Ceremonies by Joan

his put us at ease. Throughout the planning process, Joan was a steady source of support and guidance. It was important to us that our ceremony blend meaningful religious elements, cultural accents (my husband's Ukrainian heritage), and our love story. Joan did all of this beautifully! She created a thoughtful, detailed ceremony that truly represented us as a couple and incorporated unfamiliar traditions with respect and care. Couples should also be prepared to put in work on their end - answering questionnaires, documenting their story, reading through different vows and ceremony elements - but it's worth it, because the more you share and have input on, the more personal and meaningful Joan can make your ceremony. One note of feedback: clarify expectations around rehearsal attendance. Joan had initially indicated she does not normally attend, but instead sends the prepared ceremony to the wedding planner. Even though her plans changed, and she ultimately joined us for the rehearsal, we got the impression that there was additional compensation that she was expecting for that particular service. This is probably something that would be best discussed ahead of time, particularly if having her present at your rehearsal is important for you. That said, we are so thankful we had Joan as our wedding officiant. She delivered a heartfelt, memorable ceremony that we and our guests will cherish forever. We highly recommend her to couples seeking a meaningful, personal, and beautifully written ceremony.

got to know us and our love story to create a beautiful ceremony. Joan also works with your other vendors to make sure the day goes seamlessly.

ecting us with ques and is a very good speaker. We'd recommend Joan to anyone.

and lighthearted demeanor was so helpful. Everyone complimented our ceremony and how well Joan conducted it. Highly recommend Joan as your celebrant!

d with Joan, but after now having spoken with most of our wedding party we decided to leave an honest review. Our experience with Joan was the only negative part of our wedding. After initially meeting her and having a strong initial interaction, we decided to move forward with Joan, but the wedding ceremony was significantly below expectations. Joan showed up in a somewhat aggressive and crabby mood to our rehearsal, was very rude to the Gage staff that was trying to help coordinate the rehearsal, snapped at our wedding party, and worst of all changed parts of the ceremony. We had met with her and emailed with her in advance to finalize what parts we wanted included/reword things we did not like, and she ended up using the pre-edited version. There were specific parts we wanted cut that were leaning somewhat religious and she added them back in which greatly offended our grandparents. She also spaced us awkwardly apart during the ceremony, so the pictures look horrible. Lastly, I had repeatedly told her I did not want to have any portions of our ceremony where we are facing the audience instead of each other, and she still did this on the day of during the ceremony when we had one of our friends reading, I was so uncomfortable the entire time. We heard from multiple people in our wedding party about how Joan made them feel disrespected, treating them like children. If we could go back, we would choose to work with someone else. We know she had strong other reviews, so not sure if we caught her on an off day.

eremony. From the moment we first met her, she took the time to understand our story, our values, and what we wanted in our special moment. Her delivery was heartfelt and engaging, making every word feel meaningful. She created a ceremony that was both intimate and beautifully crafted, leaving not just us, but also our guests, deeply moved. We received so many compliments on how wonderful and memorable the ceremony was! If you’re looking for someone who is professional, kind, and truly passionate about making your wedding day special, we highly recommend Joan. She made our day unforgettable! Thank you again, Joan, for everything—you are truly amazing!

mmend her to anyone looking for a wedding officiant!

ight to work with. I highly recommend selecting Joan as your officiant for your wedding. She brings a personalized touch to every ceremony, working closely with each couple to create a unique and intimate experience. Joan will exceed your expectations! I would love to work with Joan again in the future!

glad we went with Joan!

special. Everyone was very moved by the ceremony and couldn't compliment her enough. We found her through The Knot and couldn't be happier with her support, communication, and coordination with our photographer, DJ, and wedding coordinator. She developed a personalized ceremony diving into how we met and our relationship. She created exactly the type of ceremony we were looking for. All of our friends and family were very moved by her words and loved the stories she shared of us. I would highly recommend Joan to anyone looking for a ceremony made just for you. She made our day special and we will be forever grateful for meeting her.

bout our relationship and what we were looking for in our wedding and in our marriage. She helped prompt great discussion between us and wove our personality into the way that she delivered the ceremony. We felt like our guests really enjoyed the way that the ceremony was delivered (and we did too!). Joan helped us think through and craft each section of the ceremony, leading the process and sharing recommendations from her experience, but really allowing us to make it right for us. We especially enjoyed and appreciated the suggestion of having the two of us stand together, rather than having Joan between us during the ceremony. She was an excellent officiant. Her passion and experience shine through every step of the way. We would highly recommend her!

sense of humor at the ceremony when their child started crying and got a laugh that loosen every one up! She prepared the betrothed well and we are in her debt! The wedding went perfectly!!

ith us to ensure it was special & perfect for us. Thank you very much for a lovely experience, we appreciate it and you greatly!

nderstand our love story and journey together. The results were very personalized and heart felt ceremonies that were elegantly delivered. If you are looking for a very personal touch to make exceptional I would highly recommend Joan.

through the ceremony, offered advice and options, asked meaningful questions, and truly got us excited for the day. I felt like she really wanted to make the day special for us and boy did she! The ceremony turned out perfectly and our ten guests thought the same! Thank you Joan!

