We had high expectations for Father Jef and he met and exceeded everything we had hoped for. As other reviewers have stated, we have lost track of the number of guests who were convinced Father Jef had known us our whole lives, based on how personal and insightful his ceremony was. We wanted some non-traditional readings and blessings for our ceremony and Father Jef completely encouraged our creativity and embraced our selections. He is wonderfully warm and created a ceremony that was moving, funny, sincere, and memorable. Thank you for making our wedding everything we had hoped it would be, Father Jef!! read more

We would give Fr. Jef 10 stars if we could ! He was a joy to work with ..and he really listened to what we envisioned our wedding to be. With his guidance , we were able to incorporate a loving tribute to our mothers and the infinity cord (lasso) tradition to our ceremony. His homily was spot on...everyone was laughing and crying ,( at the same time, mind you !) Our guests couldn't stop talking about how our wedding was so heartfelt and touching ! We couldn't thank Fr. Jef enough for the wonderful service he did for us ! read more

Fr. Jef did a fantastic job at our wedding. We wanted a ceremony that was essentially Catholic in feel, which is pretty standard and familiar to most of our guests, but where he really wowed us and our guests was in his homily/message part, where he gave a very personal talk about the two of us based on the questionnaire we emailed him. Our guests loved the ceremony; so many of them raved about Fr. Jef and asked where we found him (yelp)! We were a little apprehensive about using an unknown minister for our wedding, but once we met him and learned more about him we knew he was perfect for our wedding. He has a really fascinating story and clearly loves his ministry work. He has a template to get you started in crafting the ceremony (which we chose to use for the most part), but he had plenty of ideas to help us make a more custom ceremony if we wanted. In addition, he's extremely professional and easy to work with - he responds to emails promptly and was the first one there for the rehearsal and ceremony. As anyone planning a wedding knows, working with people you know you can count on is a huge stress relief! If you're still looking for a wedding minister, look no further! read more

Easiest review I've ever wrote: poor guests all said it was the most meaningful wedding ceremony they've ever witnessed.

We initially found Fr. Jef's name in a list published by Equality Illinois of clergy who perform same-sex weddings. After reading all the fantastic reviews on Yelp, he was at the top of our short list. We talked on the phone and then my partner (now husband!) and I met and talked with Fr. Jef in person and found him very engaging and friendly, with a warm smile and a great laugh! Fr. Jef offered us options and a draft outline as we wanted a non-religious ceremony which would be relaxed and informal. We filled out the questionnaires he sent us and finalized the readings and ceremony. We couldn't have been happier with the way the ceremony turned out. He wove together a wonderful talk using the readings we had chosen, our conversations with him, and our answers to the questionnaire to really capture us as a couple and engage our family and friends in the ceremony So many people remarked how fantastic the ceremony was - intimate, personal, moving, beautiful and fun were some of the words used. Like others have said in their reviews, many thought Fr. Jef had known us for years. Kurt and I can't thank him enough for helping make our wedding so special and give him the highest recommendation as a wedding officiant par excellence! read more

Father Jef performed the most touching, personalized, memorable wedding ceremony I have ever witnessed -- and it was my own wedding!! Never before have I been to a wedding where the officiant is the most memorable part of the entire event, but weeks later our friends and family are still reminiscing about how phenomenal our ceremony was. It is so clear that this is Father Jef's calling -- he filled the room with joy and tenderness, laughter and happy tears. I know we will be reminiscing about Father Jef's dedication for the rest of our lives. Father Jef worked with my husband and I to create a truly unique ceremony -- we are not particularly religious, but our families have very devout Catholics and Jews on both sides. A testament to Father Jef's skill and expertise: the patriarchs of the family on both sides told us that we had the single most beautiful wedding ceremony they had ever attended. We are so grateful that we found Father Jef and that he was the one to bless our marriage. You must meet him! read more

Fr Jef is the man! The most common phrase I heard from the guests at our wedding was "it sounded like he knew you both so well!" Very flexible, professional, and just plain good at what he does. read more

I don't even know how to begin to thank Jef for our amazing ceremony!! He came highly recommended and was exactly what we were looking for and then some. Every guest was raving about him. Many thought he had known us for years and years because of how he spoke about us. No yawning from the guests and all the kids were made it through the ceremony without a peep. The mother of the groom actually wanted him to come to Indiana for another son's wedding because she adored him so much. Our wedding would not have been half as good without him!! Thank you SO much!! read more

