We were planning a ceremony that was respectful of all faiths, sexual-orientations, and ethnicities. We wanted someone who spoke well, had a sense of humor & experience we could depend on. We met with 7 officiants from a variety of backgrounds. Marguerite was among the most expensive, but we were happy to pay top dollar for what she seemed to offer. (6 months until our wedding on Aug. 16) Her "custom" writing process was based on questionnaires. She later poked at me saying "you have the longest couples questionnaire ever!" This felt condescending, but I brushed it off. EMAIL FOLLOW UP (keep reading) 1) to schedule rehearsal & offer to feature her on our website. 2) to offer her a hotel room for the night of our rehearsal so she wouldn't have to drive the long distance back & forth twice. 3) to return our questionnaires. No response for 5 days, so 4) to confirm she got them. 5) to ask when we would see the 1st draft, to which she responded "no later than July 20." LOVELY! But, July 20th came and went. We emailed her asking if she had a chance to work on it? Ending with "Totally cool if you need more time, just wanting to know what to expect." Her response: "August 1 or just before is my deadline. I have two ceremonies to complete before I start yours." WAIT... WHAT!? I called her. She was snide and defensive. Admitted she had forgotten, totally unapologetic. Then a sharp remark along the lines of "if you're in a rush to get your ceremony I can try to get it done." This was appalling to me. I explained that she's the celebrant not me, I'm simply going by what she told us. I then asked if anything had changed for her during the Summer, making our wedding a burden? She responded with "I've never had a client follow up so much." UMM.. Her arrogance and unreliability was unsettling. My fiancé & I talked it over and decided that given the time crunch (3 weeks at this point!) & our 50% deposit, we would stick it out & hope for a well-written ceremony. SHE DID WRITE A NICE CEREMONY. This gave us some comfort. EXCEPT!!!! At the end of the email was: "Finally and unfortunately, I will not be able to attend your wedding rehearsal. I failed to put a business trip on my personal calendar." ATTEND!? YOU ARE THE REHEARSAL! She found a rehearsal fill-in, & said she'd "try her best" to make it back in time to officiate for us. Oh, & this was 6 days before our wedding. GEE, THANKS! We were afraid we'd end up with what we didn't want: a stranger reading a script. The unknowns had our stress levels shooting through the roof. We decided to reach out to another officiant we liked a lot, Howard Katz. He remembered us immediately saying "uh oh, what happened to your officiant!?" He gave us some much needed laughs. It was refreshing to have a caring personality on the line. Without reference, I hadn't realized how impersonal & brash Marguerite had been. He asked how our planning had gone and if we were ready for our big day. Coincidentally, he would be working 20 miles from the farm the day of our wedding. He told us he'd be happy to jump in and marry us! It was crazy even considering this TWO days before our wedding. We sent him $50 in good faith just for the effort & he said that he'd bring his suit to work with him and be on-call for us until 4. AMAZING. Our rehearsal fill-in had a family emergency & had to bail last minute, so Anita Vaughn (back up #2) came instead. She was a very sweet woman and did her best given the chaotic circumstances. She really had no clue what was going on - and we didn't fault her for this. We basically conducted our own rehearsal with Anita reading Marguerite's lines and taking notes. Marguerite promised she'd go over these notes to make sure she did everything right for our wedding (if she made it back in time!). WEDDING DAY. With Howard on-call, we figured Marguerite would ring us at some point to let us know that she had landed, right!? NOPE. At noon, my fiancé had to call her. Upon arrival, her first priority was to "settle up" on her final payment. Naturally. Then she married us. Read the wrong script (1st edit, not the final draft!) with NONE of Anita's notes. She skipped my sister-in-law's blessing completely, and the ceremony was over. People didn't know, but we did. CRAPPY. POST-WEDDING. She emailed us the next day, apologizing for skipping my SIL's blessing & stating that our keepsake ceremony copy would be sent "by the end of Labor Day weekend." We just received it (addressed only to my husband. WTH!?), postmarked 6 weeks past Labor Day weekend. Without ever asking if we were satisfied with her, she presumptuously emailed me: "I'd be delighted if you would send a testimonial or your feedback that I can cut and paste and post to my website. I find that couples really read the reviews. In these days of Yelp, reviews matter a whole lot." YES, THEY DO! And I'm rarely inspired to write a bad one. But, this is our honest experience. Cheers. read more

