Great person- does in depth dive into knowing those he marries or christens. Full of joy and…read morespirituality.

Reverend Blane is a breath of fresh air. I've known him about 25 years and recently asked him to…read moreofficiate our marriage on short notice. He was so very accommodating and personable, as always.

We had a perfect October wedding with Rev. Katherine officiating. We met prior for a one on two…read moresession, then a few emails and a phone call, and together we put together a very personal and memorable ceremony!! We wholeheartedly recommend her for your feature nuptials as well as funerals, as that where we first encountered her, give a very touching eulogy.

Rev. Katherine created a beautiful ceremony for us with the perfect balance of solemnity, joy and…read morelightheartedness. I was impressed with the attention and consideration she gave us even knowing we were having a small, simple wedding with only a few guests. All of her communication was timely and thorough. From the initial consultation conversation through to the touchbase the night before, she took the time to make sure we were happy with the vows and comfortable knowing what to do during each part of the ceremony. She brought unique touches to the ceremony like including family and friends and acknowledging those who were unable to attend but here in their hearts. We did an outdoor ceremony and Rev. Katherine was very flexible and openminded, game for a small hike to get to our spot and unfazed by windy weather the day of. Her knowledge and experience in officiating in the Bay Area is apparent and I was grateful she so readily shared her advice and recommendations with us. The combination of professionalism, kindness, and humor that Rev. Katherine brought to the preparation and ceremony was just fantastic, allowing us to relax knowing we were in great hands. I can't recommend Rev. Katherine enough. I'm so happy to have chosen her as our officiant and thankful that she graced us with her gift in crafting and leading such a wonderful ceremony.

Wedding planning is a man's least favorite activity…read more Between the escort cards, table tents, chair types and guest book pens, anything that my wife didn't have to worry about was a blessing. The flowers were one area that my wife did not have to obsess over thanks to Sakhon from Blue Hydrangea. Sahkon was easy to contact and we exchanged emails and phone calls to hash out some of the details, but only needed to meet once, which was great considering how busy we were. She came up with color schemes, questioned our flower preferences and sent us pictures of flowers. She was extremely easy to work with and always had the success of our wedding in mind. She was innovative with the head table even incorporating fresh lemons, from my father's garden, into the arrangement. The boutonnieres were great and last 15+ hours without wilting. After a daytime wedding, they endured an all-night post-wedding pub crawl. The price was very reasonable and she found creative ways to work within our budget. I'd recommend her to anyone planning a wedding in the Bay Area.

When I became pregnant with my first child last summer, I new I wanted to have maternity photos…read moretaken by a professional to keep as mementos of one of the happiest times in my life. However, I'm not very comfortable in front of a camera, and I knew I needed to find a professional photographer who could help me relax and enjoy the experience. Fortunately, I found Sakhon. She is so easy to work with: she communicates well, is flexible and has a great sense of humor. I feel completely comfortable with her, and she is super creative when it comes to colors, textures, props and backgrounds. My maternity photos turned out beautifully, and I will cherish them always! I loved the photos Sakhon took so much, I asked her to do a newborn photo shoot after my son was born. From now on, Sakhon is definitely my go-to photographer for all of life's memorable occasions. I really couldn't recommend her more.

My husband and I cannot say enough great things about Larry! He truly helped make our Wedding…read moreincredibly special. Our guests kept raving about the Ceremony and how beautiful it was. At one point my husband kept tearing and Larry made such lighthearted jokes that made our guests laugh and put my husband at ease. He answered all of our questions and helped us with the marriage license process. We loved that we were able to make the Ceremony our own, Larry did everything to make it about us and our love. He went above and beyond and we could not be more thankful.

My wife and I had the blessing of meeting and working with Kathy Wilkerson for our marriage…read moreceremony in August 2023 at the Marin Civic Center. From the first online inquiry, I was able to set up an exploratory call with Kathy within a few hours. She asked insightful questions and listened attentively. She was interested in the style preferences of both myself and my bride, even down to what we wanted her to wear at the ceremony. Being from San Diego, we were less familiar with the Marin Civic Center. Kathy offered recommendations about different spots we could potentially use for the ceremony, and the pros and cons of each. She provided us with an overview of what to expect before, during, and after the ceremony, which immediately set me at ease. The Ceremony Planning Workbook she used made writing our vows so much easier. It broke down the ceremony into sequential stages. For each stage we had ready templates to choose from or the ability to write our own. The workbook was user-friendly. Kathy took something that ordinarily would be overwhelming, and made it simple - the mark of genius. Kathy made sure we were on schedule with writing our vows, gently checking in on us, even when our lives got busy. On the day of our marriage ceremony, she was on location an hour early. She communicated with our photographer to help find the best angles for where we should stand for the vows. She warmly greeted our family members as they trickled in and conversed with me to help me feel calm. Half of our wedding party arrived 15-20 minutes after the scheduled start time; Kathy was patient and reassuring while we waited for our ceremony to get under way. After the ceremony, Kathy provided us with a lovely keepsake booklet of our vows, which is something other officiants in the area did not offer. She timely submitted required paperwork to our county, and also Emailed me as soon as our county confirmed the marriage license was ready for pick up. Kathy Wilkerson is warm, knowledgeable, classy, communicative, organized, and conscientious. Her personal attention over the course of multiple months made us feel like we were the only couple she was officiating for. In a heartbeat, I would recommend her for any wedding, large or small.