Fr. Jef is as good as it gets. I had no doubt, based on past reviewers, that he would be good. What I didn't know is how he would engage and captivate a room of nearly two hundred people as he told a stories about my husband and I. As we started the ceremony, Fr. Jef was experiencing some mic trouble (faulty mic from our venue), but he quickly remedied it by picking up the podium mic as he paced the aisle as he talked. We were nervous at first, but he did such a good job of putting us at ease, gently reminding us when we forgot our cues ("hand your flowers to the maid of honor"), and continuing to build on his personal stories of us throughout the half hour ceremony. Just remarkable. As we continue to hear praise about our big day, it always starts with "Where did you find your priest/minister and how long have you known him?" People just can't believe it when I say "Yelp!". Father Jef, we will be talking about you for years to come. Thank you again for all that you did for us, and for making our special day an absolutely remarkable day. read more

Fr Jef performed our civil wedding ceremony recently. We really wanted to be married in the Catholic Church, but due to personal circumstances were unable to. I googled "rent a priest" (I kid you not) and found Fr Jef. He presided over our wedding and made it so personal and meaningful. I highly recommend this option for all those divorced Catholics out there! And anyone else who would like to have their wedding ceremony model a church ceremony. read more

Stop ! Look no further ! Fr Jef was referred to us by our wedding venue owners. After reviewing Yelp we felt confident in our decision to hire him to be our wedding officiant this past April in Lockport IL. Fr Jef made the process so easy. He came to our home to meet us a few weeks before the wedding. He was easy to get a hold of and really went out of his way to make our wedding day ceremony perfect. Our guests were impressed with the personalization of our ceremony and are still talking about it. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND HIM ! read more

Father Jef officiated our wedding recently in July and his incredible ability to organically flow through the ceremony made our day extremely special. Highly recommend!!! read more

READ THIS REVIEW!!! We were fortunate enough to have Fr. Jef officiate our wedding on December 19th, 2015. As many weddings as I have been to, there is no one that does a better job than he. Our guests could not stop raving about how wonderful he was and my husband and I have to agree! Our ceremony was the perfect mix of the Catholic religion we were looking for and that special touch he gives it to make it so personal. It was both romantic and funny and he truly brought tears to my eyes. He connected with both our guests and us in the most perfect way and you cant ask for anything better than that! When my husband and I initially met with him he took the time to get to know us and sent us questions to answer and send back to him to incorporate into our ceremony. He answered every email, made suggestions and helped remind us of everything we needed to know along the way. He was on time for both our rehearsal and the wedding. Fr. Jef is professional, kind, funny and has a smile that lights up the room. He is the real deal and I highly recommend booking him now. You will not be disappointed. Thank you for making our day perfect Fr. Jeff! Kindest Regards, Nikki & Nick read more

The other reviews speak for themselves, Fr Jef is fantastic. He delivered a well-organized and thoughtful ceremony for our wedding two weeks ago. He clearly read through all the materials we provided and listened to what we wanted - a little bit of spirituality/Christian influence, but personal and sentimental. Fr Jef was very responsive in every communication from the initial inquiry to my last minute questions. His services were of superior quality and a reasonable price, I would definitely recommend him. read more

My husband and I selected Fr. Jef as our wedding officiant for our wedding downtown chicago in Dec of 2013 and he did an amazing job. We actually found him on here and he was the only vendor we used for our wedding that was not a referral. We were looking for a ceremony similar to a Catholic one, just outside of the church itself. He was able to deliver that perfectly, although he does all kinds of ceremonys, not just quasi-Catholic ones. We met with him once and then after hiring him, we conversed entirely via email (our choice, he was willing to meet again). He asked us questions about each other which we completed and emailed back to him. From that he was able to deliver a great talk about us that made it seem like we had met with him a bunch of times and yet, it was really just once, about 6 months before our wedding. Our guests raved about what a great job he did, and we loved him too. He was on time to our wedding as well as our rehearsal and he submitted our marriage license right away afterwards. Truly a very seamless, easy experience, I would recommend him to anyone! read more

