About this vendor
Officially Hitched, based in San Francisco, CA, serves weddings in the Bay Area and beyond. Passionate about joining couples together in matrimony, owner Rachael A. Tanner leads a team of dedicated and experienced celebrants. Whether you are hosting an intimate affair or large celebration, our officiants are happy to serve you!
Rachael officiated her first wedding for friends. Since that first wedding in 2016, Rachael has officiated hundreds of weddings. Now an accomplished celebrant with a superlative team, she endeavors to continue spreading love.
Committed to inclusivity, Officially Hitched proudly welcomes couples from all walks of life. Keen to make every wedding as distinctive as possible, we enjoy creating ceremonies that showcase our clients’ authenticity.
Officially Hitched offers four packages for couples to choose from. The Bespoke Ceremony is our premium package, resulting in a 100% custom made wedding ceremony. The Made to Measure option offers a great balance of customization, guidance, and simplicity. The Ready Made option is perfect for couples who want to keep things simple while still meaningful. The San Francisco Special is perfect for elopements and other concise celebrations.
Officially Hitched offers officiant coaching. This is great for couples having a friend or family member officiate. Learn all the tips and tricks and everyone will think your best friend is a professional!
Finally, Officially Hitched offers pre-marital and pre-engagement coaching. Get ready to "say yes" to your fiance and to say "I do" to your partner through intentionality, investment of time, and commitment to growth. Let your coach join you in your love's journey.
Details
Business Attributes
- Black-owned Business
- Woman-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Planning
- Se Habla Español
Religious Affiliations
- Buddhist
- Christian
- Catholic
- Protestant
- Interfaith
- Jewish
Wedding Activities
- After The Wedding
- Newlywed Life
- Getting Engaged
- Premarital Counseling
- 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 5.097 reviews
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We had the immense pleasure of having Annie officiate our wedding, and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect person to coach and guide us through one of the most important moments of our lives. As a dear and close friend, Annie brought a level of warmth, understanding, and personal touch that made our ceremony uniquely ours.
From the very beginning, she took the time to understand our love story, our values, and our vision for the day. She poured her heart into writing our ceremony, crafting every word with care and thoughtfulness. Her ability to articulate our journey and our commitment to each other was nothing short of extraordinary. She held us. Figuratively and literally.
On the day of our wedding, Annie was a calming, warm and reassuring presence. Her eloquence, grace, and genuine emotion resonated with everyone present, making the ceremony deeply moving and memorable. She created an atmosphere of love and joy, and her words left a lasting impression on all our guests.
We are incredibly grateful to Annie for her dedication and for being such a pivotal part of our special day. Her contribution went far beyond her role as an officiant; she truly made our wedding day unforgettable. We wholeheartedly recommend her to any couple seeking a compassionate, talented, and deeply feeling officiant. Thank you for making our wedding day dreams come true!
With all our love,
Sarah & T
Officially Hitched was an amazing vendor to work with and made our wedding so unique and personal. We worked with Rachael to design our ceremony with a traditional structure, but added in touches that made it feel just right for us. Our ceremony was sacred to us, which is why we wanted a professional, but neither of us are religious and wanted to avoid those elements. She suggested readings, helped craft a message that emphasized our love, and edited our vows so we felt like we were delivering the exact message we wanted to each other. There wasn't a dry eye in the house by the time we walked back up the aisle. We were nervous about the idea of having to hire someone who didn't know us to perform our ceremony, but looking back it was 100% the right choice. Our guests kept complimenting us on how personal, joyful, and romantic our ceremony was.
Rachael was amazing! We got the "Made to Measure" package. Rachael was very professional-- organized, kind, easy to work with, and easy to talk to. She took the time to get to know us and composed and delivered a beautiful ceremony tailored to us and our guests. At the reception, the most commonly asked question was how we found such a great officiant!
