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About this vendor
I'm Maree, a modern wedding officiant with 19+ years experience. I write non-traditional ceremonies that will make you laugh, make you cry, and make your guests a part of the magic on your big day. You can enjoy a truly one-of-a-kind ceremony and I'll make it easy!
My weddings highlight your personalities, hobbies, and interests. I'm a nerd at heart, and a collector of wedding literature and cool unity rituals. From Shakespeare to Carl Sagan. Charles Dickens to Neil Gaiman. Rumi to The Beatles. Weddings are my jam, and I literally dream about this stuff most nights.
Specialties:
Blending Families
Handfastings
Unique and Fun Unity Ceremonies
Guests Participation (share the love!)
Please see my website for pricing info and lots of pics. (I don't have premium profile so info is limited)
Details
Business Attributes
- LGBTQ+-owned Business
- Woman-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
- Baha'i Faith
- Buddhist
- Christian
- Quaker
- Interfaith
- Jewish
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
- Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
Reviews
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5
out of 5.045 reviews
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She was perfect. We couldn't have asked for a better officiant. She was so good with me despite my anxiety, she made me feel better and more at ease. She took some awesome pictures and videos for us as well. The ceremony was the perfect mixture of geeky, punk, and wiccan to match our personalities.
Maree did such an awesome job officiating our wedding. She was able to customize the entire thing to be a perfect reflection of our lives and our relationship. We wanted a non-religious, non-traditional ceremony that included our own unique beliefs and reflected our diversity of experience and thought and she was able to capture that desire impeccably. If you're looking for an invested, personable and eloquent officiant for your wedding, look no further!
We absolutely loved working with Maree. We received compliments on how unique and perfect our ceremony was all during our reception. She even drove all the way to our house a few days later to deliver one of our vow booklets that we forgot. She is amazing!!!
Get Maree to officiate your wedding!! Seriously!! We were agonizing over finding the right fit for our ceremony’s officiant. But after speaking with Maree the very first time we knew we had to go with her. And that choice was totally validated through out the ceremony planning process, rehearsal, and official day. Maree is so sweet, funny, awesome to get to know, a great writer, and just overall wonderful person. And she can really craft the exact ceremony you’re looking for and is so helpful, non-judgemental, and reassuring during every step. We had no idea where to start and her guidance was so useful in creating the ceremony of our dreams. We had SO many people tell us that it was the most beautiful ceremony they ever witnessed and that would not have been possible without Maree! Thank you so much Maree!
Maree is wonderful! We had a laid-back, offbeat wedding and knew we wanted a laid-back, offbeat officiant to do the honors. She crafted a totally one-of-a-kind ceremony for us filled with readings and rituals that are special to us, and she was big on audience involvement so our guests were fully engaged the whole time. She gave the great suggestion of community vows— after our "I do"s, she asked guests to commit to supporting us on our journey together and they said "We do!" I've never seen this done at a wedding before and it felt so right for us to involve our community in this way. Thanks, Maree!
Maree was absolutely, amazingly perfect!!! Honestly, I'm not exaggerating. We had to change our Officiant only 3 months before our Ceremony. We had planned a very unique Viking Wedding and not only was she willing to add in all our little odd requests... but, she even helped us with vows, time management and dressed for the occasion. We would absolutely recommend her for your special day! You will NOT regret it!!!
Maree was FABULOUS!! 10 out of 10 would recommend. We were originally scheduled to get married in 2020 and then of course Covid hit and our plans were redirected. We postponed the wedding, but at the very last minute my husband and I decided to do an impromptu youtube wedding skit on the day of our originally planned wedding. It was an attempt to make light of a heavy situation and also distract us during the day. With less than 2 weeks we called up Maree and asked if she would get on skype and officiate our youtube marriage on camera and we would live stream the whole thing. She happily agreed and wrote something up for us and really helped make the whole thing possible. Then a year later she officiated our formal in person wedding. At that point she knew us so much better and was able to incorporate our personalities into the ceremony. I loved working with her and I'm glad she stuck with us over a very long 2 year period.
