I Love My Job!
$250 starting price
Central Texas
Service area
Spike Gillespie
OWNER
Typically responds within 24h
Since 2006, I have joyfully performed custom-written weddings and same-sex commitment ceremonies in Austin, the Hill Country, and surrounding areas. I've presided over more than 2000 unions. My specialty is secular ceremonies. I work with couples to help create unique ceremonies that reflect who they are as individuals and as a couple. I love my job so much.
Custom Hitches Weddings with Spike Gillespie is a bespoke officiant service based in Garfield, TX.
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Details
Ceremony Types
Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Elopement
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
Buddhist
Christian
Hindu
Interfaith
Jewish
Muslim
Secular
Spiritual
Wedding Activities
Wedding
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Meet the team
Spike Gillespie
Owner
Spike Gillespie is the owner of Custom Hitches. This experienced wedding officiant has offered custom ceremonies to Austin-area couples since 2006. She looks forward to working with you to personalize your beautiful wedding celebration. An award-winning journalist and author, Spike uses her gift for language to create ceremonies that genuinely reflect who you are as individuals and a couple. She has performed thousands of ceremonies.
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Reviews
5.0
out of 5.021 reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
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Alison P
Highlighted review.
5.0
2/13/2021
We were looking for a wedding officiant who was comfortable with a secular wedding and could provide guidance on a ceremony script/outline. Spike fit these criteria and more! She is a kind, friendly, and experienced officiant who we felt comfortable with right away. She helped us to create a custom ceremony that was so meaningful to us. On our wedding day, she was punctual and professional, but always warm and welcoming. We are happy that we chose Spike as our officiant and would recommend her to anyone.
Charles P
5.0
11/10/2019
I think the greatest compliment to Spike’s work is the fact that our guests all thought that my husband and I had been friends with Spike for years. She was able to capture our story beautifully in just the two times we met with her before the ceremony. She was so much fun to work with and instilled a sense of trust from the moment we met her. Any concern I had about the fact that we didn’t have a rehearsal in advance of the wedding vanished as I listened to her and enjoyed the ceremony she helped us create. We would recommend Spike unconditionally and feel incredibly lucky for the opportunity to have worked with her.
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Melissa L
5.0
10/21/2018
Spike did SUCH a good job, we loved our ceremony!!! She worked with us to create a custom ceremony that was exactly what we wanted. We so appreciate how accommodating and professional she is. Book Custom Hitches, your ceremony will be perfect! Best wedding vendor ever!!
Tamara D
5.0
9/18/2018
Spike made us feel so comfortable during the entire process and was a wonderful officiant! She made our friends and family laugh and provided such awesome energy. So happy with our choice and thank you Spike!
Diane B
5.0
1/23/2018
I don't know, what else can I say. We got Spike's name from a referral on a website, we sent her an email, hopped a plane, stayed at her ranch, Tiny T Ranch, and knew right away that Spike was the woman....the "must have" perform our ceremony - without a doubt! There are a few people you meet in life that just 'get it' and Spike is one of them. Spike doesn't push anything on you, she gets to know you but doesn't bug you, she puts her education, experience and heart, (omg her heart, so big, so deep!) into everything I have witnessed and experienced from the day we met. After our initial meeting weekend, we booked Spike; six months in advance from the suburbs of Philadelphia, and she never forgot about us - not once. Our ceremony was perfect, and we are over the moon to have Spike in the memories of our wedding day that will be treasured for a lifetime. I hope more and more couples choose to enjoy the "must have" we found in Spike.
Andrea C
5.0
12/27/2017
Spike was really wonderful to work with and we're so happy she was such an integral part of such an important day in our lives. We started by just touching base and seeing if she was free. We had a lovely conversation to make sure she was the right fit for our service and went from there. She sent some simple guidelines to her service and provided us with some previously used outlines for ceremonies she had preformed to give a place to start. From there we spent some time emailing in detail about various aspects of the ceremony.
Honestly, the best part about working with Spike is that she has some really wonderful insight on weddings, relationships and marriage (which she only offers if you ask, in case you'd rather not philosophize in detail on those points). I feel privileged to have had someone with such a wonderful heart and mind there to untie my husband and I. I would recommend Spike to anyone.
Anne B
5.0
12/23/2015
Spike is the best and so talented! She worked with us to personalize our wedding speech and it turned out exactly how we wanted. The ceremony was beautiful and our guests loved it. We could not be happier!
