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    Ceremonies by Alison

    5.0 (65 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Services - Ceremonies by Alison

    Officiants

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    Timothy B.

    Alison is phenomenal! My wife and I just tied the knot two days ago. Neither of us is religious and we wanted someone who could capture my wife's Jewish heritage and the humanism that we practice. After video interviews with a few officiants, Alison truly made our ceremony better than we could have imagined. She wrote and delivered such a touching, poignant, and funny ceremony based on the homework that we did. Our guests raved about her warm and easygoing presence. Alison thought of everything and put us at ease. Many our family members told us she is the best officiant they have ever seen. One friend said no one else can get married after witnessing our ceremony by Alison because no one can compete. Another friend said it was the most beautiful ceremony they have ever witnessed. We agree!

    DunhamSass Wedding 8.24.15
    Eunice D.

    This review is long overdue. We got married on August, 24, 2014 and Alison was our officiant. She is incredibly warm, thoughtful and well spoken. She led us through the journey of creating our ceremony and at the same time helped my partner and I gain a deeper insight into what was most important to each of us for the ceremony itself. Alison crafted our story from what she gathered from each of us and took us and our guests on a journey of adventure and love. She spoke of our loved one's who are no longer with us or couldn't be there that day and most of all infused humor into the whole ceremony. Everyone laughed and cried, multiple times. She truly is incredible and if you're searching for an officiant, stop now and call Alison. You truly won't find someone who is more authentic, genuine and caring to marry you....she is the best!

    July 6th, Japanese Tea Gardens Hayward, CA
    Jessica B.

    After reading a handful of reviews on Allison's yelp page I instantly knew she was the officiant for us! I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that I found her! She was so helpful and supportive throughout the chaos that engulfed me the week of the wedding. Me and my husband were so set on writing our own vows, but when the week of the wedding came, we had zilch. Literally three days before our wedding I franticly wrote to Allison explaining our dire situation and she calmly responded with some amazing vows that were probably better than what we would've come up with! I was pretty nervous the day of the rehearsal, (getting everyone to cooperate and be where they needed to be) but she was so calm and collected that she immediately made ME feel calm and I knew that everything was going to be great. Our ceremony was so beautiful and so personal that I had to really control myself from crying the whole way through (my husband cried quite a bit too which in turn made me want to cry more). She really understood us and how much we meant to each other. I've been to other weddings where the officiant is not as personable or fumbles around for the right words, but Allison really loves what she does and has tons of experience. Thank you so much for making our wedding truly unforgettable.

    Alison officiating our wedding at Lake Temescal Beach House.

    No doubt about it - Alison absolutely made our wedding. All night long, our friends and family were coming up to ask us, "Who WAS she? She was just amazing!" She made us laugh, she made us cry, she made our ceremony so personal and special, and we could not have asked for a lovelier person to craft our ceremony with us. Some real comments from our friends and family about Alison: "Her voice was like music." "She was born to do this." "If I ever get married I am stealing her." "That was the best wedding ceremony I've ever seen" (Said many times by several people). "What a pro." We felt a connection to Alison right away when we met her, and especially appreciated her own views on the changing nature of marriage. After meeting with her initially, I knew she would deliver a ceremony that felt like us. She sent us two separate questionnaires and used our respective answers to create a beautiful secular ceremony that was a surprise to both of us. It was both wonderful and a little nerve-wracking to have no idea what he was going to say, and vice versa! I wish I could have Alison narrate every day of my life. Her voice is just beautiful and she has the perfect mix of poise, profundity, and relaxed humor. You will not regret choosing her for your ceremony. We were so glad we found her!

    When planning a wedding, it's easy to get lost in checklists and deadlines, and forget about the most important part. The ceremony is at the heart of it all, but my fiance and I had a hard time figuring out what we wanted. I'm so grateful that our wedding planner (Rebecca, Be Hitched) recommended Alison. She was a perfect match. Her process was simple and effective. She had so many resources, such as readings we'd never heard and traditions we could incorporate. On our actual wedding day, she had a wonderful presence. She brought people to tears in the way she shared our story, but she also made everyone laugh on numerous occasions. More than one of our wedding guests said it was the best wedding ceremony they had ever been a part of. I couldn't agree more! Alison is an amazing wedding officiant. By the way, we got married in Sausalito in August 2015. Alison works in San Francisco and the East Bay but is also willing to travel further afield.

    Barma Wedding 11.3.14 Brazilian Room Berkeley, CA

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Ceremonies by Alison

    Review Highlights - Ceremonies by Alison

    Also, she was a pro at wrangling family/friends for the rehearsal and made it quick and painless yet thorough.

    Mentioned in 20 reviews

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    Chapel in the Woods - Check out Face Book Wedding Chapel at Ingleside for credits.

