My West Michigan Wedding
About This Vendor
Pastor Tom F. Hamel - Wedding Officiant
Based out of Grand Rapids. MI, My West Michigan Wedding is a business that provides wedding officiation services. The owner and operator, Pastor Tom F. Hamel, has conducted wedding ceremonies in West Michigan since 2005. This seasoned officiant is ready to help you to enjoy the ceremony that you seek. Tom has 25 years of church development experience, 30 years of public speaking experience, and more than 40 years of married life. He was ordained with the Church of God, IN, and has worked as a lay minister for several denominations and non-denominational churches. This highly experienced professional understands the importance of your ceremony and would love to help you realize your vision through My West Michigan Wedding. Services with My West Michigan Wedding will be personalized to meet your wishes and needs. Your ceremony will be an authentic representation of you as a couple. Tom will do his utmost to make this stage of your wedding journey a remarkable experience.
Details
Ceremony Types
Civil Union, Commitment Ceremony, Elopement, Interfaith Ceremony, Non-Religious Ceremony, Religious Ceremony, Second Wedding , Vow Renewal Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
Christian, Catholic, Protestant, Interfaith, Secular, Spiritual, Unitarian
Wedding Activities
Wedding, Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
Pricing for My West Michigan Wedding
Curious to learn more?
My West Michigan Wedding Reviews
5 out of 5.0
369 reviews
5 Star
99%
4 Star
1%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Tom was amazing!! The ceremony was short which was great. Everyone enjoyed the ceremony and could not say enough great things about Tom. I would 10/10 recommend him to anyone. At one point my husband was nervous as being the bride, I filled out...
the form about the ceremony. Tom made him feel comfortable. If you want an officiant that is kind, easy to communicate with, and brings ease to your wedding, book him as your officiant, you will not regret it.
We can't say enough great things about Tom coming out of our wedding. He was responsive, listened to our wants & needs, and was a huge hit during our ceremony. His professionalism and humor were top-tier, and he helped a few slip-ups during our...
ceremony seem insignificant.
Highly recommend Tom to anyone looking for a best-in-class officiant.
Tom was amazing to work with and even provided a walk through document to help build our ceremony script. He made it heartfelt and also made our guests laugh. Will recommend to anyone getting married in west Michigan.
Any questions?
Very professional, pleasure to work with. A really great guy and would recommend him to others
Tom was the officiant at our wedding and he did a great job! I'm assuming we did things a little differently from the norm since our wedding was blending Western and Eastern elements in the ceremony. This includes reading a Chinese poem and doi...
ng a Chinese unity ceremony. Tom took the effort to learn the correct pronunciations for some words when we told him he didn't have to and took the time to understand the significance behind what we were doing. Tom was very accommodating and blended his own personal elements into the ceremony that complemented what we wanted very well! There were a couple of discrepancies prior to the ceremony about what we discussed via Google Meet. These were minor details about when to sign the marriage license, but this did not impact our day, just a little miscommunication that caused a little confusion. Overall we would recommend Tom, regardless if you're planning on doing something traditional, unique, or a blend of both!
Thanks, Tom!
We were nervous about choosing our wedding officiant but after meeting Tom we felt confident he was the right choice. He definitely did not disappoint, our ceremony and his words were absolutely beautiful and he did an outstanding job. We were ...
incredibly happy with everything and 100% recommend him.
Tom was a wonderful officiant. He was quick to respond to all communications. He also was so flexible and let my dad wrap up the ceremony for us. He had such a calming presence and was such an eloquent speaker. Highly recommend!!
Tom did an excellent job officiating our wedding! We are so glad we got to work with him and would highly recommend his officiating services! I love how we got to personalize our ceremony and Tom executed it to perfection. Tom was on time, prof...
essional, available for questions, and made us feel at ease working with him throughout the whole process. He did an excellent job during our ceremony going with the flow, balancing light hearted jokes and the script, speaking to us and the audience (and not looking down at his notes the whole time), and stepping aside during our sand ceremony and first kiss! Our guests also raved about Tom's professionalism, how well spoken he was, and the personal presence he brought to our ceremony. We all highly recommend Tom to be your wedding officiant!
Tom was great to work with, very responsive, respectful, and personable.
I would definitely recommend for anybody wanting a lovely ceremony. Tom was very flexible & helpful.
