wedding commissioners

cimiachiam · November 2010

I'm currently looking for a wedding commissioner for my wedding in August. Unfortunately I'm not living in Vancouver at the moment (where my ceremony will be held) so it's hard to meet the commissioners to see what they are like.

Has anyone been in contact or used Roderick Mackin before? Any thoughts? How about John Humphreys?

Thanks!

igloodboxes · January 2011

I'm just in the process of booking my commissioner as well. Brent Sheppard seems to be really highly recommended for the Greater Vancouver region, although he is more expensive. I also had Harry Marusyk recommended to me.

fallonbowman · February 2011

I'm in the same boat. I've heard Ann Moore is a bit of a nut bar and doesn't come highly reccomended. And that other guy is just too expensive, HeyRev.com!
I've heard Harry Marusyk is great from a few differnent boards, I've emailed him to see if he is available. Apparently Kim Hunter and Laurie Richards are both great too.

lonnysgirl · February 2011

I am kinda in the same boat ... planning a maple ridge wedding from calgary

... we have picked and met with Tina Stanley, she seems really nice ... we got referred to her by a friend who had heard about her (so basically going on a whim, lol) but so far she seems good ... has kept us on our toes when it comes to get ceremonies set us, vows done and so on ...

Knottie_22386684 · March 2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_canada-vancouver_wedding-commissioners?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:625Discussion:d7cd5c27-4dc9-4ac8-9ceb-6f37618356e0Post:f7915e17-cf1e-4a9d-9a2b-9f76c42561d9">Re: wedding commissioners</a>:

This is Christina (Tina) Stanley and I'm unfortunately forced to respond this women's ludicrous and defaming remarks about my professionalism and character. I have been an active Marriage Commissioner since my appointment June 30th, 2008 and after performing over 350 weddings, this is the ONLY negative word every written. I performed Shannon Plante's wedding ceremony at Swaneset Golf and Country Club November 2011 where I'm one of two preferred vendors as marriage commissioner. Since November 2011, there has been litigation from the venue and from my PENDING from my legal advisors about slander and defamation from Shannon Plante. Long story short, this women was a bridezilla who had either everyone involved in her wedding either fired, in tears or later, defamed. From what I've been told from the Lawyers representing Swaneset, she was after a free wedding. The only reason I have not sued this women for defamation of character and extreme slander "yet" is because my services as a Marriage Commissioner have not diminished whatsoever. In fact, I'm busier this year and 2014 than ever.

If you are reading this response, I congratulate you as you should be reviewing testimonials and comments about vendors. Shannon Plante is a BULLY and must have nothing better to do. I thought her wedding was lovely, in fact, some of her guests asked for my business card since they were getting married and enjoyed the ceremony very much. I will admit, that once arriving at the venue 1 hour before the ceremony, the groom was more than friendly and courteous as well was Shannon. However, when I spoke to staff, they were in tears and warned me that Shannon was the ultimate Bridezilla and was on a war path. I didn't really beleive so since all my communications had been more than cordial.

I have responded to Ms. Plante's accusations and lies in red.

