Austin Area Weddings

bviously shined during his words. Thank you, James!

yup! There was something about him just cool, collected and very professional. He Made us feel comfortable and confident with choosing him. Day of our wedding was PERFECT. No awkward moments at all. Everything we expected and more! We Highly recommend!!!

g. Many of our guests said the ceremony was one of their favorite parts and that is saying something since we had excellent. food, wine, venue, and music :)

hotographer. Would highly recommend to small or big events! Thank you James!

e is an amazing person and I highly recommend him. he also sent me recommendations for photographers and other things I needed! 10/10!!!

ing. He is so sweet, funny, and charming everyone loved him. Thank you for making our wedding fantastic. 100 STARS!!!

met with him the week before to get reacquainted with him to ensure we were front of mind. I had such high hopes going into our wedding day. But, unfortunately it didn’t work out. Before our ceremony, I had panic meetings with our wedding coordinator wondering why he hadn’t arrived to the ceremony site as the wedding was beginning . During the middle of our ceremony, he called me the wrong name. It wasn’t one of those “people probably didn’t hear it things”, because everyone heard it loud and clear and the rest of the wedding night, people either brought it up or tried to pretend like they didn’t hear it, hoping I didn’t hear it myself. Not only that, but during the wedding, he was unrehearsed and stumbled upon the other readings that he had prior to the ceremony. When I approached him about it, he apologized and said he was doing too many weddings. While I hope other brides that booked him have a great experience, I hope brides looking to book an officiant in the future look to other brides for their experiences and recommendations, rather than relying on reviews from the officiant themselves.

ith you, that you were the one! We heard so many great things about you throughout the entire weekend from all our guests! I will highly be recommending you to any and all future friends in the area who are getting by married! Thank you so much!

guests from the wedding, they've made comments on various wedding details but one thing that is always said is how great of a job James did. Everyone thought he was a family friend with how well he delivered his speech and how spot on his delivery was. I will recommend him every time!!! He truly made our wedding that much more special. Thank you James!!

iant!! You won’t regret it. Thank you again James!!

rked out great. His words made us emotional and made my husband even shed some tears apart from our vows. 🥺🥹 A plus is that he takes care of mailing our marriage license out so we don’t have to worry about taking it! We are so happy that we hired him as our officiant and would recommend James to anyone.

s stressful for us. I would definitely recommend him as an officiant for anyone given his flexibility and versatility in his craft. Truely a master officiant!

am so glad that we chose Austin Area Weddings, and I will forever recommend him to future bride/grooms! Thanks to James, our wedding was perfect!

Our feelings became even more clear the moment we met James in person and got to know him, his background and his process when marrying couples. James not only understood and executed our vision for our wedding ceremony, but he displayed clear direction for our wedding party during the rehearsal, and provided a fluid mixture of humor and an elegance for our guests during the wedding. We can't thank James enough for being a key part of our wedding day, and absolutely recommend him to other couples wanting to have a perfect day.

d a ceremony that exceeded our expectations. We got so many compliments from guests asking who he was (most thought he had to of known us for a long time or was a close friend because of how personal the ceremony was). The ceremony was very touching, there wasn't a dry eye in sight! James was engaging and funny when the times were right. If guests weren't crying, they were laughing! My now husband Matt really appreciated that James checked in again before the ceremony to see how we wanted to do our vows. We left it up to James to do most of the talking because Matt ended up feeling a lot more nervous than he anticipated. We both highly recommend James for your officiant needs!

go. I had no idea or expectations as to what James would say beyond the basic "I do's". He came up with something so fast and so good it made me and my wife cry like babies on the spot. It was unreal and hit on all the emotions. I was impressed with his words and this alone were worth his service. Needless to say, if I ever get married again, he's going to officiate.

d even friends and family asked us if he was one of our family friends! We couldn’t of asked for a better experience and you would be missing out if you didn’t book with James :)

m, you honestly won’t regret it.

onal ideas/suggestions to fit our vision. He is very easy to talk to which made our consultations a breeze and helped both of us feel more comfortable up at the altar! Our guests LOVED James and asked how long we had known him because of how genuinely he spoke during our service! We are so glad we got to work with James and are grateful for his ability to beautifully tell our love story!

