Houston Officiants + Premarital Counseling

Catholics without a Church

About this vendor

We are available to assist with your wedding and can provide any type of ceremony you desire. We assist each couple to design the exact ceremony they have always wanted. Your choices are only limited by our collective imaginations. Catholics without a Church offers marriage services to ALL couples. We have Spanish speaking priests.

Details

Ceremony Types

Commitment Ceremony
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Second Wedding
Vow Renewal Ceremony

Planning

Se Habla Español

Religious Affiliations

Buddhist
Christian
Catholic
Orthodox
Interfaith
Jewish

Wedding Activities

Wedding
Ceremony

3.6

out of 5.0

24 reviews

Search reviews

10/05/2024 • Maria R

About six months before our vow renewal ceremony, I contacted Catholics without a Church to request a priest to officiate our ceremony at a local hotel. Fr. Milton responded quickly and was very cordial! He mentioned that he likes to meet in person about three months before the ceremony, so that’s exactly what we did. We were able to meet to discuss all the ceremony details. He was open to including our preferences and also shared a few ideas of his own. All was well until a few weeks before our ceremony when Fr. Milton stopped responding to calls, texts, and emails. I assumed he was just busy until I still hadn’t heard from him the day before our ceremony. My husband and I scrambled to find another officiant, but of course, no one was available on such short notice! I finally received a text from Fr. Milton a few hours before our ceremony, coincidentally after I gave the company a bad review. He didn’t offer an apology or any explanation as to why he hadn’t been responsive, but he was very quick to request that I take down my review. Overall, our ceremony went well, but I definitely would have enjoyed our day more had I not been so stressed! Fr. Milton officiated as planned, but several of my guests commented that he seemed cold, distant, and eager to leave. I’d rather not make any assumptions, but I hope Fr. Milton is in good health, and I wish him the best. I can only assume his unresponsiveness and day-of behavior was due to illness. I just wish there had been better communication from Fr. Milton and Catholics without a Church.

7/19/2022 • Tiffany B

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! They were happy to respond (Father Milton) and very happy to take my money but then ghosted my daughter and her fiancé once money was given! PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE ONE STAR REVIEWS HERE!! I contacted the knot and they recommended that I leave a poor review as well as contact BBB of Houston! I also was able to get PayPal to return my money! I AM EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED THAT THIS MAN CALLS HIMSELF CATHOLIC!! I can’t believe I actually thought we would be the exception to the one-star reviews on here! STAY AWAY!

5/11/2022 • Shivanie G

We got married in the DFW area and used Father Tony O'Donovan as our wedding officiant. My husband's family is Catholic and we did not get married in the church, so it was incredibly difficult for us to find someone who would do a traditional Catholic ceremony outside of the church. Insert Father Tony. He met with us multiple times over in-person and via Zoom to talk through and customize our wedding program. He is so personable and we had a great experience working with him. He really emphasized that he wanted us to relax and enjoy the wedding planning process, and that the focus should be on us, our happiness, and our love for each other. Father Tony took a lot of stress off of us as I searched for months for a Catholic priest who would marry us outside of the church and couldn't find anyone. Father Tony is a lovely man!

12/23/2020 • Angie N

We had Father Milton as our officiant and I have to say that he was amazing! I'll set the scene. I'm Catholic, my husband is not religious, my family is incredibly religious, so you can see the dilemma. We weren't able to get married in the church and Father Milton came to our rescue. COVID happened after we had already initiated conversation, so Father Milton was great in reaching out to see what our plans were. I have to say that it did take a few emails on my end to set up a meeting with him to understand how to organize the ceremony, but it all worked out without too much trouble. We video chatted and he was very informative and gave great advice. Now, the day of the wedding was crazy. My family gave him an incredibly hard time, yet through it all Father Milton delivered a wonderful ceremony and made sure that he respected our wishes, regardless of what anyone else said. He cracked a few jokes, made everyone comfortable, and overall provided the best ceremony that I could ask for. I am so grateful that we found Catholics without a Church, I'm not sure what we would have done if we hadn't.

12/15/2020 • Shasta B

We hired Father Milton as our officiant for our December wedding and he was fun! There was a slight mix up on our date a few days before, but he immediately assured us that it would all be fine and it was. He showed up on time and was prepared. Our guests even made comments on how he made the ceremony lighthearted and fun. Thank you Father Milton!