My wedding was so long ago, but I still remember everything about that day. Planning the wedding on our own we had time to make meaningful decisions and one of those being the most important- Who's going to marry you? When we first took a meeting with Rachael we knew it was her, she was the last officiant we met with and we instantly knew that the company she had founded and created herself was the one that would marry us. We were SO lucky to have her walk us through the process and give us pointers for an entire ceremony we had no idea where to even start from. We were lucky enough to get married in San Francisco City Hall which is beautiful in itself, but Officially Hitched has a built in package for City Hall weddings. It's a package that includes just the amount of customization, without a complete panic of trying to create a ceremony from scratch. Rachael makes it so easy to talk with her and really see how the ceremony will play out, I completely trusted her opinions and guidance. Rachael, THANK YOU for an incredible experience, and an even better ceremony. You would not believe how many of my guests came up to me and complimented the ceremony and just YOU in general. My apologies for how long this has taken me to get around to writing, but I truly want to thank you for everything you did, and for not leaving one dry eye untouched with your words, and presentation of Marcus and I's special day. I will be forever grateful for all of your support throughout this process. Thank you again.
Cassie
We shouldn't pick favorites among our wedding vendors... but Racheal was probably our favorite person to work with during our whole process. She was incredibly personable, got to know us fairly deeply, and delivered a service that was memorable, poignant, and highly tailored to us as a couple. We had friends coming up to us and asking how long we've known Rachel, and others who texted us immediately afterwords to see if they could have her officiate their weddings. After strongly considering having a f&f officiant, we are beyond happy we chose Rachel, and we will recommend her to anyone.
Not enough good things to say about Rachael! We chose the Made to Measure package which was perfect for our needs. We had an hour long introduction call with Rachael where she went over the different ways our ceremony could flow and asked questions to get to know us a little better. We had a follow up call a few weeks later to review the ceremony she'd written and allow for any changes to be made. After our ceremony on 10/15/23 many of our guests asked if we knew Rachael personally because of how perfectly our ceremony fit our personalities. She also did the work of turning in our marriage license for us which was just an extra perk. Highly recommend Rachael if you are looking for an officiant who will feel like an old friend on the day of your wedding.
Officially Hitched was helpful, personable and easy to work with. Shout out to the wonderful and beautiful Rachel Tanner. Our ceremony was beautiful, intimate and authentically representative of ourselves as a couple. It was an amazing ceremony and Officially Hitched made the ceremony so easy to manage. They also help submit your paperwork! Super helpful overall! Definitely recommend them!!!
Racheal was fantastic! We wanted a sweet, simple ceremony that was short and to the point. She delivered 100%! She didn’t carry on or drag anything out, but she also made us feel like he was truly celebrating us as a couple. 100% recommend to any future brides out there!
Thank you so much to Rachael for a beautiful, intimate, special ceremony on top of pre-marital coaching! We had multiple friends & family ask us "how do you know your officiant?" because they assumed she's a friend. She made the day so special for us, was so on top of things and really cares about what she does. Highly, highly recommend meeting with Rachael and you will know immediately that she's going to take care of your day!
Very Professional, timely, happy and efficient service. Payments was easy and convenient. We took pictures with Rachel, she had a lovely smile and was a great fit in with our family,
Great experience all together.
My husband and I traveled from New Hampshire to the Northern California coast to elope, truly just the two of us. We were both nervous about the search for an officiant from across the county, especially since they would be part of something so personal, but we found Rachael through our photographer and we are so glad that we did! She was incredibly friendly and helpful, she took the time to get to know us, to listen to what we wanted, and to write a ceremony that felt like it was written for us by a close friend or family member.
Neither of us knew what we wanted in a ceremony, but Rachael was extremely organized and prepared and knew all of the right questions to ask to guide us through the process and take our ideas into consideration. We had two video calls with her, a questionnaire, a few emails, and that was all it took for her to craft something perfect for us! Very low stress, which is exactly what we wanted for our elopement.
We had the best ceremony right by the ocean and we are so thankful that Rachael was able to make it feel so personal and special.
Rachel officiated our wedding at San Francisco city hall. She was wonderful and made sure that we our the exact ceremony that we desired. We had virtual meetings a few times as we were not local but she made sure we were comfortable and ready for our ceremony when we met in person the day of our wedding. I would recommend Officially Hitched to anyone in the San Francisco area. 5/5!