We had a small ceremony at the pavilion in Rockford.
Couldn't be hap...
pier with the whole experience.
We are so happy with our decision to book Tom as our officiant for our wedding at Bay Pointe Woods! From the moment we first reached out to him to the days following the ceremony, my husband and I were very impressed by Tom’s professionalism. T...
om was proactive and quick to respond to all our questions and was always happy to hop on a call whenever we wanted to check in. His Ceremony Form offered a variety of ideas for greetings, vows, prayers, etc. that saved us a lot of time and energy and enabled us to customize our ceremony in a way that felt unique and authentic to us as a couple. Throughout the months leading up to the wedding, Tom sent several reminders about the marriage license, wedding bands, and other important details that made us feel so at ease (and excited!) going into the ceremony.
It is clear Tom is passionate about what he does, and his light-hearted personality was exactly what we were looking for on our wedding day. Our ceremony was incredibly special, and we will look back fondly on that moment for years and years to come. We can’t recommend Tom highly enough!
My husband and I could not be happier with our decision to book with Tom for our wedding at the Bay Pointe Inn. We were admittedly a little anxious about booking someone that we had never met before to officiate our wedding, but our ceremony we...
nt absolutely perfectly. Tom has a warm and welcoming presence that made both my husband and I feel comfortable throughout the ceremony, and he allowed us to choose ceremony options that fit our religious and personal preferences.
We had multiple guests tell us that it was one of the best wedding ceremonies they had ever been to - light-hearted, emotional, and not too long. If we could go back and do it all again, we would book Tom every time!
Tom was great to work with! Very informative and helpful. He's very efficient with time and flexible with what you want from your ceremony. Highly recommend!
Tom was amazing! He was very professional, organized and made everything about the ceremony process so easy! Having him really did give me one less thing to worry about. He was genuine and did help being life and laughter to our ceremony. Even ...
our DJ (Rhythm&Lights) was excited we were working with him because he knows what he is doing and is very professional. Thank you again Tom!
Tom did such an amazing job officiating our wedding. People couldn’t believe that we didn’t know him prior to the wedding. We were so nervous getting someone we didn’t know as an officiant but as soon as we met Tom, we knew we were in good hand...
s. He made sure to get to know me and my husband and what our relationship was like. He was great at communicating and was very flexible if things needed to be added or changed.
100% recommend !!!
Very well spoken and highly professional. I have strong anxiety with speaking with large crowds and this was handled graciously. I am very thankful for our ceremony and incredible help for rehearsal.
Working with My West Michigan Wedding was awesome! Tom was great with communication on the front end and throughout our planning process, and the system he has established allows for a lot of input in designing your ceremony (choosing wording, ...
prayers, vows, etc). He was also helpful with all of the details related to obtaining our marriage license, too. Our actual ceremony was performed by one of his associates (who we met with and agreed to working with well in advance), and we could not have been happier with how it all went! All of our guests are still commenting on how unique & special they thought our ceremony was!
We were so happy with Tom. His communication was wonderful and the day was stress free because of how prepared he was. Before the ceremony we filled out a form that allowed us to build our ceremony and Tom worked with us to customize what it wo...
uld say. I would absolutely recommend Tom!!
We were so glad that we went with Tom for our officiant in our wedding earlier this month! He was very attentive and helpful. He was very thorough in making sure that the ceremony was exactly what we wanted it to be. Many guests complimented...
the ceremony as well!
Tom was recommended by our DOC and I’m so glad we got linked with him. He was prompt with emails to schedule an initial meeting and he was very warm and friendly. It was easy to work on the ceremony script and we could customize it if we wante...
d and there were many options to choose from when completing it. Tom assured us that we had nothing to worry about and he was right! During the ceremony he did great and made us feel comfortable. Nearly everyone I spoke to after the ceremony noted it being one of the best they have attended and that they really enjoyed it. We would definitely recommend. Thanks so much Tom!
We could not have asked for a more perfect ceremony! It was so easy planning and customizing everything for the ceremony, which was so super nice. We had so many compliments on what a great job Tom did and he was so easy and professional to w...
ork with. He made sure to include our children in the ceremony and took time to address them specifically which made it even more special. 100% recommended!! We could not have been happier!