There are not enough good things I can say about working with Marguerite as our wedding celebrant. She was utterly fantastic. My husband and I are not at all religious, which actually makes it difficult to find an officiant or celebrant who will respect our opinions and keep religion out of a ceremony. We also wanted to find an officiant who performed all kinds of ceremonies, including same-sex unions because we think it's important to acknowledge all types of relationships (and a lot of people out there just WON'T do the same-sex unions). We came across Marguerite on www.theknot.com and we loved her site. When we first met with her, we were really impressed with her candor, demeanor and level of knowledge of all kinds of ceremonies, traditions, literature, etc. Her process is lengthy but the ceremony turns out wonderfully. We filled out a questionnaire that Marguerite turned into a beautiful ceremony about our love story. She wrote vows for us, gave us a bunch of choices for readings, vows, etc. and the ceremony was amazing. I have never heard more people compliment a wedding ceremony like they complimented ours - I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. Our story was wonderful, the vows were beautiful and the entire ceremony went off without a hitch. Marguerite is a true professional and I could not possibly be happier with the way she writes and puts together a ceremony. read more

I agree with Jenna. As the mother of the groom and although not a practicing Jew definitely a more spiritual person than my son I had my misgivings. The service was wonderful, it had meaning, and managed not to offend anyone, not easy for a non religious ceremony being presented to a Christian/ Jewish crowd. I also heard only good comments afterwards. This woman is wonderful !!! read more

I beg you---before you pick a random officiant out of the phone book and go from there, please, please meet with Marguerite. She was the best decision we made when it came to our ceremony. I think it's easy that if you're not religious, to shrug off your ceremony and assume any old 10-minute speech from a random officiant will do. Marguerite though, will truly make your ceremony special. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll feel like she's been your friend for years. Honestly, our wedding was a huge party, but the thing people still talk about is how awesome Marguerite was and how meaningful our ceremony was. She told our love story in a non-cheesy and very fun way. We filled out a lengthy couple's questionnaire that was worth every second. From there, she wrote the ceremony but also gave us a ton of options to customize it for us. The result: the most insightful, fun, light-hearted (but at the same time completely serious when it came to us professing our love) ceremony that we could've imagined. It was so about us---and isn't that what it should be? And even if Marguerite was just some random woman who I shared a bus with, I would be drawn to her cool, calm and collected personality. Why wouldn't you want someone like that to be around you on your wedding day! read more

Marguerite was the second celebrant we met, and I knew right away she would be the one performing our ceremony. She has a fun, vibrant, yet soothing personality and just immediately puts you at ease. I won't detail the ceremony drafting process, as others here have covered it. Suffice it to say that Marguerite's care and thoughtfulness resulted in a ceremony that was fun, personal and uniquely us. Being 40 and non-religious, my husband and I knew we didn't want a lot of schmaltzy stuff, we just wanted to be able to communicate to our friends and family where we've been as individuals and now as a couple, what our relationship means to us and what we hope for the future. Marguerite was able to deliver that in such a special way. And on the day of, she was such a calming presence, and had such a serene command of the room, that it really helped to calm my nerves. Afterwords, people couldn't stop talking about how lovely the ceremony was, and how well Marguerite delivered it. Honestly, I thought the ceremony was going to be the "boring" part of our wedding. Take this ring, blah blah blah. But Marguerite gave us something that we'll treasure always. Thank you! read more

Marguerite, and her company Meaning Moments, did a great job officiating our wedding ceremony. It was extremely personal and will always be a very intimate moment for us and our guests. My fiancé and I, who are both atheists, were looking for something nonreligious, yet still warm and romantic. Marguerite was recommended to us by another popular officiate, Anita Vaughan, who was already booked for that day. We met with Marguerite and were instantly excited to hear how she could make a customized ceremony that had all that we wanted, and would leave out what we didn't. Marguerite started off the process by interviewing us, hearing how we met, and sending us each a couples questionnaire to fill out. She also instructed us to fill out the questionnaire closer to our wedding day, so we would feel more "in the moment." After we had sent the questionnaires, she emailed us a first draft of the ceremony that included recommendations on metaphors, readings, and vows. We had complete freedom to change, omit, or included anything we wanted. A few drafts later, our ceremony was ready. Even reading it a couple days out, made me tear up and get super excited for the ceremony. Marguerite attended and lead the rehearsal. She also helped us stay on time and line up the day of. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful and touching. I loved how she told the story of how we met, and told us what each of us had said we loved about one another. Everyone was crying the whole time. It was very intimate and special. Afterwards, so many of our guests said they had never seen such a personal wedding ceremony before. Everyone loved Marguerite! When we returned from our honeymoon, Marguerite had sent us copies of our marriage license (which she filed for us) and a bound copy of our ceremony. She even typed up and included the vows we had written and read to each other. It will always be a special keepsake for us! I would highly recommend Marguerite, and Meaningful Moments, to anyone who is looking for a ceremony that is a little different and personalized. Especially, I would recommend Marguerite to atheists or couples who come from mixed religions or cultures. She did a flawless job and helped create a very special memory for us both! read more