Rachael was incredible! Besides performing a ceremony that we both loved (our families were also blown away), we appreciated the help and guidance she provided as we put together our love story. It was a ton of fun reflecting on what brought us together and Rachael made the experience memorable.
Throughout our meetings she got to know us as a couple and multiple guests asked how long we'd been friends with her. Thank you, Rachael!
Rachael was AMAZING!
We held our wedding ceremony at San Francisco city hall and it wouldn’t have been the same without her. Since day one she was professional, organized, and made the entire process very personable. Even though we didn’t know Rachael prior to the wedding, her sincere and benevolent attitude made us both feel incredibly comfortable, almost as if we’d known her our entire lives. In fact, many of our guests commented they thought we were long-time friends. Rachael was knowledgeable and was always there when we needed help all the way up until the special day. Her calming presence right before the ceremony was very much appreciated. We don’t live in San Francisco and were grateful for how she would go above and beyond by providing directions/parking to recommendations for restaurants and activities. Our families were very impressed with how professional Rachael was as the officiant and felt the flow of our ceremony was perfect. They said she was genuine, had great projection, and overall was absolutely wonderful. Overall we would highly recommend Rachael, you won’t regret it!
My wife and I recently had the pleasure of working with Rachael as our wedding officiant at San Francisco City Hall, and we could not have been happier with the service she provided. From the very beginning, Rachael was professional, organized, and communicative. She took the time to truly get to know us as a couple, and worked with us to create a personalized ceremony that was exactly what we wanted.
On the day of the wedding, Rachael was well-prepared. She conducted the ceremony with grace and poise, and made sure everything ran smoothly. Her words were heartfelt and touching, and she made the ceremony feel intimate and personal. We received a ton of compliments from our guests, and some even thought Rachael was someone we've known for a long time!
Overall, we would highly recommend Rachael to anyone looking for a wedding officiant. She was an absolute pleasure to work with, and helped to make our special day unforgettable. Thank you Rachael!
Rachel was the best officiant we could have asked to officiant our marriage! We only contacted her a couple of weeks in advance and she did not mind performing a pretty last minute ceremony for us. Our planning went super smoothly and she was very flexible with our schedules. She created a folder with samples of vows, ceremony plans and even a questionary that asked very meaningful questions about our relationship. Overall, it was very helpful as we both reflected on our relationship before writing our vows and thinking about what type of ceremony we wanted to have.
A walk to our wedding destination was a little hike. Rachael, thank you so much again for walking with us and supporting our friend who had a broken leg!
It was an absolute pleasure to be able to work with Rachael for our wedding. She's warm, considerate, detailed, communicative, insightful and supportive. She helped guide us through every step along the journey to give us confidence and comfort for our special day. She also took the time to help craft our love story in the way it was meant to be shared with our loved ones—it was far beyond anyones expectations. We cannot say enough good things about her!!!
We worked with Rachael Tanner at Officially Hitched and had a wonderful experience. She took the time to catch up with us and get to know us so she could get an idea of what we wanted for our ceremony. We were initially uncertain, but had a lot of adjustments and omissions that we wanted once we had a draft; Rachael was very flexible and considerate, and helped us figure out what worked best for us while helping us to figure out some additional details.
At the event, she was prompt, helpful, and professional, and worked with the other vendors to get the details sorted out while my partner and I got ready. We’re really glad we hired Rachael!
Rachael really saved the day for us!!! She was an absolute dream to work with and made our wedding day infinitely more special. My partner and I were absolutely panicking about the ceremony portion of the night - 1, because we realized we'd left finding an officiant for too late, and 2, because we're non-religious Indians and had no idea what we actually wanted to accomplish with this part of our wedding. Rachael stepped in with 4 weeks to spare and crafted the sweetest, most heartfelt ceremony we could've ever dreamed of! She spent the time getting to know us and incorporated our personalities, quirks and goofiness into every second of the evening. She honored our family, friends and union in a meaningful yet humorous way that felt completely authentic to us. We've since received SO many compliments about how much our closest friends and family thought the ceremony reflected us as humans and how moved they were by this part of the evening!