[QUOTE]Tina Stanley: If what I've written below is tl;dr for you, long story short: HIRE ANYONE BUT THIS WOMAN . I WOULD BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE YOU 100's OF EXCELLENT TESTIMONIALS AND COMMENTS. She is a flake I AM A COMPLETE PROFESSIONAL WHO TAKES NAMECALLING SERIOUS who will only completely ruin any grace and tempo your ceremony AGAIN, HER OPINION is SUPPOSED to have as she skips words and mispronounces your names throughout. SHANNON HAD EVERYONE UPSET AND CRYING THAT INCLUDED SWANESET STAFF AND HER WEDDING PARTY. I ADMIT I AM NOT PERFECT IN ANY WAY AND MAY HAVE STUMBLED OCCASIONALLY BECAUSE I WAS WARNED BY EVERYONE THAT SHE WAS ON A WARPATH. SOMETIMES A WEDDING CAN BE EMOTIONAL, FOR EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE COMMISSIONER. I ADMIT, THIS BRIDE LOOKED BEAUTIFUL WALKING DOWN THE AISLE BY HERSELF AND LOOKING AT HER GROOM TEARY EYED, DID CHOKE ME UP. IT USUALLY DOESN'T, BUT THERE WERE SOME UNDERLYING CIRCUMSTANCES. ALSO, WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE, THE COUPLE HAD CHOSEN TO HAVE PRACTICALLY A CANDLE LIT CEREMONY IN NOVEMBER. THE LIGHTING WAS DARK BUT HAVING HAD DONE DOZENS OF WEDDINGS AT SWANESET, I MANAGED. The long version: We chose Tina for two reasons: she was the closest to our wedding venue, and we saw her do a friend's wedding that ran smoothly enough. SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. THEY HAD BEEN TO ONE OF MY WEDDINGS SO THEY WERE COMPLETELY AWARE OF MY STYLE AND HIRED ME ON PAST PERFORMANCE. Apparently though, Tina is very hit and miss with her service. SAYS WHO? THIS BRIDE WILL NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR HER ACTIONS IN HOW SHE AFFECTED EVERYONE THAT DAY. THE FACT THAT SHE WAS TERMINATING VENDOR CONTRACTS UP TO THE WEEK OF HER WEDDING PROVES SHE WAS DIFFICULT. First, she offers an extra charge for what she claims to spend hours (minimum 6 she says) in custom building a ceremony for you, but what she really does is email you a zip folder of snippets she's used in the past and other random templates (bible passages, poems, etc) and has you enter in your own names wherever it says "bride" and "groom". COMPLETELY A LIE!!! I DO SPEND HOURS AND HOURS CHOOSING 100'S FROM A LIBRARY OF TEMPLATES AND SAMPLES AND PUT TOGETHER A SMALLER FILE. EVERY COUPLE IS DIFFERENT AND SHOULD HAVE A PERSONALIZED CEREMONY. ALL COUPLES I HAVE MARRIED, ENJOY AND APPRECIATE THEIR ABILITY TO BE INVOLVED. I CHARGE $50 FOR THIS SERVICE WHICH IS NOT UNREASONABLE, NOT MATTER IF IT TAKES 2 HOURS OR 10 HOURS. THIS ALSO PROVES TO BE A LIE SINCE THERE IS OBVIOUSLY NO BIBLE CONENTATIONS OR SCRIPTURE SINCE CIVIL CEREMONIES ARE "NOT" ALLOWED RELIGION WHATSOEVER. She asks you to select what you like for each section (welcoming remarks, wedding vows, ring ceremony, pronouncement) and basically makes one or two adjustments for the "repeat after me" stuff (like where to put the pauses). THIS IS WHAT A PERSONALIZED CEREMONY IS...CHOOSING A CEREMONY, VOWS, RING CEREMONY ETC.. ENSURING THE LEGAL PARTS FLOW NICELY AND THERE ARE ENOUGHT TRANSITIONS BETWEEN EVERY PART OF THE CEREMONY. It was obvious that I was the one putting in the 6 hours I NEVER ONCE SAID IT TOOK ME 6 HOURS. IN OUR CONSULTATION MEETING, I SAID IT COULD TAKE "UP" TO 6 HOURS OR MORE. custom building my own. ALL MY COUPLES HAVE APPRECIATED THE FACT THEY CAN BE PART OF THE PERSONALIZATION PART OF THE WEDDING CEREMONY. I'm not sure I paid for any real extra service there, AGAIN, $50 FOR ABOUT 4 HOURS AFTER A FINAL DRAFT. but this is a minor detail in the other issues we had with Tina. The consultation was fine, we went to her house and she presented herself very well, a professional woman who knows how to carry herself. She explained that she is a lawyer , I SAID I HAD WORKED IN HUMAN RESOURCES IN PRACTICED LABOUR LAW WITH FOUR MINISTRIES, I DID NOT SAY I WAS A PRACTICING LAWYER, NOT THE SAME. and spoke very well. She asked considerate questions like what colours the wedding was so she could compliment them in her outfit on the day of, and clarifying exactly how to pronounce both of our names.THIS IS