Maree is a fantastic officiant! Don't hesitate to reach out to her!! The whole process of picking her all the way through the rehearsal and wedding ceremony was seamless and really took a lot off my plate.
Our friends and family loved her heartfelt and unique ceremony and continue to tell us how much they enjoyed it (after 6 months!). We chose to do the hand tying ceremony which meant we actually "tied the knot." We picked our ribbons and got to keep the knot and it sits on our bookshelf and will be a lifelong reminder of the promises we made!
Our wedding day brought rain showers, and Maree captured some of the rain water and sealed it in a jar for us - for good luck!! She is very thoughtful and an incredible person to be around - her happiness is infectious and we are so happy that we picked her!
We were looking for something unique and special that people would remember and we could not have made a better decision when we went with Maree. She made every step of this process feel personal and she found a way of telling our story that was tailored to our personalities. She felt genuinely excited to hear about it and be a part of our love story! She created a unity ritual based on an idea I found on Pinterest and she put a personal spin on it which made it so special and fitting for our relationship. She went out and hunted for the perfect rocks for a Cairn ceremony and did a hand fasting ritual. We got so many compliments on the ceremony and for her amazingly positive and infectious personality giving our special day that extra sumpin sumpin!! We absolutely felt like she was as excited as we were and that felt amazing. She added a reference in the ceremony from my favorite Disney movie and sang to me before the wedding putting her own words to my favorite song from it! From the beginning her goal was to make us feel comfortable and she did exactly that! We had a blast with Maree and would recommend her to anyone and everyone!
This was the best I ceremony I could have hoped for. Maree took time with us perfecting what we wanted and it turned out GREAT ! I am so pleased with Maree !! Plus our family and friends were so impressed with how sweet she was - She ended up marrying my cousin and his wife !
If you want someone who will make your wedding ceremony the best part of your day then please pick Maree, she is so in tuned with each and every person she comes into contact with and made our ceremony so personal and special. We can not say enough great things about Maree! She is also hilarious and lights up the room just by being in it! Pick her if you want your ceremony to be flawless, and to have someone on your side when the jitters and nerves come into play Maree will always have your back!
My husband and I wanted nothing short of the perfect person to officiate our intimate elopement ceremony. We spoke with several other individuals in our search for that “perfect person” and couldn’t settle on anyone we felt comfortable with... until we found Maree. We knew instantly that she was the one! We traveled from out of state to get married at Garden of the Gods, and Maree was there to help us thru every step of the way. She took the time to get to know us without adding any additional stress on us (and in fact took many stressors off of our hands). The customized ceremony she put together for us was perfect! It was almost as if she had known us for years! My kids absolutely adored her and my husband and I (along with our few friends that attended) were in awe of how great of a job she did. Maree is one of the most compassionate and receptive individuals I’ve ever met and she exudes a positively beautiful energy that is felt by everyone around her! We couldn’t be happier with the decision we made to involve Maree in our very special day. Having her by our side truly made it that much more special and we will be forever grateful for her! Aside from marrying my husband, choosing Maree was perhaps one of the best decisions I’ve ever made - I highly recommend her to anyone!
Maree is magnificent. Our ceremony was perfect. She was able to capture my husband’s and my personality. I highly recommend her.
Oh My Gosh! I can't say enough wonderful things about Maree! She helped us design a perfect ceremony which was personal, beautiful, and unique! All of our guests were blown away, and they made sure to let us know! If you are looking for an incredible officiant, who will go out of her way to make sure you have the best ceremony for you, you can't go wrong with Maree. She's the absolute best!
This review is long overdue! My husband and I were married July 8th + 9th, 2018 in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Maree was, without a doubt, the BEST part of our wedding weekend (minus getting married, lol). We could nit pick almost all our vendors, but Maree was literal perfection. You can tell how much thought and care she puts into her job. We found her on Wedding Wire when I was hunting for officiants for our big day, we only talked a few times and met once before our wedding, but she managed to encapsulate our love story so beautifully and felt more like an old friend by the time we said our I Do’s. Thank you for being apart of our day, Maree! We appreciate you greatly!
