About this vendor
I collaborate with the wedding couple to design and write a deeply personal wedding script and then coach their designated officiant to deliver it with ease and joy.
After officiating over 600 ceremonies, I am now collaborating with couples to design and write their wedding ceremony and then coaching a friend or family member to deliver it with ease and joy. Over half the weddings in the United States are now performed by family or friends because it creates tremendous warmth and intimacy in the ceremony. However asking someone to write and officiate a complete wedding ceremony can be overwhelming if they have never done it before. Now you can extend that invitation along with the assurance of a ceremony script and presentation coaching. Available globally over Zoom.
Areas of extensive experience and commitment include LGBTQ+ and Indian weddings.
Contact me for complementary video consultation.
Details at CeremoniesForSacredDays.com
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
- Buddhist
- Christian
- Hindu
- Interfaith
- Jewish
- Muslim
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
- Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.083 reviews
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My partner and I worked with Shyamala in the creation of our recent wedding ceremony. Working with Shyamala was a total pleasure from start to finish. She is a very special person, who makes you feel cherished and held as a couple. We wanted an intentional, customized wedding ceremony, but didn’t have the time or expertise to create it ourselves from scratch. Over our Zoom sessions, she made the effort to get to know us as a couple, our personal backgrounds and the story of how we came together. She provided us with many different ideas for meaningful rituals that we could incorporate into our ceremony. She has gathered many different readings on love. We read through them and then chose one that spoke to us. Using the pieces that we discussed in our sessions and her own beautiful writing, Shyamala composed a bespoke and meaningful ceremony for us. We had some things we wanted to add or clarify in the editing process and Shyamala was very open to making changes.
Shyamala worked closely with our chosen officiant through Zoom sessions and email. Our officiant said that she felt very supported and therefore capable to lead the wedding ceremony–something she had never done before. In the end, all the pieces came together beautifully. We felt great about how it turned out and we also received many comments on how personalized and special it was. We can’t thank Shyamala enough for her support in making this a reality!
We are an LGBTQ couple and we felt very seen and loved while working with Shyamala.
Shyamala was superb for our wedding. She is a prime example of an excellent wedding officiant. She did not put any pressure on karla and I and how we wanted to conduct our wedding vision. Best part of her was she made both of us feel super comfortable and confident. Shyamala even added a few incorporations and recommendations to see our thoughts and it was very complimenting as well.
We lost our previous wedding officiant about 3 months before our wedding due to her son's acceptance for college. We found shyamala through Yelp few days after. If you believe first impressions are real and true, you will see that with shyamala. We met her at her house and the interview was awesome. She made us feel welcomed and at home; made us cookies and tea and wanted to hear our story of how karla and I met.
She also performed a free service for us where we got married before our actual reception date and her backyard is gorgeous. Shyamala; I have no regrets or no negative thoughts of you. You were amazing. I even accidentally wanted to kiss my wife a little too fast before the ceremony and shyamala made it cute and funny to accommodate that. Thank you so much for everything.
Thanks for everything, Shyamala. The ceremony was lovingly personal and your words were deeply touching. I can never thank you enough for making our wedding so special!
Shyamala is amazing! Having Shaymala officiant our ceremony was one of the best decisions we made during our wedding planning process. We had so many of guests come up to us after the wedding to say how impressed they were with our officiant and our ceremony. They all said they had been to millions of weddings before, but what she did was special and genuine. My husband and I could not agree more! My husband and I felt very comfortable with Shyamala from our first meeting and really liked the ideas she presented to us. We liked that she had so many options for rituals and readings to help get us in the direction we wanted. She is a professional, who is easy to work with, and actually listens to what you want.
Shyamala made our wedding ceremony incredibly special! The expertise she brought to her trade made us feel comfortable from the very first conversation. We shared deeper, more meaningful things about our relationship than we had with any other officiant we interviewed, because she asked "the right" questions. This was extremely important, as we were really struggling with whether to hire a professional or to ask a family member/friend who knew us more intimately. Through her thoughtful questioning, Shymala got to know the two of us and our story. She is genuine and kind and it's clear that she enjoys her work. We received multiple compliments about the intentional words used in our ceremony, which we built with the guidance of Shyamala. We also appreciated that she respected our wishes to remain secular and incorporate our personal statements to one other. Everything Shymala did to help us prepare for our big day and her authentic delivery of those words made it what it was - memorable and uniquely tailored to the two of us.
Shyamala married my husband and I in June, 2016. It was our dream wedding created by our very conversations with Shyamala, she listened to what we wanted with her full attention. She heard what our words and heart said and with great ease and skill she helped us to create just that..our dream wedding! We are forever grateful to her. Anyone who is married by her or does a ceremony with her is extremely fortunate. You will find no one with a greater heart and gracious wisdom.
Shyamala has transformed our Special Day into The Most Blessed and Unforgettable moment in our lives. Despite the short notice, she was able to offer the sweetest and most amazing ideas that left, not only ourselves, but all guests SO Inspired at our wedding! She brought in a great sense of ease during the process that was felt throughout the ceremony. Shyamala is so resourceful! She has experience and knowledge of spiritual traditions that speak universally to all religions or beliefs. She is a wonderful listener and was able to extract from us what we really wished to experience in our wedding. I recommend her highly, and cannot think of a better way to get married if one wants a ceremony that reflects who they are, while being held by Shyamala's wonderful presence and energy and her Love.
Shyamala was great to work with from the very beginning! Her personality is warm, inviting, and she was exactly what we were looking for in an officiant. She was so flexible with our schedules and was even willing to do all of our meetings via Skype. Our ceremony was exactly what we asked for. Beautiful and simple, but with a lot of personality! We even asked her to add in a few humorous lines here and there because we like to laugh. She was also super flexible when we asked to make changes or add/remove things from the drafts. I would highly recommend hiring Shyamala for any special occasion.
Both being rather shy people, my (now)husband and I were uncertain of what our ceremony would look like. We were nervous about standing in front of people, and weren't even sure what 'rituals' we wanted to do. With Shyamala, we needn't have worried at all! She made us feel so at ease, meeting with us multiple times over coffee, which really felt like lovely chats with a dear friend! She asked illuminating questions, learned about our history as a couple and helped us zero in on what we valued about having a wedding. She offered suggestions of readings and options of rituals that other couples had done, and always always reminded us that we could make anything our own - do the ceremony in our own way. And we did. With Shyamala's support, we had a beautiful ceremony that represented us as individuals, payed homage to our shared culture, and invited family participation in a simple but meaningful way. It was an incredible ceremony that felt true-to-us, transcendent and intimate. Everything was perfect and we have Shyamala to thank!
Shyamala provided an amazing spiritual ceremony that all our guests thoughts was perfectly fit who we were. She was definitely helped us kick off our wedding on the right note and was an important part of the special day.