Pastor Hamel was the most amazing, he made our day so special and read a poem about Love that was so fitting for us. He made the process fun, eased the stress feeling and we could not have asked for any better day than it was. I would highly re...
commend if you want a Pastor who is professional, has the best sense of humor, this is the Pastor you want. He will make you day amazing.
We absolutely loved Tom! He allowed us to build our ceremony how we wanted it and didn’t push it to be done any certain way. He doesn’t require prayers/blessings and had no issues us taking all of those out making our ceremony religious free. H...
e had us laughing, our guest laughing, and was all around a pleasure to work with!
Tom was extremely helpful, quick to respond, detailed, organized, and professional! He handled everything so well and we received so many wonderful compliments on our ceremony. Can’t thank him enough!
Tom at West Michigan Wedding is the best. We had multiple people at our wedding come up to us letting us know the officiant was the best they've seen. He also was so detailed and so good at communicating it was easy to work with him. He made su...
re every detail was ironed out so that all we had to do was focus on the two of us. Which kept us both extremely calm that day. I would recommend My West Michigan Wedding to any bride!
Tom did a phenomenal job throughout the entire experience. He was responsive, professional, and reasonably priced. When it came to the actual day of the ceremony, he was fantastic. Many people at our wedding commented to my wife and I what a gr...
eat job he did. It was a good mix of humor, advice, and religion. I would highly recommend Tom!
Tom was great! Arrived before the ceremony, to chat with us and made sure we felt comfortable standing in front of our loved ones. Truly a beautiful ceremony.
Tom did an excellent job with or ceremony. He was professional, personable, and made it light hearted (as my husband and I were very nervous). He made it seem like we've known him for years. Definitely recommend his services.
Tom was super friendly and was very welcoming. Tom is very respectful, efficient and sufficient. I defiantly recommend using Tom for your special day. You won't regret it, me and my husband were very pleased with Tom. 10/10!
Tom was so helpful and professional from beginning to end. He helped to make our wedding ceremony so special. All of our guests were raving about him. He is truly gifted and we can’t recommend him enough!
Tom is the absolute best. He was very easy to work with, and clearly cared about providing us with the exact experience that we were looking for. I cannot say enough good things about him, and I can't recommend him highly enough.
Tom was very professional and I enjoyed how he tailored our ceremony to for us. I would highly recommend him!
Professional, organized, and good at making feel at ease.
Tom was great to work with even with the lack of a formal rehearsal, he did a great job making our wedding party feel at ease before the ceremony. All of our guests raved about his grea...
t officiating! Thanks again, Tom!
Tom was fantastic! We got so many compliments from our guests on the ceremony and what an amazing speaker Tom was! He was a pleasure to work with and made the whole process simple. I highly highly recommend hiring Tom as your officiant!
Tom did an amazing job! Even though he only met us for a quick FaceTime call a couple weeks ahead of the wedding he was able to personalize our ceremony. It was so beautiful and went so smoothly. He’s an absolute professional who is so organiz...
ed. We felt no stress on our big day thanks to him! I would recommend him a million times over.
Tom was fantastic! He was very responsive, helpful and professional throughout the entire process in getting us to our wedding day. We couldn't have asked for a better person to officiate our wedding. He tailored the ceremony to us and made the...
ceremony very personal. Our guests all had great things to say about Tom as well, which I think speaks volumes. Would highly recommend!
Working with Tom of My West Michigan Wedding was so easy! From the start, it was obvious Tom was very professional. It was very easy to plan the details of our ceremony, and he was quick to respond to all our questions. The day of, he was early...
, walked us through the signing of the marriage license, and talked us through the ceremony. During the ceremony he was funny and made it seem like he'd known us for years. I would highly recommend My West Michigan Wedding to anyone!
Tom was a great choice for us. He accommodated our unique desires for our wedding, and his ceremony form and suggestions made preparing for our day much easier. Thank you!
Tom was great! The process of selecting how you’d like your ceremony to go and what readings he will say was super easy and helpful. He gives you a TON of options for greetings, vows, etc. He arrived early and left shortly after ceremony. In an...
d out and efficient. Our family said they enjoyed the ceremony and said they thought he did a great job as well. It wasn’t too long or too short just perfect. I highly recommend Tom. An amazing speaker and affordable.
Choose Tom as your officiant, it will make your life so much easier during the wedding planning process and de-stress your wedding day. Tom's process for planning your ceremony is simple and truly prioritizes what the couple wants. One of the b...
est vendor choices we made!