I wish I had the words to properly convey just how wonderful it was to work with Marguerite and how grateful we are that she was the Celebrant for our wedding! The other brides here know what I mean -- we TRULY could not have asked for a more beautiful and heartfelt ceremony. From the first moment I read the Meaningful Moments profile, I just knew that she was the one for us and meeting Marguerite in person quickly confirmed my instincts...she has the warmest smile and the most soothing voice, and her professionalism and dedication to her role as a Celebrant were immediately evident. Among the many things that stood out for us, we appreciated that she shared our values and helped us celebrate them by letting us share with her who we are, how we love, and why it was so important to have these things represented at our wedding. Marguerite helped make planning our ceremony so easy -- she guided us through the process and lent a helping hand (and the voice of experience!) when we needed it most. She was incredibly organized and communicative, we never had to wonder where we stood with things! Of all the parts of wedding planning, this was the most important (other than finding the right person!) and thankfully, the most rewarding. Our guests (and other vendors!) have repeatedly complimented us on how incredible our ceremony was, and we even had someone ask if Marguerite would be willing to travel to Colorado when their daughter gets married! Marguerite is both a gift and a blessing -- we are so proud she is part of our wedding story! We couldn't have asked for a more exceptional wedding ceremony. read more

Marguerite was the perfect officiant! We hired her for our Nov. 2016 wedding at the Art Institute. She was flexible with meeting us via Skype as we were planning our wedding from Los Angeles. She took the time to get to know us as a couple and really created a ceremony that resonated with both of our beliefs of what a wedding ceremony should be like. We both come from families that expected a traditional church wedding, but they were pleasantly surprised by how meaningful the ceremony turned out. We couldn't be happier! read more

When friends of ours got married last year, we both were thinking how beautiful the ceremony was. It spoke perfectly about who our friends are, why they love one another, and what makes their relationship wonderful. We had just gotten engaged, and knew right then that we wanted Marguerite to officiate our wedding. Working with Marguerite was wonderful. She has a great deal of experience with all types of life events, and was very clear, throughout the process, about what she does and needs to make the ceremony perfect. That meant we knew exactly what to expect - we consistently felt at ease with how capable she is. She put time into getting to know us - our love, our dreams. She has a clear and firm process for developing the ceremony, but makes sure that every detail is unique to your wedding, and truly reflects your personalities and relationship. Our friends and family are still talking - months later - about how perfect our ceremony was. Many people have told us, "it was just so you" or "it fit your relationship perfectly." During the ceremony, people were laughing and crying. It was serious when it needed to be, and hilarious at all the right moments. It was incredibly meaningful. And we have already been asked by engaged friends how to contact Marguerite. read more

Marguerite made our wedding so special, so unique, and everything we wanted. From our first meeting to the day of the wedding we enjoyed working with her. She took quite a bit of time to get to know us and to write a ceremony that spoke to us and was personalized for us. She was open to our edits and provided helpful suggestions. Her presentation was perfect. Our guests commented on how enjoyable the ceremony was and they remembered specific details. These things I credit to Marguerite. Both in how she wrote a personal and interesting ceremony and how her presentation really made our guests feel apart of the moment- exactly what we wanted. She even took care of our marriage license for us. Thank you! read more

My husband and I chose Marguerite as the celebrant for our recent wedding and could not have been happier with our choice. Originally, we wanted to find an officiant who would respect our wishes to have a short, non-religious ceremony. We were also looking for someone with a good sense of humor. As we called around, we realized that many officiants can do short and non-religious, but there's really no warm, fun feeling when talking with them. That is, until we talked with Marguerite! We felt at ease with her right when we met her. She explained her process and helped us to think more deeply about the ceremony. The process of filling out the questionnaire and going through the ceremony drafts helped us to hone in on the tone and sentiment we really wanted for our wedding. It was evident that Marguerite put in a LOT of time and effort in creating a ceremony that fit us and our vision. We had planned to write our own vows until we got the first ceremony draft from Marguerite; there was no need after that! She expressed everything we wanted to say to each other so eloquently. On the wedding day, we were so touched by our ceremony- the words and the delivery! Marguerite was so warm and genuine. Her presentation was professional but also so caring and meaningful. Her hard work and thoughtfulness came together to create such a wonderful experience for us on our wedding day. Our guests thought the ceremony was beautiful, but more importantly, it was exactly the way we wanted to begin our marriage! We would highly recommend using Marguerite as a celebrant for any important life event. read more