Warm, genuine and thoughtful. After meeting Shayamala at her home for tea and cookies the first time, she assured us that we would create a beautiful ceremony together. She listened and asked all the right questions to truly evoke the essence of who we are as both individuals and now as a couple. The ceremony was well beyond what we could have asked for. It was personal, humorous, romantic and honoring. She really saw us. We highly recommend inviting Shayamala to officiate your wedding.
As a second review: If there was anyone in the crowd that would have told me otherwise, it would have been my grandmother. She still talks about what a beautiful ceremony it was, and there were plenty others who were complimenting Shayamala throughout the day. We are so grateful.
Thank you Shayamala for the perfect memories on our perfect day!
Shyamala officiated over our small wedding ceremony and did a wonderful job. Before the wedding, she worked with us by phone and email to understand what we wanted and to learn a little about us. The day of the ceremony she met us at a park and we walked to a Redwood grove we'd selected in advance. She had composed a lovely ceremony that was personalized, and reflected the unique location we'd chosen. After the ceremony, she provided a printed copy for us to keep. She was patient and encouraging throughout the process, and respected and met our wishes precisely.
She was amazing. My husband and I did a destination wedding. We are from Colorado and our wedding was in San Francisco. When we got there, it was too chilly to have it at our original spot. She was not only flexible in changing the venue, she gave us the opportunity to change the day and time of the ceremony and provided several venue options to look at. We had a beautiful ceremony Shakespeare gardens. A place we out of towners never would have thought about.. Not only did she marry us on 4th of July weekend, it was also her birthday. So awesome!
Shyamala gave me and my husband a beautiful and spiritual ceremony. I knew from the first time I had talked to her on the phone that she would put together something really special for us. She is very kind hearted and sweet, but also professional at the same time. She asked us all the right questions and tailored the ceremony to our needs. I really felt like our ceremony was one of a kind and not just another cookie cutter wedding!
After our first telephone conversation we set up a Skype date so that she could get to know both me and my husband and that worked out perfect for mine and his busy schedules. She also was very good with emailing us back and forth when we needed her and gave us a full draft of how it would all happen on the day of. We had never met face to face and we never rehearsed the ceremony but it all went so smooth on our wedding day I couldn't have been any happier! She even had my family raving about how wonderful and unique our ceremony was.
Thank you again Shyamala for bringing me and my husband together as one on our very special day!
Shyamala officiated our wedding at the Log Cabin the Presidio six weeks ago (August 2016.) We're so thrilled we found her! She is so warm, personable, and professional, and she is brilliant at what she does.
We met with her via Skype, and had two very lovely initial conversations. We didn't think we had "a story" per se, but she turned our disjointed ramblings about how me met and our eleven years of adventures into a real story that could be delivered to an all ages crowd. She had lots of wonderful suggestions of rituals we hadn't heard of, and we chose the ring warming and wine and letter box rituals. She also had us each write a few funny sentences about the other one so that she could work them in and infuse some of our sense of humor and personalities into the ceremony.
Shyamala put together a really beautiful ceremony for us. People kept complimenting us on it! It was personal, humorous and sincere. Look no further, Shyamala is everything you could possibly want in a wedding officiant. We can't recommend her enough!
We had both been married before, I am 45 and the groom is 52; our kids are gone and it's just the two of us. We found our shared, amazing love later in life and after several years together we wanted to be married. We wanted just a very small, intimate wedding with just the two of us - and our 3 dogs! On a warm summer morning in our tree-filled yard, Shyamala gently guided us through an incredibly personal, romantic and beautiful ceremony; we were both crying. Nothing is too big or too small for her, she was genuinely kind, engaged, responsive and professional. She is awesome. We highly recommend her.
We had both been married before, Lori is 45 and Ray is 52; our kids are gone and it's just the two of us. We found our shared, amazing love later in life and after several years together we wanted to be married. We wanted just a very small, intimate wedding with just the two of us - and our 3 dogs! On a warm summer morning in our tree-filled yard, Shyamala gently guided us through an incredibly personal, romantic and beautiful ceremony; we were both crying. Nothing is too big or too small for her, she was genuinely kind, engaged, responsive and professional. She is awesome. We highly recommend her.
Shyamala is very warm and welcoming! My husband and I met with her twice in person to go over the ceremony. She invited us into her home and took the time to get to know us. Through our conversations she was able to create a simple ceremony that included our "how we met story" and a ring warming (we passed out our rings to the guests). Shyamala is very open to various ideas and at times, when we were not quite sure what we wanted, she gave many suggestions and examples from other ceremonies. She always responded quickly to any of our questions and she sent us drafts of the ceremony to approve. Our ceremony was wonderful, easy, and full of love. Thanks Shyamala!
Shyamala was the officiant at our wedding, and she was spectacular. When starting to plan our ceremony, we were overwhelmed, but after our first meeting with Shyamala, we were totally at ease. She had great suggestions for how to structure the ceremony, and lots of ideas for how to personalize it for us. She listened carefully to the story of our relationship and crafted a beautiful ceremony that was unique to us. She also worked closely with us on incorporating some traditions we wanted to add. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and I can't think of how it could have gone better. I highly recommend you invite Shayamala into your wedding as your officiant. You won't regret it!
Shyamala was amazing to work with. She was accommodating to our schedules, using Skype, phone calls, and emails to communicate quickly and clearly throughout the entire process. She helped us narrow down what we wanted from our wedding ceremony; provided us with lots of information, examples, and feedback to get us started; and crafted an entire ceremony that reflected us as a couple and our outlook on life. Not only did she have our audience laughing and crying, but she expertly rolled with the punches when we flubbed our parts of the script. We appreciate the time and effort she put into our wedding, and despite the fact that we were just one of the weddings she was performing that day, she always made us feel like the center of her attention.
Shyamala provided us such a warm, wonderful wedding ceremony. From the time we first spoke with her, both my husband and I felt so comfortable and cared for. Shyamala helped us to work through all of the ceremony details, learning about us and our story, giving us many ideas to help spur our own creativity. She was open and encouraging all along the way.
We weren't sure how to take our ideas and make them work and flow easily through the ceremony. She had so many great suggestions for us, excellent advice based on her experience, and helped us to develop a beautiful and unique ceremony that felt just right for us.
Her fees seemed reasonable to us for our custom ceremony. She met with us for about an hour, then we exchanged emails as we refined the ceremony.
We highly recommend Shyamala as a caring guide and officiant. She's a special person doing what she clearly loves.
It is my utmost pleasure and honor to review Shyamala's officiant services for our very special day. Shyamala was able to effortlessly orchestrate an amazing personalized ceremony for our recent nuptials. I've been to many weddings and ceremonies are usually vanilla at best. After just two short visits with Shyamala, she was able to brew up the perfect service for us, seamlessly integrating all that we touched upon and much more. Many of our guests, including our parents, commented that the ceremony was the most touching and emotional they'd ever witnessed, and were truly appreciative of Shyamala's ability to engage the entire audience; "an international village" she noted during the ceremony. You made our day that much more special. Words cannot describe how grateful we are to have met you, but we do hope a simple thank you will suffice. Thank you Shyamala - a beautiful ceremony performed by a beautiful person!