erful smile just how much he loves what he does. The ceremony was absolutely perfect! I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for an officiant. This special day can only be handled by the very best person, and he definitely fits the bill. He made our day even more amazing than I could have ever imagined and for that we will be forever grateful.

was a success.

for our wedding. Paid in full months before wedding even took place. On our visit with him in person I asked him if he could in fact do our rehearsal the day before the wedding. He said yes. A few weeks before the wedding I reached out to him and asked him about the rehearsal time and date and he said he would be doing it because “his daughter was getting married that day” but he NEVER mentioned a daughter or her getting married on our rehearsal date. Day of wedding I got ready and the photographer came in and did her job. I asked James simmons where the videographer was and he told me he was “setting up his equipment in the trees” which I thought was weird but okay. Walking down the isle, no videographer. So my husband asked where the videographer was and James simmons said “he must have just left from the trees without saying goodbye”. Seriously? A month goes by and I get my pictures but no video. I reached out to Mr simmons multiple times and he ignored me. Finally I asked the photographer to reach out to him since they work together. She did and he finally gets back to me. The photographer gave me screenshots of Mr simmons and her conversation before my wedding took place where he stated he never hired a videographer for me wedding and there wouldn’t be one for my day but never told me and kept my money. I requested a refund and he gives me back a little refund and I had to fight him for even part of that back. Horrible service. Horrible company. Funny how this man says he’s “a man of god and a revered” but screws people out of their wedding day. Disgusting and he needs his title stripped from him.

ken, amazing person all around. When we had our first zoom meeting my now Husband was just amazed on how an amazing and personable James is. He was so easy to work with and most importantly let us customize our ceremony script. Any questions I had he was always there to answer them. James really made our wedding ceremony so perfect and so memorable. Our guest fell in love with James and his ability to deliver. I couldn't thank James enough for being so amazing from the start. If your looking for an officiant that is funny, easy to work with, well spoken, down to earth, personable, all the above, this is the person! Thank you a million times James for making our wedding ceremony one to always remember!

ut said situations from reading other reviews, as my emails went unanswered. I scheduled my whole day around not one, but two meetings, only to be stood up. It’s understandable to have family emergencies come up, but the lack of communication on his part is unacceptable. I work in the wedding industry, and if I behaved this way, I’d be out of a job. I won’t recommend him to any of my brides because reliability is essential on the big day.

nity candle our parents were having trouble lighting the candles. But James did amazing at winging it. He kept our ceremony about how special it truly is to take this step. My husband, wow still weird to say, and I were super impressed with James and were already having our guests ask for his information. Thank you James for making our ceremony one we will never forget.

😭. If you’re a nerd that like D&D like us, you’ll love him. He for sure understood the assignment! I’m pretty sure his favorite part of the ceremony was the “you may now kiss your sith lord”! 🤣

rds. James called me a few hours before the wedding to let me know we're all good to go. Hearing his infectious laugh over the phone really helped calm my nerves. I HIGHLY recommend him for anyone seeking an officiant.

aughing and is highly experienced. We asked him to join us for our rehearsal also and he was able to effectively manage our entire bridal party in coordination with Brook from Mockingbird Lane.

our wedding… I was a ball of nerves and I’m sure my husband to be felt the same way too.. he made us feel at ease! Our guests truly loved him and we can’t thank him enough for what he has done!!! We truly and highly recommend him to perform your next wedding ceremony!!! You will soon experience all the wonderful things that he can offer you!!! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts Reverend James Simmons! Love, Mr. & Mrs. Fields James Simmons Austin Area Weddings 512-710-KISS (5477) https://www.revsimmons.com/

for. I would HIGHLY recommend James to my couples getting married in the Austin area, you won't be disappointed!

he right amount of religious tones we were looking for with some romantic aspects/readings and the perfect amount of humor/light heartedness! He has such a passion for what he does and it shines through his work. His positivity is contagious and all your guests will be smiling. We received so many compliments on how he did after the ceremony and couldn’t be happier.