TRUE, THIS MEANS ALOT TO ME. I DRESS TO PROFESSIONALLY AND TASTEFUL AND ALWAYS TO COMPLIMENT THE COLOUR SCHEME OF A WEDDING, MATCHING MY CEREMONY BOOK ETC. Unfortunately, both of these things she conveniently forgot leading up to the day AHHH, DON'T GET THIS ONE, I WAS WEARING A SUIT AND SCRAPBOOKED THE CEREMONY BOOK JUST FOR THEM MATCHING THEIR WEDDING COLOURS. I HAD INTENTED TO LEAVE THE SCRAPBOOKED CEREMONY AS A GOOD JESTURE BUT AFTER HOW THE BRIDE WAS SO RUDE BEFORE THE WEDDING TO "EVERYONE" AND TO MYSELF I DID NOT LEAVE IT FOR THEM. I ALSO ONLY CHARGED THE REGISTRATION FEE AND NON OF MY FEES FOR SERVICES RENDERED BECAUSE I "DID" FEEL BAD THAT I MISSED THE REHEARSAL. THE GROOM INSISTED ON PAYING ME FULL AMOUNT BUT I REFUSED HIS OFFER AND REFUNDED HIM. , even though I saw her write them down in her portfolio. The kicker came when just over a week before the wedding, Tina emailed me saying her husband had surprised her with a trip to Cabo for their anniversary and she was ditching out on our rehearsal but would be back for the wedding. THIS IS TRUE TO SOME EXTENT. IT WAS MUCH MORE THAN A WEEK AND AS MARRIAGE COMMISSIONERS. I HAD INFORMED MY REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF MY PERSONAL SITUATION AND SHE APRPOVED THE LEAVE. WE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO ATTEND REHEARSALS. I DID NOT THINK IT WAS AN ISSUE SINCE THE COMPLETED WEDDING CEREMONY WAS AT SWANESET WITH A COORDINATOR. I HAD WORKED WITH HER ON MANY MANY WEDDINGS BEFORE AND SHE WAS MORE THAN CAPABLE OF FACILIATING A 1/2 REHEARSAL. IN HINDSIGHT, I SHOULD HAVE CANCELLED THE WEDDING BECAUSE THERE WERE REALLY TWO REASONS I HAD TO MISS THE REHEARSAL. I DID NOT WANT TO BURDEN THE BRIDE WITH THE REAL REASON WHY I WAS LEAVING THE COUNTRY IN FEAR THAT I WOULD CAUSE HER STRESS. YES, MY HUSBAND SURPRISED ME WITH A TWO DAY RETREAT IN CABO TO RENEW OUR VOWS....BUT ONLY AFTER WE WERE TO VISIT MY DAUGHTER WHO WAS HOSPITILIZED IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO WITH FLESH EATING DISEASE AFTER CONTRACTING 19 LESIONS FROM A SOCCER TURF INJURY (my daughter is on soccer scholarship). AGAIN, I DIDN'T DIVULGE TO THE BRIDE ABOUT MY ILL DAUGHTER BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT HER TO FEAR THAT I WOULD NOT BE BACK IN TIME FOR THE WEDDING. I FLEW BACK FROM NEW MEXICO ESPECIALLY TO PERFORM THE WEDDING, THEN RETURNED TO MY DAUGHTER IN THE U.S. WHERE SHE REMAINED IN HOSPITAL FOR ANOTHER 10 DAYS. IN HINDSIGHT, I SHOULD HAVE DEFINATELY FOUND A REPLACEMENT. IN FIVE YEARS OF BEING A MARRIAGE COMMISSIONER, I HAVE NEVER MISSED OR BEEN LATE TO A WEDDING AND HAVE MISSED ONE REHEARSAL, THIS ONE. I was enraged and dumbfounded. SHE DID NOT COMMUNICATED THIS WHATSOEVER, IN FACT, SHE WAS COURTEOUS AND UNDERSTANDING HER EMAILS. SHE WAS CONCERNED THAT I WOULD RETURN IN TIME FOR THE WEDDING. She tried to play it like she was doing us a favour, saying that we at least save the sixty-something dollar cost of the rehearsal. But I didn't care about cost - I just wanted my ceremony to NOT be a trainwreck. How was I to know how things were supposed to go? Who walks where? How will the script that 'I' wrote sound?THIS IS NOT THE SOLE RESPONSBILITY OF A MARRIAGE COMMISSIONER, WE ARE NOT WEDDING PLANNERS. THIS FALLS UNDER THE ROLE OF THE VENUE COORDINATOR WHO WAS MORE THAN CAPABLE. To rub salt in the wound, she also mentioned that I was to send the ceremony script to our coordinator at swaneset and have her do her best with helping us at the rehearsal, THIS IS A LIE. I TOLD THIS BRIDE THAT I WAS SENDING THE CEREMONY AND THE MARRIAGE LICENCE TO THE VENUE, THE VENUE COORDINATOR AS WELL AS VITAL STATISTICS. I ALSO INFORMED THE COUPLE THAT I HAD SENT EVERYTHING TO A BACK-UP MARRIAGE COMMISSIONER I HAD ARRANGED ( JUST IN CASE MY DAUGHTER WAS TOO GRAVE FOR ME TO LEAVE HER BEDSIDE.....my husband stayed with her while i flew back to do the wedding). when Tina easily could have taken a smidgeon of effort and sent it herself, I I ONLY SUGGESTED THAT SHANNON HAVE A COPY ON HAND AS WELL. in an attempt to make some small reparation for bailing on us.I DID NOT BAIL ON ANYONE...OBVIOUSLY!!! I