When my fiance and I first started planning our wedding, we were pretty overwhelmed with everything and had no idea where to start when it came to finding an officiant. We met Shyamala at the East Bay Regional Parks wedding fair in Berkeley, and right away knew that she would be a good fit for us. She invited us to her home for an initial consultation where she asked thoughtful questions and really got to know us. A few months later, we met over Skype and she went over a few more details before sending over a draft of the ceremony. Shyamala crafted a beautiful story that incorporated the essence of us as a couple. There were so many small details that made the ceremony so special, including a nod to how we met as well as old traditions. Our family and friends were also impressed with how the ceremony unfolded. We couldn't be happier with how our wedding turned out! Thank you Shyamala!
Let me start off by saying that this is not a fake review! This is 100% true and from the heart.
On Thursday October 15 I married my husband in California. Shyamala was our officiant and has been a major part in our journey for about a year before the wedding. We found her online, which alway carries its own worries. However, after our initial emails and skype sessions we quickly realised that this was a warm and kind hearted woman. She has an ability to make you feel comfortable and relaxed and she finds aspects of yourself and your partner, that you never knew existed.
She asked many great questions in order to get to know us better and from that she was able to draft s ceremony that was so personal and emotional. We had various rituals and readings to incorporate into the ceremony and she managed to do this with such ease. Not only did the ceremony mean something to us, but it managed to incorporate the guests as well. We have only had positive feedback about the ceremony itself and Shyamala.
Shyamala has a gift, and I hope many more lucky couples get to experience this gift themselves. We could not have asked for more. We are truly lucky that we found her out of so many, and we cannot thank her enough for all she has done.
What can I say about Shyamala, she was just perfect. My husband is Portuguese and I am Indian. We decided to go with western way of marriage cermony but she helped us to bring both our culture together in a very unique way. It was a very unique blend. She conducted the cermony so beautifully that everyone of our guest felt so welcomed and warm.
I would strongly recommend her. She is the best!! Very detail oriented and very meticulous.
If you are looking for someone to work with you to make sure your ceremony is a reflection of your love and relationship, you could not do better than Sacred Days.
Shyamala is a true delight to work with. We ended up going with her standard ceremony instead of her personalized ceremony, but even so, her care, attention to detail, and presence at our ceremony was above and beyond - I cried nearly the whole way through.
Ms. Littlefield was a delight to work with. She spent considerable time with us, prior to our deciding that she would be a great choice to help us write our Wedding Ceremony. She got to know us, what was important to us, and our life paths until the time my husband and I first met. She helped us write a very personal and meaningful wedding ceremony, and it will be something we always cherish.
She can help you design a brief ceremony, or a more lengthy one. She can include all the things you wish (from pets to children to friends/family) and make the Ceremony very unique and special. She is calm, low-key, and flexible, and didn't let a microphone glitch at the Ceremony faze her in any way. I give her the highest possible rating and am certain you will be delighted with her, both as a warm, caring person and as a Wedding Officiant.
Sandy wedding date 10/18/15
Shyamala is non-denominational but spiritual. She cares to get to know you prior and orchestrates a phenomenal ceremony listening to your preferences.
We're so glad we chose Shyamala to officiate at our wedding in San Francisco! We live in Seattle, and were anxious about finding an officiant from a distance. What convinced us to contact Shyamala was the introduction video on her website - the values and approach she expressed in it really resonated with us, and we felt comfortable with her even before we got in touch.
We needed plenty of guidance in creating our ceremony and vows, and Shyamala did a great job facilitating the whole process. She really did "ask all the right questions", helping her to understand who we are and where we'd been, but also helping us to get to the essence of what we wanted to express in our ceremony. She had suggestions when they were needed, and plenty of examples to inspire us.
On our wedding day, our ceremony was just what we'd wanted, and Shyamala was just the person to officiate. She made everyone feel welcome and comfortable, and set just the right casual yet dignified tone. We got lots of compliments from our guests on the ceremony, and on Shyamala in particular.
Thank you, Shyamala!
Niels and Belen Michelsen
Seattle, WA
My wife and I would've been happy getting married at City Hall, but we opted to throw a small, casual outdoor ceremony to appease family members. After initially thinking we'd enlist a friend to perform the ceremony, we decided it'd be best to get a professional officiant. My wife found Shyamala on Yelp, and after our initial meeting with her, we recognized we were in great hands.
She was incredibly easy to deal with, and we appreciated her taking the time to get to know our story so she could deliver a very personal ceremony. She gave us lots of helpful advice as we planned our big day, and did a fantastic job at the actual ceremony-- the aforementioned conservative family members who originally bristled at us not getting married in a church even commented on what a nice ceremony it was!
It's funny to think how much work it took to secure various vendors for the ceremony and reception. We blindly stumbled across Shyamala, but we were incredibly fortunate to have done so!
Shyamala officiated our wedding three weeks ago. Before the wedding, she met with us multiple times to plan how we wanted the ceremony, and gave us a lot of ideas and inspiration. She is incredibly experienced and provided us with a beautiful outline (and practical suggestions), and she listened to us to incorporate our wishes. Her presentation at the ceremony was joyful and warm-hearted. Thank you, Shyamala!
Shyamala was the officiant for our wedding in July. Working with her was very easy and I appreciated her calm and reassuring demeanor. She was able to create a ceremony for us that felt original and specific to us, all done through Skype and emails. Because of my schedule and distance we weren't able to meet in person before the wedding but that didn't concern me because she kept open and clear communication and I always knew what to expect. On the day of our wedding everything went perfectly and guests complimented her to me on her presence and beautifully written and spoken ceremony. I highly recommend Shyamala, she's clearly done this so many times that she has it down to a perfected art and it was so nice to have one less thing to worry about.
Shyamala was the officiant for our wedding this last July and was an absolute pleasure to work with!
My wife and I were planning a wedding from out of the area and were fairly unsure of what we were looking for out of an officiant. We contacted Shyamala and a few other officiants by email and phone figuring we would talk with a handful and pick whoever most closely met our wants and needs. Shyamala quickly responded and booked a Skype call so we could meet and chat that way. We booked her and cancelled all our other calls after our first conversation. She blew us away and instantly felt like the right match for us.
From there on we chatted a few times over skype and email. We were all able to get to know each other and the direction we wanted to go with the ceremony. We were sort of a blank slate as far as what we wanted but she gave tons of suggestions and options without ever being pushy.
When the day came we had already gone through a few drafts of the ceremony with her and finalized the pieces we wanted to incorporate. She even kept some personal messages we wrote to each other a secret for us until the ceremony.