Yazmeen J
5.0
9/25/2015
Please look no further and hire Spike as your officiant. She did absolutely amazing and everyone commented what a fun and sweet ceremony we had. She has a nack for figuring out your style and personality and can cater to exactly how you want it to be. She was absolutely lovely and really cares about everything - not just the speech but as well as your pictures and how everything will look etc. We had a great time working with Spike and our ceremony was one to remember - everyone commented how wonderful and unique of the whole experience!
Christina L
5.0
8/06/2015
Spike was perfect for our ceremony! We were so lucky to have her officiate our wedding. She did an amazing job of tailoring the ceremony to fit our our needs. We have two young children that we wanted to be included in the ceremony. With Spike's guidance it could not have gone better. It was lovely. Spike was relaxed, supportive, and organized throughout the entire process. She seemed to know how much guidance we needed and provided the perfect amount of support. I HIGHLY recommend Spike to anyone getting married. Our day would have not been the same without her!
5.0
7/28/2015
Spike was amazing! She was very professional, and made our ceremony fun and sincere at the same time. She is a must have. Could not have asked for better. Thank you so very much Spike!
5.0
7/19/2015
If you are looking for the right person for your wedding, there is no one better than Spike. She is resourceful, open minded, responsible, and charming. Once we interviewed with her we knew she was the right person for us. We planned our backyard wedding in a month, and she made the ceremony process so easy. We had no idea what to expect for the ceremony and she helped us make it our own, needless to say it was everything we wanted it to be. Even due to some unfortunate planning (entirely on our part) we ran late on the ceremony, Spike remained 100% professional, polite and understanding during the wait. We couldn't have asked for a more memorable ceremony!
Crystal L
5.0
7/12/2015
Spike is awesome!!!! That is all.
Ok, I'll write a more serious review than that one statement above.
You can see why i had reached out for her beautiful word smithing skills as to crafting out our beautiful ceremony right? We approached Spike after finding many other Austin locals who've gotten married through her many times of doing so that it would be a crime if we did not hire her. So we did! We paid her after inquiring on her details of services, and then we met her in person!
I know, it's rather strange to hand over a stranger lots of money, and then meet them and see what they're all about. We met her at Cherrywood Coffee, and from there we knew she was the one, just as we knew we were gonna get married! It was all meant to be and speaking with Spike put us at such ease. She listened to our humorous story of our first date at a Best Buy, and from there everything was just how a wedding should be, not of Pinterest photo bridesmaid and shoes and floral galore, but of love and respect and a caring of so strong that she could paint the picture in words spoken in our ceremony.
Spike did such an amazing job, she spoke fluidly the day of, reviewed and revised our personal vows we wrote and cropped them to be short and sweet like we asked, did this in a manner that was respectful and noninvasive which is quite a skill to have as an established writer. And she even revised the ceremony numerous times after we had decided they'd be "final". I know planning a wedding is stressful but with Spike, it wasn't! The money we spent to have her officiate our wedding was more than we wanted to spend, $500 on an officiant (more than what my dress cost!), but I feel now so strong that it was the right amount as no amount of money could have given us the love and warmth that we shared with her.
She is just the right person and aura of all Austiny feelings, spiritual, hippie, but so so warm and amazing to share the way with words at a special momental moment like a wedding.
Ps. She even snapped pics of us when we were about to get married, our fried foods, loved our venue, everything about the decorations and it honestly felt like a friend who was there to celebrate with us. I only wish I could get married more times to meet with her more often (not really, wedding planning is done for me ;) ), she's that awesome! :-)
Dalton T
5.0
6/27/2015
Spike was absolutely perfect. She spent a lot of time getting to know us and preparing for our ceremony, which had elements of ancient Roman weddings. She already had experience speaking Latin, but she took the time to ensure her pronunciations were correct. She has a great sense of humor and is a natural at officiating.
5.0
6/25/2015
From the moment we met Spike, we knew that she was the only person who could officiate for us! She is kind, patient, warm, funny, professional, and talented. We had no guests, just Spike and our photographer, but Spike treated it with the same respect that I know she would have for a larger affair. It was an honor to have her take part in our special day.
