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2024

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Best Wedding Officiants in San Francisco

Our Recommended Top 15

We did the research for you!

  • Licensing
  • User Reviews
  • Mystery Shopping Calls

Our goal is to connect people with the best local professionals. We scored San Francisco Wedding Officiants on more than 25 variables across five categories, and analyzed the results to give you a hand-picked list of the best.

211Reviewed

132Curated

15Top Picks

Learn about our selection process.

Providers

featured provider = Featured Provider

Website
Novato, CA 94949

Why choose this provider?

My SF Wedding is a Novato wedding officiating studio that is operated by the Reverend Ema Drouillard. Reverend Drouillard was ordained in 1976 and is a Doctor of Philosophy Religion. She offers wedding officiating services for a wide range of weddings such as traditional weddings, religious weddings, nonreligious weddings, spiritual weddings, secular weddings, contemporary weddings, interfaith weddings, and nondenominational weddings. She provides a large number of wedding ceremony service packages for her clients. Reverend Drouillard also provides officiating services for baptisms, vow renewals, celebration of life ceremonies, memorials, and adoptions.

Website
San Francisco, CA 94131

Why choose this provider?

Cynthia Gregory has worked with over 1,500 couples to craft unique wedding ceremonies, including complex affairs and simple speeches that lasted only a few seconds. Some of the most popular services she offers include adding musical components and quotes from famous works for couples to use in their wedding vows or to play during the ceremony. She works in the San Francisco Bay area, covering weddings in many of the nearby towns and communities. Ms. Gregory offers her services to couples from all spiritual backgrounds and beliefs and has no problem customizing the wedding ceremony to match. Ceremonies by Cynthia not only provide wedding services, but can also offer an officiant for baby blessings, house blessings, and memorial services of all kinds.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (48)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
El Granada, CA 94018

Why choose this provider?

California Wedding Joy is an El Granada wedding officiating studio that is operated by the Reverend Raymond Teague. Reverend Teague has been ordained since 2001 and has served as a chaplain. He offers a wide range of services such as initial ceremony planning, wedding officiating, and signing and delivering marriage licenses. He provides officiating services for a wide range of weddings such as religious weddings, spiritual and inspirational weddings, romantic weddings, traditional weddings, non-traditional weddings, and more. Reverend Teague also provides officiating for memorial services and other life rituals as well.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (11)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
San Francisco, CA 94107

Why choose this provider?

Reverend Maggie Beretz is a San Francisco wedding officiant who holds a Master of Divinity and has over 20 years of experience. She provides officiating services for a wide range of weddings including religious weddings, nonreligious weddings, and same-sex weddings. In addition to officiating weddings, Reverend Beretz also provides officiating services for home blessings, memorial services, and child blessings. Her clients speak highly of her kind, compassionate, and joyful nature, as well as her strong voice and organizational skills.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (46)

Website
Petaluma, CA 94952

Why choose this provider?

Weddings of Heart is a Petaluma wedding officiating studio that is operated by the Reverend Lili Goodman Freitas. Reverend Freitas has been officiating weddings as a nondenominational ordained minister since 1983. She offers various types of wedding packages such as a customized wedding package and a deluxe wedding package. Her services include customized and personalized ceremony design, ceremony officiation, rehearsals, keepsake copies of ceremonies, and more. She also provides individual and couples coaching and workshops to prepare clients for marriage. In addition to weddings, Reverend Freitas also officiates vow renewals and commitment ceremonies throughout the Bay Area.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (39)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
Pinole, CA 94564

Why choose this provider?

Reverend Timothy Mills is a Pinole wedding officiant who has over 30 years of experience and has officiated over 2,400 weddings at over 800 Bay Area venues. He mostly provides his services for nonreligious couples, but is highly experienced with Christian and Jewish ceremonies, as well as Persian and Indian ceremonies. Reverend Mills is also fluent in Hebrew and provides officiating services for weddings that are customized to the style and personality of each couple that he works with. His clients speak highly of his professionalism, strong and eloquent voice, sense of humor, compassion, and his accommodating nature.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (149)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
Palo Alto, CA 94306

Why choose this provider?