Shyamala showed up early and was a great calming presence to have around before the ceremony. The ceremony went off without a hitch and we couldn't have been happier!
After the ceremony we had a ton of compliments specifically directed at Shyamala and the wonderful job she did with our ceremony.
Shyamala really helped make our day less stressful and a wonderful experience We would recommend her services to anyone in need of a wedding officiant regardless of any type of religious affiliations or lack there of.
On August 30, 2015 my wife and I got married at the West Hills Country Club in Middletown New York. Our wedding ceremony had two sections; a spiritual section followed by a full Jewish wedding ceremony performed by a Rabbi. Shyamala Littlefield helped us create the perfect script for the ceremony as a whole and hosted the first section of the ceremony.
My wife and I were clear about the way we wanted our ceremony to feel for ourselves and the participants. We connected with Shyamala on the advice of a friend. My wife was enthusiastic about Shyamala because she had been to a wedding that Shyamala had officiated.
Before speaking with Shyamala my wife and I had drafted an outline of the sequence for the ceremony that we were considering and we sent it to Shyamala prior to our first call. Shyamala recommended that we connect with her via SKYPE which was a great suggestion because it was more intimate than a phone call would have been. During that first SKYPE connection Shyamala really took the time to get to know us as a couple. We could feel her enthusiasm for love and how it brings people together and transforms their lives. We knew that she would help us make our vision a reality.
In the months that we worked together refining the script, Shyamala added many beautiful touches that we hadn't even considered; for example a ring warming ceremony, retelling the story of how we met and more. We left each call with her feeling more in love with each other and more inspired to share the ceremony we were creating.
The day of the rehearsal she led the run thru and noted points where we needed to refine things. This was another unexpected benefit of working with someone who does this professionally. We felt completely at ease and let her guide us and our wedding party thru the process.
The day of our wedding the ceremony flowed smoothly and Shyamala put her heart into delivering the script. Her attention to detail created a beautiful ceremony that moved our friends and family. Shyamala's joy for celebrating love is infectious and inspiring.
We love Shyamala and would recommend her by far. If your in love and looking to celebrate your love with someone who is pure love- choose Shyamala!
We chose Shyamala from Sacred Days after reading a number of reviews on officiants. I was planning our wedding in CA while living in NYC. Shyamala was very helpful over the phone and promptly emailed me all the information I needed. She gave me an extremely helpful outline for the direction of the ceremony, multiple reading that could be included, suggestions for special events during the service, etc. During all this, she was more than willing to do all the planning over the phone since we were planning from across the country. During our first telephone meeting, she spent time getting to know my husband and I, hearing our love story, and listening to our desires for the ceremony. We then walked through a tentative timeline and what we wanted included. Over the next few months, we communicated about things I wanted added or subtracted from the ceremony. A few weeks prior to the ceremony, she sent us the entire ceremony and what was going to be said. This was perfect because there would be no surprises! On the day of the wedding, I met Shyamala for the first time. She arrived with more than enough time, looked very professional, and went out of her way to introduce herself to my husband and me. The ceremony could not have gone more smoothly. In fact, many of our guests later came up and said what a great officiant we had that day. Thank you to Shyamala for being such a big part of our special day!
Today at 4:44 PM
My husband and I were married 6/13/15 we had the hardest time choosing our officiate. My husband is Baptist and I am Catholic and we really are not that serious about either. That being said we wanted someone who would
A. Marry us out doors
B. Help us say our vows in a way that would include all of our family vales (including some religion)
When we found Shaymala she hit the nail on the head!! Our ceremony was perfect just as we wanted it, families and friends were all included. His parents said a prayer one of our groomsman said a poem about a Tree. It was all together perfect, Shayamala was professional and compassionate at the same time.
We strongly recommend Shayamala Littlefield to anyone in need of a Officiant, for the wedding style they want.
Shyamala is a beautiful soul that listens with her heart. She provided us with a beautiful private wedding that was based on time spent with us to tell our story of love. We were left with sentimental memories for a lifetime. Thank you Shyamala. - CD and Kara
Shyamala was such a pleasure to work with. Our first time meeting with her she asked such gentle but thoughtful questions--and felt so safe--that I remember weeping while I tried to answer one of them. My (now husband) and I were immediately struck by her calm demeanor, her depth of presence, and her desire to really connect with the two of us and know our story and who we are as a couple. My husband is an aetheist and I'm "spiritual but not religious" and Shyamala did an excellent job finding common ground for us both in the ceremony.
We had two meetings with her over tea at her lovely home, where we went over the details of the wedding, the structure, our story, any any other rituals we wanted to add.
We had our readers send their material to her (but keep it a secret from us), and she communicated with them directly to keep the wedding day a bit of a surprise. One of the most fantastic things was that she sent us a complete write-up of the ceremony a couple weeks before the wedding, which we went over, gave comments, and then sent back. Almost all of it felt so spot on in the first go--we were really touched and impressed.
Finally, the day of she was just fantastic. We got so many compliments on her way of speaking, her warmth, the way she spoke about us during the ceremony...it was so incredibly intimate. We are SO happy we had Shyamala as our officiant and HIGHLY recommend her.
When we first met with Shyamala via Skype during our process of hunting for a wedding officiant, we immediately knew that she was the person we were going to hire. It's difficult to describe and would be different for different people, but we just got the exact right vibe and energy from her immediately. Searching for a wedding officiant was an odd, uncomfortable thing because all the officiants we "interviewed" asked us important but very personal questions —How did we meet? When did we first fall in love? And it was often an awkward experience sharing that information with someone you just met. But with Shyamala, we simply felt like it was so easy to share that kind of information with her. We wanted to tell her. And she genuinely seemed interested.
The process of writing the ceremony material was very straight-forward and simple. Shyamala emailed us a packet containing all sorts of ideas and information such as sample rituals and poems, and descriptions of things to include like "Referencing the location" and "Honoring our parents." From that packet, we sat down on our own time and highlighted what we liked and created an outline of the material with our specific story in it. Then we met with Shyamala once in person where we went over the outline and she asked us more questions and we all brainstormed together over coffee. Then about a month or so later she sent us a written draft of the ceremony, which was pretty much perfect already. We only had to tweak some minor details pertaining to our specific stories. So we gave her those edits and then we saw her again the day of the wedding. And that was that!
Shyamala was easy to work with and had such a calming, loving energy about her. She got a number of compliments from our guests, and was willing to work with our budget. We had a non-denominational ceremony and she truly respected that (as opposed to some other officiants we researched who said they would perform a non-denominational ceremony but the sample ceremonies they provided were, in fact, religious). We would definitely recommend her for anyone else's wedding ceremony.