We could not have been happier with having Fr. Jef officiate our November wedding! I would recommend him to anyone getting married in a heartbeat. My husband and I were looking for an officiant to preside over our wedding at Salvage One. I am Catholic, and my husband comes from a half-Buddhist, half-Christian household, which made for finding an officiant somewhat challenging. We wanted something a step up from a justice of the peace, more personal, more spiritual... not just a 10 minute legal transaction of a wedding. Fr. Jef met with us before we hired him, and talked us through how to customize our wedding, somewhere between the spectrum of non-religious to very religious one. What we ended up with was a very meaningful ceremony, with two readings from family and friends, and a WONDERFUL speech from Jef... everyone was asking where we met him, how long we had known him, etc. I honestly can't remember the last time I went to a wedding, and heard the officiant or priest talk about the COUPLE, and it was pretty extraordinary that it happened to be that way at our wedding! He was funny, well-spoken, entertaining, and left us all with some great takeaway on love, commitment, and respect. The ceremony was probably 20 minutes long, it felt perfect... no one was looking at their watch and there wasn't a dry eye in the house by the time he was done! Additionally, it is worth mentioning how well our rehearsal went thanks to Jef. We expressed to him that we wanted the rehearsal to go smoothly, and he was comfortable from the beginning with "being in charge" and running the show. He was great and concise at explaining each person's role, timing, when music would come on, etc. We were in and out of rehearsal in 30-45 minutes, and the wedding went off without a hitch. All in all we were extremely pleased with Fr. Jef's work, professionalism, and fun personality. Both sides of the family, with their various backgrounds, were nothing but impressed with our choice of officiant. If you want a real and genuine wedding ceremony, you need to hire Fr. Jef! read more

We were so glad that Fr. Jef was our wedding officiant because he did such an amazing job for our ceremony. On top of that, he was simply a wonderful and kind person. He was very accommodating, fun, and nice from the start unlike some officiants we had met before Fr. Jef. He made planning really easy; he didn't mind traveling out of his way to meet us in our home and was always happy to answer our questions throughout our wedding planning. He was a good listener and was quick to understand our vision for the ceremony and we felt reassured that our ceremony would be nice. Fr. Jef got to know us individually and who we were as a couple so that he could create a personal ceremony. We told him that we would like a Catholic non mass wedding, so he provided us a guidebook to make our planning very easy. We were very happy with our ceremony because he made it beautiful, lively, and personal. We received lot of nice compliments from our guests. Fr. Jef was so engaging that even one of my bridesmaids told me that she felt very touched by his words and paid full attention throughout the ceremony for the first time! read more

If you are considering booking Father Jef, stop reading this and book him. Right now (before you lose your date). It's not often that the officiant is the star of the show but for our wedding Father Jef knocked it out of the park. It's truly amazing that someone who has only met us once could so accurately and beautifully describe us. He was extremely helpful guiding us through the process, helping us select readings and telling such an amazing story. Even our guests were amazed by our service. Most of them assumed he was the minister at one of our churches growing up and knew us forever. Completely blown away by his services - HIGHLY RECOMMEND! read more

Fr Jef was wonderful to work with! His remarks about us as a couple were very touching and I loved how he spoke directly to each of us and to my now husband's son. He also involved the audience in a lovely way. Our guests laughed and cried. It was perfect. He was also fantastic to work with in the planning stages. He provided us with resources for planning our ceremony with options to make it more or less religious as we liked. He met with us twice and just overall was great. read more

We were very happy with Fr. Jef as our wedding officiant. He is very quick to respond to emails and a very clear communicator. He provided a great ceremony template and was open to us tweaking it to fit with the language and tone that we wanted for our wedding. And on the business side of things, his pricing is very fair for the excellent service that he provides. I would definitely recommend him for couples of all kinds! read more

Father Jef is a wonderful officiant! He married my husband and I this past April and did a wonderful job. As many of the other reviews have said, I had multiple guests come up to me and tell me how meaningful and personal the ceremony was. He is professional, courteous, receptive to your wants and needs, and is very talented at what he does! read more

Fr Jef did a great job as our wedding officiant for our ceremony on April 1st. As soon as we met with him during the in-person meeting, we knew that he was going to be the perfect fit for our wedding. We wanted an officiant who was going to be flexible in what we wanted to be included in the ceremony. He is a minister so initially, we weren't sure if he would be open to incorporating non-religious components into our ceremony. However, as soon as we met with him, he assured us that he was open to anything we wanted to include in our wedding and would make our ceremony as religious or non-religious as we wanted - he made it clear that everything was up to us. After we booked him, he sent over a list of questions (What do you like most about your future spouse?, What were your first thoughts when meeting your future spouse?, Etc) and asked us each to answer them separately and send to him at least 2 weeks before the wedding so he could put together his sermon. He came to the rehearsal and did a great job of directing the bridal party and explaining the ceremony plan. On the day of the wedding, Fr. Jef was fantastic. He was calm, charismatic, genuine - you could tell he knew what he was doing. Halfway through the ceremony, he had us turn around to face the audience so that they could see our expressions while he started his sermon. This made it more personal for us and our guests. In his sermon, he included many of the comments we had sent him ahead of time, but he also put his own spin on it and incorporated other things into his wedding message. It was perfect. We received numerous compliments from our guests about how personal our ceremony was and how Fr Jef really seemed to know who we were as a couple. Our guests thought that he had known us for years since his sermon was so personal. We cannot thank Fr. Jef enough for doing such a great job with our ceremony. read more

