Wow! My husband and I could not be happier with Spike's services. From day one of speaking, Spike instantly made us feel so comfortable, reassuming me and answering my many questions. She helped craft the perfect ceremony speech that truly felt like us. Spike responds to emails very quickly and gives the best advice! She greeted me before the ceremony and gave me all the details to help the ceremony run smoothly. The ceremony was beautiful and had everyone sniffling. I would absolutely recommend her a million times over. read more

Spike Gillespie - Handfasting ritual being performed by Spike. - Wedding Planning Near Me

Spike was an excellent choice for our small private wedding, she made everyone feels so comfortable and made me and my husband feel super comfortable as well. The ceramony went so smooth with her, and creating it was a nice experince. My husband and I worked with spike remote, we met her the day of the wedding because my husband and I had to planned our wedding while we were apart. AND spike made it extremely easy and gave me so much confidence for that day. While my husband was waiting for me at the alter with spike, he told me he felt so comfortable with her ( mind you this was our first time ever meeting) so we knew we made the right choice. I would re-live my wedding day again. She brought so much peace to the day, her rate was very fair as well! Overall we loved spike! And if we repeated the day, we would do it with her again read more

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Our visit to Spike Gillespie's Tiny T Ranch was perfect, we've already planned a date to come back for another visit. All the staff were welcoming and accommodating. Tiny T Ranch is only a 20ish minute drive away from the city, so we were able to run into the city as needed (and to catch a Prince themed burlesque show). We got to kick back, relax and enjoy nature and all the animals when we were at the ranch, and we got to explore the city's restaurants and nightlife when we wanted. While our group rented the house, others on the ranch rented little trailers- each has a different theme! The pavillion/party room was perfect for a special dinner and music, and super easy to set up. I can't wait for our summer visit when everything will be blooming and green! read more

We were looking for a wedding officiant who was comfortable with a secular wedding and could provide guidance on a ceremony script/outline. Spike fit these criteria and more! She is a kind, friendly, and experienced officiant who we felt comfortable with right away. She helped us to create a custom ceremony that was so meaningful to us. On our wedding day, she was punctual and professional, but always warm and welcoming. We are happy that we chose Spike as our officiant and would recommend her to anyone. read more

Spike Gillespie - Wedding Planning Near Me

I'm a little late in writing this review (it's been almost 8 years), but I didn't want to continue another day without writing a review for Spike. We absolutely LOVED Spike as our wedding officiant. After a consultation with her in person and continued conversation prepping over email, Spike helped guide us to tailoring our vows that fit our personalities, relationship, family, and world/religious views. We are a blended family, so we wanted to make sure the kids were included in there as well. Spike made this happen seamlessly and organically. Thanks to Spike, our wedding at Chapel Dulcinea was how we envisioned it and wouldn't change a thing! read more

Spike Gillespie - Wedding Planning Near Me

We opted for a tiny wedding at Spike's ranch, and her services as an officiant were more than we could have asked for! Her ranch was the perfect location and working with her was a cinch; she was extremely easygoing and flexible. When it came to deciding the *magical* words for our wedding ceremony, she provided some wonderful examples, but also really encouraged us to just run with it - resulting in a very special and personal experience. We thank her for helping us make such a big day out of our little elopement! read more