We could not imagine our day without Rachael - thank you, Rachael, for everything!!!!
Rachael was awesome - prompt and professional. We were very happy!
We absolutely LOVED working with Rachael for our September 2022 wedding at the Palm Event Center. The ceremony was one of our (and our guest's) favorite parts of the wedding. Rachael took the time to really get to know us as a couple beforehand and helped to craft a unique, custom, & wonderful ceremony. She was also incredibly helpful when it came time to trim down / finalize our vows. Many of our guests thought we knew Rachel personally - that says a lot about how well she customized and executed our ceremony. She is incredibly well spoken - we feel so lucky to have found her for our special day.
Derrick from Officially Hitched helped to make our wedding a day that we will never forget. He was incredibly diligent in working to understand the tone and mood we wanted to set for the ceremony and really got to know us and made the ceremony feel very personal. The result was exactly what we envisioned. To say he knocked it out of the park is really an understatement. We received so much wonderful feedback from guests who were amazed with the ceremony that he created for us. One guest even asked if he was available to come to the East Coast to officiate their ceremony! Derrick elevated our ceremony into something that we’ll never forget and we recommend you allow him to do the same for you .
Renesha from Officially Hitched was so lovely to work with! She guided us through creating our unique, queer, non-traditional, secular ceremony that truly reflected us. She helped us figure out what ceremony elements we wanted to keep, change, and toss out, and provided plenty of examples and resources that helped us along the way. She even went the extra mile helping us in the weeks after our wedding when the USPS temporarily lost our marriage license on its way to the county office. Renesha was such a joy to work with and her love of weddings and love is palpable. We are so honored that she married us!
Derek and Officially Hitched really came through for us. Derek took the time to get to know us, made us comfortable sharing our story and helped us design a ceremony that matched our personalities. He was very accommodating and flexible and gave us a lot of samples and support along the way. He was incredibly professional, communicative and great to work with. We highly recommend working with Officially Hitched!
Derek officiated our wedding and my husband and I cannot recommend him enough. When we first met him to see if he would be a fit for us, we were so impressed with how well he listened to our story, asked thoughtful questions, and eventually crafted the most amazing ceremony. The ceremony was one of the main highlights for us AND our guests. We had so many guests tell us how touching and personal Derek's message was- and that they had never been to a ceremony like that. He captured our essence and our day would not have been as special without him. We are so lucky our paths crossed, and I hope you are lucky enough to have him officiate your wedding too :) Thank you, Derek!
Rachael served as an absolutely wonderful officiant for our wedding. It was a small ceremony with a bespoke altar set on the beach. We loved the energy she brought and how she was able to create an experience that fit our needs!
Wow! Where to start….. Choosing Rachael as our officiant for the big day was the best decision we made while
planning our wedding.
We used the sessions with her leading up to the big day as a way to relive our story and truly embrace one another as we stepped into this next step together, as one. Working with Rachael felt so authentic and real. We quickly became attached to her- like she was meant to be our friend!
She helped us understand the rituals behind the ceremony we were really looking for. Educated us, offered us advice and guided us through the process of crafting our ceremony.
I will never forget the day, for obvious reasons while marrying my spouse but the way she explained our story, highlighted our love, and inspired our guests was simply, divine. She also helped truly capture the love between us and our guests, and honored all of our requests.
She was professional, kind, witty, and a true storyteller- so talented and genuine!
Since the wedding, our guests haven’t stopped talking about how wonderful our officiant was and how she truly captured the attention of the guests and the love between us.
I am forever thankful that this once known, “stranger” quickly became our friend and our forever officiant. We are so blessed to know her and highly recommend her to other future newlyweds as they begin to plan the best day of their lives!
TLDR: Amazing, do it! SHES THE BEST.
Rachael was amazing to work with! We enjoyed every part of the way from beginning to end. During our meetings she didnt only talk about what needed to do but she got to know us as well. We loved that it was so easy to customize different parts of our ceremony so it fit what we wanted (not too long & fun). Our guests loved that we included them in the ceremony which was rachaels idea! Our ceremony was wonderful,meaningful and filled with laughter.