was furious, and terrified for the ceremony that our commissioner was now going to simply "wing it", I HAD PERFORMED OVER 200 WEDDINGS, I WOULDN'T BE WINGING ANYTHING. but there was nothing I could do: she had our marriage license in her possession, AGAIN, THIS WAS CONFIRMED TO TO THE BRIDE AND GROOM THAT THE VENUE AND COORDINATOR AND BACK UP MARRIAGE COMMISSIONER HAD A COPY OF THE LICENSE AS WELL.and it was far too short of notice to interview other commissioners to find someone else we liked. Then the day of the wedding came. Tina stumbled through and misread sentences, mispronounced my name throughout the ceremony THIS IS A COMPLETE MISAPPROPRIATION. THE QUESTIONNAIRE I COMPLETED WITH THE BRIDE AND GRROM IN OUR FIRST MEETING AS WELL AS THE FINAL CEREMONY USED "SHANNON" THROUGHOUT. AT NO TIME IN ALL OUR EMAILS OR DRAFTING OF THE CEREMONY DID SHANNON DISCLOSE THAT HER "REAL" NAME WAS SHAWNA. SHANNON WAS THE NAME I SPOKE. (even with both my husband and I correcting her when repeating after her), AGAIN, I HAVE PROOF THAT AT NO TIME WAS I INFORMED THAT SHANNON WANTED TO USE THE NAME "SHAWNA" and even called me by a different first name when pronouncing us! She also corrected us with who should be getting up or sitting at the license signing or how to walk back to the front, as people are all watching us. THIS IS A RIDICULOUS. AGAIN, AFTER 100'S OF CEREMONIES, DURING THE SIGNING OF THE LICENCE, THE BRIDE BECAUSE OF HER DRESS USUSALLY REMAINES SEATED. WHEN THEY WERE SIGNING I SUGGESTED THIS AND THEY SAID THEY PRACTICED IT DIFFERENTLY AND I SIMPLY SAID "WHATEVER YOU WANT ETC...," I WAS VERY CONSIDERATE WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHERS THAT THEY GOT ALL THEIR SHOTS. She was running through it like it should have been a rehearsal, making us look like idiots who can't remember simple directions. THIS IS A BOLD FACE LIE, I WASN'T RUNNING AROUND ANYWHERE. THE BRIDE WAS COMPLETELY AT FAULT WITH THE CONFUSION AT SIGNING BECAUSE SHE HAD ASKED A INEXPERIENCED FRIEND TO FACILITATE THE REHEARSAL, RATHER, THAN THE EXPERIENCED VENUE COORDINATOR WHO WOULD HAVE KNOW "EXACTLY" HOW WE DO THINGS. AND, ALL DISCUSSIONS AND QUESTIONS AROUND SITTING/STANDING ETC. WERE DONE QUIETLY WITH THE COUPLE AND NO ONE WOULD KNOW ANY DIFFERENT. In all, Tina was a complete waste of our one special day, and I regret deeply choosing her as our commissioner. IN HINDSIGHT, I WISH I HAD NEVER MARRIED OR MET THIS WOMEN. BECAUSE OF "ONE" AND THE ONLY "ONE" NEGATIVE COMMENT AND EXPERIENCE I HAVE HAD IT HAS FORCED ME TO RESPONSE TO CYBER BULLYING, DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER, SLANDER AND FORCED ME TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST EVERY WEBSITE SHE POSTS THIS MESSAGE ON. If you want peace of mind, choose anyone else!

I TRULY LOVE WHAT I DO AND HAVE HAD ONLY 1 NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE IN 4 1/2 YEARS AND NOW, OVER 350 WEDDINGS PERFORMED. IT IS FOR THE WONDERFUL BRIDES AND COUPLES THAT I HAVE MET AND MAINTAINED RELATIONSHIPS OVER THE YEARS THAT HELP ME MOVE PAST THIS DEVASTATING EXPERIENCE. 
Posted by spla08[/QUOTE]

BriPro · January 2014

I know I'm a bit late on the reply but I just wanted to say that we had Tina marry us in September 2013 at Pitt Meadows Golf Course and she made our day absolutely perfect. Not only did she marry me, but she also married my brother & my two best friends as well. I would & do recommend her to anyone I know that is getting married as she is so amazing at what she does. She was punctual in everything she did whether it was attending the run through (and corralling 25 members of our families that unexpectedly showed up, in a rain storm!) or getting back to my many emails right away. She was professional and she knew how nervous I was on the day of and went out of her way to help calm me down. Tina truly loves what she does and you can really tell by the quality of work she presents. I would not have wanted anyone else marrying us and have nothing but wonderful things to say about this lady and how she performs her job.

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