Spike Gillespie - Wedding Planning Near Me

Spike is an amazing wedding officiant! She's so nice and easy to work with. She officiated a friend's wedding ceremony a couple of years ago and she HIGHLY recommended her. We contacted Spike shortly thereafter and Spike suggested we meet at a local coffee shop. The meeting went great and my husband and I knew that we had to have her officiate our ceremony. We didn't want to have a cookie cutter wedding ceremony in terms of what was said, and with Spike's help, were able to have a very personalized ceremony tailored to reflect OUR relationship. We wanted our ceremony to be about us -- how we met, why we love each other, our hobbies, what we expect for the future, etc. We were able to create our own vows which we wanted to be somewhat lighthearted (e.g., "Scott, do you promise to cheerfully continue to entertain Brittany's ongoing proclamations that she really thinks you two should move to Alaska?" and "Brittany, do you promise to understand and accept that Scott will always be tinkering with something even if you do move to Alaska?"). But we also kept things somewhat traditional (e.g., "With this ring I thee wed...). Although we take marriage seriously, we never take anything TOO seriously and we wanted to reflect that in our ceremony. Spike can make your ceremony as traditional or as non-traditional as you'd like, though. She'll send you several samples from previous wedding ceremonies at first We found this really helpful. We were able to tell her what we liked from some of the samples, included some ideas that we had found on our own, and she basically constructed the ceremony from there. Email correspondence was always quick and she was always very nice, upbeat, and had very helpful suggestions. Next time I get married (just kidding.), I'll totally be giving Spike a call! ;) read more

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Easily one of the best wedding decisions Steve H and I made was choosing Spike as our officiate! I am absolutely convinced that we could not have chosen a better person. From the moment I reached out to her she was quick to respond, easy to communicate with and organized. Spike is the subject matter expert when it comes to officiating weddings among other things. From the beginning we knew we were having a non-religious ceremony and when I researched this subject in Austin she was number one on the list. I reached out to her about a year ago and we ended up setting a meeting to meet. She got to know us a bit and us her. She is so cool! Then we got the pricing info and it was a no brainer really. We even paid the little extra to have her at our rehearsal, which ended up being a lifesaver! Spike will give you as much or as little help that you want or need when working on your vows. She will also officiate just about any type of wedding you wish. My recommendation would be to trust her - she has done over 1,000 wedding at this point and is a true professional. She knows her stuff! At the rehearsal she was awesome. I did not have a wedding planner or anything and was honestly a little worried how I was going to herd everyone through the rehearsal as we had 8 bridesmaids, 8 groomsmen, ring bearer, flower girl and 2 ushers plus parents. When everything started Spike asked me a few questions and she quickly led us through the rehearsal in no time ... pew ... I was relieved! The next day was the ceremony and I could not have imagined it going any better than it did! Spike was perfect! If you are looking for someone to officiate your wedding I can not speak highly enough about Spike! Pick her ... she will not disappoint! read more

Spike is awesome!!!! That is all. Ok, I'll write a more serious review than that one statement above. You can see why i had reached out for her beautiful word smithing skills as to crafting out our beautiful ceremony right? We approached Spike after finding many other Austin locals who've gotten married through her many times of doing so that it would be a crime if we did not hire her. So we did! We paid her after inquiring on her details of services, and then we met her in person! I know, it's rather strange to hand over a stranger lots of money, and then meet them and see what they're all about. We met her at Cherrywood Coffee, and from there we knew she was the one, just as we knew we were gonna get married! It was all meant to be and speaking with Spike put us at such ease. She listened to our humorous story of our first date at a Best Buy, and from there everything was just how a wedding should be, not of Pinterest photo bridesmaid and shoes and floral galore, but of love and respect and a caring of so strong that she could paint the picture in words spoken in our ceremony. Spike did such an amazing job, she spoke fluidly the day of, reviewed and revised our personal vows we wrote and cropped them to be short and sweet like we asked, did this in a manner that was respectful and noninvasive which is quite a skill to have as an established writer. We specifically requested for nonreligious which I saw many others have asked of her as well but wanted some traditional blessings and love affirmations. She sends over some samples of past ceremonies she's written and you work with her to take pieces of what you like/dislike and suggestions for her to work on. Side note: she revised our ceremony numerous times after we had decided they'd be "final". I know planning a wedding is stressful but with Spike, it wasn't! The money we spent to have her officiate our wedding was more than we wanted to spend, $500 on an officiant (more than what my dress cost!), but I feel now so strong that it was the right amount as no amount of money could have given us the love and warmth that we shared with her. She is just the right person and aura of all Austiny feelings, spiritual, hippie, but so so warm and amazing to share the way with words at a special momental moment like a wedding. Our wedding was meant to be fun, loving, carefree and filled with the friends and family we so closely care for. Ps. She even snapped pics of us when we were about to get married, our fried foods, loved our venue, everything about the decorations and it honestly felt like a friend who was there to celebrate with us. I only wish I could get married more times to meet with her more often (not really, wedding planning is done for me ;) ), she's that awesome! :-) read more