was like we had known him our whole lives. James is AMAZING. He works hard to make sure your wedding is perfect and exactly what YOU want it to be. We never felt pressured one way or the other, we really felt like we could do whatever made us happy. James also provides pre-marital counseling that really helped us grow as a couple. We loved having James as a part of our wedding, and grew to feel as though James was family. James took all of the stress out of the ceremony and helped us relax, it was perfect. James helped us have the best day of our lives, and he can help you have that as well!

bove and beyond to make the young and the old feel involved, laugh and cry! That officiant is james Simmons!!! He is wonderful! 5 stars is not enough for him! He stood in the drizzling rain in order to marry us and never let it effect how amazing he was. He kept the ceremony light hearted, yet personalized and very sweet. He met with me and my husband multiple times and did everything to calm our nerves. He helped with vows and even vows for my husband to write to my son (his new step son). He stayed late to talk with my family and even say the blessing before dinner. He mailed off our marriage license and was a complete joy to be around! I can go on and on but to keep it short and sweet- he is everything and so much more to have as an officiant!!!!

nxiety. Choose James!!

have you. Blessings The Navarro’s

urs humorous and let me tell you, he made that happen! We currently reside outside the state of Texas (not by choice) and he definitely told everyone I was wearing my whataburger shirt on our first video call (you can take us out of Texas but you can’t take the Texas out of us). His sentiments fit so perfect, and brings the tears just remembering how genuine and thoughtful he made our ceremony. We couldn’t have brought it all together without him. Love you James!

. On the wedding day, as most bride and groom typically have lots of nerves, he continued to make it so light hearted and funny that we enjoyed our time and didn't even think about the nerves. He made it feel so special and even in the short time talking to him, really made it seem like our wedding mattered just as much as any other wedding he has done. He even has a customizable shared word document that allows you to tailor your ceremony exactly as you envision it to be which I thought was so awesome for couples that want the ceremony a non traditional way! Not only did he show up early to greet guest and be ready but after the ceremony he even took our wedding license to file for us to have one less thing on our plate after the wedding! Would recommend James everytime!!

He knows exactly what you will need and will help you along the way. He even was so kind as to run my entire wedding rehearsal when I needed him most! I can't rave enough about James. If he does your wedding, I promise he won't disappoint. Thank you so much, James! You are truly the best and made our wedding so special!

wedding was a huge help for us during planning. James made everyone laugh and has a natural charisma. He even had a handkerchief ready at the perfect time in our ceremony. If you’re looking for a professional and kind officiant, you will be thrilled with James. 😃We’re so happy we had him there for our wedding day.

d create your own vows & readings. Y’all, James nailed our ceremony, to a T! We chose the readings, and he added on based on our personalities. He made it full of fun, laughter, and tears, and I will never ever forget how extra special he made our day. He truly made our wedding absolutely perfect! Not to be biased, but ours was thee best wedding we have ever attended 😁😁😁 Our guests were even raving about him after the wedding. Hire James, this is is passion y’all, and it shows! We are forever grateful 🙏🏻 Location: Chapel Dulcinea

s for all your hard work. We will absolutely be recommending you to others in need and hope to see you again soon!

st important people in the chapel! We had several calls with James leading up to the wedding and he made sure to ask us all the questions to ensure he captured our personalities in the ceremony. He was so helpful leading up to the big day and was so much fun to work with. Everyone was raving about him and said he did a wonderful job officiating the ceremony, and we thought so, too. I can't recommend James enough!!!

wn us for years. We thank you so much James, we are fortunate to have had you as our officiant! -Villalobos

ommend him for anyone wanting to get married!

a delight, he is super funny, and he puts his heart into it. He is truly gifted with what he does, and he just exudes the best energy! We absolutely LOVED having him be a part of our special day and we are so thankful. If you can’t already tell, we highly recommend him! You can’t do any better than James. 💜

ment on his overall performance as they were impressed as well. Choosing a good officiant really sets the overall mood for your big day so you have to choose wisely. From our first interaction with James we knew he was the man for the job! Thanks again James for everything we really appreciate you 📷 - Jeff and Savannah

bes and helpful tips helped make our day perfect! We could not have picked a better person to marry us! ❤️

wife about my ceremony and that he would contact me either later that evening or the next day. It’s now 11/2 and I have not heard a peep from James. I’m just really disappointed that he didn’t even feel I was worth a phone call to decline officiating my wedding. Maybe it was my budget or the fact that my fiancé and I want a secular ceremony, I don’t know. James, if you see this I wish you the best going forward, but I won’t be recommending your services to anyone.