After hearing some of our quirky or unique plans, we were given Maree’s name on recommendation. And what a fantastic recommendation it was. Maree was absolutely the perfect officiant for our wedding. She took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple so that she could help us build an amazing ceremony that reflected us and our relationship. Maree brings such a warm energy with her that is is abundantly clear that she is passionate and dedicated to bringing the best experience she can to her couples. She has an incredible knowledge on a vast variety rituals (religious, secular, traditional, modern, nerdy, etc.) and has useful material on writing personal vows. She really helped make an overwhelming process fun, enjoyable and painless. We have nothing but positive things to say about our experience with Maree.
Maree was such a joy to work with and we could not ask for a better Celebrant for our elopement. She paid attention to details and delivered a heart felt and meaningful ceremony. She even helped us find the perfect ceremony spot! We cannot thank her enough.
Maree is awesome! She was so easy and fun to work with, and wrote us a ceremony script specific and unique to us. During the wedding reception we had other vendors and our guests raving about her and the ceremony. She is such a genuine person, and anyone can tell she really loves love! Words cannot describe our appreciation for her and her minor dorkiness and major radness. She is a gem, and you would be so lucky to have her be a part of your day.
Maree has perfected the craft of unique wedding ceremonies! She custom made ours not only to fit us as a couple but also our unique venue (an art museum). Her awesome ceremony was the talk of the night by our friends and family, they just loved her and we did too! I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a fun and alternative officiant!!! I want to be friends with her even after it's all over! Thanks Maree you are simply amazing and made our ceremony absolute perfection!!!
You can see that Maree is passionate about what she does and is truly honored to share in your day. With thoughtful planning and care, Maree put together a ceremony that was so personalized and special to us. Our families and friends had no idea what to expect and many said afterward that it was hands-down, the best ceremony they had ever been to. Maree helped make our day very special and one I will never forget. I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend Maree.
We were thrilled with Maree! It was the best decision we made. We both agree that the wedding could not have been one bit better, and that Maree made the whole event our best day ever! Maree was not only easy to work with, but loads of fun too. Our unity ritual included the painting, which was such a fantastic addition to the ceremony. We both feel we didn't just hire someone to marry us, but rather we have a new friend. Absolutely Awesome!!
Maree is special in so, SO many amazing ways! From the first conversation my wife and I had with Maree over speakerphone, I thought she was something special.
And, well... Maree made our wedding more special than we could have ever imagined.
Both my wife and I are in healthcare. We my wife took me aside to tell me about Maree, a former healthcare professional herself (gone rogue for love <3 ) who would accommodate our wishes to have a ceremony without religion while accommodating our families (whose religious beliefs varied quite dramatically), I, as the groom, was already sold. After our conversation over speakerphone, I was convinced Maree was perfect for our wedding.
However, it was only after meeting Maree that I realized just how freaking special she would inevitably be to our special day. This is a woman who LOVES! Who genuinely cares about everyone, with a stubborn and enduring positivity combined with a level of professionalism that my wife and I appreciated sooooooo much on our wedding day!!!! Maree will meet with you, talk with you, interview you, make you fill out an online questionnaire about your "smoochie-poo" (which was so much fun I want to do it again!) all to help make a speech that is custom to YOU, and YOUR religious/personal beliefs, and all while accommodating guests who may have different beliefs in a way I think everyone can accept.
I think I hugged Maree at least a dozen times on my wedding day, and the only thing I regret is that I didn't hug her more. Maree was as integral a part of my wedding as the venue itself, and I sincerely mean that. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU Maree!
-Anna A & Kevin K
What to say about Maree. First of all THANK YOU for being such a huge and wonderful part of our wedding day. I am so thankful that we found you and got to know you. You put so much love, time and effort into creating special and customizing our ceremony. I can’t imagine having anyone else marry Maolin and I, and share the day with our community of loved ones. I appreciate the time you took to get to know us, our friends and family. You not only made our day special, but our entire wedding party’s. You are such a kind, loving, energetic, funny human being. Thank you so much for everything Maree, you are wonderful!