    Chapel in the Woods

    (2 reviews)

    While this venue appears to be gorgeous, LGBTQ couples BEWARE. After noticing several religious…read moreitems in their pictures, I emailed to ask if they were open to working with queer couples and got the following in response: "This venue is located at our Christian home. We personally have gay friends but we believe their behavior is a sin. I am a sinner and I believe we should love the sinner and hate the sin. The current law allows gay couples to marry. I think gay couples should respect the beliefs of others just as they want to be respected. " Clearly, they don't want to come right out and say we are not welcome, but they made it clear. Nowhere in my initial email was I disrespectful to them, so I'm not sure whey they felt the need to point out that we needed to respect their beliefs. A simple, "We can not accommodate your request at this time," would have been fine. We were not asking them to officiate our wedding. We were asking them if they would do their jobs as business owners, take our money, host our event, and keep their personal opinions to themselves. How their religious beliefs impact their business I don't really understand. It is really too bad, because as I mentioned, this venue looks absolutely gorgeous. However after the rude and frankly condescending email back, I will be taking my business elsewhere. I suggest those who support marriage equality do not support this highly unprofessional business.

    The venue is absolutely beautiful! The owners are fantastic and will go out of their way to make…read moresure your special day is everything you dreamed of! It's so calming and the views are stunning. Guests will have an unforgettable experience and the pictures are all fantastic here due to the breathtaking natural beauty. Five stars!!

    Celebrant Gwen Downs - Celebrant Gwen Downs performing a wedding.

    Celebrant Gwen Downs

    (4 reviews)

    We had a highly frustrating experience with Gwen Downs that ultimately led us to cancel her…read moreservices and find someone else for our wedding. From the start, she suggested a lovely outdoor location for our small ceremony. However, she insisted that she would not perform the ceremony if it rained, stating that she "reads from a binder and the pages would get wet." While we found this to be an unusual reason (especially since other officiants seem to manage just fine with simple accommodations), we tried to work with her and made extensive preparations to account for the weather, including purchasing umbrellas for all guests and renting a canopy per the venue's suggestion. Despite our efforts to reassure her that everything was covered, she continuously pushed back, sending curt replies like "Ok" and then following up later to say there would still be a problem. This back-and-forth went on for weeks, even though the venue and photographer had no issue with the potential for rain. Her unwillingness to adapt or provide a straightforward solution left us feeling uncertain and stressed in the days leading up to the wedding. The final straw was when she emailed us the day before the wedding, reiterating that she would not show up if it rained. At that point, we realized we could not rely on her, so we canceled and went with another officiant who was far more accommodating and professional. Though we cancelled on her, we still asked for at least a partial refund given the inconvenience and complete lack of any services rendered, but she never replied. If you're looking for an officiant who is flexible and dependable--especially when it comes to outdoor weddings--I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.

    I would not recommend her at all. She was very rude and unprofessional over the phone to me the day…read morebefore my wedding. I reached out to her 3 days prior to my wedding date to discuss whether or not we should plan a back up plan due to the expected rain and storms. She told me at that time that everything would be fine and we would be under the covered area. The day before she contacted the photographer to advise me to reschedule my wedding to the following day. That was not an option for me as we had already planned a reception. I found an indoor facility at a church to have the wedding at the original time and asked her if she could come there. She was very rude and disrespectful to me over the phone. She kept complaining and making excuses about how it would inconvenience her. I told her we cannot predict the weather and I had a lot of things to do prior to my big day as well. She replied "well it's YOUR wedding" and was not trying to accommodate me at all. She also texted me later asking why couldn't the minister marry me , which was completely none of her business. She is just very rude and unprofessional. She does not have the personality for this business. It turned out I had to hire someone else at the last minute to do our ceremony. I reached out to her a couple weeks later and expressed my concerns and requested a refund of the $275 deposit I paid. She has yet to respond and it's been a little over a week now.

    Raleigh Wedding Minister - Congratulations, Kelsey and Ryan

    Raleigh Wedding Minister

    (4 reviews)

    Kayelily was absolutely amazing to work with. From the moment we met her we knew she was the…read moreperfect person to officiate our wedding because she simply read previous weddings aloud to us and we had tears in our eyes not even knowing these couples but just feeling their story through her words. She was easy to email and willing to help where needed and made the ceremony creation and marriage license process a breeze. After the wedding my guests raved about her for weeks. I was told it was a wedding ceremony that was like no other and they almost wish it didn't have to end. I would highly recommend Kayelily to anyone!

    Kayelily is an absolute master of her craft. If you are thinking of working with her, do it! She…read morehas done tons of weddings, and her experience makes for a seamless process and a beautiful ceremony. At the same time, she somehow manages to make you feel like you are the only clients on her plate. Throughout the entire planning process, no matter what time we emailed her, we got a response within several hours. I truly don't know how she does it. Kayelily knows the exact process of designing and executing a perfectly personalized and touching wedding ceremony from start to finish. She allows you to be as involved as you'd like to be. I remember reading in her reviews before we decided to work with her that many couples had gotten compliments from their wedding guests on the ceremony. I thought to myself how strange that was, I mean how often has a wedding ceremony stood out so much to you? Well, I have to say that the exact same thing happened to us! After the ceremony, wedding guests came up to us and said Kayelily was totally captivating and executed the most beautiful and personal wedding ceremony. Hire Kayelily! You won't regret it!

    Ceremonies by Alison - officiants - Updated May 2026

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