12/13/2020 • Michelle M

Please read the reviews in detail and do NOT book this company. I read the bad reviews and still booked and I regret it very much. Father Milton was unprofessional, he refused to do a rehearsal and only showed up to the rehearsal to get the marriage certificate, then he left. Then on the wedding day he did not complete any of my selections, no unity candle, and the flow was extremely stilted and awkward. I spent over an hour creating a perfect ceremony and we did not receive it. Additionally, he at the last minute refused to wear a mask at the wedding. He is very cavalier and he almost ruined our whole day. If I could go back I would request another priest and refuse Father Milton. If by chance you do book with Father Milton, I highly suggest that you insist on completion of the full wedding rehearsal prior to any payment.

4/25/2020 • Kristen T

What my now husband and I experienced was likely an isolated incident, but it still makes me angry to think about it. Our wedding was in Austin. That weekend was ACL, so my mother in law got stuck in heavy traffic on the way to the venue, and the wedding started 15 to 30 minutes late as a result. Father Milton apparently had to go conduct another ceremony right after ours (due the officiant for that ceremony getting sick), so he rushed through a lot of the readings and even purposely didn't include one of them. He rushed through the vows and even started feeding me my husband's part of the vow by mistake. I still feel wronged by this. I don't recommend choosing this place for your officiant for this reason.

2/24/2020 • Veronica S

Father Tony was great! Very well organized, full of great advice and information. Our family and friends loved him and so did we. We met a couple of times throughout the process and he was very responsive with any questions. The ceremony is also very customizable which I really loved.

9/16/2019 • Jazmine C

Wow! Fr. Tony was funny, professional, kind, and brought Christ in our ceremony! We had so many people compliment us on our choice with him! He was great during our premarital counseling, explained everything during the rehearsal and was soooo very kind! We loved being able to pick every aspect of our wedding and be guided with ideas. Absolutely would recommend

12/05/2018 • Shelley W

Do not recommend using this service. I planned to use Fr. Milton from the beginning of my wedding planning- almost 11 months of planning and meeting in person once- driving more than 85 miles to meet in person (he forgot our meeting) he was still driving home from another wedding... I had to wait on him over an hour to finally meet at the place he told me to meet him at! I filled out all of the necessary paperwork that was required, and the final forms. My wedding day came on Dec. 1st- 4:00 pm starting time. I called at 2:45 to make sure he would be there. He acted like I was never even on the calendar that day and that I had never filled out any forms. I had just emailed him about last minutes wedding preparations less than a week before- was he crazy?! This was my worst nightmare. I cried my eyes out as I thought I’m not going to marry the love of my life- as he was all the way in Cypress and my wedding was in Galveston. By the grace of God I was able to find the sweetest God send man to officiate our wedding last minute and it was better than I could have ever hoped for. I really had a bad feeling from the start about this officiant service as it didn’t seem reliable, and trustworthy. Please don’t let them ruin your wedding day like they ruined mine.

8/16/2018 • Marissa T

I can’t even put into words how much more Catholics without a Church made our day THAT much more special. I was nervous at the beginning because there are not many reviews, but I took the risk and went for it. I have NO REGRETS about choosing them to marry my Husband and I. Father Milton was very sweet when we first met him, we ended up having Father Fred marry us and he was just PERFECT! Thank you for everything!

3/14/2018 • Christian A

Father Raphael was great! We had a skype meeting and was in constant communication up to the day of. Before then, he went thru what would take place, what he represented and what are wishes would be. Turns out some of our guests had seen him at other events as well. He made our ceremony and union in holy matrimony just perfect! Very happy with his service.

1/11/2018 • Erin O

We had Father Fred and it was just a perfect fit. He has a fun, funny personality and really helped us make the ceremony our own while being true to my Catholic side of the family. Warm, personable, and very easy to work with! I highly recommend Father Fred!! And what a lovely organization this is. Many people, like myself, identify as Catholic but might hit a few bumps getting married in the church. I love the inclusive nature of this group - I feel like it’s the true nature of being Catholic. Can’t recommend them highly enough!

11/21/2017 • Susan H

Well all I can say is Father Milton called me by that wrong name the entire ceremony, forgot a part i wanted included saying we didn't include it with the form but did and then when dismissing my family after their portion of the ceremony literally told my aunt and uncle "shoo go sit down" . I was mortified and it ruined my ceremony.