She was wonderful and professional! A beautifully written ceremony!
Maree was the icing on the cake! She made our day so special with customizing our ceremony and surprising us with our vows. Maree is Amazing!!!! We loved having her be such an important person in our wedding. <3
I am so grateful to have found Maree for my wedding! She was amazing during every single aspect of my wedding! I felt like I knew Maree for years which made my ceremony extra special! She was able to make sure that my stepsons were being included. Everyone that attended was in absolute awe of Maree! She is the best officiant in Colorado hands down!
Let me start off by saying this review is long overdue (so sorry Maree!) Our wedding was Halloween '17 in Estes Park, Co and let me tell you, our ceremony was beyond perfect all thanks to Maree. She did such an amazing job writing us a completely custom ceremony and every guest that attended was blown away! Having a Halloween wedding you can imagine how some of our older guests (grandparents) felt. Even they loved it. My grandmother, whom I thought would have walked out as soon as she heard "monsters" surprisingly loved there ceremony and even asked for a copy of the reading for her to frame. I WAS SHOCKED. I feel like that just goes to prove how beautifully Maree wrote our ceremony. My only complaint would be that I didn't get a videographer to capture our unique ceremony (wasn't in the budget). I do feel like I will just have to use that as an excuse to "renew" our vows and hire Maree all over again. She was utterly amazing and our ceremony was absolutely perfect. We could not have picked anyone better.
To be completely honest, I was a little nervous because the officiant had to be changed last minute and was picked by my husband and his mother. However, I also have to say I was more than impressed, happy, and even honored to have been married by Maree! She was absolutely AMAZING. She was aware of my concerns and was more than willing to do what she could to make it the best ceremony possible. She went above and beyond, which I am awed by. Further, the service she gave was beautiful and almost brought me to tears. She took the answers given by my husband and myself and wove them into an eloquent story that all of our friends and family could hear. I felt as though she knew us personally based off the service she had written. Though not our original plan, I now cannot imagine the ceremony having gone any other way. If you are looking for a personal and touching ceremony with a caring officiant, then you need Maree Johnston!
She was absolutely incredible! Amazing to work with. Great communication. She made everything perfect!! We were so blessed to have her officiate our elopement!
Maree is a wonderful person. From our very first phone conversation, I knew she was "the one" who would marry us. She was thoughtful in writing our ceremony and made sure she had everything exactly how we wanted it. She was even available last minute when we decided to have a rehearsal - after originally not planning to have one. Everyone was so comfortable around Maree - I felt like I had known her for much longer than a few days. Our ceremony was beautiful, and I treasure all of the careful details of our ceremony. I am so happy our photographer thought to take some pictures of Maree with our guests and our kids. I literally said - as we drove away from our ceremony - that I'd really miss hanging out with Maree. You will absolutely not be sorry for choosing her - and you will definitely want to keep hanging out with her. She is an amazing person.
I do not know what I would have done without Maree's expertise in writing vows for my friend's wedding. I was caught off guard when they asked me to officiate their wedding but having Maree to lay everything out so perfectly for me made me much less nervous! Love that even across the country I can count on someone so knowledgeable and wonderful! I highly recommend Maree for any of your wedding vow needs :)
Maree made my wedding absolutely magical. There’s simply no better word to describe it. She really put her whole heart into our ceremony and got to know us as individual people AND a couple to make sure she really let us and our love shine through during our ceremony. She took the time to fully listen to and understand our tricky family dynamic, our tricky mix of religious views, and our tricky desire to mix traditional with new in our own specific ways. She is creative and really designs ceremonies with love for the people she is marrying. Always upbeat and positive. She always kept me calm through the entire wedding planning and day of. She even took care of filing our Marriage License so that we could enjoy our honeymoon and rest easy! Always going above and beyond. She flawlessly adapted to a total downpour during our outdoor ceremony... with no real backup plan! It was still everything and more than I could have ever asked for. Maree loves what she does and it shows. Her shining personality and natural gift of ceremony writing and performing make her truly the perfect choice. There is absolutely no one else I would have wanted to pronounce us as Mr. and Mrs. Medrano!
