Canada-Ontario

Officiant Recommendation ** going crazy **

Are there any Knotties who are already married and can recommend an officiant in Milton?  We want a short civil ceremony in front of 110 guests and room for customization/personalization of the vows.  Our ceremony is at Country Heritage Park.  

- Kettle Creek Weddings are out of our price range unfortunately
- All Season Weddings looks good online (still pricey though), and they require a deposit -- more than 50% -- before you even speak to/meet your officiant... definitely not comfortable with that.   What if we don't like him/her?
- Contacted the Caldwell's and found that we did not connect like I hoped... 
- Tried to contact "Jonathan Gallo" (sidenote: he looks super cheesy), but never heard back online and his phone voicemail is full -- not a good sign.

TIA!  Didn't think this would be the hardest part of our planning... LoL
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Re: Officiant Recommendation ** going crazy **

  • We are using All Seasons and also talked to the officiant before booking. If you reply to the quote with just an email (no deposit) they can put you in contact with whomever you choose.
  • Blush: let me know how Joe Bartello is if you can! He was the officiant we got through All Seasons weddings so any comments would be awesome!
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_canada-toronto_officiant-recommendation-going-crazy?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:613Discussion:a10643fe-c8cb-47b1-8269-0d990dcbbd82Post:bdae2d6c-1d66-4ff1-9ab1-fb9c572aa7dc">Re: Officiant Recommendation ** going crazy **</a>:
    [QUOTE]Blush: let me know how Joe Bartello is if you can! He was the officiant we got through All Seasons weddings so any comments would be awesome!
    Posted by shaunaceyh[/QUOTE]

    Our planning meeting is tomorrow so I can let you know more then and my wedding is this coming Saturday so I can give you full feedback about how he was in the actual ceremony. He has been good over the phone.
  • Have you checked with the city to see if theyhave officiants you can use? We areusing a cityofMarkham officiant, andwe get the city rate of $220 plus hst (or whatever the rate is that ends up at $238 and change). I was given a list of city officiants with phone numbers, and called a few. I ended up having a lengthydiscussionwithone, he reviewed how he normally handles his ceremonies, sent me an email with his ceremony, asked us to think about things like unity ceremonies, entrancemusic, etc, and he seemed nice enoughfor me, so that's who we went with. Again, I'm not sure if that is a possibility in Milton, but I was happy that we had that option.
  • edited February 2012
    We went with Jeremy Citron from All You Need Is Love; he is so personable and friendly, and he travels a broad range around the GTA so Milton is within reach I believe.  I think it worked out to $450 ish with taxes and the deposit was super cheap - I think $150?  I don't have my spreadsheets and the mister is paying for everything.

    We went with him because everything is so customizable and it's obvious he genuinely loves weddings.

    Edit - deposit was $50 only, and just under $450 total.
  • have you thought about a Unitarian church? check it out if there is one in your city. Ours was only $300 (including the rehearsal) and they are super flexible and as agnostic as you want.
  • I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone for the helpful suggestions!

    We just booked our officiant with Enduring Promises - Jim Emerson :)  So excited to check off another big thing from our list!!!

    Wendy -- I think we have the same person???  He's great, eh? 
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  • I was a bridesmaid in a wedding where Jim was the officiant and he was amazing! The bride loved working with him and the ceremony was perfect because of him! I will be contacting him soon for our wedding! 
  • I would never recommend All Seasons. We booked, paid, and had a date with All Seasons.

    After organizing our date, meeting with the officiant, paying our deposit and hearing endless speeches of how committed and organized they are AND how officiant's must give their schedule and availability months and months in advance ... they cancelled. 

    There was no backup.  No person to fill in.  No attempt to help us find someone else.  No phone call.  Just an email with "your officiant cancelled and good luck and have a great day".  Really?!  That's what you have to say after you cancel and we have no one to marry us?  "Have a great day"??? 

    I had specifically asked what would happen if our officiant couldn't make it - illness, whatever and I was told that they would have a replacement.   No.  They don't have replacements. 

    Book with All Seasons at your own risk ... you may end up like us - receiving a cold email where they didn't care about us at all - AND with no one to marry us!

    I would never ever ever recommend them. 


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