Bay Area Ceremonies is a Palo Alto wedding officiating studio that is operated by officiant Dr. Richard A. Kaplowitz. Dr. Kaplowitz is ordained as a lay chaplain and has served as both dean and vice president at colleges and universities on the east coast and west cost of the United States. He officiates a wide range of customized ceremonies such as civil and spiritual weddings, nondenominational and interfaith weddings, LGBT weddings, elopements and short-notice marriages, and destination weddings, as well as vow renewals, baby-naming ceremonies and memorial services.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Google
5.0 / 5 (5)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
San Francisco, CA 94107

Why choose this provider?

Minister Judith Iam is a San Francisco wedding officiant who has over 15 years of experience officiating weddings. She provides officiating services for a wide range of weddings such as spiritual weddings, nondenominational weddings, interfaith weddings, secular weddings, civil weddings, same gender weddings, and elopements. She performs both small and large weddings throughout the Bay Area and offers customized and personalized officiating services for her clients. Judith also provides officiating services for vow renewals, commitment ceremonies, baby blessings, pet and project blessings, coming of age ceremonies, memorials, and transitions.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (10)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
4.5
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
San Francisco, CA 94044

Why choose this provider?

Lissin Lev Chaya is a San Francisco wedding celebrant and officiant who has been officiating weddings since 2006. In addition to wedding officiation services, Lissin is also a classically trained singer with over 30 years of experience and provides singing and sound blessing services for her clients. She also offers special services such as vow writing sessions, consultation on planning an earth-friendly and minimum impact event, pre-ceremony anointing blessing rituals, and oracle readings. Lissin also offers services such as baby blessings, adoption and family blending ceremonies, releasing rituals, funerals and memorial services, and house clearings and blessings.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (12)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
Sonoma, CA 95476

Why choose this provider?

Your Ceremony Matters is a Sonoma wedding officiating studio that has been operated by the Reverend Peadar Dalton and his wife Margarita since 2001. Reverend Dalton is ordained and also has years of seminary training. He provides various officiating service packages such as weekend wedding ceremony planning and officiating, weekday wedding planning and officiating packages, and intimate wedding planning and officiating packages. In addition to wedding officiating, Reverend Dalton provides a wide range of other services such as marriage preparation counseling, baby blessings and dedications, vow renewals, and celebration of life and memorial services.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (71)
Facebook
5.0 / 5 (12)

Website
San Francisco, CA 94016

Why choose this provider?

Wedding Vows by Nilou, located in San Francisco, California, is a professional wedding officiant service that is available to serve clients worldwide. A founder and director of several organizations, Nilou is an ordained minister and has spent more than a decade in the non-profit field. Nilou is also a Certifed Event Planner and offers partial and day-of-wedding coordination services to clients in addition to private and corporate events. Winner of the Wedding Wire Couples' Choice Awards from 2014 to 2017, Wedding Vows by Nilou is praised by former clients for the ability of the company to craft personalized ceremonies as well as its professionalism.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (99)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
Emeryville, CA 94608

Why choose this provider?

In Spirit Wedding is a wedding officiant agency in Emeryville, California, serving couples within the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. Their celebrant is Kimberly Satterfield, and their services include a complimentary consultation, planning the ceremony, rehearsal, ceremony, after the ceremony, and other services. Their other services include vow renewals, birth blessings, home blessings, and memorials. Kimberly Satterfield will calmly guide clients throughout the ceremony, and will always have an extra tissue on hand. She will remind couples to breathe and also coach them during the ceremony. After the ceremony, she will check whether the appropriate signatures are properly placed on the marriage license, and will make sure that the marriage license is filed in the county where it was originally issued. She has a Master's degree in Humanities with a focus on religion and is an ordained minister.

Website
Pleasanton, CA 94566

Why choose this provider?