Marguerite married my partner and I on February 22, 2013. There is no way to explain our experiences with Marguerite and our ceremony other than "perfect." Marguerite is creative, talented, eloquent, and warm. She used our answers to her questionnaire to craft the perfect ceremony that was both funny and sentimental while still being unique. Many of our guests shared that our wedding was the most beautiful ceremony they had ever attended. Please don't hesitate to work with Marguerite, especially if you're an LGBT couple! Thanks Marguerite! read more

Marguerite was the celebrant for my wedding in September 2016. When my husband and I first met her, we knew she was the one. She has a very warm inviting demeanor. She took time to get to know us on a personal level. She was very detailed in creating our ceremony and customized it to our taste and preferences. She told our love story in a way that we couldn't. Our ceremony was romantic, heartfelt and there was some humor. It wouldn't have been the same with another celebrant. Months after the wedding, my husband and I are still getting compliments on how amazing Marguerite was. Aside from the actual ceremony, she is very professional. She is easy to work with and delivers on what is promised. We were blessed to have her be a part of our special day! read more

Marguerite married my husband and I September of this year, and we could not have asked for a better person for the job. From the second we met Marguerite we felt like we were in good hands. She has a wonderful, calming energy and really cherishes the art of ceremony and the individuality of the couple. As a couple other reviews mentioned, you have an initial sit-down with Marguerite and then she asks each partner to complete a couple's questionnaire. The questionnaire is a bit cumbersome, but I think it was key to making the ceremony so customized. I actually enjoyed thinking and reflecting on my relationship with my husband, friends and family members. We had a bit of trouble getting everyone to the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner, but Marguerite was beyond accommodating despite a slight scheduling conflict. On the day-of, Marguerite was unobtrusive yet direct. We received so many compliments on our ceremony, and I think we have Marguerite to thank for that. I was so nervous to read my vows because I knew I would be sobbing - Marguerite put me at ease saying that crying is an important part of the ceremonial process. I can't say enough good things about the ceremony - it felt so genuine, warm and loving. I think Marguerite's temperament and expertise foster that kind of environment. I would definitely recommend Marguerite. With every wedding/big event, there will be little problems or scheduling conflicts that arise, but Marguerite handles them like a pro. Ultimately if you go with Marguerite, you are choosing someone who really gets to know your partnership and respectfully composes a sincere ceremony. Thank you Marguerite! read more

Thank you so much Marguerite! I'm sorry for the slow reply, but we've been on a bit of a whirlwind since the wedding day. We will forever be grateful and glad to have chosen you to play this role. You were so accommodating and influential in every step of the ceremony, and you not only allowed but encouraged us to be ourselves. I can't imagine any other person to fulfill such an intimate and singular role in our wedding....the beauty and singularity of the ceremony was the first compliment we received from almost every one of our guests. I will forever cherish the photos of Alex, myself, our party, our family, and our guests so sincerely laughing and crying as a result of your influence over our ceremony :) With sincere thanks, Alex and Kelly read more

Marguerite created a beautiful wedding ceremony for us. We wanted a non-denominational ceremony that was authentic to our relationship - we're not religious and wanted a more fun/moving ceremony. We met with Marguerite once and were impressed by how passionate she is about creating meaningful experiences - decided to hire her on the spot. She then sent us a questionnaire to fill out separately about our relationship - how we met, our experiences as a couple, our likes/dislikes, what we wanted for our future, etc. From those answers, she created a beautiful, customized ceremony that was really moving and personalized. Many of our guests have said that they've never experienced a more beautiful and sincere wedding ceremony. Thank you, Marguerite! read more

Marguerite was honestly one of the best parts of our wedding day. We constantly get unsolicited compliments from all our guests about how amazing her delivery and presence was and how impressed they were with our ceremony. We spent weeks working on the ceremony with Marguerite, and she truly made it unique and special. We couldn't have picked a better celebrant to be such an important part of our day. As amazing as our wedding day was, the ceremony was the most beautiful part and our story will live forever in the hearts and minds of our guests...all thanks to Marguerite. read more