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Google made it hard to find an acceptable wedding officiant remotely when they eliminated the "not" from their search parameters. Thus, after a day of searching for Austin officiants, reading bios, and scanning vows, the only thing I knew I wanted was a bourbon neat---something to sear the words "precious," "unique," "special," and "touching" from my mental palate. Finally, in desperation, I googled "wedding officiant austin tx dynamic agnostic," and Spike popped up. Not only is Spike's website wholy free of the frilly, her homepage contains the phrase---I kid you not---"holy bone." Which is why, although my fiance was at that very moment in Austin and blissfully believing he was by-god-done with officiant interviews, I called him up and plead for one more. As beau and his mother left that meeting, his mother said, "I don't know why you didn't cut her a check right there." They then drove to drinks with a friend who would (really) not impress you as knowing much about romance or, especially, weddings. When beau recapped his day, his friend cried out, "Spike? Holy shit, you have to hire her! She's amazing." Well...he was right. Spike was perfect. She is one of those rare people who carry a portable bubble of cool and charisma. You meet her and you want to be her friend. This was a personal boon to us as tremulous engaged folk, and it also ended up lending a sort of authority and credibility to our ceremony---which was, frankly, odd enough that it could use that sort of thing. Also, to be perfectly unromantic, Spike is an amazing resource. Since she's been officiating forever and is totally hooked into the wedding-service community, she helped us find a dynamo assistant and photographer. Later, when we had a question about licensing, she wrote me a page-length essay on the (many) Texas licensing options. You might think that'd make for dull reading, but I read it once for education and then a few more times, just for entertainment. Which brings me to my final point: Spike's a crazy-good writer. More than that, she's a good critic. Not a critic like my mother, in that sweetie-what-HAVE-you-done-to-your-hair-now way; but a critic like Paul Krugman. She's smart and incisive and knows whereof she speaks. So, whether she said our ideas were good or wonky, we trusted her. Now that we've had the wedding, we know that trust was warranted. Actually, if we'd had a just-OK officiant, we'd remember our wedding quite differently. There were a lot of moving parts and Spike was just one of them. But I reckon her part is mostly why we'll remember our wedding as the funnest one we've been to, and not that day of stress, or big blurry day, or day that still causes people to ask us what was up with those vows. read more

Spike Gillespie - Wedding Planning Near Me

Spike goes above and beyond. We met at Cherrywood Coffeehouse to make plans together. Spike showed up even though she was recovering from food poisoning. We would have understood if she'd cancelled, but what a champ! It was wonderful to meet her in person. My fiance (now husband) and I both came away from the meeting feeling that Spike was the perfect person to officiate at our wedding. Spike shared several templates of ceremonies to give us a place to start, and explained how we could customize them any way we wanted. She always responded speedily to our emails or phone calls. She was warm, funny, genuine, informative, and proved to be invaluable to us when we hit a glitch just days before the wedding and needed her help to quickly rewrite the ceremony. Even my elderly, traditional mother loved her. We heartily recommend Spike! read more