When our original plans fell through I panicked, that is until I found My West Michigan Wedding, specifically Tom! From our initial inquiry up until our wedding day, Tom went above and beyond. Three words that come to mind: flexibility, accommo...
dating, and attention to detail. It was obvious that Tom had a lot of experience under his belt and he left us feeling confident in all aspects of our ceremony! Our guests are still commenting on how great our ceremony was :) Thank you Tom, and My West Michigan Wedding, for your expertise and professionalism. 10/10 recommendation from us!
Tom was so patient with us after having to reschedule many times over the course of 2 years. Tom handled everything and led the ceremony smoothly and efficiently. Everyone raved about the messages and stories he shared during the ceremony and m...
ade it feel very special.
Tom was great to work with!
Tom was an absolutely fantastic officiant! He was super timely with emails and communication, and extremely organized with the ceremony details. I got compliments from many of guests about how much they loved my officiant! He was classy and pro...
fessional, with just the right amount of humor. I highly recommend Tom at My West Wedding!
Mr. Hamel was recommended to us by Castle In The Country, where we had our elopement wedding. Since we do not live nearby, he sent us a questionnaire to get to know us. We customized our ceremony with him and it was perfect. He is wonderful to ...
work with and he helped make our day perfect!
Tom was absolutely amazing and very organized! It helped so much and took a lot off our plate and we didn’t have to worry about a thing. Everything went very smooth for the ceremony and we couldn’t have picked a better person.
We had the honor of having Tom officiate our wedding for us and from our very first meeting with him we knew we wanted to go with him. He is so kind, professional, and funny and was so respectful of our beliefs. My husband and I were nervous ab...
out the ceremony because we don't do well in front of crowds but Tom handled it perfectly and we both felt so comfortable and at ease up there! Tom even surprised us with a Petoskey stone during the ceremony which is something extremely special to my husband and me. I truly can't thank him enough for how special he made us feel and anyone who decides to book with Tom will be in wonderful hands!!
Tom was a dream officiant for our elopement! He brought laughter, charm and sacred gravity to our special day. His sense of humor put us at ease, but he also conducted a gorgeous ceremony. We would highly recommend using him for your nuptials!
Tom was booked for our wedding day, so we worked with Chip and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way! Tom and Chip were AMAZING! Tom’s clearly a professional and knows what he’s doing—didn’t miss a single detail in the process. Chip was so incr...
edible during the rehearsal and day-of! He handled my big family like a pro, so kind and professional but able to mediate argument's and making decisions. Chip was also very personable and felt like an old friend immediately! He was perfect during the ceremony—didn’t miss a beat, no mistakes and eased our anxiety.
There was not a dry eye or missing smile in the room. Tom helped direct our ceremony with all our inputs and relieved all the stress from us. Everyone loved our ceremony I mean everyone LOVED it and that’s all Toms execution. The whole night ev...
eryone kept complementing our ceremony and how seamless it flowed. Thank you Tom for making our day so great!
Tom was awesome! We did not meet him before the wedding but he had everything go smoothly. He was organized, punctual, and was perfect with our guests! He made the ceremony feel personalized. I would definitely recommend him!
We had a great experience with Tom! He made everything feel calm and walked us through the whole ceremony. Would highly recommend!
Tom has been officiating weddings for a long time - and it shows! He makes it so easy to plan out your ceremony and can offer guidance throughout the experience. He was very responsive and frequently available to chat with via zoom whenever we ...
had questions. He brought a very warm and heartfelt energy to our ceremony that even our guests commented on. If you're looking for an experienced officiant who will help you customize your ceremony to your liking, Tom is definitely the vendor for you.
We cannot say enough AMAZING things about Tom!!!! He made our wedding ceremony easy, calming, and 100% focused on us and the promises and vows we were making to each other as we start our future. He made sure to explain to us beforehand that he...
does not expect us to memorize or remember anything because he wanted us to focus on us and live in the moment, which really helped calm our nerves. Not only was he amazing during the ceremony, but also before wedding day he was very organized, answered all the right questions, and helped us in every and any way we needed. We cannot thank him enough!
