Spelling unites same-sex couple at B&B

Hollywood starlet and Fallbrook Chateau La Rue innkeeper Tori Spelling recently placed another feather in her Tinsel Town hat: Reverend Spelling. She revealed it as part of her blog entry news on MySpace.com July 9.

“I am now officially ordained,” Spelling wrote. “Yep, that’s right…Reverend Tori Spelling! I did it last week online and my official certificate is in the mail. I’m so proud. I can’t wait to hang it.”

The timing of this online ordination was quite perfect indeed, because on the weekend of July 7, Spelling officiated a commitment ceremony for a same-sex couple at the Chateau La Rue estate located on Olive Hill Road in Fallbrook.

She shares in her blog entry, “I was so honored when the couple asked me to officiate. We did it on the front steps of the chateau as forty of their friends looked on, seated in a lounge-like atmosphere. It was so beautiful, as I united Tony and Dex as life partners in love.”

Receiving an online minister certification is only a click away these days. All it takes is the completion of a short form and a credit card to pay the fee.

This online certification process does not involve reading a pillar of textbooks and studying in preparation for an exam.

For under $5, a glossy diploma will be delivered to one’s mailbox within a few days. However, if one is willing to fork out more cash (roughly $150), he or she can receive a multitude of minister “goodies.” The more elaborate package consists of a minister’s “manual,” Doctor of Divinity certificate, identification card, parking placard and an array of ceremony certificates. These sites also offer monastic vestments.

Is being ordained online legal? It sure is, according to Katie Schramm, Division Chief of the County Clerk’s Office.

“There is separation of church and state,” Schramm said. “We do not monitor who is a minister out there and who is not.”

Schramm mentioned that there are quite a few people who have become ordained online and are now performing legal ceremonies. This is because, she explained, there are so many types of religions out there that the titles of officiates on a marriage license widely differ.

And, since Fallbrook remains an unincorporated area, Spelling does not need a business license to perform marriage or commitment ceremonies at Chateau La Rue.

To date, Spelling has received both cheers and jeers regarding her new endeavor. One respondent to her blog, who expressed confusion at Spelling’s new title of “Reverend,” wrote, “Correct me if I am wrong, but Tori, aren’t you Jewish?”

Spelling’s publicist, Meghan Prophet, did not respond to a request from the Village News for comment.