Late Review! Spike was our officiant this past November. My husband and I vetted several officiants in the Austin area for our wedding. We found those that got reviews nearly as recommended as Spike were actually trained by Spike! We thought that said a lot so we corresponded back in fourth with her and she was always prompt and professional. Spike has done several ceremonies/weddings/gatherings of sorts and knew exactly what to do and how to do it. She provided us several readings and guided us through the ceremony. Hiring Spike as our officiant helped to get the ball rolling and eased us on the wedding planning. After the ceremony was over we got compliments on her speech style, the readings we picked, the fact you could hear Spike outdoors because she knows how to work a mic, and we had a few let us know that the ceremony was the best part. I know that could not have happened without the assistance of Spike. Lastly, part of her service is that she will mail the marriage certificate for you. A great perk for anyone that takes their honeymoon immediately after their wedding. I have a close friend get married at Disney World last year and their officiant did not provide this service and my friends completely forgot to mail in the certificate. Their Disney wedding is now invalid! Little do you know this can be the greatest small perk in her service as well. Spike has the most and best reviews on Yelp for a reason. Do not wait to the last minute she does book up! read more

Spike Gillespie - I believe this photo was taken from Spike's iPhone. She was helpful enough to send us a last minute copy before our honeymoon. - Wedding Planning Near Me

I can't really add much to what others have said...except that it's clear Spike loves what she does. She really focuses on getting to know you. This was a challenge for us because we currently live in DC and were not coming back to Austin until 4 days before the wedding. It only took about 20 minutes on Skype to realize that Spike was just the best. She asked us all the right questions (what do you two want in a wedding? how do you want it to feel?), sent us sample vows, made sure we got the license in time. Spike, you made a special yet stressful day better and less stressful. Thank you!!!! read more

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If they gave out trophies for marrying people, Spike would have one that showed a little karate guy kicking the hindquarters of a donkey. And it would be coated in something very much like gold. She will listen to what you want ... And she will deliver. It's been nearly two years and we're not divorced yet! read more

I think Spike may have been my favorite part of our wedding day (which is important, because - duh - she was the one that married us.) My parents are more traditional and were expecting a Christian minister up until two months before the wedding when he bailed out. Once he gave that lovely phone call, it took my fiance and I about two minutes to decide on our contender due to rave reviews from a friend. Spike was more than accommodating and put my parents at ease before the ceremony. She helped us design a really fun and unique wedding ceremony and was quick to mail our license to the state. It was a joy working with her! read more

I think the greatest compliment to Spike's work is the fact that our guests all thought that my husband and I had been friends with Spike for years. She was able to capture our story beautifully in just the two times we met with her before the ceremony. She was so much fun to work with and instilled a sense of trust from the moment we met her. Any concern I had about the fact that we didn't have a rehearsal in advance of the wedding vanished as I listened to her and enjoyed the ceremony she helped us create. We would recommend Spike unconditionally and feel incredibly lucky for the opportunity to have worked with her. read more

Spike Gillespie - Wedding Planning Near Me

We wanted a nontraditional wedding ceremony that was succinct and lighthearted yet meaningful, with just a hint of mysticism. Spike gave us everything we hoped for and more. From the moment she introduced herself at our first meeting we felt at ease and utterly confident leaving the planning and execution of the most important eleven minutes of our lives in her capable hands. We hoped for a memorable service that elicited both laughter and tears among the family and friends in attendance. Well, the tears flowed like cleansing waters and the laughter reverberated like spiritual music, touching all of our hearts. Spike's eloquent recounting of our special love story made us feel like we were the most important couple in the universe. She was totally on board with including our two dogs in the ceremony. Ours was her third ceremony of the day, but with the way she took charge of the proceedings from the moment she arrived at the venue and from her crisp delivery of our wedding vows, it seemed as though it could have easily been her first. Any wedding officiant can recite the obligatory words to join two people in matrimony, but Spike can make magic, with or without her magic wand. read more

Spike Gillespie is amazing and anyone who has her officiate their wedding is blessed. My husband is Hindu and I'm technically Catholic, so we wanted a ceremony that would blend the customs of our families. I didn't think that we could get the ceremony we wanted from a judge so I quickly got to work looking for other options. Thank goodness I found Spike! I sent her an email and she immediately wrote back saying that she would be happy to customize a ceremony for our blended cultural wedding. We met with her at a local coffee shop and we both fell in love with her. Spike has a charm and charisma that is very comforting, friendly and outgoing and makes you want to be her new best friend. The fact that she carries a magic wand around with her is even more endearing! Quite quickly after our meeting she sent us a draft ceremony and it was exactly what we had in mind. On the day of the wedding she was full of smiles and very calm. The ceremony brought tears and laughter to our guests (and ourselves!) and everyone said that it was the best wedding they had ever attended. She even waved her magic wand at us after we signed the marriage license.....a great way to start off our new life together. Bottom line is that I couldn't have been happier with Spike and I highly, highly recommend her! read more