Tom Hamel performed our ceremony, and we loved how he helped us feel prepared, but never stressed. He got all the information he needed from us to create the perfect customized ceremony for us, but did not want us to worry about memorizing anyt...
hing. The day of our wedding he guided us effortlessly through the ceremony, and after the wedding my new husband and I talked about how effortless the ceremony felt because of Tom’s calm, experienced guidance.
Tom was the perfect choice for us, he was great! We received so many compliments about our ceremony and Tom's wonderful vows and messages. He did a great job at keeping it light, but also so very impactful in the words he delivered. He was al...
so very accommodating and agreed to step in and run our rehearsal on short notice, and we are so glad that he did! We are so glad we recorded a video of our ceremony to remember the day and Tom's role in our beginning.
I know this is an unpopular opinion but I would like to share my experience for others to read. I reached out to Tom for a video consultation. He was well mannered and presented himself well but he was slightly condescending and sarcastic when ...
I asked “naive” questions. I have never planned a wedding before and I am learning a lot from speaking to those who work in the industry. Tom made me feel inferior for asking a question. After consulting with other officiants, I have also realized that Tom did not ask very many questions about my fiancé and myself. A wedding is supposed to be personal and he treated it more like a business meeting/transaction. Lastly, I asked to review the contract before I “booked” but he refused to send the contact unless I sent the deposit. This is not a business practice that I was comfortable with. For these reasons, I chose to keep looking and I am so glad I did. For those of you looking around, please speak with your vendors and be sure they are the best fit for you.
Response from the Vendor on 09/08/2021
Thank you Stephanie for your helpful comments. Sometimes personalities just don't mesh and I guess this was one of those times. But that's the good thing about having a video or phone chat during the decision making process. I apologize for c...
ommunicating in a way that made you feel inferior. That certainly wasn't my intention as I understand that every couple comes to these meetings with a lot of things they don't have any experience with. I don't expect future brides and grooms to know everything, how could they? Nevertheless, I feel bad for not communicating with you in a way that showed that I care.
I don't typically ask too many questions of couples when they ask for an introduction. I feel this is the time the couple is determining if I'm a good choice. So I try to get the information in their hands to help them with this decision. Should the couple choose me, then I start finding out more about them. Before that, I feel couples may not want to share details with me, and it could be viewed as intrusive. So that may come off as "business like" but it's what I choose to do.
Lastly, my comment to you regarding a contract was that I don't require a contract and 99% of my clients don't require one from me, but I'm happy to provide one upon request. You might remember me saying that the language required in a contract is not very friendly and I prefer to keep the relationship at a different level, which ironically is not very businesslike : )
Again, thank you for keeping me on my toes as I strive to be the best version of myself.
We hired Tom for ceremony coordination and officiant services. He was extremely organized and clear with all communication before and after the ceremony and met with us virtually (pre-ceremony) upon our request. He kept the ceremony short and s...
weet just like we asked and made it effortless for my husband and I to just enjoy and focus on each other.
Paster Hamel is organized. His website “westmichiganwedding.com” will show this is a Highly prepared business. We received prompt replies to our questions. He was accommodating with suggestions and/or alternatives. He said what he would do; and...
did what he said. Our ceremony was flawless. Highly reccomend his service. August 14, 2021
Tom was truly the very best ever! He is very knowledgeable about the process and provided insightful and timely emails throughout the entire process. We couldn't have asked for a better officiant. He was able to tie in our values and ideals in ...
a beautiful ceremony which really did bring tears to my eyes. I fully recommend Tom and My West Michigan Wedding for any couple looking for a top notch officiant who is well experienced and adds character.
There aren't enough words to express how amazing Tom was! From the very first time we reached out to him up to our wedding day everything was easy and seamless. He provided options to help make our ceremony special, more personalized, but sti...
ll a very simple planning experience. Any time we had a question he was very quick to respond and when dates had to adjust due to COVID he was flexible with us. Tom is very personable and made our special day truly unforgettable! I would absolutely recommend him!
We were so pleased to have Tom as our officiant on our wedding day! I arranged everything from overseas as I was only in the states a very short time before the wedding. His responses were quick and informative. The process to arrange the day a...
nd how he would present was all extremely easy and professional. On the day of, he was on time, made the ‘official business’ quick and not interrupt the beauty of the day, and his presentation was charismatic and well performed without stealing the attention away from us! I highly recommend Tom for your special day!