THANK YOU RACHAEL
Renesha did a fantastic job on our ceremony! She’s warm, funny, and put me and my husband at ease every step of the way. She took the time to get to know us and made the ceremony feel so personal to us. She made our guests laugh, cry, and above all just fostered a warm and welcoming energy with our guests.
We would highly recommend Renesha if you are looking for someone with a beautiful and authentic spirit to officiate your ceremony.
Rachael was our wedding officiant for our Sonoma vineyard wedding and we loved our experience working with her! Rachael had so many great ideas to help us curate a personalized ceremony that was perfect for us. The ceremony went so smoothly thanks to her expertise and everything went better than we could have expected. Her calming presence, easy to work with attitude and professionalism really made our experience working with her so positive. We would wholeheartedly recommend Rachael to everyone!!
Derek (with Officially Hitched) was awesome. Numerous people made a point to tell us how much they liked him and the ceremony, asking where we found him, etc. Honestly the ceremony was my favorite part of our wedding, and I thought our wedding was great all-around. He’s very genuine; everyone thought he was an old friend of ours, and it felt like it during the ceremony. He listened to what we wanted (we kept it pretty simple - a little personalized, a few traditional touches, a little light-hearted, and a little touching) and nailed it. Super easy to work with and coordinate with on the lead-up. Fully recommend.
Amazing! Absolutely perfect! Rachael did more then just officiate our wedding, she carefully crafted a perfectly fitting, unique, special wedding ceremony for me and my husband! She incorporated all of the elements that are near and dear to my heart. I was so comfortable working with her! She took my jumbled thoughts and turned them into a beautiful ceremony that I’ll cherish forever. I 100% recommend her to others and want to thank her for being sooo great to work with! She had so many great ideas and our wedding ceremony was perfectly us! I love how she made suggestions when I was lost and carefully listened to the details when I knew I wanted. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!
We wanted an intimate, quick, but personal ceremony, and Rachael absolutely delivered! It was super easy to work with her, and we really appreciated the small bits of personal stories and humor that she added to the ceremony. Our family still talks about how great she was.
Highly highly recommend Derek Owens!!! He told our love story so beautifully and truly made the day even better! Our friends and family thought he was a lifelong friend based on his warm and intimate ceremony. My husband is not religious but I am and he found the perfect amount of balance. He brings love and humor on the day of the wedding and guides you through the process before and during the big day! So grateful to have found Derek, he is an incredible human. Thank you Derek!!
Renesha officiated our wedding and we could not have asked for a better experience. She took the time to get to know us, helped us brainstorm details about the procession, love story, and vows, and totally blew everyone away with her delivery. So many people asked us afterward if she was our friend, because that's how personal it felt. And truly, we really did feel like we had a close friend up there with us. We will be forever grateful for the time Renesha took to help us through the process and for being the one to marry us. She made it feel so special and memorable.
It was simple and easy to work with Rachael at Officially Hitched. Everything was made clear up front and she was very easy to speak with as we worked to develop our ceremony to elope this fall. She listened carefully to our story and helped develop it into a truly deep and meaningful service and it felt so authentic. We were lucky to have worked with her and would highly recommend her for any type of ceremony!
Professional yet personable, experienced, genuine, punctual and amazing!
Rachael has a special gift. She so thoughtfully officiated our wedding and made not only us, but our families, feel at ease and completely immersed in the experience. We got to know her over facetime sessions and could tell she put in work reading through our couples' questionnaire and hearing our ideas about the ceremony to make it just what we wanted. She also took the time to read over our vows separately before the ceremony, and helped lead us into the most important chapter of our lives with grace, laughter and love. She has a wonderful, warm presence and really helped to shape our big day. Thank you Rachael!
No matter what kind of ceremony you’re envisioning - heartfelt, full-on celebratory, or short & sweet (or all of the above!) - I have full confidence that Rachael can help deliver that and make your wedding day more special than you can imagine.
