Not exxagerating, Virginia delivered the perfect ceremony for us - it was sweet and simple and felt like she'd known us for far longer than she had. We are incredibly grateful to Virginia, and would HIGHLY recommend her to any other couples looking for a thoughtful, funny, and very kind officiant. read more

Virginia was perfect. Absolutely perfect. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect person to marry us. We toyed with the idea of having a friend marry us, but there just wasn't the perfect person in our lives. Having been through the process now, I am so glad that we decided to have Virginia marry us. The ceremony was short, sweet, and wonderfully meaningful. Again, we can't recommend Virginia enough. She was so wonderful to work with. Personable, thoughtful, and detail-oriented. Thank you a million times over Virginia!!! Nalani and Ben read more

My now husband and I found Virginia on yelp about a month before our ceremony at SF City Hall and couldn't be happier. Living in Southern California, I was worried I wouldn't be able to find someone. The first time we spoke over the phone I knew right away she was the one. She has a very commanding voice that is also tender and speaks very clearly and concisely. We spoke several times before the ceremony going over the fine details of the day. We were happy to know she regularly volunteered at the City Hall for ceremonies and had great suggestions for how to go about doing it successfully. She helped my husband and I also with how to go about writing our vows, which I was struggling with. Following the ceremony, Virginia provided us with a copy of the ceremony on pretty paper as a souvenir as well, which I found very thoughtful. She also handled completing the marriage license and turning it in for us so we weren't burdened on our big day. I would recommend Virginia to anyone looking for a professional officiant who was kind and a reasonably priced! Thank you Virginia! :) read more

Virginia prepared the sweetest vows for my partner and I! She has such a kind and warming demeanor and I would recommend her to anyone looking for an officiant! Thank you again Virginia! read more

We met Virginia the morning of our ceremony at San Francisco City Hall. She serves as a volunteer deputy wedding commissioner. From the moment we met her, my now-husband and I were immediately at ease. Her easy presence was reassuring on a day filled with both joy and nerves! Our friends who came to the ceremony with us all were pleasantly surprised with the way her words came through as if she had known us personally for years. It was really such a wonderful morning made more special by Virginia. I hope she reads this review because in the flurry of activity we didn't get a chance to take a card so we could email her with a personal thank you. Knowing that we might be able to help others searching for an officiant find her through Yelp is our way of paying forward to the universe the great kindness it showed us on our wedding day by being randomly paired up with Virginia! read more

Virginia officiated our wedding at City Hall and she was absolutely wonderful. Although we didn't meet her until a few minutes before the ceremony, she immediately put us at ease with her warmth and kindness. The vows she read at the ceremony were perfect for the occasion and she was nice enough to email a personalized copy to us a few days later. If you ever have a chance to choose Virginia, do not hesitate! read more

Virginia was amazing. So thoughtful, with prepared and personalized words that brought me to unexpected tears. We were married in her beautiful, warm, and loving living room, with her husband as our witness. She was so kind, thoughtful and loving. The experience is something I will never forget, just as I will never forget Virginia. Absolutely the top experience and moment in my life, and Virginia made it exceptional. We love her. read more

My husband and I couldn't be happier with Virginia. We do not live in SF (we live in Chicago) so we pretty much planned everything via emails and phone conversations. Virginia was very attentive, listened to what we wanted and was extremely communicative throughout the whole process. When we got to San Francisco, she met up with us and took the time to do a trial run of our ceremony. On the day of our wedding, Virginia was prompt and delivered the most touching and sweet ceremony. We couldn't recommend her enough! Virginia was truly amazing! read more

We had Virginia officiate our wedding in San Francisco on October 11th. She was absolutely wonderful!!! She incorporated a sense of sweet intimacy and personal touches throughout the entire ceremony. Prior to the wedding, we met with her twice so we could get to know each other. She was inviting and super informative because we had no idea what we were doing! If you're looking to have someone represent the two of you, I recommend Virginia 100%. She's thoughtful and listens to everything you want or need out of the perfect wedding ceremony! read more