When the officiant that my wife and I originally booked to perform our wedding ceremony canceled 3 months before our wedding, I was disappointed. While in the back of my mind I knew things would work out for the best, I was frustrated with adding the task of finding a new officiant to the never-ending to-do list. So, I gave the task to my wife. She found Spike's information on her website, we had a brief meeting with her on Skype, and we knew we found the right person. Spike began the process by sending us several different ceremonies that she thought we would like, assuring us that she would help us craft the ceremony to fit our vision. While Spike brings a unique and fun vibe to the entire process, my favorite part of the ceremony was what I ended up calling our "Love Story." She told the story of how my wife and I met and fell in love with both humor and tenderness. She was able to capture US in her words - the story was touching, honest, and funny. We were told by friends that our ceremony was one of the most touching and heartfelt ceremonies they have attended. Plus, we worked a few laughs in there, which both our guests and we enjoyed. We were really happy that Spike took time to get to know us as a couple and was part of our special day. We could not have asked for anything more. read more

During our first meeting with Spike at Cherrywood Coffeehouse, my husband and I both felt immediately at ease with her. She is centered, has a quiet confidence and a very calming vibe about her which is exactly what you need from your wedding vendors! We met several times so she could better understand who we are and what brought us together, and so that we could craft our ceremony script. In the end, we had a beautiful, personal and memorable ceremony. By far, the ceremony was my absolute favorite part of our wedding day and we couldn't have done it without Spike. I am a wedding planner and can tell you that I will without a doubt be recommending Spike to my future clients. read more

This is it, no more looking required. Spike should absolutely be the officiant for your wedding ceremony! We were married in October of 2014 and at that the time needed an officiant in a pinch after something came up with our officiant. Luckily they recommend Spike, and sure enough, that was the best move we could have made. Not only did she understand our precarious situation, she stepped in and made us feel at ease. One of the many great things about Spike is that she is very interested in getting to know the couple. She spent time with us getting to know not only our story, but who we were as people. She was very professional in explaining her process right down to every detail so there were absolutely no surprises. She will take great care that the ceremony is exactly how you want it and that you are the star of the show. When it was time for the big day, she knew how to work the crowd, handle our nerves and deliver on a wonderful ceremony. Go with Spike, seriously, you will be glad you did. read more

If I could put 100 stars I would have! Spike is the most wonderful accommodating person I have ever met. I knew the moment I read her blog that she was perfect, exactly what we wanted. We decided kind of last minute that we even wanted a wedding so I was needless to say, stressed, to put a wedding together in roughly 6 weeks. But spike was quick to respond to all of my emails as well as putting a meeting together for us to meet face to face in order to write out a beautiful ceremony that was exactly what we wanted, very personalized to our relationship experience. We would recommend her to anyone! read more

Everything about hiring Spike as our wedding officiant was easy and stress-free. When my now-husband and I first met up with Spike a year before our recent wedding, we knew she'd be a good fit because she seemed laid back, and she also liked punk! She was also super cool with officiating a non-religious wedding involving a Catholic and Jewish family. She totally got our situation. The great thing about working with Spike is that she helps you write your wedding ceremony. I wrote the parts that were about our personal story, but she was able to add some meaningful readings to add to our ceremony. Spike was ON-TIME literally and figuratively. Yes, she arrived at our ceremony at the designated time. But she's also "on-time" in the 90s-speak way, too. She answered any emails quickly, was pleasant to interact with, and she knew how to finish up the administrative aspects of the marriage license (for scatterbrains like me, this was a big deal). Yes, her fee is a chunk of change, but you will rest easy that you have a professional working on the most important aspect of your wedding -- getting legally hitched! read more