I can't rave enough about Fr. Jef. He married my son & now daughter-in-law. Everyone said it was the best wedding they had been to. The questionnaire he had them fill out prior to the wedding, really made it a personal ceremony. I have never been to a ceremony where everybody laughed, it was a breath of fresh air. When he gave his talk, he moved down the aisle & had the bride & groom face the guests. This way we were looking at them & seeing their expressions instead of watching him. If you didn't know the bride or groom very well, you felt like you did when he was done. If you need an officiate for your wedding, I'd definitely get hold of Fr. Jef, you won't regret it. He definitely has a gift. read more

Fr. Jef was the perfect person to officiate our wedding. I knew from first meeting Fr. Jef that he was the one for us. He is so incredibly likable and amiable and has a fun, lighthearted nature. You can not not like him and want to work with him. He was flexible in meeting with us to discuss his services. He was incredibly helpful in providing examples of ceremonies, introductions, etc. that allowed us to make it our own with his assistance. He sent questions over for us to answer to help make the ceremony more personal which was such a treat. And he was smart enough to bring copies of our vows (thank goodness because I forgot mine). Everyone commented on how wonderful he was and couldn't believe we had only met a few times. He's just that genuine and truly loves what he does and it shows. If you're getting married, I highly recommend Fr. Jef. You will be very happy with your decision, I promise. read more

i just want to add another voice to sing Father Jef's praises. He did a very personalized, upbeat ceremony for us, incorporating all the material that we gave him in a tactful and entertaining way. He was a joy to work with and clearly loves to celebrate weddings. He was smiling the whole time, and he made everyone feel very calm before the ceremony. read more

Fr Jef was our wedding officiant and he was a great person to work with -- professional, organized, and caring! We had to work with Fr Jef from out of state, but he was always readily available via phone or email. He made both of us feel so comfortable and relaxed during our ceremony. And the ceremony itself was PERFECT! We had so many of our guests come up to us during the reception and comment on how personalized the ceremony was and ask "how did he know that about you?!" Fr Jef made our wedding a memorable one! I would highly, highly recommend Fr Jef's services to any couple! read more

Father Jef is amazing. Our wedding guests kept asking if he was an old friend, someone we knew. Alas, we (thankfully) found him on Yelp. He gave a fantastic wedding ceremony that was personal and funny, yet with the right touch of seriousness to mark the occasion. He came to our apartment to meet us and talk about what we were looking for in a wedding ceremony and we truly enjoyed his company. He really listened to what we wanted and we were more than pleased with the ceremony and the day. I really can not say enough about Father Jef, and I'm so grateful that we were lucky enough to have him marry us on that very special day! read more

My husband and I cannot say enough good things about Father Jef. Our ceremony really represented us and what we wanted. Father Jef's words were so meaningful and he was funny too! We received so many compliments on our ceremony. He is a great person and we feel lucky that he was our officiant. read more

If there was an option to give Fr Jef more than 5 stars I would! He officiated my wedding on 8/15/2015. My husband and I met with Fr Jef once before the ceremony (about 10 months before the wedding) and did the rest of our communication through email. Working with him was great and he did a fantastic job on the ceremony. He gave us lots of resources to help us design the ceremony exactly the way we wanted it. This was very helpful. During the ceremony Fr Jef gave a homily about us (from the questionnaires we filled out) that was touching and personal. I received numerous compliments on our ceremony! If you are thinking about hiring him do not hesitate. He will make sure your ceremony is beautiful. read more

Fr. Jef performed our wedding on 6/19/16 at Katherine Legge Memorial Lodge in Hinsdale. We were having a really hard time finding someone to marry us and we were hesitant to find an officiant online, but we are so happy we found Fr. Jef. He did an amazing job and made our ceremony so special. He prepared a wonderful, unique ceremony that was made just for us. He really captured our personalities and love story and brought everyone who was there into the ceremony. From our first meeting he listened closely to us, made us feel at ease and guided us through the process. We knew right away when we met him that he was who we wanted to marry us. So many of our guests commented on how much they loved our ceremony and how personal it was and how much they liked Fr. Jef. He took the nuggets of information we gave him and weaved them into a perfect story that engaged everyone there. We really loved his sense of humor, sincerity and the personal touches he added to our wedding that make it feel so special and unique. He was the perfect person to marry us and we are so happy to have found him! read more