Weddings by Steve is a Pleasanton wedding officiating studio that is operated by the Reverend Steve Siglin. Reverend Siglin has over 35 years of experience in the Bay Area wedding industry. He also has experience DJ’ing, planning, coordinating, directing, photographing, and videotaping weddings. He provides a wide range of services such as an initial consultation, a ceremony workbook with options, license information, and vendor referrals, drafting of a custom wedding ceremony, participation in rehearsal, and filing of a marriage license. He also provides premarital and post-martial coaching and more.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (68)

Professionalism:

We hire mystery shoppers to call our providers anonymously and evaluate them. Providers who respond quickly, answer questions thoroughly, and communicate politely score higher.
5.0
Responsiveness
Friendliness
Helpfulness
Detail

Website
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019

Why choose this provider?

Weddings by the Sea is a Half Moon Bay wedding officiating studio that is operated by wedding officiant Terry Plank. Terry has over 30 years of experience performing marriage ceremonies and has performed over 2,000 marriage ceremonies. He provides a wide range of wedding officiating packages including a destination wedding package at a beach, garden, or chapel location. The destination wedding package includes digital photographs by a professional photographer, wedding bouquet and boutonniere from a local retail nursery, and a wedding ceremony performed by an officiant.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (15)

Website
Novato, CA 94945

Why choose this provider?

Heartfelt Weddings is a Novato wedding officiating studio that is operated by Kathy and Larry Wilkerson. Kathy and Larry have performed over 1,500 wedding ceremonies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Wine Country over the past 15 years. Heartfelt Weddings provides various services such as preliminary consultations, personalized and customized wedding ceremonies, officiation of ceremonies, bound copies of ceremonies, and filing of legal documents. Kathy and Larry are both non-denominational ministers and perform wedding ceremonies for all cultures, faiths, backgrounds, and sexual orientations.

Reputation:

We scour the internet for reviews from well-known resources. Each provider is evaluated based on the quality and quantity of their reviews, their presence on multiple review sites, and their average minimum rating.
5.0
Yelp
5.0 / 5 (37)
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FAQs

  • Introduction

    Planning a wedding is a lot of work. You have numerous tasks and responsibilities. Even if you opt to hire a wedding planner, your input is required for everything. One of the decisions you need to make is who will marry you. Choosing your wedding officiant can be a challenging undertaking.

    If you have a religious background and are a regular member of a church, synagogue or other house of worship, the choice is probably easy. But if not, you may want something less traditional. You can choose a professional or ask a close friend or family member if they would be willing to officiate the ceremony. These FAQs can help you make a decision about your wedding officiant.

  • What is a wedding officiant?

    A wedding officiant, also called marriage officiant, is an individual with the legal authority to perform wedding ceremonies. Local judges and clergy members commonly act as wedding officiants. But, nearly anyone can obtain the necessary certification to become an officiant, although requirements vary from state to state.

  • What does a wedding officiant do?

    The main role of a wedding officiant is to lead and perform the marriage ceremony. They must follow state law to ensure the union becomes official. Wedding officiants draft what they’ll say at the ceremony, often with input from the engaged couple. Some of their associated duties are signing and filing the marriage license.

  • Can you officiate your own wedding?

    Officiating your own wedding is referred to as self-solemnizing. This practice is only legal in a few states, including Colorado, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Kansas, Maine, Illinois, California, and Washington, D.C. The rules governing self-solemnizing in these jurisdictions differ. All states legally recognize self-uniting marriages that are properly performed in a state where they're permitted.

  • What do you call a person who officiates a wedding?

    A marriage officiant’s title depends on who they are and what they do. For example, clergy members are called reverend, father, minister, rabbi, pastor. Common titles of civil marriage officiants are judge, your honor, magistrate, or mayor. Friends and family members who get temporary officiant status usually have no title.

  • Who can officiate a wedding?

    The individuals who are allowed to officiate a wedding depends on the laws of the state where the ceremony is performed. Typically, most clergy members and certain civil officers can perform marriage ceremonies. Many states also permit other individuals to obtain temporary officiant authorization or to become ordained to perform a marriage.

  • Can a notary officiate a wedding?

    Public notaries may perform marriage ceremonies in only a few states. They include Florida, Maine, South Carolina, Montana, and Nevada. Of course, a notary may officiate a wedding in other states if the state they’re in allows individuals to become wedding officiants, and the notary follows those guidelines.

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