As others have said here, we didn't have a chance to meet or speak to Virginia until a few moments before our City Hall wedding ceremony. Knowing that we weren't going to be able to choose our officiant on the day, we had set pretty low expectations. Virginia promptly exceeded those expectations and set a high bar for any weddings we attend at City Hall in the future. She was warm, caring and her words were perfect for the occasion. Her opening lines were one of the few things I remember from a whirlwind of a wedding day -- and she was nice enough to email a copy of our vows a few days later. Thanks, Virginia for making our wedding day a special one, in a special place! read more

We were extremely lucky to have Virginia officiate our elopement at the San Francisco City Hall. We wanted a no frills wedding as we are a mature couple, but we wanted a memorable occasion as well. Virginia brought a wonderfully spiritual vibe to what we had thought could have been a rather clinical ceremony. Her hearfelt words and perfect delivery as well as her sweet and grounded demeanor added depth and meaning to our special day. She is a very special person who obviously takes her job very seriously. She even followed up with us to send a copy of her beautiful vows. Do not hesitate to hire her for your special ceremony. read more

Definitely a little late in posting this review, but my husband and I were lucky enough to have Virginia officiate our civil ceremony at San Francisco City Hall in April and could not have been happier! When our plans for a more traditional wedding went awry, we opted for a little civil ceremony instead. We expected something pretty dry and cookie cutter, but were so pleasantly surprised by Virginia's speech! She was warm and kind, and you could tell every word was chosen with care. It made our little ceremony so special and we're forever grateful for the care that she put into our ceremony! read more

Virginia was terrific! Got married under the rotunda at SF city hall. Virginia said she knew of a few places on the upper floors that are a little out of the way and led us up to one of them--it was ideal. Then she took us back to the grand staircase for a few pics (PS: in addition to being an officiant; she is a superb photographer! She sent us a few hard copy prints in her thank you note after the ceremony and they were the best ones of all--by far.) Since we are not superstitious, she tailored the verbiage of the ceremony to suit us and omitted any reference to superstition, etc. Very nice woman, great communication skills, completely accommodating and a GREAT photographer. Hey, what more do you want?? read more

In the days before our wedding at San Francisco City Hall, my fiancé and I didn't expect much for our ceremony beyond a beautiful backdrop and hopefully a chance to take a few good pictures before we left. When we arrived at the County Clerk's Office, we met Virginia who immediately greeted us with a smile--laughing with us at the legal spelling of my husband's name, immediately putting us at ease with the process, and letting us know that this is one of the favorite parts of her job. She made our ceremony so beautiful and the vows so touching, we were all in tears by the time she declared us "life partners" (which we *loved*!)--she even made sure to give us her contact information so she could send us a personalized copy of our vows (which she did!). We expected something procedural, and instead left feeling like someone we had known for years had written a custom ceremony just for us. I can't recommend this beautiful judge enough! read more

Virginia is warm, classy, and kind. She met with us for three hours on our first meeting, taking the time to get to know us. We hired her to officiate our wedding in April 2014 in SF. She worked hard to make sure we had the exact ceremony that we wanted, and was great at communication and follow through. The ceremony was so warm and romantic. She wears a black robe which looks good in the pictures. She is just lovely!! read more

Virginia Van Zandt - Classy and warm! - Officiants Near Me - San Francisco, California

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When my wife and I went to city hall, we were expecting to just be 'going through the motions' to get a certificate of marriage. We were going to be married in Mexico the next month in front of family & friends, so this was a quick way to take care of the legal stuff in the United States first. Everything was pretty much "governmental" about this process, that is, until Virginia took us upstairs to do the vows up in the top floor of city hall. Once Virginia started our little ceremony, her authenticity and honest, heartfelt expression touched my wife and I deeply. Based on Virginia's beautiful words and style we both realized 'oh my gosh! we're really getting married!' and got tears in our eyes. In the midst of a semi-unfriendly governmental process, it was really amazing to have an officiant who was so earnest and true. It made something special out of what would otherwise have been a transactional experience at city hall. We will never forget that day - thank you Virginia! read more

