We met Peadar since he was one of our officiant options for our micro wedding at Calistoga Ranch. I…read morecouldn't tell from reviews and websites who to pick but after hearing how much people love Peadar (and the fact that my future hubby actually had a slight preference for him and he usually has no opinions on these things), we decided to go with him even though my instinct is to typically hire the female options! I'm so glad that Russ and I picked Your Ceremony Matters because I can't imagine our big day without Peadar and Margarita now. Peadar is so amazing, he's basically like family to us now. He had amazing ceremony reading options and was super flexible in letting us have more than just one when we couldn't decide. He also encouraged us to have our family participate, which was really great. We also didn't have a pre-ceremony consult as part of our package but Peadar made sure to talk with us in advance over the phone (FaceTime, even!) so that we could get to know each other and on the day of, I felt like we already knew him, which really meant a lot! Peadar just called us to check-in post nuptials and I can't wait for our yearly check ins with him! I highly recommend Peadar and Margarita with Your Ceremony Matters - you definitely won't regret it! I'd do it all over if I could and would definitely ask Peadar back if we renew vows, etc. I like Peadar

We contracted Paedar Dalton for a wedding in Napa. Due to a…read moreseries of events beyond our control as in the pandemic and fires, we were unable to have the wedding. They were difficult to deal ,and then refunding only 1/2 of our deposit when ALL we did is contract with them. They did not engage in our wedding and their was zero reason to keep a deposit. We have hired another officiant and they could not believe an officiant would keep a deposit when clearly we did not choose to cancel, the event was left without a venue due to fire. They had several months to recover and replace our date. This took money from the wedding budget in hiring an officiant that will actually officiate the wedding. Very unethical to say the least and not expected from someone of faith.

Nilou was hands down the most amazing member of our wedding team. From our first phone call with…read moreher, we knew immediately that we wanted her to be a part of our wedding ceremony. Her warmth and kindness are palpable even through a video call, and her commitment to honoring the beauty and history of the Persian wedding ceremony is apparent from the very first interaction. She seamlessly blended Farsi and English for our 50/50 American/Iranian crowd, and even those who have never seen a Persian ceremony before were able to understand and appreciate each tradition and symbol used throughout the ceremony. We have heard from all of our guests that it was the most beautiful ceremony they have ever seen, and this was entirely due to Nilou's professionalism, warm demeanor, and passion for her work. We were so thrilled with the way Nilou's ceremony blended together our two cultures and made for the perfect start to our families joining together. Thank you Nilou!!

Nilou created our Zoroastrian Sofreh for our wedding last weekend. Her attention for detail and…read morecare for the art really showed. We loved working with her during the planning process. She was organized and timely. We would definitely recommend Nilou to make your wedding sofreh . 5/5

My husband and I found Kevin Tripp through online resources, probably Yelp and his reviews speak…read morefor themselves. He is great to work with and we want to thank him for doing such an amazing ceremony for us. Throughout the entire planning process Kevin was always there to answer questions and help with things we had no clue about. He took the time to meet with us beforehand so we could get acquainted prior to the ceremony. Everything was memorable and we would definitely recommend Kevin as an officiant.

My fiancé and I made arrangements for Kevin to be the officiant at our out of town wedding in…read moreHealdsburg. He was very responsive and returned my call immediately. He took the time to meet us on FaceTime so we could get acquainted prior to the ceremony. I was very disappointed when we had to postpone our wedding and change the venue only a week before. However, Kevin was kind and accommodating. I feel like we made the right decision in selecting Kevin, and I'm sorry he won't be able to officiate our rescheduled wedding. Thanks Kevin! It was very nice meeting you.

Saundra was recommended to us by our wedding planner and we were glad we choose her. We were…read morelooking for a more casual and non-religious officiant for our wedding and Saundra was more than willing to accommodate our preferences. Our first intro call was extremely informative. She laid out her process and her experiences with other couples and different types of weddings she's officiated in the past. It was clear she was an experienced officiant from the well-established process she had. Her communication was very effective. Her meetings were tailored toward new couples who have zero experience with weddings and she was always responsive to any questions we had through email or text. We received many compliments about the Ceremony that she officiated. Saundra had developed 90% of the script herself and personalized it based on our preferences. Her delivery and energy was less officiant-like and more casual/home-like which was what we were hoping for. I definitely would recommend Saundra as an officiant for any wedding. Her support and preparation for our wedding left no ambiguity during the ceremony.