Spike is amazing. Not only is she a really interesting person, but she is extremely flexible in what she offers and works to make sure that your ceremony is exactly what you want. She'll take your ideas and develop them into the perfect ceremony. She provided us with a few samples of previous ceremonies she had done, and we worked to make them in our voice. She then suggested a few edits and it ended up being the perfect ceremony. I can't imagine it having gone any better. And...she even took our dogs (who were in our wedding) back to our house after the ceremony. Above and beyond, for sure! read more

Yes indeed, all of the other reviews are true: Spike is an incredible choice for officiant, and we couldn't have been more pleased! Beyond just making the ceremony planning easy-going and efficient, she was also a great voice of calm and sanity amidst so many other frantic wedding plans. Between the couple of laid-back meetings over at the neighborhood coffee shop and a few rounds of draft revisions, Spike helped us craft a well-written, well-balanced text for the big day, and all of our friends and family reported being genuinely touched by the ceremony. From the writing to the rehearsal to the ceremony to signing the marriage license, it was no sweat with her help. Thanks, Spike! read more

What more could I add?! She's perfect, and amazing. She's a rainbow of a person and was easy to work with. As the official "most laid back bride in the universe" I can attest that she made the whole thing easy and fun, and even gave us a discount due to a lack of rehearsal! I wrote some vows 'n stuff, she looked it over, said "great!", she slapped on ring ceremony for us, confirmed it via email, we met her at the venue, bada bing we were done in about a half hour due to the delay in guest arrivals.. Otherwise it would've been ten minutes. I am not only happy with how she conducted our ceremony, I feel privileged to have met her as an individual. I hope to continue some measure of contact via her hilarious and often uplifting Facebook page. Thank you spike, you're a gem!! read more

Spike Gillespie - Wedding Planning Near Me

Neither of us anticipated what a valuable and integral role an officiant could play until we joined forces with Spike. We wanted to eliminate as much ceremony and tradition from our wedding as possible, and focus primarily on having a super fun party. Initially, we planned to have a friend officiate, but when they got cold feet we reached out to Spike after hearing her name around various circles of friends. Our whole event was super DIY (and planned remotely) and we cannot express how valuable it was to have someone onboard who knew what she was doing! We have Spike to thank for helping us keep our eye on the prize, steering the ship in the right direction, and being an all around positive force - and all from another city! She is an amazing collaborator, respectful of your preferences and vision as a couple, and very tactful about offering advice and input. On a more tactical level, she's been involved in a lot of weddings and has a lot of practical contributions to make from all of her experiences - that helped us a lot and gave us more confidence to plan and execute, and eliminate some frivolous details. We really hadn't anticipated how significant our ceremony could be. We even talked about skipping or severely expediting it, thinking that it would seem too formal or somehow embarrassing to say all those things in front of a crowd. Instead, it was really meaningful and distinctly memorable in the best possible way. So many friends and family told us how much they enjoyed it and thanked us for reminding them of "what it's all about." In turn, we want to thank Spike from the bottom of our hearts and recommend her highly! - Margaret and Matt read more

Spike Gillespie - A candid shot of us and our pro officiant Spike moments after our super rad ceremony. Thanks, Spike!! - Wedding Planning Near Me