We found Tom last minute after we switched our wedding outdoors to COVID. What a blessing in disguise! Tom was excellent to work with from the beginning, He did a great job of taking the time to understand our faiths and how we could blend them...
together for the ceremony and getting to know us. We were able to completely personsalize the ceremony which was an awesome experience. Tom makes it all so easy.
For the rehearsal he was so efficient making sure everyone paid attention, he picked up and knew all the little details the bridal party should be looking out for. We would have been lost without him! For the wedding he was on time, calm and made us feel at ease! Our ceremony was so joyful and fun, his candor made us smile the entire time.
To be honest, we were very weary about not getting married in a church, but Tom completely changed all of that. So happy we used My West Michigan Wedding!
Wonderful. Easy to work with a d quick to respond. Was flexible for exactly what we wanted.
Tom was great to work with, very personable. He was able to accommodate all our changes due to Covid. Very professional.
Tom did an awesome job! He is very personable and wants the experience to fit you. He made it feel like we had known him for a long time and everyone at the wedding swore we knew him even though we had just met. He gives you the ability to cust...
omize the speech really any way you want it but also does provide a standard speech. He is also priced very well for what he provides. Wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to be our officiant!
Pastor Tom was the most incredible officiant! From the personalization he added to the calm demeanor he provided he was just truly amazing. Pastor Tom made sure to have every detail lined up perfectly and made sure we were confident in what we ...
needed to do. Thank you Pastor Tom for officiating our wedding, we will never forget this amazing day!
Tom was great! We would highly recommend him. He was very professional but also had a sense of humor. He was always available for any questions and his website was easy to follow.
We got so lucky when we found Tom on The Knot! His process of getting ready for the ceremony was so streamlined and he was incredibly professional. He took the time to get to know us as a couple and it felt so natural and relaxed standing in fr...
ont of him as we got married. It is so awesome that he donates a small percentage of what he charges couples to a very deserving charity. I would recommend Tom again and again to anyone who is in need of an officiant!
Simply put, you will not go wrong hiring Tom! Our wedding was 5/22, we started the correspondence with Tom about a year ago, Tom was very communicative and sent us a Google Form to fill out with what kind of Ceremony we wanted. When our big day...
came, he had our personalized ceremony memorized and well paced. He added humor and even mentioned out cat during the message. It was perfect. Thank you Tom!
Tom was SO GREAT. He is very organized and professional. He did an awesome job directing our rehearsal- which is so lot to say considering we had 20 people in our bridal party. Working with him allowed so much ease and reassurance in planning ...
our ceremony and it could've have been more perfect! Would highly recommend working with Tom 😊
Tom did an excellent job officiating our ceremony last September! I highly recommend him! Even though I reached out with short notice, he still made everything happen, and in a very organized way. He sent emails to keep in communication and had...
us complete an online form to help personalize our ceremony. On the day, he was on time and upbeat. I received a lot of compliments about his personality and officiating. I am very happy he was available for our wedding!!
Tom was wonderful to work with for our ceremony! He walked us through the whole thing before the ceremony started and made sure we were comfortable and not nervous about having to memorize anything we were supposed to do or say. He even incor...
porated a lot of our unique love story. He prompted us the whole way through the ceremony with everything we had gone over ahead of time and held our vow print-outs for us until it was time for us to read them.
I will never forget the moment when I reached the end of the aisle. My dad gave me a hug, shook my then fiance’s hand, and then Tom had to tease my fiancé as he, out of habit, reached to hug and kiss me. Tom humorously told him “No, you can’t kiss her yet”! It was such a sweet and funny moment that everyone loved!
I would highly recommend Tom for your ceremony! He will work with you to make the ceremony exactly what you are wanting, at any level of religious or non-religious. And a portion of his fee is actually a donation to 20 Liters, a Grand Rapids organization committed to providing water filtration for families in Rwanda without clean drinking water, so you are helping others with your special day, too.
Because of COVID, we had to move out wedding date and venue several times. Tom was very accommodating and understanding.Communication with him was always hassle fee. And he did a great job on the wedding day. Light hearted with a friendly perso...
nality
Tom is probably the most organized and professional human I've ever worked with. He was always responsive and guided us through our wedding process from start to finish. As a bride, I really appreciated that he took all pressure off of us and s...
aid he would take care of everything - and that he did. He learned our story and delivered a funny and light, yet emotional ceremony for us. We received a TON of compliments on the ceremony! THANK YOU, TOM!