Maree was so wonderful to work with. She has such a great personality and is a very warm and inviting person. I'm so glad that we picked her...she's the best!! She was accommodating of what out vision was and helped make it come alive. I DEFINITELY recommend!!!
Maree is absolutely amazing! Multiple friends and family members have reached out to my husband and I since our September 30th wedding to tell us how wonderful she was and we both could not agree more. Our ceremony was so touching and personal and perfect. She really knew how to capture our love story to share with our family and friends and made us feel extra special with her attention to details. She is truly incredible!
Could not give enough stars! Was amazing! She went out of her way, extremely professional and respectful! Love her!!
Maree was so wonderful, she is very friendly and made me feel very comfortable on my speical day. She made sure to know both me and my husband personally before writing our love story, it was such a great experience and I'm so lucky and blessed that I was able to have her officiate my wedding. I would definitely recommend her to any upcoming married couple.
Maree is absolutely wonderful. Very personalized service.
My wedding was the most important day of my life, and planning it was one of the most stressful things I've experienced. I wanted more than anything for my bride to have the day she wanted and deserved. Maree helped make that happen. She added joy to an already joyous day! The ceremony she created for us was soul-deep and will be remembered our entire lives. Every person who attended our wedding approached us and told us how wonderful our officiate was, and how our ceremony touched them. Maree has a wonderful sense of humor and fantastic personal style. Coupled with her skills as a writer, orator and organizer, we feel privileged she could be a part of our day. During rehearsal, she was able to wrangle and direct my monkey troop of groomsmen. On the day of the wedding when things were about to go wrong (something always does) she problem solved on the fly and swooped in to save our day. I cannot speak highly enough of Maree. Simply put, she will make sure your ceremony is beautiful, fun, memorable, unique, and exactly as YOU want it to be.
Maree was very professional and catered to our exact needs. She was available when we needed her and made the process very easy on us. Highly recommended.
I hired Maree to write the ceremony script for our wedding. We are having a family friend perform the ceremony and I didn't want the task of trying to put together a script when I'm already doing so much.
Maree was an amazing person to speak with, she definitely knows what she's doing. We did our interview over the phone and by the end of it she had me crying from how beautiful her writing was.
Her pricing is more than reasonable and in fact I would have paid more.
I would definitely recommend her! She will make your ceremony an amazing one!
Maree is amazing!!!! She helped us write our vows and did the best ceremony.... she included all of our children(his,mine and ours) into the ceremony which was so special. No one else could have came close to doing better!!!
maree is an awesome person. I would definitely recommend her to anyone that is looking for a genuine person to do their ceremony. She made the whole process so enjoyable and she really tries to get to know you.
Maree was so amazing. We couldn't have found a better officiant then her. Not only does she have a great personality but she understood everything we wanted and made it simple. We would highly recommend her to everyone. Especially if you are wanting someone who is super helpful and has a great personality.
Where do I begin to explain how amazing Maree is? I searched high and low to find someone not shoving religion down your throats but someone who would listen to us as we are a young tattooed couple and pretty non traditional. I found maree's website and knew instantly she would be the one when I saw she was into nerd stuff just like me; Harry Potter, lord of the rings, etc. Upon first meeting with her instant connections were formed. She makes you feel in control in the creative process and actually listens to you, not to mention she is sweet and funny! Maree created a one of a kind Harry Potter handfasting ceremony that was simply perfect.
I couldn't have imagined our wedding without her it's hard to not become friends with her at the end of things because she is just amazing. If I could get married multiple times I would choose Maree over and over again.
Maree helped us in so many ways... Her assistance and incite while writing the ceremony and blending our different personalities and family styles together was tremendously appreciated. Being able to have a say in every aspect was exactly what we wanted. With a professional, witty, and down to earth personality, she helped to set the mood for the whole day. I couldn't have asked for a better person to perform our ceremony.
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