attire as ‘whorish.’ ”
Trumble played peacemaker and smoothed things over between the mother and daughter.
“I’ve had to talk down brides a lot. We do breathing exercises, we have conversations. I tell them ‘You’re gonna get married. Stop worrying about everything else.’ ”
Trumble said damage control is part of the job.
She always arrives an hour before the ceremony to assist wherever needed.
“My goal is the make my bride as relaxed and happy so she can enjoy it,” Trumble said. “It’s your wedding day. Your ceremony. You should enjoy it.”
Sometimes couples make out-of-the-ordinary requests: A couple that took dirt from their respective parents’ homes, combined them and planted a tree during the ceremony.
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Another couple wanted to incorporate a peanut butter and jelly theme because when you put those two food items together, they stick.
And once, a fiance branded a piece of cowhide during the ceremony that was to be used as a decoration in the newlyweds’ home.
“Nothing shocks me anymore,” Trumble said.
Trumble once witnessed a best man in full panic mode because he forgot the rings and took off running mid-ceremony to fetch the jewelry.
Several weeks ago, a couple turned to technology to Facetime their nuptials because the father was hospitalized at the last minute with a bout of kidney stones.
Wedding giveaways
Providing random acts of kindness is important to Trumble.
She has given away two complete wedding packages during her career, both valued at more than $10,000.
Asking and organizing wedding vendors to donate their services and selecting a couple for a free wedding is handled by Trumble.
Seven years ago, Trumble gave away a wedding with all the trimmings and married a couple from Bellevue.
Brittany Green and her husband, Steve, were the recipients of Trumble’s most recent wedding giveaway.
Trumble selected from 45 written entries submitted by engaged couples.
The Greens of Oakmont were married on March 15 at the Pittsburgh North Marriott in Cranberry.
“This has been nothing short of a miracle and blessing to us and we are so grateful,” Brittany Green said. “She (Trumble) just has one of those magnetic personalities, and she’s a miracle worker.”
So Me Artisan Wares and Jewelers Studio based in Allison Park donated two wedding bands.
Owner Amy McGinley said the couple visited her store and selected their wedding bands.
McGinley donated jewelry for Trumble’s initial wedding giveaway and wanted to be involved again.
“It’s incredible the amount of people she (Trumble) has touched. I’m very impressed. Being in the business of weddings, it was really cool, and I was excited to be involved,” McGinley said.
Michelle is married to Kevin Trumble, a Realtor, and they have two children. Their youngest is 13 and enrolled in the Fox Chapel Area School District. Two dogs and four cats round out the family.
In her free time, Trumble makes handmade soy candles and lip balm and is an aspiring photographer creating custom note cards.
“My friends call me the Energizer bunny because I’ve always done a lot of things,” Trumble said.
Trumble said she has kept in touch with many of her clients, some of whom have hired her again.
“It makes me feel as happy as can be,” Trumble said. “And now I’ve done five christenings for couples that I married.”