We had an absolutely wonderful experience working with Saundra as our wedding officiant. From the…read morevery beginning, she was nothing but helpful and supportive throughout the entire process. All of our meetings with her were incredibly informative, she guided us step by step on what to expect when getting married and made everything feel smooth and stress free. Saundra was always available whenever we had questions, and her communication was excellent. We truly appreciated how responsive and reliable she was. It also meant so much to us that she took care of delivering our marriage license to the city hall clerks and even provided a tracking number for added security. The ceremony she delivered was absolutely beautiful. We loved her questionnaires and the way she used them to craft something so personal and meaningful. She really took the time to get to know us as a couple, which made the ceremony feel authentic and special. On top of that, she brought such a fun, warm energy while still respecting everything we wanted for our wedding. We highly recommend Saundra to anyone looking for an officiant who is caring, organized, and truly dedicated to making your day unforgettable. Saundra, thank you so much for everything you did for us. We are incredibly grateful for your support and for helping make our wedding day so special.

We are so glad we had Irene officiate our wedding!…read more She was so knowledgeable about the process and helped us craft the perfect, nondenominational ceremony that highlighted our love story. She was easy to work with and provided us clear deadlines for when we needed to give her specific info, which really helped us manage our time and gave us structure. What I loved most of all was that I had full faith Irene had it under control, and for our wedding day, we really wanted to reduce our stress and have fun with it. Irene nailed the assignment! Several of our guests told us after the wedding how much they loved the ceremony. We have Irene to thank for it turning out just as magical as we had imagined!

We were looking for an officiant for our wedding and Irene's name came up in our search. I wasn't…read morequite sure what to look for or what to expect, but her earnest communication and feedback made the process easy for us and instilled a lot of confidence in a ceremony that can be as structured or unstructured as you want. For us, we wanted structure, and Irene presented us with lots of options. I want to highlight her eloquence and her natural curiosity. She asked all the right questions and weaved together an introduction that moved us, and turned a magical moment into something divine. I would recommend her regardless of the particular needs of your ceremony, because I think she has the experience and wisdom to adapt to your needs.

We were having difficulties finding an officiator through our church and only had 1 week before our…read morewedding date to find someone to officiate our wedding. We then stumbled across Officially Hitched and got connected with Annie. She made what was a stressful moment extremely stress relieving. Her vocals at our ceremony were clear, said at a good pace and overall a well spoken reading of our script we created. I would absolutely recommend going through them they made this a pleasant simple and seamless experience.

Annie was the anchor of our ceremony, and we truly cannot imagine the day without her. The time and…read morecare she spent getting to know us and our love story translated so beautifully into the words she shared during our ceremony -- there was not a dry eye in the house. The thoughtfulness she brought to honoring our ancestors and land acknowledgment, the way she wove together how we met and the core values that guide us every day, all felt deeply personal and intentional. Her beautiful poetry and storytelling created space for both our Black and Jewish traditions and histories in a way that felt authentic, loving, and profoundly meaningful. Days later, we are still reeling from the magic of that day and so grateful Annie was the one who guided us through it.

This review is long overdue, but my wife and I were reflecting on our wedding with our family, and…read moreour family was raving about Elizabeth and we knew it was time to write it out. My wife and I were married in Bodega Bay on May 18th, 2024 and Elizabeth was such a huge reason why our wedding was so special. She got to know my wife and I and was patient with us while we reflected on our relationship. She provided us with insight and examples of ceremony ideas, which really helped us figure out what was important to us. Elizabeth created a story that truly captured my wife and I, and we could not be more grateful for her! She even made copies of our ceremony for us and our moms. During our ceremony, we had a brother read song lyrics, Elizabeth read a poem, and together my wife and I planted a tree using soil from our childhood homes, and Elizabeth made sure everything ran smoothly. We still have people tell us that our ceremony was special, and we have Elizabeth to thank for that. She is wonderful and we highly recommend!

