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Wedding Officiants on Vancouver Island for 2022

November 19, 2020 By Barbara Densmore 2 Comments

As I write this, we are going through another exemplary year!  Remember, the only thing you actually need (other than someone to marry you) is someone to marry you…:) I’m guessing from the requests I am getting that there is going to be a shortage of officiants on prime Saturday afternoons, and especially if you are pulling something together on short notice. The purpose of this post is to help you find someone (beyond me..ha ha) to marry you.

This is NOT a recommended list….I’ve NEVER seen ANY of these folks in action!  But I do know that they can ALL legally marry you.

Door #1: Marriage Commissioners

I won’t go into a lot of detail about Marriage Commissioners, since most people are already familiar with them. In my 10+ years of leading weddings, I’ve found that they are either exactly what you want, or exactly what you don’t want.

Here’s the link on the government website.

Also, Vital Statistics posts recent updates about covid and marriage commissioners here.

 

Door #2: Wedding Officiants

When you think of ministers, you may think of the centuries old traditions of the Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish or other religions. But there are actually over 700 registered spiritual and religious groups certified to offer wedding ceremonies in the province of BC.  Some do community outreach through Lay Chaplains or Youth Pastors. Some are retired folks.  The range is wide, and each group runs on its own. So you can get a broad range of ceremonies.  Here are some of the ones that I come across in my travels.

Wedding Ceremony Companies

Most officiants are better at delivering ceremonies than marketing themselves…:) So a few businesses have jumped in to market wedding ceremonies.  These are the established ones
Young Hip and Married    from  Vancouver has officiants in Victoria (Chris-Ann Lake) and Nanaimo (Brian Pankratz.)
All Seasons from Ontario has officiants all over the Island. You can request a specific one.  I’ve found that Cecelia Penner is quite responsive.

You’ll work with the company, and can pick the officiant you want. Both will do a simple legal ceremony, and something a little more personalized.

There’s also Vancouver Officiant, who is pretty new, and similar to the above. They don’t list locations, but do say they have people on the Island.

The Unitarians

Inclusive and broad-minded, each congregation has 2 Lay Chaplains who offer ceremonial services. In Victoria, there are 2:  Saanich  and  James Bay.   Amanda Tarling is a Victoria Unitarian Lay Chaplain with her own website.  You can also find Unitarian Lay chaplains in Nanaimo and the Comox Valley.

Spiritual Communities

Within the Metaphysical community, you can check out Reverend Michael Ireland and Andria Winter in the south Island area.  And Adrienna Lankoff in Courtenay will only be around until early May.
And the Centre for Spiritual Living has Jill Brocklehurst in Campbell River.  Oops, not anymore…:(

You’ll find reviews for many celebrants and officiants on Wedding Wire.

 

Door #3: Celebrants

Celebrants are ordained officiants with a twist…specifically trained in the art of ceremony. If you want something different or really personal, you will be in good hands with a celebrant. If you are blending faiths or cultures, we can do it (we’re Metaphysical Ministers, which includes a broadly spiritual focus). If your family situation is….complicated….we can help smooth out the wrinkles.

Some of us come with extras i.e. our own PA system, a musical accompanist, pre-martial counselling, etc. as part of our service package. There are enough celebrants on the Island now that you can likely find someone who is a good fit for you.

On the south island:

Linda Nelson is popular with young couples.  Morgan Brooks for something a little more edgy.

If you have  more of a spiritual focus, check out Penny Allport.  If your spiritual focus moves more toward paganism, or animism, then check out Tracy  Stoessiger or Morgan Brooks 

Looking for someone on the South Coast who will do a hike and stand in the rain with you?  That would be
Tracy  Stoessiger or  Morgan Brooks 

If you want a marriage preparation package along with your ceremony, Sarah Nakatsuka  is a Victoria-based therapist/minister who provides that.

Tracy works weekends only and as of March 24 is fully booked until fall.

 

In the Oceanside area, Jane Good and Ceri Peacey are seasoned celebrants (with pretty wicked senses of humour).  James Latour has some of the coolest jackets you’ll ever see.

And in the Comox Valley, check out Jennifer Lee.

 

Although all Celebrants are LGBTQ friendly, you may prefer to work with  Morgan Brooks in Victoria (especially if you are non-traditional) .  Or James Latour in Nanaimo. (They do ceremonies for everyone, too..:)  And James travels up and down the east coast of the Island, too.

Looking for someone who travels to the West Coast (other than me?) That would be Jane Good,  Jennifer Lee.  Or Lianne Fitzpatrick, below. 

 

If you have chosen a popular date and are having trouble finding someone, perhaps check out these celebrants, who are either new in their practices or not as visible on social media:
South Island: Elaine Stuart. 
Cowichan Valley:  Wendy Wawrysh    Gail Peekeekoot
Central Island/Oceanside:  Shannon Rosnau,  Karen Arends   Cheryl Pedley
Central Island/West Coast: Lianne Fitzpatrick,  cell 250-203-1203, email: Fitz [at] Shaw.ca
Courtenay/Campbell River:   Katie Brennan   Colleen Kendall

You’ll find reviews for many celebrants and officiants on Wedding Wire.

 

Door #4: Do it Yourself (sorta)

In some parts of the United States, you can get a friend or relative to marry you with a special one-day pass.  It doesn’t happen here in Canada.