After searching for months for an officiant for our wedding, we came across Shyamala on her website. As my partner and I come from different countries/religious backgrounds we were looking for someone who could combine both of our backgrounds without sacrificing tradition. Shyamala went above and beyond in helping us plan our ceremony, and the best part of all is that in the process we ended up with a beautiful and unique wedding that captured the true essence of what it means to become one. We can not recommend Shyamala highly enough.
-James &TJ
My partner and I traveled from Ohio to San Francisco to be married on the beach at sunset. We watched many videos and read tons of reviews for wedding officiants. We were intrigued by Shyamala from the start and we were not disappointed. From our first phone call we knew we had found a special person to marry us. Shyamala is so easy to work with. She wants you to be happy and she wants the ceremony to be "yours". We did all of our planning via phone and email and I was surprised how well it worked out. Shyamala is wonderful, loving person and a true professional. She made our special day a day to remember for always. We felt like we were married by a very close friend.
Shyamala was wonderful from the moment we met. She welcomed us in her home, was very warm and easy to talk to, and very organized as well. There was a folder waiting for us on her dining room table, facing our direction, before we even sat down. She was open to our ideas and wanted to do anything she could to make our day extra special, including our request to change the wording of the traditional parts to better suit us, since we were two brides. Closer to the wedding date, Shyamala wanted to get to know us better so she set up a telephone visit. She was genuinely interested in our whole love story, and wanted to use what she learned about us to write up a draft of our ceremony. We had the opportunity to review it and she made us comfortable with making any changes we'd like. On the wedding day, she arrived early, had a calming presence, was very reassuring for us nervous brides, and she did a WONDERFUL job! We had emailed her our vows separately (to keep them a surprise to each other), and she had them printed out on thick cardstock (which helped disguise our shaky hands), and with large font (to be easier to read especially through the tears welling up), and our vows were neatly stowed away for easy access in Shyamala's binder. Bottom line: we had no doubts about Shyamala and her abilities, and she lived up to our high expectations. She was wonderful and I can't say enough good things about her. I would recommend her to ANYONE looking for an officiant.
We feel very fortunate to have come across Shyamala Wedding Officiant services online. We had originally booked someone else who cancelled a few weeks before our wedding. She offered to meet with us, however due to our busy schedules we chose the option to meet via a video call. We had an initial great conversation and hired her during that call. Since we had little time to create our ceremony and vows, Shymala provided us with many great examples as a guide. We actually did not meet her in person until that day and really felt confident and trusting that she was the best choice.
Shyamala provided a relaxed atmosphere and the end result was a beautiful ceremony with many compliments from family on how fun and warm our wedding was. This is all thanks to Shymala for helping us create it just as we pictured it.
We hired Shyamala as our officiant for our wedding 8/9/14. The two most recent weddings we attended before ours included the officiant messing up the bride's name and or gender, we did NOT want this to happen to us!!! We wanted an officiant who was articulate and down to earth, and who had had experience officiating gay weddings. We wanted some one who would put us at ease and make us feel comfortable, especially since our families were not 100% accepting of our union. We met Shyamala at her home in the east bay and her extremely warm and friendly demeanor made us feel so calm and in good hands. We hired her on the spot! Shyamala is totally flexible and is able to incorporate any and all sorts of faiths, customs, or rituals that you may want to incorporate in your ceremony. She is really a blank slate and can mold to whatever you want! We wanted something super short and sweet and simple, and Shyamala gave us a big packet of readings and options to consider which was really nice. We then took a couple months to think about and brainstorm what we wanted to say and do. During this time, we developed some pretty intense stage fright,and just couldn't fathom reading these super private vows to each other in front of everyone. This was no big deal, and Shymala was totally happy to do most of the talking! I sent her a Word doc of random quotes, passages,bullet points, and keywords that I liked and I kid you not in return she sent me the PERFECT ceremony!! She took all the fragmented elements we loved and wove them into a beautiful script!! I cried the first time I read it. I seriously only edited two words! To work around our stage fright, Shyamala asked us our vows as questions and we responded together. Our ceremony was all about US, and it was so clear to all the guests that this was not a cookie cutter ceremony but a very personalized celebration all about our relationship, story, values, and future together.
We did a rehearsal with Shyamala which I highly recommend. This also quieted our anxieties about where to step and walk etc. Our wedding ceremony was PERFECT and gorgeous and Shyamala didn't make one mistake! She even wore a scarf that coordinated with our colors! We got so many compliments on our ceremony and vows, from all guests, young and old! Some friends even remarked that our ceremony reminded them of the reasons they got married! I am so pleased with how our ceremony turned out and really happy I went with my gut and hired some one that made us feel at ease and had excellent energy. We didn't die of stage fright thanks to Shyamala's flexibility and calm demeanor.
Hire Shyamala, you won't be disappointed!
My now husband and I hired Shyamala to officiate our wedding. After speaking with many potentials who just didnt fit our budget or needs; I found Shyamala. After one phone consult with her, my husband and I both knew she was the person we wanted. She was warm, attentive and we just got a really postive vibe from her. We chose the most basic and shortest ceremony package she offered, but she made our ceremony feel so personalized and it was anything, but basic. I had guests during my reception tell me how good she was. I was so happy that I found her.
Shyamala was the heart of our wedding ceremony. She helped guide us in building a unique ceremony that fit us and breathed life into it. She has a wonderful, loving, supportive spirit. We feel fortunate to have met her and honored that she officiated our wedding.
Shyamala Littlefield, highly respected and a must for your wedding day! For some cosmic reason, the second she opened the door and welcomed us into her charming home, we felt safe and confident that she would be the right person to marry us. Shyamala listened to each critical and special detail of our story, and then crafted the most touching, heart-felt wedding statement which far exceeded our expectations. Shyamala is incredibly articulate, and possesses incredible social intelligence. Every word that was spoken during our ceremony was crystal clear and our guests are still passing compliments on the beauty of her statements two weeks later! Consider yourself lucky to have Shyamala as your officiant, and consider it a blessing to have her as a friend. Thank you again! -Scott & Chanel Ullrich
Loved Shyamala. Couldn't be happier. My husband and I come from different religious backgrounds and wanted a ceremony that was personal and heartfelt, but not terribly religious. Shyamala was patient and gracious, while we figured out ourselves out and in the end the ceremony was everything we could have hoped for. Shyamala has the authoritative presence and gravitas to make even a non-religious ceremony feel sacred. Highly recommend her. Lovely person!
Shyamala officiated my wedding recently, and I could not have asked for a better experience. Shyamala is extremely professional and personable, and has a very positive energy. She is extremely warm and welcoming, and made my husband and I feel instantly at ease both when we spoke with her on the phone and in person (she served us tea and cookies in her lovely home in one of our initial "get to know each other" meetings). She did a beautiful and thoughtful job with the ceremony script, and was very responsive and accommodating to the few changes we wanted to make to the initial draft. Her presence at the ceremony itself made the wedding that much more special, because we both felt so comfortable with her and appreciated her true joy for us and enthusiasm for bringing couples together as an officiant.