Initially, my now-husband and I only had one option for who would perform our wedding ceremony -- a…read moregood friend who lives out of the country. We wanted someone who we felt really understood who we are as individuals and together. Well, our original wedding date was scheduled for early May 2020, so that didn't happen. When we were finally able to reschedule, it was still before people were freely traveling internationally, so our friend was out of the picture and we had no second choice. Defeated, we looked through the recommendations from our wedding planner and only one piqued my interest -- Elizabeth River. I was convinced that she was the best choice just from going through her website, but I was still reluctant that someone we didn't even know could get to know enough about us in just a couple months to be able to create a ceremony that felt personal and reflected who we are. Proceeding the wedding, our Zoom prep meetings with Elizabeth were so much fun! She was effortless to talk to and made us feel so at ease. It was like we were talking to someone we had known a long time. At this point, I absolutely knew that Elizabeth was the right choice, but given every wedding ceremony I've ever sat through, I wasn't expecting anything too original. Well I was dead wrong. The first draft of the ceremony that Elizabeth sent us was so beautiful and captured everything we could've hoped for and more! After the ceremony on our wedding day, several guests asked us who Elizabeth was to us and how long we had known her. Most people assumed she must have been a longtime family friend because of how perfectly the ceremony represented us. It was personal, funny, deeply meaningful, and perfectly tailored to us and what we wanted to express to each other and to our guests. Before we met Elizabeth we didn't put too much importance on the ceremony, but it ended up being just as magical as the rest of our day. Even now, I'm still in disbelief over how special our ceremony was. After our wedding, I wanted to print out our vows to frame but hadn't gotten around to it. On our one year anniversary, Elizabeth sent us a beautiful keepsake copy that we will use to frame! I am so proud of our vows -- they are word for word what my husband and I would like to remind each other of through the good and bad. We are forever grateful to Elizabeth for creating a ceremony for us that surpassed anything we ever thought possible. It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway -- I love my friend, but I am eternally thankful that we had the honor of Elizabeth creating and officiating our wedding ceremony for us. Thank you, Elizabeth!

We wholeheartedly agree with every positive comment in Brooke's previous reviews! She made our…read moreentire wedding day flow effortlessly from start to finish. We found Brooke by searching for wedding planners that had worked with our venue (Timber Cove Resort) before. Having worked there before, it was a huge plus that she already knew the coordinators and had cultivated relationships with trusted vendors who were familiar with the property. This insider knowledge made our planning process very smooth. We decided to go with the partial planning package, which fit our needs well. Early in the planning process, we'd spend time researching vendors on our own as well as ask Brooke for her recommendations, then reach out to the vendors on both of our lists. We found ourselves choosing her suggestions almost every time. Her industry experience and keen eye for quality vendors became obvious very quickly, yet she never made us feel pressured to go with any particular choice. She simply provided excellent options and let us make the decisions. Throughout the entire process, Brooke was incredibly mindful of our budget. In our very first meeting, she showed us a detailed budget from a previous wedding she did at our venue and walked us through each line item, pointing out areas where we might want to allocate more or less based on our priorities. This level of transparency and attention to detail immediately gave us confidence in her approach. Her communication style was exactly what we needed. We often sent her emails late at night, and Brooke would consistently respond first thing the next morning with clear, comprehensive answers. There was not a single time that she didn't address a concern in one of our emails, even when we sent her massive lists. She was also always proactive about letting us know when she'd be on vacation well in advance, allowing us to plan our questions and timeline accordingly. Brooke's flexibility was another standout quality. While our contract only covered the wedding day itself, we had planned a Welcome Dinner the night before and a Farewell Brunch the day after that we intended to handle ourselves. Unlike other planners we'd heard about from our friends who strictly limit their involvement to contracted days (which is understandable), Brooke was incredibly supportive when questions came up about these additional events. She went above and beyond by helping us order linens from the rental company and create layouts for these extra events. Not to say that future clients should expect this kind of support for non-contracted events by any means, but we were grateful for her willingness to lend a helping hand with the extra details that made our entire wedding weekend cohesive and stress-free. When our wedding day arrived, everything ran flawlessly! Even when we had a last-minute request to move our toasts indoors due to wind and chilly weather, Brooke handled it seamlessly without missing a beat. We can't imagine having planned our wedding without Brooke. Her expertise, professionalism, and genuine care for our vision made what could have been an overwhelming process both enjoyable and successful. We truly couldn't think of anything negative when she asked for our feedback after the wedding. We absolutely recommend her without reservation!

I cannot imagine a more competent, experienced, professional, and kind wedding planner than Brooke…read moreGustafson of Orchard Avenue Events. She truly pulled out all the stops to create the most magical, heavenly day of my life! My husband and I were in awe and so impressed by her, especially since we are pretty detail oriented ourselves. Brooke is even more so, and genuinely cared that our wedding day was perfectly executed from start to finish. She is prompt when responding to emails and texts and is always on time. In addition, her extensive industry experience is obvious and came in handy time and time again as we navigated the complicated wedding planning process. It is important to note that she is also very kind, understanding, and hard working, so I never once felt uncomfortable asking her questions or for tasks to be done. Brooke knew how much I cared about the look and feel of our wedding being just right, and she completely blew me out of the water - so much so that I cried for the first time before walking down the aisle when she gave me a sneak peak of the reception hall. And on my wedding night, Brooke provided all of my bridesmaids flip flops and even went back to our hotel to grab the flats I left behind so that we could dance the night away! She is so special and a true artist. Without a doubt - there is no one else you should hire for your wedding planner - Brooke is the one! (Nicole and Nicholas Errico - Sonoma Golf Club - 6/3/23)