Rachael was our officiant for our March 2021 minimony - and through that, also became our guide and confidante as my partner and I formed and re-formed our thoughts and hopes for our marriage.
Having a hands-on officiant and thoughtful ceremony was always a priority for us, but having an impactful ceremony became all the more important when we (prompted by the paaaandemic) switched gears and decided to have a two-part wedding celebration - one small, intimate ceremony and one larger virtual celebration that centered around the wedding film from our first celebration.
Enter! Rachael!! When we chose Rachael (although was there really competition? nahhh), we initially went with a less custom package, but as we started to work with her, we loved her work and approach so much that we upgraded so we could really utilize her skills and guidance.
She asked us questions about our partnership, our community, and our approach to celebrations that we would never have thought to ask ourselves about. She brought no judgement and was always so inclusive throughout our time with her. She brought genuine enthusiasm and flexibility to the process; when halfway through planning we decided we wanted to add a Burmese water ceremony to the mix, she really leaned into the idea and helped us find a way to seamlessly weave the water ceremony into the flow of the ceremony. Finally, as far as the parts my partner and I were primarily responsible for - we were so, so nervous about our ‘love letter’ vows and she graciously affirmed our approach, improved our drafts, and as she did with all things ceremony-related, helped us create something that truly felt like us.
The ceremony itself was so, so beautiful. She respectfully commanded the ‘stage’ and brought us and our 25 guests into the warm, affecting tone that my partner and I aimed for. The poems, quotes, and flows she chose were perfect for the setting (the *chef’s kiss* amount of celestial references!) and translated very, very well to our wedding film. We had lots of folks tell us that our vows & ceremony moved them to tears, and my partner and I truly credit Rachael for that; we couldn’t have made a ceremony that felt so ‘us’ and so reflective of our love if it wasn’t for her.
Rachel was so much fun to work with and did an amazing job at our wedding. She helped us tailor a beautiful wedding ceremony by hearing about our relationship, personalities, and by just getting to know us. We had so much fun planning. The ceremony itself was perfect and the delivery was great. So many of our guests came up to us to say how wonderful the ceremony was and how great Rachel was. Thank you so much for such a wonderful day!
If you are looking for someone to cultivate a warm, positive, and loving environment for your special day, look no further! Derek has impeccable facilitation skills. His relaxed approach will put any couple as ease, while his story-telling will be sure to captivate your audience. His attention to feedback is clear as he designs his script. He will be sure to make your special day memorable!
We could have not wished for a better officiant. Tina made our big day even more special. She was extraordinarily well-prepared. The ceremony she prepared was very loving and full of beautiful details. I actually teared up when I was reading it for the first time. Communication with her was always easy and fast, and she made sure to meet all our needs. I would recommend her to anybody who is looking for a wonderful wedding ceremony beyond expectations.
I absolutely recommend my dear colleague, Derek Owens, to be your upcoming wedding officiant! I have had the pleasure of knowing Derek for a short while, but through this time, I have gained a new friend and trusted colleague. Derek is amazing at what he does and someone I confidently can trust to deliver a well thought out, personalized, meaningful, and heartwarming message at your event. When working with him, his approach is genuine and efficient: a listener, a collaborator, a meticulous planner, and a mindful facilitator/presenter. I have seen him through every step of his process with a diverse array of audiences and appreciate the thoughts and actions that come before his final product. With much empathy and ability to leave a room inspired, Derek is your person.
We were so very fortunate to find Rachael to be our minister. She was so professional and fun to work with. She made the ceremony process so clear and easy to follow from the start. Beginning with our first phone call, Rachael made both myself and my wife very comfortable. I especially liked her sense of humor😊
Rachael was very quick to respond to our ongoing questions and concerns as the wedding drew closer. This brought much relief to us during this stressful and exciting wedding process. As we provided our relationship history, Rachael created and beautiful and spot on ceremony. She captured our favorite memories, our relationship milestones and also provided a respectful notation for our lost loved ones.
Finally meeting her in person at our rehearsal dinner after calls and many emails, we both felt like we had known her for much longer.
