Shades of Deception

He had always been impressed with the ministers in his community, and while many of them operated from storefronts, he always wondered how they were able to ride around in expensive cars and wear top name designer threads, while many of their faithful followers were struggling to make ends meet. He speculated that the preachers made a great deal of their income performing marriages and figured this would be an ideal business to start.

He registered for the course, ordered the ministry's marriage packet and studied the manuals thoroughly. After completing the lessons, he was ordained a legal marriage and wedding officiant.

While doing more research, he decided to launch an on-line matchmaking and marriage service. He would find prospective marriage-minded partners, do pre-marriage counseling, organize and preside over weddings. Couples would have the option to select from three kinds of services.

A simple ceremony would be for couples who just wanted to be pronounced husband and wife.

An informal service would be for couples who preferred to have their wedding in their home or courtyard.

For couples who longed to have their event in a house of worship, banquet hall or on a yacht, they could select a formal procedure.

He would conduct some of the business from his studio apartment and use the shop to attract potential members. When the money started to roll in, he would quit his job and look for larger space.

His intent was to create a simulated wedding chapel and provide all of the amenities for the bride and groom, such as photography, videography, catering, music, and floral arrangements.

He even considered starting a travel agency to arrange in person meetings for couples who met through his site. It would be a one size fits all marriage and wedding enterprise.

Since Shaun had the weekends off, he first worked on getting his on-line matchmaking and marriage service into cyberspace. He searched the Internet and found dating software that provided web-hosting, registration of a domain name, e-mail addresses, chat rooms, instant messaging, and 24-hour technical support for $99.99 per month. There were no set up or commission fees, and any money he made would be all his.

He named the site Global Matchmaking and Marriage Service or GMMS and asked one of his sales clerks to help set up and design the site.

Her name was Lisa. She had been with the shop for six years and was an expert in computer and Internet technology. She customized the site with an eye-catching logo, added graphics, text, profile questions, terms of service agreement, privacy rules, membership fees, and payment methods.

To collect membership fees, she advised him to go with a third party e-commerce service. In the near future, he could establish his own merchant account. In lieu of pay, she got the weekends off.