The officiant was maybe the hardest selection we made planning our wedding. We didn't want a religious wedding, but we wanted it to feel significant, not particularly new-agey, etc. It's hard to find that just by browsing online. We found Spike through the venue (Barr Mansion), and we couldn't have been happier. The process with her started when she sent over a few old ceremonies to have us select sections we liked and didn't like. For example, we liked a "hand holding" portion of some of the ceremonies, but did not like some of the personal story sections. Then she turned around and made a draft ceremony, sending it to us for comment. We then met with her in person. She made a few changes, and then we were all set until the ceremony. She was delightful. One thing that I particularly liked about her was that while her goal is clearly to give the bride and groom what they want, she is not afraid to give an opinion. For example, we wanted a short ceremony, but she was able to tell us what would "feel" too short. From other people's perspectives, she was an amazing success. Although our friends and family are a diverse bunch -- ranging from Evangelical Christians to atheists to new age spiritual healers -- I cannot count how many came up to me or my parents to comment on how great Spike personally was. I don't think they meant it just in the "that was a beautiful ceremony" type of comment either: they singled her out in particular. Most importantly, many who knew us best commented how perfectly it suited us. I would highly recommend Spike. She is flexible and a great writer. She injects enthusiasm, gravity, and humor into her ceremonies. I would particularly recommend her if you want to do a ceremony that is a little different. She will happily work with you. I would also suggest booking her fairly early if you have a "prime wedding" month as I know her schedule for October was incredibly busy. read more

We couldn't be happier with having Spike officiate our wedding! We had an elopement ceremony overlooking the 360 bridge and she worked with us to make sure that it was the special event that we were looking for. She went out of her way to accommodate us at the time and place, climbing up and down the hill in the twilight after rushing from a previous engagement. She has a calming soul and a personality that immediately reassures you that you are in good hands. My new wife and I recommend her highly. read more

We knew we loved Spike as soon as we read about her online. She was so personable and customized the ceremony to match our essence. Very funny, yet beautiful and touching. It was absolutely perfect. Our families keep telling us how amazing it was, and we have to agree. My husband's family does not speak English as a first language and she wrote the ceremony with that in mind. They had no trouble understanding, and her humor translated very well (which can sometimes be very difficult!). She was also able to accommodate our short planning schedule, which was greatly appreciated. Spike is just one of those people you want to be around. I would highly recommend her to anyone who's fun-loving and easy-going! read more

Spike was really easy and fun to work with, and was a great presence at our ceremony. She took the time to learn about us and our histories and personalities before the wedding, which made her participation even more meaningful. If you're looking for an officiant who really knows the ropes, and who can help you craft a ceremony that is perfect for your specific situation, Spike is a great choice. read more

Spike was the officiant at my daughter's memorial service that took place at her Tiny T Ranch. She was very flexible when it came to planning the service. She is willing to meet the needs of the secular, the non-secular or anything in between. Spike was very quick to respond to any of my questions. She made me feel confident that the day was going to be perfect...and it was. The Tiny T Ranch is the best kept secret in town. It's rustic, warm and welcoming. read more

I signed up for Yelp to review Spike. She's great. You can make your own judgement on her writing, which I think is exceptional. But, she's either your style or she ain't. Although, she seems to work with different styles. The reason we liked her so much is she was human. She just wanted to make it easy, she was easy to get ahold of, she wasn't formal, she showed up on time, she took our ideas seriously, and she let us swing by to sign paperwork at her house. We didn't have a DJ, a formal photographer, or a wedding planner. So she helped us think out the timing of the ceremony the day before. Our wedding was in Fredericksburg, so she came twice. Once on Friday and once on Saturday. And she didn't get wasted with my uncles. That was my friend's odd wife's job. She just did her job, gave us a hug, and got back to her interesting life. I couldn't recommend her more. The last thing I would want would be to be a part of someone else's show, and she will let it remain your show. read more