Virginia officiated our wedding Summer 2015. My husband and I couldn't be happier with our decision. She is kind, has so many great ceremony ideas and is responsive (so critical when you're in the midst of wedding planning). Neither of us are religious and we did not want to have a friend officiate us, so we searched for an officiant on Yelp. As soon as we met Virginia, we knew that we wanted her to officiate our wedding. Her demeanor put us immediately at ease. She presented different ceremony options to us (all of which had the right balance of substance and efficiency). We met with her at her home and we talked about how we met, what marriage meant to us and what we'd like people to take away from the ceremony. Virginia incorporated all of the elements of our story to make it "our" ceremony. On the day of, Virginia showed up on time, was well prepared and had such a great presence. We got so many compliments on the ceremony, and still do months later. She even presented us with a copy of our vows on the day of for our records. So glad that she was a part of our special day! read more

Virginia is AMAZING! i contacted her while she was on vacation out of the country, but she still took the time to acknowledged she received the email and will be free on the day of my wedding to officiate it and will contact me when she returns. We spoke the day after she came back from vacation and she wanted to meet both me and wife (fiance at the time) because she wanted to get to know us and personalize the vows and the speech for the ceremony. Day of the ceremony, she was on time and the speech she gave, every could have sworn she knew us forever. I recommend her to everyone on yelp, and will definitely recommend her to any of my friends that may need a wedding officiant in the future. read more

Virginia officiated our wedding at San Francisco City Hall and I have nothing but praise for her. We had a chat with her over the phone and then met once in person and we knew right away that she would be the one to officiate. She gave us different versions of the draft including one that had some of our personal touches. During the wedding she had a very calming presence that made the most important time in my life a heck of a lot easier. I would definitely recommend her for anyone getting married in the San Francisco area especially for those who are using City Hall as a venue since she knows the place so well. Thank you again Virginia! read more

My husband and I recently got married at the SF City Hall with Virginia as our officiant. When we first reached out to her (over the phone) a few months ago, we both felt an immediate connection with Virginia. In the midst of all the wedding preparations/stress, we were always comforted by the fact that we had Virginia on our team! Since my husband and I do not live in San Francisco, Virginia sent us several photos of the city hall so we would have a better idea of the space and set-up before the wedding. When we told her that our ceremony was located at the South Gallery, she even went there in person to check out the lighting for us! In addition to paving a path to a extremely personalized and beautiful ceremony for us, Virginia helped remind us to always keep the big picture in mind. We are so fortunate to have found her, and I am excited for all the other happy couples who get to work with Virginia on their special day!! read more

Virginia recently was the officiant at our wedding at the San Francisco City Hall. She was great to work with and made the entire experience as easy as can be. She listened to what was important to us and fit that into the ceremony. We would recommend Virginia to anyone! read more

My partner and I had a civil ceremony perfomed at San Francisco's City Hall on 10/10/14. (We live in LA). Virginia was our officiant that day and we REALLY won the luck of the draw with her! She is very sweet and made this very simple ceremony especially meaningful with the wonderful vows she read as she we us. Jerome and I were both deeply moved both by the moment and by the words she said. She made a wonderful day even more so by her presence. read more

Virginia officiated our wedding and it made that special day so wonderful. As a gay man, I had never even thought about marriage that much, but when my soul mate came into my life, Virginia walked us through the process, taking away any jitters and replacing them with joy. The ceremony was on a beach below Pescadero, and her officiating was as beautiful as the scenery. She made the most important moment of our lives something we will always remember with such happiness (we're wearing out the dvd of the ceremony). Virginia is a warm, genuine person and that comes through in the beautiful words she gave us that day. I recommend her without reservations for a perfect ceremony you will always remember. read more