1/24/2017 • Aastha T

Hard to reach and talk to . We set an appointment after 4 calls and numerous emails plus sending their form online to meet and discuss the kind of ceremony we wanted to have. The priest never showed up! No calls or emails. We waited for over an hour and called and emailed but we couldn't reach him. For me, being assured that my officiant will show up and show up on/before time on my wedding day is important.

10/27/2016 • Julia G

The short version: Very pleased with the services provided by Catholic’s without a Church. Father James Claire is who you want as your wedding officiant, he is truly a pleasure to be around and will make your wedding unforgettable. The longer version: Father James played such an important role in making my wedding a perfect day. It all started during my rehearsal the day prior to the wedding, when I had no idea what was supposed to be happening and he just took charge of everything. Is important to note, he arrived an hour earlier that day to familiarize himself with the venue and the coordinators - he truly cared! Father James' cool yet professional and humbling demeanor made the ceremony one to remember. The day of the wedding he was early, and spoke with enthusiasm, and even made some guests laugh. He again of course arrive before schedule and the ceremony was smooth and seamless. During the planning phase, he was responsive, flexible, accommodating and patient on waiting for our responses (which were typically delayed) and just easy to work with overall. We recommend Father James with no hesitation. Which circles back to the short version: Father James Claire is who you want as your wedding officiant, he is truly a pleasure to be around and will make your wedding unforgettable.

5/15/2014 • Jessica N

Thank God for Father Milton! My husband is Catholic, I am Baptist, finding a way to stay true to our faiths and keep families happy with the ceremony was something we stressed over for months. When we finally found Father Milton and met with him all of that stress was washed away, he quickly understood our needs and made us feel relaxed about the whole thing. He is such a practical man and offered great advice! I recommend him to anyone interested in an outdoor ceremony!

11/14/2011 • Lauren C

We were deeply disappointment in the marriage ceremony that we had officiated by this group. We felt that the reverend treated our ceremony as “just another wedding”—one that he didn’t sincerely care about or put any thought into. To say that he was disrespectful is an understatement. He opened our wedding by calling attention to the fact that he wouldn’t be doing a homily. What purpose did this announcement serve? There was in fact supposed to be a homily (per the ceremony that we chose) and weren't notified in advance of this change. It was embarrassing that he drew attention to the fact that our ceremony programs were wrong. Additionally, he repeatedly muttered under his breath to us during the ceremony telling us “don’t look at me, look at each other”; “act like you love each other.”; “act like you want to be here.” This was completely inappropriate and once again unnecessary. It was distracting and really “killed the mood” for both of us. Finally he forgot to say “You may now kiss the bride.” I’m sorry but we must ask—how does one forget to say this? This is his job. This was our one and only wedding. It is kind of an important line in the ceremony. His blatant disregard for our union, evidenced by his joke cracking and repeatedly inappropriate comments, left us feeling robbed of the sanctity of our marriage ceremony.

9/04/2011 • Lori B

We meet once with Father Milton before the wedding, he explained how things would work, gave us all the options available and the day of the wedding, he was funny and made the ceremony short and sweet as we requested. Everyone enjoyed it.

7/17/2011 • Melissa S

father milton raybould was amazing. My husband and I had never met him prior to the wedding so we were a little nervous. Father milton made the whole experience super easy. He guided us through the whole process. He was very professional but fun. We customized our ceremony and he was very accommodating with our customization, he did an amazing job.

6/21/2011 • daniela m

I found Father Milton while doing an internet search and am so glad I contacted him! We were looking to have a catholic wedding (my family is catholic, but my husband's is not), but outdoors and not completely traditional. We got exactly the ceremony we wanted! Father Milton was very easy going and laid back, and put us both (and our guests) at ease... he is very funny and everyone had a good time! it turned out to be a beautiful event! I highly recommend him!

5/07/2011 • stacey c

Father Milton kept our outside ceremony fun and light hearted.

3/27/2011 • Ana O

The officiant was a perfect fit for us. He was funny yet serious for the occasion. Our guests LOVED him. And he sent in the wedding license so quickly after signing it so we got it the next week! Also they do not have a fee... they take donations so you can pay what you see fit.