Residing in Houston, we wanted a small private service in San Francisco. Shyamala couldn't have been a better choice. She interviewed us over the phone, included all of our requests and even provided her home as a venue. She is a warm and welcoming person with a very rich past so she can offer a deep experience to an exciting day.
Shyamala understood us from day 1. Her worldly experiences and wisdom sealed the deal for us. We thank her for being our pillar of light; she guided us every step of the way. Our journey led us to her and we could not have picked anyone more perfect than Shyamala. She is rooted and spiritual and think worlds of her. Thank you, Shyamala!
Shyamala from Ceremonies for Sacred Days helped us create the most memorable and magical wedding day. She delivered a thoughtful and personalized ceremony that engaged everyone in attendance and kept it uplifting and fun. Shyamala did this by taking time to learn about us as a couple and wove what she learned into the ceremony. No cookie cutter ceremony here. Plus, there was not a dry eye in the house and everyone's hearts were bursting with joy. You know it's a good ceremony when guests are STILL talking about it weeks later - comments such as: "where did you find her?", "she has the most soothing voice", "she was so personable".
On the day, she was prompt, professional, engaging, polite, endearing, kind - someone you would want to have stay and mingle with your family. Thank you Shyamala!
To those of you out there looking for the perfect wedding officiant for the most significant day in your lives: look no further. Shyamala Littlefield is the one.
We had a wonderful experience with Shyamala as our officiant. She helped us create a lovely ceremony and provided valuable suggestions. We were impressed with her delivery of the service, her ability to improvise, and her professionalism.
Shyamala was amazing! My husband and I planned our wedding in two weeks and Shyamala was extremely helpful and willing to make our ceremony perfect. She was not only great at what she does, but you can feel the sense of compassion and love she has in her heart. The ceremony was beautiful and SO perfect. The way she put it all together, the way she delivered and the expression of happiness on her face throughout the ceremony put me at ease and kept us both smiling the whole way through. Everyone loved her and thought she did an amazing job. I would HIGHLY recommend her, you will be so happy to have her at your wedding. Thank you Shyamala, you are amazing!
Planning a wedding in San Francisco when you live in New York can be a bit daunting. I submitted an online request for a wedding officiate and Shyamala was the first to respond; and thank goodness she did - we had an immediate connection that was so comforting; almost as if we knew each other already!
About a week after our initial online contact my partner and I had an appointment to meet Shyamala via Skype and if we weren't 100% certain before we knew we had made the right decision within the first few minutes of our "in person" Skype meeting. We talked for about an hour discussing where my partner and I were from, where we grew up, how we met, what we felt when we met; what drew us together and continued to connect us, etc.
Flash forward to July 3rd ... we had our ceremony in the San Francisco City Hall that evening at 6:30 with Shyamala as our officiant. From that initial Skype meeting and throughout some brief email exchanges after that Shyamala magically mined so much information from us that it was crazy (in a good way). She was able to capture our essence ... what brought my partner and I together, what led us to getting married, and what will keep us together down the road.
At the ceremony she spoke about my partner's and my first meeting and how that led to the wonderful moment when we were getting married. She made us laugh and brought tears of happiness to our eyes as she deeply moved us as she spoke about us and the importance of the day!
In fact, here we are a few months later and every time we reminisce about our beautiful ceremony our eyes still well up with tears of the love and happiness Shyamala was able to effortlessly assimilate into our ceremony that evening.
Working with Shyamala has been absolutely wonderful. The meetings over Skype worked for us as we live far from her, but she was able to capture the essence of our relationship over the chats we had on Skype throughout the wedding planning year. On the day of wedding, she was on time, fully prepared and was extremely pleasant through the ceremony. She's extremely respectful of different cultures, religions (or lack there of) and does not push anything on couples.
My fiancée and I found the prospect of making so many decisions about our ceremony daunting - what did we want to say to each other? Should we have a reading? A ring blessing? Would we write our own vows?
Shyamala at Ceremonies for Sacred Days took all the stress and pressure out of the decision-making - she had several resources for us to look through for ideas and she made the process more of an easy conversation about what was important to us and how we fell in love. Through this casual process, Shyamala developed a sense for our style and what was important to us in our lives, and she reflected that beautifully in the ceremony. We were looking for someone who would help us craft a wedding that represented both our sense of humor and the importance we placed on our vows, someone who would bring gravitas and a sense of ritual without making us feel pressured or burdened by traditional expectations. Shyamala delivered on all counts.
Teresa Pinkerton and I were looking for an Officiate in the San Francisco area to perform our wedding. We wanted a small wedding outdoors by the fountain in Huntington Park. We found Shyamala through the internet and we couldn't have been more pleased. She accommodated our every wish and filled in the things we hadn't even thought about. As my wife, Teresa" said, "It was the happiest day of my life."
My husband and I had a great experience working with Shyamala. We had a non denominational ceremony and didn't really have any ideas on what we wanted to do. Shyamala gave lots of options and had so many ideas. Our initial consultation meeting was via Skype, even though Skype we could feel how warm and genuine she was! She was also very professional and prompt in responding to e-mails.
My partner and I wanted a small and simple wedding experience. We wanted it to be about love and not about corporate greed. I'm so glad we decided to go with Shyamala with Ceremonies for Sacred Days. The ceremony was beautiful and couldn't have asked for better words from our wonderful officiant. I feel truly blessed.
Shyamala, our wedding officiant, exceeded our expectations by miles. The only agenda she brings to the table is to give you a ceremony that reflects who you are and the experience you want your guests to have. We engaged her on short (~3 weeks notice) and went in with only the most nebulous idea of what we wanted. Shyamala asked good, insightful questions that brought us to an understanding of what we wanted. She is very free and creative with suggestions, and many of them were spot on, but she wasn't the least bit pushy about the ones that missed.
She was totally open to whatever we wanted to do, while being tactful and respectful with guidance. She was a consummate professional at all times (I don't say this lightly - I think professionals are rare in any industry) , both in manner and performance of duty, while somehow being one of the warmest and sincere people I have ever met. Our wedding would not have been as deep, fun, smart, or sincere without her. I recommend her with no reservations.
We chose Shyamala as the wedding officiant for our wedding in the San Francisco Bay Area. Shyamala is very friendly, loving, and she gives the heart to the ceremony. We were having a civil ceremony, and we tried to keep it as down-to-earth as possible, with only one ritual and tribute to our families. Shyamala met us several times to discuss our ceremony at her place and via Skype. She spent a lot of time listening to our story and preparing the service. Initially, we did not have a very good idea of how we wanted the ceremony to be, but with her help, through our conversations and multiple drafts, the service turned out to be wonderful, and we really liked. Throughout, Shyamala listened to our feedback and incorporated our requests. On the day of the wedding, she arrived early with plenty of time to spare, and the ceremony went smoothly without any hiccups. Overall, we were very happy with her services and would gladly recommend her to others.