Tom was very nice andpolite.He took the stress off.I would recommend him, he answered all my questions and made us feel at ease
Tom was extremely helpful and professional, helping to guide us along the path to our marriage. One of the big benefits of having Tom was the online form he used. It was very complete and allowed you to choose which elements of your ceremony we...
re important to you, with examples. It gave us a complete picture of what our wedding would look like and allowed us to breathe a sigh of relief as we focused on the important thing; our love!
Overall, Tom was an absolute joy to work with. Even having a wedding in the midst of the pandemic was not so bad given the care, attention to detail, and flexibility he showed us. Those affordances helped make our special day that much better.
Would recommend!
Tom was very friendly, professional, and helped us feel comfortable on our big day. On time, prepared and organized! Highly recommend!
Tom set a very lovely tone for our elopement. He was very responsive to our questions and requests. Tom exceeded our expectations and was the perfect fit for our wedding - professional yet fun! Tom comes highly recommended.
We used West Michigan Weddings, Tom Hamel, as our wedding officiant for our small Covid wedding this past October. Tom made the process of planning our ceremony super easy, stress-free, and most importantly personal to our wants/beliefs. He mad...
e our ceremony so special and meaningful. (We have even asked him to officiate our vow renewal/Post-Covid reception next year!) We highly recommend working with Tom!
Tom truely is a expert at what he does. Several times throughout our night I had family members come to me and tell me how beautiful and elegantly done our ceremony was. Tom didn't stumble over his words or hesitate. He joked with the crowd and...
talked with us as if he had known us for years, he added his personal touch to our day that we won't soon forget. Tom was so helpful and a true blessing to have at our ceremony, I will recommend him time and time again because he helped us smile through the nerves and covered our word stumbles flawlessly. Thank you Tom for helping us make our dream come true!
Tom did a great job officiating our wedding. He made us feel confident and comfortable through the whole ceremony. We received many compliments from family in attendance as well as those who watched our live stream! We highly recommend having T...
om officiate your ceremony!
Tom not only performed a beautiful ceremony, but he did it in the middle of freezing cold gale force winds! Tom is a true professional. He made the whole experience so easy and allowed us to just enjoy our special day stress free! He felt like ...
part of the family and we would highly recommend him to anyone!!
Tom was the best officiant! Our ceremony was so perfect and my most favorite part of the day! We had a non religious ceremony and Tom was very accommodating. We talked with him a couple times via FaceTime. He was super organized and flexible. H...
e did not come to our rehearsal, so I’ll be honest we were a little nervous about how things were going to go, but everything went very smooth day of. He met with my husband and I right before the ceremony to assure that everything was going to be perfect! He even told me where to stop at the end of the isle so the photographer could get the perfect photo. We wrote and read our own vows, and he made us feel so comfortable. We didn’t have to worry about memorizing anything. He really gets to know you and adds personal touches to the ceremony as well. Our guests couldn’t stop talking about how perfect the ceremony was and how much they enjoyed it. If you are looking for an officiant/pastor for your wedding ceremony Tom is the guy! We couldn’t recommend him enough!
Tom was absolutely wonderful. We changed our wedding with covid to a smaller up north ceremony. He was flexible and drove all the way up to marry us. He kept my husband and I calm and stress free! Would recommend him to anyone getting married. ...
He really tailored the ceremony to fit for us! Was just wonderful all around!!!
Tom was GREAT. He made the whole experience so fun and easy. I didn’t want a super long ceremony and he was the perfect guy for the job. He respected our wishes and was funny and so nice. 10/10 recommend.
Due to covid-19, my fiance and I had 3 months left until our wedding and no officiant! We asked for suggestions on social media and several people recommended Tom Hamel. Since day one, Tom communicated with us via email frequently and made me a...
nd my fiance feel calm that everything would be handled and under control. Even with a couple last minute changes the day of the wedding, Tom was very flexible! The both of us and other family members who attended the wedding in person and virtually were impressed with his charismatic personality and easy-going attitude, as everything went smoothly. We also decided to use the music and sound he provides and were so happy with how it turned out! We would definitely recommend Tom to any couple out there looking to feel comfortable on their special day.
Tom officiated our wedding on October 1st and he was great! The questionnaire he sent prior to the ceremony was totally customizable and easy to use, I felt confident our ceremony would be a true reflection of us as a couple. On the wedding day...