In short Rachael was amazing! I would recommend her to everyone I know again and again. Our many thanks to Rachael for helping to make our special day happen just like we dreamed.
Thank you Rachael!
Elena & Carine
Rachael officiated our destination wedding in Napa and it could not have gone any better. She was extremely professional, calm, and easy going. I loved how she pulled information about us from a questionnaire and put together the ultimate ceremony, even mentioning our dogs. I teared up when she sent the draft of our ceremony a few days before the wedding. It was perfect. Our guests were shocked that we hadn't met her/known her as a friend because it seemed like she genuinely knew and cared about us. We're so grateful that we found Rachael because she helped make our wedding day truly special.
Rachael was a rockstar. More than just an officiant she was a partner in helping craft the day exactly as we were hoping. She is professional, caring, and brought the perfect energy to the ceremony. Even during the heat! Couldn't recommend her more.
Rachael helped us out so much with what we needed for the ceremony. Was really a fantastic experience that she made even smoother with her calm demeanor, many years of experience, and flexible approach given some of our non-traditional elements. Couldn't have really asked for someone better to make our day really special, which is exactly what she did. Thanks so much.
Trust me when I tell you that my family knows how to throw wrenches in a plan and literally 5 minutes before the ceremony people came in with songs they wanted to include as part of it. Rachael handled it all with so much poise and was such a problem-solver and trooper!
Rachael officiated our wedding in August, and she was wonderful to work with. At every point in the process from our initial contact to the day of the wedding, she was professional, courteous, warm, and friendly. We couldn't have asked for a better officiating experience.
We can’t recommend Rachael enough. We did a lot of research for officiants, and were surprised by how hard it was to find someone who seemed right for us. When we found Rachael on the Knot, we were excited to talk to her. It was so easy to make an appointment with her online, and she sent us a questionnaire so we could share more about ourselves and our wedding. When we first met with Rachael over videochat, it seemed like she already knew us and we immediately felt at ease. Rachael is professional and trustworthy, but also warm, easygoing, and honestly just so cool and calming. After our first meeting, I told my husband that I wanted to be friends with her. We met in person three times, and Rachael guided us beautifully through the process. She took the time to learn all about us and to write the story of our relationship, which hit just the right tone of casual, funny, and heartfelt. She helped us create a very personal ceremony that incorporated Jewish traditions that were important to my husband with literary readings and personal details. She even researched readings that she thought we might want to incorporate. It was just perfect. Rachael was also very flexible--she took the time to come to our wedding rehearsal, and came early for our ketubah signing. After the ceremony, so many people asked us how we knew her (assuming she was a friend) and told us how much they enjoyed the ceremony. She is wonderful, and we’re so glad she will always be a big part of how we remember our day!
Rachael is wonderful!!! She was extremely professional and her experience showed through minor details. She helped us design a wonderful ceremony and my wife and I are so happy we found Rachael to be our officiant!
Looking for an officiant was surprisingly difficult for us. Most officiants seemed to do the usual - officiate the ceremony using their tried and true words and solemnize the marriage - which was all fine, but most of them lacked the personal and genuine touch that we were specifically looking for. We didn't want just a wedding ceremony read from a binder. We wanted our ceremony to sound like 'us' and to reflect our journey as a couple. We immediately felt like Rachael sincerely cared about this part
so we booked her "diy couture" package. In this package we got to be very involved which is what we wanted. We wrote a messy version of our own story, we answered her detailed questions, we chose what we liked and what didn't sound like us at all, and Rachael through the whole planning process got to know us and our story. It felt a little like couples' counseling and it did help us as a couple recognize that we were not just having a wedding. We were signing up for a marriage, and the more we worked on our ceremony, the more excited we got for this chapter in our lives.