We chose Sharon because she was different from the rest of officiants you typically hear about or…read morehave seen at previous weddings. For anyone who thinks that the officiant is simply someone who reads a bunch of words, marries you and doesn't think this is an important part of the wedding... you should really re-think that, it is much more. Sharon took the time to get to know how we met, who we are and dug deep into our lives. She makes you think deeper about your partner, family & friends, why you're tying the knot and what you really want from it all. She really helped set the vibe/feeling and flow for the wedding as well being the officiant. Just remember, during the ceremony all eyes are on you and the words being spoken by the officiant and its a significant moment... When Sharon sent us our first draft of the ceremony, it was already perfect and we didn't need to make changes. Also, Sharon's overall personality/vibe is really comforting, happy and she is very on top of things throughout the whole process. Again, don't let the idea of an "officiant" or costs change your mind as everything you know is the old way of doing things. Sharon/Inner Light Ceremonies is the new benchmark and standard of officiating.

For our marriage ceremony, my fiancé and I wanted a secular ceremony that reflected the values we…read morehad brought to our relationship. Our wedding planner (Chanda Daniels) put us in touch with several bay area professional officiants, but it was clear that Sharon was the right fit for what we were looking for. Sharon Lacay is a charming, compassionate, and graceful person who will work with you to construct and lead an intimate ceremony for you and your partner. She has a calm demeanor and always has a smile on her face. Starting close to 9 months in advance of our wedding, Sharon met with my fiancé and I to learn about our values and what we wanted to share with our family and friends. In just a few hours of conversation she synthesized our core beliefs and sacred truths, putting together a draft for our ceremony that captured all of the things we were looking for. In fact, while reading the first draft I was overcome with so much love and emotion that I started to tear up. We had only minor edits afterwards, and Sharon helpfully checked in with us as we neared the date to make sure the ceremony still felt true. Sharon also has a great eye for detail. During our rehearsal she pointed out different ways we could approach the altar in the Redwood Grove (Berkeley Botanical Gardens, Berkeley, CA) and how we would pass the microphone among the wedding party for their readings. All of our guests remarked on how unique, beautiful, and personal our ceremony was, from readings to the tree planting ceremony, ideas which Sharon brought to the table. In sum, if you are looking for a joyful and secular officiant who can help you create a ceremony that reflects your relationship, look no further than Sharon. We are so proud of how she helped make our wedding day a joyful and special occasion for us and our families.

Meag was our planner for our Oct 2025 wedding at Solage in Napa. Hiring Meag as our wedding planner…read morewas hands-down the best decision we made during our wedding planning process. We cannot recommend her highly enough. From our very first interaction through the wedding day, Meag was the most responsive, organized, and dedicated partner we could have ever asked for. I've never worked with someone who responds as quickly as Meag does. While she is on top of everything, Meag also has a super relaxed presence, which made the planning process so enjoyable (something not many of my friends who work with other planners say). Not only is she a logistics expert, but she also has an incredible eye for design. She really listened to our vision and helped us figure out where to splurge to make a big impact and where we could save. She also gave us the BEST vendor recommendations--every single person she recommended was awesome to work with. On the wedding day, Meag was flawless. We were able to be completely present and enjoy our day because we knew she had everything under control. Every single element, from the shuttles and the ceremony to the food and dancing, ran so smoothly. Our guests kept coming up to us all weekend commenting not just on how beautiful the wedding was, but how every single detail had been thought of. We truly couldn't be happier with how everything turned out, and it's all thanks to Meag. We wish we could get married again so we had an excuse to keep working with her!

I cannot recommend Meag enough!! After planning my own wedding, I knew that I wanted a planner for…read moreour large, fusion Indian/Western baby shower. Meag was easy to communicate with, responsive, organized, and had a great collection of vendors to bring my vision to life. She was also super flexible when dealing with last minute changes (including my mother in law bringing an entire tables worth of additional decor and items!). She took care of meetings with the venue & caterer, and set up and clean up so we didn't have to do much of the work, giving us room to enjoy the day! Would highly recommend her to anyone planning a large event. I hope to work with her again in the future! *will add some professional photos when I have them

My sisters surprised me with a photo booth for my wedding and I am so glad they chose What A Smile!…read moreThey are professional, fun, and engaging! The have a great set of props, let us put our own design on the photo strip and they are so affordable!! My friend loved them so much she booked them that night for her wedding! Since then we refer all of our friends to What A Smile!

I am so amazed with these photos by Lauren! I'll definitely be booking a family session for the…read moreholidays. Lauren is so friendly and is able to capture a natural smile. She was able to help me with poses too! She made me feel so comfortable and confident! The photos turned out so great!! She is very experienced and knowledgeable about photography. She captures absolutely beautiful angles and locations to get these amazing shots and the best lighting! I highly recommend!! Her eye for poses, vision, and creativity are true talent!

Lauren is so sweet and amazing to work with! When I told her I was interested in doing our family…read morephotoshoot at a vineyard, Lauren took the time to scout a bunch of different locations and found the dreamiest vineyard! On the day of the photoshoot, she was so kind and patient with our senior pup who is deaf. She was so sweet to our pup and helped guide our pup and was able to get the cutest pictures of with our pup. She made the whole experience so much fun and our pup loves her! Lauren took a bunch of different kinds of pictures during our session and we are so happy with how the pictures turned out. We highly recommend Lauren :)