unforseen medical issues we had to make other arrangements fast. James was very understanding of the situation and really worked with us on our budget. The first time you meet him you will feel like family. That was very important for us! We wanted a fun, uplifting ceremony that wouldn't put our guests to sleep. He definitely delivered! The ceremony was fun, short and sweet. Our guests loved him and we're Happy!! I will say, I was slightly disappointed at first, that the ceremony outline I created was not followed. With that being said, a week after our wedding I was going through my gmail only to find my email failed to send and got stuck in drafts. So that one was all on me! I wish there was a last minute reminder or check in, but like I said that really was my fault. So ladies and gentlemen, don't make the same mistake. But if you do, rest assured James knows what he's doing and will make your ceremony special regardless.

had a video chat and he really put our minds at ease. Our wedding day was perfect and we couldn't be more grateful to have found James!

ecause they really thought he was a friend of the family based on his work during the ceremony. I can’t imagine that anyone else could have done better! I am still having guests tell me that it was the best wedding they’d ever been to!

he cared. Not once did I ever feel like just another wedding, just another customer. He was on time, always kept his word, and knew exactly what to say, even when we didn't. My wife and I couldn't have asked for a better officiant for our special day. Thank you, Rev. Simmons!!!!!!

of our officiant. James did a phenomenal job making our wedding ever so special for us and our virtual guest!

sure that your day is perfect. He met with us multiple times per our request and let us know that he would be available as much as we needed up until the big day. If you are looking for an amazing officiant with years of experience, look no further because James is your guy.

uick to respond with any questions and we had a lot! He is extremely experienced. I loved how he thought of everything. Our wedding ceremony was exactly how imagined it. My family members all had great things to say about our ceremony too! We 100% recommend!

r his flexibility and follow-through as our officiant during our COVID pandemic era wedding.

ife officiant” they were very impressed.

ny was supposed to start. The next day he told the owner of the venue that he was in a car accident on 35 on the way up, but then the owner asked one of the off duty police officers that does security at the venue if there were any reported accidents around that time, which there were not. She then asked him for proof of the accident and to get in contact with us, to which he only replied with "Are you serious". We did get our refund back 3 days later, but he offered no apology or explanation at all, and we still have not heard anything from him, other than the Venmo refund. It's pretty sad when you can't even trust an ordained minister.

son I reached out to James for my wedding happening this October. My fiancé and I had a fantastic conversation with James mid March. We decided to hire James to be our officiant on the spot during our phone call. Unfortunately, our correspondence went downhill from here. We were supposed to receive a contract the following Monday. Around this time Covid-19 had become much more prevalent and things became a little chaotic. We waited two weeks before reaching out to James by email. I asked how he was doing and how his business was handling all the cancellations/rescheduled weddings. I received a short email saying that they were hanging in there and he attached the contract. I had some questions about pricing so I sent a follow up email asking for clarification. No response. Days go by so I send another email. No response. Days go by. My fiancé calls and leaves a voicemail asking for a call back regarding some questions we had about the contract and pricing. No response. We finally called one last time. No response. I’m heartbroken because I was really confident about my decision to choose him to officiate our wedding. Although, I’m sure this isn’t how he normally conducts business, I have never had to work this hard to pay someone for a service. I have compassion as these are really uncertain times but communication is key. I don’t normally write negative reviews but this one was tough to swallow since this type of vendor is a very personal choice. I can always hire a new caterer or bartender to work my wedding. I’m sure this is not his normal process but some type of information excusing his lack of communication, or the delay in email responses, or an out of office would have been well received by us. It has been two weeks since our last voicemail and we still have not heard back. We’re now in the process of looking into hiring a different officiant. I am saddened that I was unable to hire James and that I didn’t get to write the glowing review I had planned on writing after he married us.