, Tom was professional and we loved his great sense of humor during the ceremony. I definitely recommend Tom as he is very experienced, personable, and will do a great job!
Professional, personable, and made our intimate wedding personalized and without awkwardness. Really appreciated his adlib ability to keep us relaxed and comfortable during the ceremony.
Tom was fantastic! He was so easy to talk to and very professional. He was available at the drop of a hat and was very responsive. Couldn’t have asked for a better officiant.
There is not enough words to express how awesome Tom was. From the very beginning he was knowledgeable and helpful, kept things simple and was very easy to contact if needed. We ended up having to switch our wedding venue a week before the wedd...
ing and he was happy to change with us, no questions asked or any fuss. Before the ceremony he checked in both with myself, the bride, and my now husband and put us both at ease and let us know a few key details for the ceremony. He even told me where I should pause when walking down the aisle so we could get just the right picture (so awesome!). All our of guests praised how awesome he was and how he kept the ceremony serious but still light on that very emotional day. At the end of the ceremony he even moved out of the way with the microphone and stand for our first kiss so our photographer got the perfect shot. His experience was so evident and we are so glad we chose Tom for our wedding. We can't say enough great words about him!
AMAZING officiant. Tom is so personable and easy going which matched our personalities perfectly. Everyone at the wedding stated how much they loved the officiant. Highly recommend if you are getting married in Michigan.
Tom was absolutely incredible. My husband and I did no rehearsal for the ceremony what-so-ever and Tom made it flow so effortlessly. We were able to soak in the moment with each other and because Tom is so great at what he does- we were able to...
completely relax while taking it all in. Tom added personal touches to our ceremony (ones that we did not even know that he noticed) to make it even more special for us. Tom will not let you down! We are so thankful for him, and the wonderful ceremony he made for us!
Tom was such a pleasure to work with. When our pastor was unavailable for our rescheduled date, we looked to Tom who was willing to help us out in every way possible. He met with us via FaceTime, emailed consistently, and helped us decide the b...
est way to do our ceremony.
Working with Tom was a joy and so stress free. Thank you for being so flexible and kind! Our ceremony is memorable because of you.
Tom was professional, easy to work with, and a complete expert at what he does. I have never seen an officiant work as smoothly as he did. You could throw him in any ceremony location and he would excel at making every go well. Don't hesitate o...
n choosing Tom as your officiant!
Tom was very flexible, personable, and professional. Very easy to work with. Scheduling process and selecting ceremony contents were hassle free. Would highly recommend Tom.
Tom was amazing, right from the start! He was very quick to respond to my inquiry and we immediately started working on our wedding details. He provided us with all the necessary information as well as tips and advise. Tom repeatedly said that...
I may contact him for any questions or concerns. Email worked great for us. He was quick to respond to any questions I had. He also emailed me at certain times leading up to our wedding day which I found very helpful.
Tom traveled to Bridgman, MI to marry us at our intimate outdoor ceremony at beach. He arrived early. He was professional and friendly just as all his emails. The ceremony was absolutely perfect, he did an amazing job and we are so happy and thankful! I definitely recommend his services!
Tom was nothing but professional from beginning to end. He listened to our needs, was adaptable and offered advice along the way. His service was the perfect blend of reverent and light hearted. He captured the importance of the moment while m...
aking it engaging and fun. We appreciated his support from the moment we hired him and would recommend him to anyone!
Tom was very friendly, had a great sense of humor, reasonably priced, and was right on time. We would highly recommend him to any friend or family.
Tom Hamel was fantastic! Very kind, funny, and easy going. We didn't meet him in person until the rehearsal the day before, and our ceremony was absolutely beautiful. Highly recommend!!!
Tom was very helpful when we had to shift our wedding plans due to COVID. With his guidance, we were able to craft a ceremony that reflected us as a couple while also leveraging his years of experience creating cohesive ceremonies. He was comm...
unicative, punctual, and guided us through the more 'official' aspects of our wedding day so we didn't have to worry about them. Would highly recommend.
Contact Info for My West Michigan Wedding
Message Vendor
Contact for Pricing
By clicking 'Request Quote', you agree that your information will be shared with the vendor and used to create an account on TheKnot.com. Please see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for details.
Typically responds within 24 hours