Kristin H
5.0
11/12/2014
We got married in October 2014 and Spike officiated our wedding! We knew we wanted to have Spike lead our ceremony when we first met her at a KUT Views and Brews event. She was on a panel with a few other wedding vendors and we could immediately tell she was super down to earth and had a great sense of humor. Spike was amazing during the planning process, giving us guidance around the timing of each section of our wedding and helping us craft a beautiful and personal ceremony. On the wedding day, she did an amazing job!! We love Spike and her incredible energy and were so happy she was a part of our special day!
Berkley J
5.0
8/09/2014
Spike was the officiant at our wedding this last May and she was perfect! We wanted to have a ceremony that was more spiritual than religious, and she nailed it. All of the family on both sides was very happy and we received several comments about how unique and heartfelt our ceremony was. She worked with us from almost a year before, and really helped guide us in finding and choosing which readings to use. She is warm and friendly, and that really shows through when she speaks. We would highly recommend Spike to anyone and are so incredibly happy that she was a part of our wedding!
Aberdeen S
5.0
7/02/2012
My husband and I were kinda stumped about how to choose a wedding officiant. We have families with different backgrounds, and our spiritual beliefs are different from ours. What to do? We "interviewed" a few people who felt a little cold (quite frankly). When we met Spike, we loved her presence and vibe immediately. It was like having coffee with a friend that we'd known for years. Her expectations were simple and straightforward, but flexible. Vows can be stressful, but she really supported us in doing it our own way. On the day of the ceremony, she was very calm and cool. She helped my mom with a last minute task (which embarrassed me slightly, but Spike didn't mind at all). She was so professional, yet sincere and heartfelt during the ceremony, it was as if she was speaking at her own. We were so, so happy with our decision! Highly recommended. It helps that we love her as a person, too! Check her out!
Kelly C
5.0
6/07/2012
Spike is the best! She performed our wedding ceremony exactly how we wanted it, and she was an absolute joy to work with. She struck the perfect balance between fun and seriousness in the ceremony and everything she did, she did so sincerely. Spike also did a wonderful job of organizing my family and friends in a way that was firm but also very very kind and friendly. We knew we were in good hands from the very beginning and I never had any doubt that Spike was the perfect person to perform our wedding. She was very calm and in control and made everyone feel at ease.
Sophie S
5.0
11/07/2011
We loved working with Spike and we're so glad we picked her as our officiant. We wanted a ceremony that really reflected us as a couple, and that's what Spike is all about! She gave us plenty of guidance, suggestions, and example ceremonies but was also completely open and welcoming to whatever new material we wanted to include.
Spike was always quick in her responses to emails and questions and was friendly and professional at all times. Spike is the perfect combination of relaxed but professional- we always knew she was on top of things and organized and she always kept a calm, relaxed attitude which definitely has a positive effect on others! Her delivery of the ceremony was also spot-on-- the perfect balance of seriousness that reflected the magnitude of the event, and also light-heartedness and joyfulness to match the happy day.
Spike helped us to create the perfect wedding ceremony for us and we couldn't be happier. We'd definitely recommend her to others!
Elaine H
5.0
9/23/2011
We got married on 9/10/11 and had Spike officiate. She was the best! Everyone loved her and she was so laid back and personable. We never had the chance to meet in person before the wedding since I live in The Woodlands, but we emailed for months and she responded to every question we had right away. Spike is so much fun and I would reccomend her to everyone!
Katherine S
5.0
6/19/2011
We were looking for a wedding officiant that would work with us to make our ceremony very personalized. I found Spike's website and was extremely intrigued, especially since she is an author and public speaker. We met with Spike in person and immediately liked her open, friendly, and warm nature. Basically, we just enjoyed her company and so we hired her.
We really did not have many ideas about what to do with the ceremony, we only knew that we wanted something personal and somewhat non-traditional. Spike was able to send us sample ceremonies, which helped us narrow down what we liked. She then worked with us to get all the parts together and flowing smoothly, as well as writing a humorous background story about us. The ceremony turned out just perfect! Many guests remarked to me that it was the best wedding they had ever attended. Spike was prompt about mailing in our marriage license, and we received our certificate back from the Hays County Clerk's office about one week after the wedding. Overall, planning our ceremony with Spike was an extremely pleasant experience.
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Custom Hitches Weddings with Spike Gillespie
Spike Gillespie
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Owner
Typically responds within 24h
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