Marguerite was a dream to work with. She was so attentive and really helped us convey what we were trying to achieve with our wedding ceremony. Everyone said it was the best wedding ceremony they had been to. She was the only good thing that came out of our relationship with our horrible wedding planner. She has a very calming presence as well, which is really nice to be around. I loved the readings and options she suggested for our event as well. I never thought it would matter that much who married us, but she really made the event and changed my mind. Thank you Marguerite! read more

We couldn't agree more with the other reviewers! Marguerite is great -- warm, open, and calming. We enjoyed our initial meeting, the drafting process, and the wonderful ceremony she created and executed. We loved it and so did our guests. She made some last minute changes for us due to a death in my family and it was very touching. Then, when a fire alarm went off during the ring ceremony, she was completely unphased! Looking at her calm expression, you would have thought it was part of the plan! Luckily, the alarm went off after a few seconds and she continued on as if nothing had happened. :) She's a pro and we highly recommend her to anyone looking for a personalized, non-religious ceremony. read more

Another positive review for Marguerite. She officiated our May 2012 ceremony, and guests are still asking where we found her and commenting on what an amazing job she did. Given that I am Christian, my husband is an athiest, and our guests are everything in between, we wanted a ceremony that felt authentic to us as a couple and focused on who we are and why we decided to get married. We searched for an officiant who wouldn't bat an eye at all this, and Marguerite handled our wishes in stride. Working with her was a breeze, and after a few drafts, we ended up with a final product with which my now husband and I were very happy with. Warm and welcoming, humorous and intimate, our ceremony rang true to who we are, and we couldn't be happier with the result. Thanks Marguerite! read more

My husband and I are not religious, but still wanted a meaningful ceremony that would honor the spirit of the commitment we were making. Marguerite delivered. I loved filling out the couples questionnaire that she uses to write your personal, custom ceremony. Not only did it result in the perfect ceremony, but it really gave me an opportunity to reflect on the meaning behind all the crazy planning during the hectic months before our wedding. I received many compliments from guests about our ceremony, but none better than this email from a close family friend: "The ceremony, if that is still the right term these days, was the most moving I have ever attended. It was unique in every way and I think captured the depth of their relationship and commitment to each other." read more

Marguerite was one of the best parts of our wedding. She took immense effort to write a ceremony that truly reflected us and our relationship, basing it around questionnaires she gave us to complete. We were amazed at how well she captured the feeling that we wanted for our wedding ceremony. Several of our other vendors afterwards commented to my husband and myself how moved they were by our ceremony and wanted Marguerite's contact information to recommend to future clients looking for a celebrant. Marguerite was such a calming, special presence on our day. Our wedding ceremony moved seamlessly between laughter and tears and was so authentic to our relationship. Marguerite is a wonderful choice as a celebrant and I cannot recommend her enough! read more

Marguerite was the celebrant at a friend's wedding several years ago and when I got engaged, I knew I wanted her to be the celebrant at my wedding. After my fiance met her, he was also sold. It was an absolute pleasure having Marguerite as our celebrant and I cannot say enough about her! She created a ceremony that was warm, personal, and that completely encapsulated my husband and I and how we feel about each other. We received so many compliments from our guests about their emotions during the ceremony and how touched they were by its beauty; several even commented that it was the most moving ceremony they've ever attended. Marguerite had my husband and I complete a couples questionnaire on our own (we could not discuss it with each other or share our answers) and she created our ceremony from scratch based on our responses. She sent us a draft and asked us to provide feedback so she could make it exactly what we wanted. Her firsts draft was pretty spot-on-- we made a few minor edits, but she did such a fabulous job capturing us in her first go-around that we really didn't see much to change. She also recommended several readings for us to choose from, and even mini-ceremonies such as the unity candle ceremony. Marguerite will take the time to learn about you and your wishes for your ceremony, and will create something incredibly special and unique and deliver it beautifully! No two ceremonies will be the same. read more

Marguerite was simply amazing. We couldn't have asked for a more personalized, kind and meaningful ceremony. She came recommended by our wedding planners, and upon our first meeting I knew by her personality and charm that she would be perfect fit for our ceremony. As a gay couple, we wanted someone who would be flexible with our needs and would be experienced enough to make our wedding fit our personalities. What made Marguerite stand out was her personalized touch on the ceremony itself. She sent us a questionnaire that helped her create a "story" for the ceremony and even went as far to call our best friends to enhance the stories she told during the wedding. She made the event more about the story of us than your standard wedding affair. After the wedding, we had so many family members and friends comment on how exceptional and personal the ceremony was. I would definitely recommend Marguerite for anyone looking for an unforgettable wedding ceremony experience. read more