Shyamala provided the best service possible. We met
Shyamala the day before the wedding to go over the final
details. She was welcoming, kind and understanding of our
unique needs. We felt as if we had known Shyamala for
years and were talking to an old friend!
On the day of ceremony, she arrived early and met with
family and friends. We now consider her part of our
extended family. We are so grateful we had the pleasure of
meeting Shyamala. Our wedding was enhanced by
Shyamala!
Thank you for your attention to detail and your kind words
to our family and friends. We highly recommend Shyamala
to any couple looking for an officiant.
Dear Shyamala,
Thank you so much for being the sure hand that guided us in the renewal of our vows. We and all our guests appreciated the feeling of ease, spontaneity, and joy that flowed through the entire ceremony. You had exactly the right words and were so sensitive to the feelings of the moment - a masterful job!
With gratitude,
Nada and Bernie Clyne
Woodbourne, NY
Shyamala was the perfect choice to be our officiant. We spoke to other potential officiants, but ended up choosing Shyamala because both my husband and I connected with her immediately, even over the phone! She possesses a natural way of getting to know you as an individual and as a couple, then weaving that beautifully into the ceremony. She is extremely easy to talk to and is a truly gifted writer/speaker. She asked how we envisioned our ceremony, then provided many great options and suggestions to fit our goals. She was very accomodating to our requests and we ended up with a PERFECT ceremony. Many of our guests, even a year later, comment that it was the best ceremony they had ever been a part of.
I would highly recommend Shyamala to any couple that wants a ceremony that is unique and perfectly reflective of their personalities and values. She quickly became part of our wedding-planning "family" and we fell in love with her and her calm, endearing soul. Thank you again Shyamala!
Shyamala officiated our wedding in March 2013 and we couldn't have been happier with her. When we initially reached out to Shyamala, we hadn't given much thought to what we wanted in a ceremony other than it had to be short and sweet. Shyamala gave us that and so much more. In our initial conversation with Shyamala we immediately felt as though we had known her for years. She asked us many great questions about how we met, our values, and our interests. Out of that, Shyamala put together a ceremony that was so thoughtfully written, heartfelt in its delivery, and most importantly, very reflective of us and our two cultures (I'm Indian, my husband is American)--the ceremony was beautiful and just 15 minutes like we had asked! We absolutely loved the ceremony and were so touched to see many of our guests compliment Shyamala on it as well. -- Priya and Eli
Shyamala was the perfect choice to be our officiant. Both my husband and I connected immediately with her, even over the phone! She possesses a natural way of getting to know you as an individual and as a couple. She is extremely easy to talk to and is a truly gifted writer/speaker. I would highly recommend Shyamala to any couple that wants a ceremony that is unique and perfectly reflective of their personalities and values. She quickly became part of our wedding-planning "family" and we fell in love with her and her calm, endearing soul. Thank you Shyamala!
Shyamala is wise, serene, intuitive, professional, and was such a wonderful person to have as our officiant.
After meeting her on Skype there was no doubt she was meant to be our officiant (which was even clearer when we met at her home on one of our trips to the area.) We wanted a small humble wedding in Northern California although we weren't sure of the format the wedding would take. She knew the right questions to ask and the appropriate level of involvement and helped us get started by providing sample wedding ceremonies, vows and other references we could use. From our conversations with her, she created a beautiful ceremony which included an amazingly intuitive story of how we met. We were both taken away by how well she had got to know us - as if she'd known us for far longer - and how the ceremony reflected this. Thanks to Shyamala, we really couldn't have asked for a more touching and evocative wedding.
Shyamala helped bring together a perfect (even stress free) wedding and will always be a part of our special day.
We justed wanted to extend a big thank you for such a beautiful ceremony. You weaved a beautiful story about us. All of my relatives and friends came up to us all night long to express how beautiful it was. They were all tearful and crying! My mom especially was very moved. I admit I was a bit anxious about my parent's response as they are very Catholic. So it was especially wonderful to see my mom so emotional over the ceremony. The ceremony was the rock of our love. We are going to frame our vows along side our wedding portrait.
We are so happy. The magic has just begun!
This review is for Shyamala Littlefield who officiated at my wedding on 9/23/13.
Shyamala is professional and personable. She made our ceremony perfect. She set the tone and was the strong and gentle leader that we needed.
We were from out of town, and yet she took the time to work with us remotely to get to know us, and include our individual stories in the ceremony. She offered us choices on how to craft our ceremony and made suggestions, but also accepted our ideas and incorporated them into the service.
She was professional and reliable. She provided us with drafts and with a final script of the service, so we knew exactly what to expect.
On the day of the wedding, she was on time, calm and reassuring. Her presence was authoritative and kind. She directed the ceremony perfectly. And though I knew what she was going to say, the words sounded even more beautiful when she said them.
I highly recommend Shyamala, and would use her again, if ever we renew our vows.
Shyamala Littlefield did a superb job with our wedding ceremony. We could not have been more pleased. What was astonishing to both myself and the groom was that we were not able to provide her with very much information about what we wanted and only told her to keep it very simple. That isn't much to go on! And it was as if she read our minds (and hearts) and created a perfect expression of our intention of love and commitment. She said everything we would have wanted to say, with eloquence and grace, and nothing superfluous or 'canned'. We were deeply grateful and touched by our simple but profound ceremony.
After searching for weeks to find the right person, the PERFECT person responded - Shyamala. If you need someone who listens, makes you feel like you are part of her family and is just the sweetest person ever...contact Shyamala. We live in Los Angeles but our wedding was in the Central Valley (Modesto). All of our meetings were via webcam and she was unbelievably patient, kind and guided us throught the process. We didn't worry once about how the actual ceremony would work out once we spoke to her. I can't say enough great things about her. Don't waste your time contacting others...she is the best! She will not disappoint you.
THANK YOU Shyamala for everything!! You made our ceremony the feature that everyone complimented us on the most and we will never forget your kindness and guidance.
We had our wedding in Mexico and flew Shyamala in to officiate. Shyamala put an incredible amount of thought and energy into our wedding ceremony to make it exceptionally personal, relevant, and memorable. During the planning phases she did a lot of research to propose ideas that would make our ceremony uniquely ours, and collaborated with us to make sure it was the experience we wanted to have. Thanks to Shyamala, she helped make our special day truly special.
I could not think of anyone but Shyamala performing our wedding ceremony. She is a warm and wonderful person who brought something very special to our wedding. After meeting with her in person just once, my wife and I knew that she was the one. Our ceremony was dignified, humorous, and unique. Shyamala worked with both my wife and myself to write our vows and created a speech for the ceremony that left people laughing and in tears of happiness.