take the time to listen, understand the couple and host the ceremony in that way. She has good work ethic and pays attention to details. We had a really heartfelt ceremony. I would recommend Joan to anyone who is looking for a ceremony that is tailored to yourself!

ind words. She was attentive to details and let us go through the ceremony several times, fine tuning and adjusting to fit the day while maintaining our personal style. She elegantly incorporated wedding advice from our parents and told our personal couple story, which was expertly stitched together from our anecdotes. Joan, you have truly found your calling. Thank you so much for being a part of our ceremony and helping to make it meaningful and memorable. Thanks again for all your effort!

to our date and reached out to set up meetings accordingly. She really likes to spend time learning you and your partner as a couple and the story of how you met to where you are now going into marriage. She completely customizes and tailors a beautiful ceremony to your preferences. She provided all the needed guidance along the way. She was extremely helpful with running the rehearsal the night before the wedding and was on time and ready the day of. Our ceremony was a perfect representation of us and all of our guests commented on not only how much they enjoyed hearing our story and other beautiful sentiments but also on Joan's calm cadence in her delivery. We loved working with her! Thank you so much for officiating our wedding.

the time to meet with us several times before the ceremony to make sure it was perfect and to prepare us for the day-of. She is very detail-oriented which helped the ceremony run smoothly and exactly the way we wanted. She is highly talented and we would recommend her to anyone.

y short period of time still TBD. She was so flexible with us as we worked out what, where, when and how. When we last-minute decided to add vows and ring exchange, she was quick to offer ideas to help us find the right words. The day of, she made our parents--who were victims of a surprise wedding!--feel special by hosting a ceremony that was quick and private but still very us. She's also just fun and nice to work with, and we couldn't recommend her more.

to bond over creating the ceremony. Our whole family loved the ceremony and were impressed by how personal it was. Joan also did a great job of rolling with things as they came up (issues with venue, guests arriving late, etc.) which helped take the pressure off us. I highly recommend Joan for a wedding ceremony!

the ceremony. We had an amazing experience.

loved. She also had us complete a comprehensive form to get to know us individually and as a couple, and we had multiple calls with her to go over the details before our rehearsal. She helped us think through every aspect of our ceremony from vows to how best to arrange the seating. She also helped us incorporate our different cultures and traditions in a way that was very meaningful to us. I would recommend Joan to any couple looking for a unique and special ceremony!

nt as well. Joan is the best. She provided guidance, knowledge, and ease to put together our ceremony. Joan takes the time to truly get to know you and your relationship and she turns it into a beautiful love story and ceremony that your audience will enjoy and comment on. One thing we loved working with Joan is that even though we didn’t get married in a church, despite my husband and I growing up Catholic, we were able to add religious elements to our ceremony. If you are trying to find an officiant for your wedding, look no further, Joan will not disappoint!

the Catholic Church and me without much religion in my early life. We wanted the ceremony to reflect our unique story and bring together our disparate upbringings. Joan not only took the time to learn more about each of us, but to capture the elements that meant the most to include. From our first Zoom call meeting (we live long distance from Joan) to our very first in-person meeting at our rehearsal, Joan proved to be a fantastic listener, an interested party, and an empathetic voice to share our story on October 8th. She helped guide us through the process, providing documents and resources to make everything a little easier — a luxury in the stress of wedding planning! What I appreciated most about Joan was her willingness to let us be us, to allow our individual personalities to shine through during our ceremony. That, plus her uncanny ability to synthesize our life stories into a 30-minute ceremony that left our guests tearful, thankful, and appreciative of our journey. I would recommend Joan to anyone getting married in Wisconsin. She is a kind, thoughtful, and genuine soul who helped bring our wedding vision to life in a way that I’ll never forget.

erself + her plans for the ceremony time. She was very considerate day-of in asking if I needed anything from her, and being conscious of where she was standing in certain parts of the ceremony so I could get great shots of the couple. The ceremony was emotional and lovely! Would be happy to work with her again!

s to soak in all the emotions of the day. She is experienced and makes the whole process very easy. We highly recommend!

well. We appreciated her flexibility and guidance throughout the whole ceremony planning process. Our ceremony was personal, yet efficient (just what we wanted!).

commend for your wedding ceremony!

of the event. We highly recommend her as an officiant.

naging the crowd and wedding party for the rehearsal and day of. Our guests loved the ceremony as much as we did. We'd highly recommend Joan to any couple.

we wanted! She really got to know us to ensure nothing was missed. I’ve had many friends and family members tell us that our ceremony was incredibly sincere. Our ceremony was extra special, and with Joan your ceremony can be extra special too!

She had amazing communication both beforehand and on the wedding day to make sure the ceremony ran smoothly. She also really tailored the ceremony to include the couple's love story and highlighted the unique aspects of their relationship which made the ceremony so personalized, fun, and interesting to listen to. She really gets to know the couple ahead of time which makes all the difference. I would highly recommend Joan and look forward to working with her again on future weddings!

head of time to introduce herself and to share her ceremony outline with us so we would know exactly what to expect. Her communication is amazing. Joan is detailed, kind, and such a warm soul. We cannot wait to work with her again!!