Inland Empire Wedding Officiant

As the premier Inland Empire wedding officiant, I get to craft you an awesome ceremony. I write and give voice to a custom ritual that is a unique blend of you two and all the personality, history, and culture that makes you, well, you! It is my great delight to get to know you and write such an intimate, meaningful ceremony just for you two. One that not only tells your story but brings your loved ones long the emotional journey with us.

While I know that you have so many options for Riverside wedding officiants and for the greater Inland Empire, there’s only one reason you should choose me. And that only if you want a wholly unique and genuine experience. That and you’re interested in having someone conduct your ceremony who will genuinely be as excited for you as your loved ones are by the time we stand together on wedding day.

After all of this work and time and money you are spending is to celebrate what the life and love you share, so let’s do it YOUR way!

Why Choose This Riverside / Inland Empire Wedding Officiant

Weddings are this super dynamic explosion of love all smashed together in a singular day and the pressure to get the day just as you want it can be overwhelming. From colors to food and seating capacities it’s a lot more complicated than one can imagine. When you stop to reflect on what you want that day truly to represent, what is most important. It comes back to ceremony. Otherwise it’s no different than any other grand party. For my now wife and I, it was this that in which we kept circling back to and at the center of this ceremony was our minister. Minister Marie Burns Holzer, Minister Marie. From the start this was who we knew we wanted to set the tone for our event. I never considered the duties of a minister before I needed one. Minister Marie provides more than the writing of the ceremony, she truly got to know us. I still have no idea how she manages this with multiple clients, but she does. She wrote the most beautiful, sincere and authentic ceremony for us. So specific and unique that our guests truly loved it. It really goes beyond that. A touchstone on the day of the wedding was what we needed. I remember at a moment even going in circles with the venue coordinator on where to put our “in memory of” pictures and candles. I was really beside myself on the directions and she calmly stepped in and settled it. We lit sage, she mentioned Frida and told our love story to our family and friends in a way that highlighted our love, the genuine sweetness and the most valuable display of ritual. Our search for a minister led us to Minister Marie because we not only needed someone open to a same-sex wedding but someone who celebrated, nurtured and wholeheartedly embodied all love. I can’t ever express how important and amazing our ceremony was and how grateful we are that we were able to have Minister Marie as a part of our story.

We were initially going to have one of our friends be our officiant, but that wound up not working out. After our wedding, both my new husband and I are so very thankful that it happened this way because Marie was incredible. We both feel so lucky that she was recommended to us. Everyone had all the happy tears and whenever someone talks to us about our wedding the very first thing that they say is how fantastic Marie was and how much they loved the ceremony. Our wedding was actually the first wedding that either my husband or I have attended as adults, so we were pretty lost on what we even wanted or how the ceremony went, and we did all of the planning and preparations on our own. Needless to say, the whole wedding prep was pretty overwhelming, but Marie answered every question and explained everything and was just so incredibly helpful. She listened to everything that we said was important to us and handcrafted something so far beyond my expectations. Thank you so much Marie, for making the most meaningful moment in our lives magical.

V & E’s Coco Palms Wedding

A & D’s Sweet, Nerdy Wedding at the University Club Irvine

S & E Married in Simple Laguna Beach Wedding

Inland Empire Wedding Officiant Package Pricing

$ 549

A short & sweet personalized ceremony
Options for unity ceremonies and readings
Guidance on the marriage license and certificate
All of my travel/mileage is already included

$ 849

Everything included in the Short & Sweet
PLUS a fun and meaningful custom-written ceremony that's uniquely yours, written and performed by an award-winning officiant (that's me!)
PLUS a ceremony planning session for us to really get to know each other and sort out all the details for your day
PLUS options for custom-written unity ceremonies and unique readings
PLUS assistance for writing personal vows, should you so choose

Frequently Asked Questions for Inland Empire weddings

How soon should I book you for my Inland Empire wedding?

Once you secure your venue, you should secure your day with me. Seriously. Vendors book up fast these days and if the date is open now, there’s no guarantee it’ll be open in even a month or two from now.