But if you’ve booked everything other than the one thing you need to get married (hey it happens), and now you are stuck, consider this option.  Use one us legal folks to marry you ahead of time (when we are open), and then ask one of your people to deliver the ceremonial ceremony the day of.

Just a little heads-up that officiants have the chops to make it look easier than it is, the first ceremony you perform is utterly terrifying (so ask someone who is up to the challenge), and many of the ceremonies you can lift off the internet, frankly, are pretty beige…:) (which is perfectly ok if beige is your colour..:)

That said, I write ceremonies that can be delivered by someone with little/no experience and even let them shadow me at the legal ceremony before handing them my script. More on that here. I may be able to help you with that. Or ask your officiant of choice if s/he/they will do the same for you.

***

I hope you find your best fit!  And if you have any questions or feedback, just post below!

Best,

Barbara

 

Filed Under: Weddings

Comments

  1. Cassandra Crockett says

    June 22, 2022 at 8:43 pm

    I need a person to marry us on Aug 27 2022

  2. admin says

    June 22, 2022 at 9:13 pm

    Hi Cassandra, you may be able to find someone new who isn’t booked up yet. I’ve got those listed here. Otherwise, maybe try option #4 that I’ve listed in the post. Good luck!

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Ashley McCrae
Ashley McCrae
2023-09-01
Barbara was hands-down a phenomenal officiant of our wedding!! Don’t be intimidated by the “homework” she gives you because she will turn your answers into the most beautiful, personal, and oh-so-special ceremony. We absolutely loved what she put together for us and we received so many compliments from guests (and our parents!) afterward that it was the BEST wedding ceremony they’ve EVER been to! She is one of the first things we mention when people ask about our wedding and we cannot thank her enough for helping to create such a memorable day!! Barbara deserves all the stars and then some, we could not recommend her enough!
Cody Walsh
Cody Walsh
2023-08-13
This lovely woman was exactly the low-stress and emotionally fluent genius needed to coordinate, manage, and finally officiate our incredibly special day. I truly cannot recommend higher ! Thank you so much Barbara for all you did to get to know us, our story, and our families. We love you!
Julie Levasseur
Julie Levasseur
2023-08-12
Barbara is so much more than an officiant. Her seasoned, thorough and thoughtful approach helped us create a ceremony experience that was equal parts personal and FUN! From our initial consult, to day-of, as well as following-up after our wedding, we can’t thank Barbara enough for her care and attention. She’s simply the best!
Sachin Khona (Creative)
Sachin Khona (Creative)
2023-08-04
I had the pleasure of working with Barbara at a wedding yesterday and she was an absolute delight to work with. We literally met 5 minutes before the ceremony and she ran the elopement so smoothly and beautifully, taking into consideration the stories of the couple and even included in some First Nations Rituals and Jewish traditions for Susan and Inka. As a photographer, hiring an officiant is such an important decision to make as they really create and bring the energy to a ceremony. You won't go wrong picking Barbara! 10/10 I look forward to documenting another wedding with you soon Barbara! Big hugs, Sachin
Anthony Price
Anthony Price
2023-08-03
JUST AMAZING! It's really hard to describe just how amazing Barbara is at what she does. She walked my now wife and I through ever step of the process. The creation of our ceremony, the vows and everything came together perfectly. Barbara is a master at making any special event so personal and unique to who you are. Thank-you so much Barbra!! Love Ant & Meg
Michelle R
Michelle R
2023-07-17
Barbara officiated our wedding at the Vow Cabin. The ceremony was everything I always dreamed of. Funny and heartwarming. Barbara is truly brilliant and so so good at what she does. The ceremony was so personal and unique to us. I felt so relaxed during the ceremony and I really appreciate that she reminded us to be present and really take in the moment. I really appreciate the care that Barbara put into writing our ceremony. Truly the best.
Athena Mills
Athena Mills
2023-07-13
Our wedding ceremony with Barbara was excellent. It was intimate and personal, but also light hearted and funny in a way that celebrated our love without taking away from the gravity of the commitment we were making to each-other. Barbara also included our friends and family in all the right moments to create some wonderful lasting memories. It was a really special day and Barbara played a huge role in it, I cannot recommend her enough!
stephen wynnyk
stephen wynnyk
2023-06-27
Barbara was a spectacular celebrant for our wedding. She works with you to create a wonderful, authentic ceremony. Barb had tons of unique quirks she suggested, which made our ceremony unique. She also had a sterling reputation with our vendors, so our ceremony was perfectly coordinated with our photographer (Tulle & Tweed Photography) and videographers (Paper Heart Films). Barb's words brought us and our guests to tears! You can feel her presence with every word. I cannot recommend her enough.
Cameron Freshwater
Cameron Freshwater
2023-06-10
Barbara is an amazingly thoughtful, patient and professional officiant. She made what could have been an extremely stressful situation an absolute breeze. She helped us design a ceremony that matched our personalities perfectly and truly made our day special.
amanda P
amanda P
2023-01-31
Barbara was a delight to work with. From the very beginning she was personable, easy to talk to and supportive. She turned our ideas into a magical wedding ceremony for us that exceeded our expectations. It was a whimsical night for us.
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