Choosing Shyamala to be our wedding officiant was one of the BEST decision we've made for the wedding. Because of our multicultural background, my husband and I wanted do nonreligious, lighthearted, and personal ceremony, and she went above and beyond our expectation.
Finding a wedding officiant wasn't too easy, we've met somewhat more religious minister who already had his set ceremony program (no customization) and charged so much more and recommended us to take $100 1hr pre-wedding counseling session (no thank you!) We also met this officiant who charged less but she basically handed us a few choices of paragraphs that looked like some templates that she downloaded online, and all she was going to do for the ceremony is to read the paragraph we chose.
So when we finally met Shyamala, we were thrilled and relieved at the same time. She listened to our story thoughtfully and made us feel very special. Because of her personality, we immediately felt connected to her. I even felt my tears coming out when she described what marriage meant to us in her beautiful words. After the initial meeting, we had e-mail back and forth about ceremony details, then we met again a week before the wedding. She gave us lots of helpful advise, and told us that wedding is not performance, it is an experience. By working together, I really understood what she meant. (we enjoyed talking to her so much that we spent over 2hrs..did I mention that the other guy charge $100 for 1hr counseling session?!)
On the wedding day, it was magical. So many guests came up to us saying that it was the most personal and touching ceremony they've been. Some of them even thought she was our friend from long ago. She included our stories and thoughts in her readings and crafted them so beautifully by using metaphor and old Japanese proverb.
This whole wedding experience was so new to us (especially we don't know anything about American wedding) but meeting such a wonderful and sincere person like Shyamala made this experience so special and unforgettable. Thank you again Shyamala!
After our very first skype meeting with Shyamala, we knew instantly that we wanted her for our wedding. We live in NYC and she is in San Francisco, yet the planning process was seamless. Her caring nature, creative ideas, and great advice immediately put us at ease. My fiance and I come from very different backgrounds and Shyamala worked with us to find ceremonies and traditions that were meaningful and represented who we are. Throughout the wedding planning process, she reconnected us to what was important despite all of the logistics- The sacredness and significance of the ceremony. I am pretty sure that every ceremony Shyamala creates is unique and perfect for every couple. Our guests commented that it was the most beautiful ceremony they had ever been apart of. They felt completely welcomed, interested, included. and very moved. Shyamala really is amazing and I highly recommend her.
Shyamala Littlefield is truly a treasure to find. I posted on an online website for Napa/Sonoma area looking for a non-denominational but spiritual, fun loving, eclectic, gifted speaker for a quirky couple like myself and my husband to be. Shyamala was so quick to respond, telling me she loved my post and would we like to set up an over the phone meeting with us.
Once we spoke, I knew she was the ONE! I felt like she worked with us every step of the way to make our ceremony SO personal and witty. We met in person with her and then had a few follow up one on ones...I read the entire ceremony the week before the wedding and it brought tears to my eyes in just the reading.
The actual ceremony was MAGICAL. She spoke eloquently and her personal statements about us as a couple were spot on. Truly AMAZING! Thanks so much Shyamala for making this day one of the BEST in my life. Guests were so moved and said it was one of the most loving, fun and poignant ceremonies they had ever seen.
Search no more, if you live in the bay area or are hosting your wedding ceremony in or around wine country, Shyamala Littlefield, is your OFFICIANT!
Shyamala, our wedding officiant, exceeded our expectations by miles. The only agenda she brings to the table is to give you a ceremony that reflects who you are, and the experience you want to give your guests. We engaged her on short (~3 weeks notice) and went in with only the most nebulous idea of what we wanted. Shyamala asked good, insightful questions that brought us to an understanding on how best to express ourselves and our values, while honoring our families and friends. She is very free and creative with suggestions, and many of them were spot on, but she wasn't the least bit pushy about the ones that missed. The ceremony was moving and beautiful, (one of the musicians, who didn't even know us, was crying!) but also had a kind and welcoming lightness to it - it was appropriately sacred and respectful of the occasion, without becoming somber or dry.
She was totally open to whatever we wanted to do, while being tactful and respectful with guidance. I should add that our situation had a fair degree of difficulty - our families include Muslims, Hindus, Protestants and Buddhist, while we ourselves worship only nature and reason. Shyamala danced through gracefully, so everyone felt included, but also without compromising our beliefs...pretty miraculous! She was a consummate professional at all times (I don't say this lightly - I think professionals are rare in any industry) , both in manner and performance of duty, while somehow being one of the warmest and sincere people I have ever met. Our wedding would not have been as deep, fun, smart, or sincere without her. I recommend her with no reservations.
Shyamala was such an integral part to creating a personal and meaningful ceremony... I can't recommend her highly enough. As others have mentioned, she is a warm and caring person who really takes the time to get to know you as a couple. Her presence as an officiant is exactly what anyone would want: professional, nurturing and grounded. So many of our friends (even true wedding addicts) have mentioned how moved they were by the ceremony. It was joyful and fun and we can't thank Shyamala enough.
We were very lucky to get Shyamala as a wedding officiant in a very short notice.She made our ceremony unique, personal and just beautiful. Everybody liked her a lot. First I talked to her on the phone then we made an appointment to meet in person. My fiance (now my husband) and I went to her house. She asked us some questions about our love story and in couple weeks she send us the first draft of the ceremony. We were amazed how she accurately described us and our love story in the first draft. She is very warm, organized, and always on time. We are so thankful she was available on our wedding day. I recommend her to any couple!
Let me join the 5 stars and if I could go higher I would. We tried out two other officiants before finding Shyamala via Yelp. Best find ever! We had a theme wedding and Shyamala not only brought leadership, grounding, and knowledge, she was more than willing to integrate the theme through words, clothing and spirit. Shyamala helped us in composing several parts of the ceremony and made suggestions that shifted the ceremony from good to wonderful. We have received several great comments on the ceremony, especially the sand ceremony. Great officiant!
When my husband accepted a job at Apple, I didn't realize how far from my network of support we would be moving. An engagement ring, a move 3,000 miles across the country, and one adorable cat later, we were planning a destination wedding for 120 North-Easterners, and we were the destination. Shyamala felt like a little pieces of home. Originally from Long Island as well, she understood what type of wedding ceremonies we were used to.
My husband and I are different religions, and so we decided not to focus on either during the ceremony. Shyamala helped us form the perfect ceremony that included family and tradition. The day was magical.
Shyamala Littlefield is the consummate wedding officiant; she is warm, sociable, has a great speaking voice and is very responsive and creative. We contacted Shyamala about 9 months prior to our wedding and had a telephone conversation with her. We instantly knew that she was "the one" for us.
Because my husband and I had conflicting schedules, we met Shyamala initially through Skype to discuss our vision for our wedding. Later on, we met at our home in Oakland. It was lovely to meet her face to face, and I knew then that our ceremony was in good hands. Throughout the process of planning