To use a phrase that Spike herself used to describe someone involved in our wedding, Spike "definitely has her shit together". When my wife and I were looking for someone to officiate our wedding, we had a few criteria that we were looking to meet: 1) Someone who can write an interesting ceremony that required us to speak as little as possible 2) Someone who was willing to perform a non-religious ceremony 3) Someone who was engaging, funny and available on our date. Well, I don't know how we lucked up and managed to hit the bulls-eye on the first shot, but Spike was the first and only person we wound up contacting. I remembered reading Spike's column on Austinist.com, and in it she would sometimes mention that she was a licensed officiant. A simple google search later, and we were looking at her webpage. We met for coffee one Saturday afternoon, and after that meeting we knew we had found the right person to get us to the other side (Carol Anne, come towards the light!) From there on out, we worked with Spike via email, as that was most convenient for us. She sent us some wedding ceremonies she had performed in the past, and we just wound up cherry-picking some of the ideas that we liked into our own custom ceremony. Spike then pulled out some fine-grit sandpaper and made sure that the ceremony would flow and have the humor and sentiment we were looking for. On the day itself, Spike was prompt, dignified and even a little hilarious. She didn't crack once even though my wife and I were both a teary mess at one point during the ceremony, and she just laughed when my wife jumped the gun on the kissing of the bride part. Our parting was very short, as Spike was off to perform another wedding that day and wasn't able to take part in the reception. All told, we were incredibly happy with our wedding ceremony, from it's genesis to execution, and Spike was there to help us every step we needed her. read more

Spike is awesome! I came upon her when searching for someone to officiate our same sex wedding. I was stoked when I read that she performs gay weddings and wanted to meet with her right away. We exchanged a few emails before meeting in person. In those she attached some sample ceremonies for us to read and offered to send more or as many as we needed. Once meeting her in person, we knew she was the one! It was important to us that our ceremony portion of the wedding be memorable, serious, but not without humor. We wanted to contribute a lot to the writing process and Spike was very patient and accommodating with us as we edited our ceremony back and forth across several months. Working with Spike was one of my favorite aspects of our wedding. She has the right touch, the right energy and the right personality to make a wedding very personalized to the couple that she is working with. Our ceremony was perfect and we have received many compliments about how wonderful it was. Highly recommend!!!! read more

Spike Gillespie does MORE than weddings now! She was the official "preacher" at my family Easter party at the Esther's Follies Farm near Webberville and blew everybody away with her eloquence, and humor! We asked her to keep it nondenominational, with the joy of the season, and happy Spring wishes, and Spike was fantastic! Our little "church" overflowed with singing, laughter, and smiles, thanks to her. I recommend Spike for any event that requires an official person who can command an audience, but be real. She is a great writer, and a wonderful human being. Wish I could get married again, so she could marry us! read more

Tiny T Ranch is run by Spike Gillespie, who is like the real life Pippie Longstockings. She and her wonderful staff hosted me and my boyfriend, as well as our two friends for a combination weekend of my birthday, and their (surprise) wedding anniversary. I was visiting from Chicago, had some strange requests for the surprise anniversary dinner: can you get a balloon artist? Yes. She was amazing and her name was Stacy Pineapple (obviously). I needed an array of delicious pies, biscuits + gravy: no problem! There was everything I requested, made fresh and delicious.They took care of everything! Sunday there was a jazz brunch at the ranch, and we stuffed our faces with the first ever tasting menu of Tiny T Pizzeria offerings. Calzone? Yes, thank you. Half animal sanctuary, half human sanctuary, this place gave us total decompression for the weekend. I love the rustic, relaxed vibe and animals + art everywhere. We had so much fun and have already booked the house again for an upcoming trip. read more

Spike puts the KICK in ASS. She's the best officiant a bride or groom could ever have. And a local hero to boot. Best wishes to all.

We were honored to have spike perform our marriage ceremony a few weeks ago. She was exactly what we were looking for. Open-minded, cultured, and was willing to perform a completely non-religious ceremony for us. She offered the feature of skyping which was nice because we don't live in Austin so we never even had to make a drive up there to meet her. Our special day was wonderful and Spike was great. I highly recommend her! :) read more

Spike officiated our small ceremony in San Marcos on the hottest day of the year and did so with elegance and grace, despite everyone melting in the heat. She was a true pleasure to work with, super flexible, professional, and friendly. It was very difficult finding someone who could work with our mixed bag of religious/non-religious backgrounds, but Spike fit the bill and did so without any judgement, making us and our guests relieved. She even managed to keep the ceremony going smoothly while trains passed by our venue! read more