Consequently, the best time to book my services is as soon as you have confirmed your wedding date with the venue.

The second-best time is now!

What's the difference between "personalized" and "custom" in your packages?

Personalized means that you have choice in what’s included. Think of it like shopping at IKEA – you choose from the available tried and true ready-made options to make it fit your vision.

Custom, however, is like going to a woodworker to get a rocking chair made in the hopes it’ll be a family heirloom. Like, we’re taking your vision and making it happen to a T.

That’s the difference between the services: the Short & Sweet is IKEA-style and the Let’s Get Married is woodworker style.

How long do your ceremonies usually last?

For the Short & Sweet service:
If you choose the simplest vows and rings with no unities or readings, about 12 minutes. With personal vows, a reading or two, and a unity ceremony, up to around 20 minutes.

For the Let’s Get Married service:
Since this service is all about custom ceremonies, so the answer for this package is “it depends”. I’ve done ceremonies as short as 8 minutes and as long as an hour. I’d say my Let’s Get Married service for Temecula weddings average somewhere between 20-25 minutes.

Do you do rehearsals?

There are only three situations in which I attend wedding rehearsals.

First, if you don’t have a professional (like a wedding planner or venue coordinator) to run it for you. In this case, I will run the entire rehearsal for you! Please check with your venue to see if they provide a coordinator as part of their package.

Second, your ceremony is complex. We have an abbreviated tea ceremony as well as the lasso, aras, and veil, not to mention your two readers and a grandparents’ blessing… This is obviously a more extreme version, but you get the idea! A complex ceremony means I need to be at the rehearsal to help you sort out everything, That way everyone involved feels comfortable with what is supposed to happen on wedding day.

And finally, it is really just going to make you feel better that I’m there. Yes, it can be that simple!

Please note that a rehearsal is a $200 USD add-on to cover my time and travel.

How do payments work with you?

For the Short & Sweet service:
$599 is due at the time of booking with the remaining balance due two weeks before the wedding.

For the Let’s Get Married service:
I require 50% of the total price as your reservation fee. The remaining balance is due two weeks before the wedding.

What about the marriage license?

I will guide you through the process of how to obtain your marriage license whether you’re a Riverside or Inland Empire local, coming in front out of state, or even out of the country. I always sign your marriage license after the ceremony (to do it before is legally fraud) and file it as required by law. I’ll also reach out when it’s time to get your Marriage Certificate and send you helpful tips on how to change your name, should anyone be electing to do that.

Hablas español?

Sí, hablo español! Pero aunque mi mamá es de México, realmente no lo aprendí hasta que fui adulto. Y es mi tercer idioma! Por eso solo hago ceremonias en spanglish, no solo en español.

Check my availability for your Inland Empire wedding

Finally, let’s see if I’m available for your date! Please note that this calendar is current and updated daily.

CALENDAR KEY

Inquiry – Someone is asking about the date, but hasn’t moved forward yet so it’s still available.
Booking in Process – Someone has booked a consultation with me for this date, but the booking isn’t confirmed yet.
Booked – I only perform one marriage ceremony per day and this date is booked.
Sold Out – I’ve closed the calendar and am not accepting more bookings for the time period marked.
PLEASE NOTE: You can click on the calendar event and see where I’m booked on a specific date. This is important because I require at least a day of travel time in between events more than 150 miles apart.

Ready to Chat?

Below you can schedule a video consultation with me. This is when we’ll get to know each other a bit better. I’ll also answer any questions you have to ensure you choose the right service for you.

Please note:

My appointment calendar opens on a rolling basis 2-4 weeks from today’s date.
Yes, this is my full availability. Promise!
The busiest months of my wedding year are March, April, October, and November. During those months, I’m doing 8-12 events with 3,000-4,000 miles of travel each month. So *if/when* there is an opening to meet during those months, it will likely get booked quickly. My recommendation is to schedule an appointment that works for you as soon as it is available.