On our wedding day, Rachael arrived early and she was just as kind and genuine in person as she was on a video chat. And our ceremony was exactly as we had hoped, and more. Our ceremony highlighted our love story and it highlighted our goals as a couple. It highlighted those that were special to us and it really was so heartfelt. It felt personal and very "us." Rachael spoke eloquently and also as if she was just an old friend we already knew before. After our ceremony many of our guests complimented her and how great of a speaker she was, and many of our guests commented how sweet and heartfelt our ceremony was. To us the ceremony was the most important part, after all this was the actual 'getting married' part and she made the entire process fun and easy as she edited, suggested, added, and thoughtfully crafted a cohesive, organized, and heartfelt ceremony that we will surely treasure and remember for the rest of our lives.
Thank you Rachael for this gift of being our officiant.
Rachael was more than we could have asked for as an officiant and she made our ceremony special and memorable. We planned our wedding remotely and the officiant was the last detail we needed. We were able to schedule a few phone calls with her leading up to the wedding and she really came through with an endearing story about us and our future together. She is an eloquent speaker and has a great sense of humor. She was easygoing and a calming presence to have on a very exciting and hectic day!
Rachael was so amazing! She officiated our wedding and did an amazing job! I received so much feed back about how beautiful the ceremony was from all of our guests. She made us feel so comfortable and really took the time to personalize our ceremony down to every detail. She provided options on how we would like the ceremony to go and made it feel so intimate. I’m so happy we found Rachael, I couldn’t have imagined a better ceremony or officiant for our wedding. She was perfect!
Rachael was such a fantastic addition to our day that after the ceremony, everyone was coming up to us and asking who the friend was who married us! We felt like we really got to know Rachael through the ceremony-planning process, and she also got an accurate picture of us and our story. She captured our relationship so well in the ceremony -- it was sweet, funny, and emotional in all the right ways. Seriously, more than 10 of our friends said it was the best wedding ceremony they've ever seen. Thank you Rachael for making our wedding a moment that we will forever cherish!
My first contact with Rachael was so easy and light hearted, instantly i knew she was the right fit for us. Her personality shone through on the phone and through her text messages, and she was so knowledgeable about making everything run smoothly. We chose the ready-made ceremony as we were eloping, and I sent her some ideas of what i wanted, and she tailored it to fit our ceremony on the beach. My now husband literally was in shock of how easy it was and how comfortable we were with her. I cannot thank you enough for marrying us!
Rachael was amazing. We searched for awhile for the perfect officiant given we both come from very different religious backgrounds and Rachael was the perfect fit. We met with her twice to discuss what we were looking for in our ceremony and she nailed it. It was personal, heartfelt, and inclusive while bringing in my faith to a degree that did not make my husband uncomfortable. Nothing threw her off her game- not my veil hitting her in the face, not the large party going on next door, nor the crazy wind. Multiple people (including the wedding coordinator) asked us where we found her and complimented the ceremony. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else up there with us on our day. Thank you Rachael!
Look no further! Rachael is your officiate!
My husband and I got married on 3.31.19. We knew we didn't want a religious wedding and didn't love the idea of a family member or friend officiating our wedding. So we started searching for one on the Knot!
That's when we found Rachael. From the first conversation over the phone we knew she was the right one to marry us. So easy going but direct, we laughed like we were old friends! We got along with her instantly.
She was so detailed in her interviewing and was highly knowledgable in all things about the coordination process. The day of she worked closely with the venue and was very professional. We chose the custom ceremony package and we couldn't be happier with the outcome! Wow was her writing beautiful and funny, and sincere...but most of all it was us. She perfectly captured me and my husband's love story. After the wedding, literally, everyone told me their favorite part of our wedding was the ceremony. I highly recommend Rachael! She's the best!!
Let me start by saying Rachael was the most amazing officiant we could have hoped for. When we first contacted her we were unsure as to just what kind of ceremony we were looking for. We informed her we were not religious, and wanted something kinda funny, kinda serious.
We had three more meetings after this, and each time Rachael was punctual, prepared, and informative. During these meetings, not only was Rachael able to get to know us as a couple, but we also learned more about each other as an added bonus. At our last meeting Rachael provided us with a script of our ceremony and we were blown away. We really had nothing to change, add, or edit. She told our love story better than we can ourselves, and crafted a beautiful ceremony full of symbolism and nature, which represented us perfectly.
On our wedding day Rachael was calm, cool, and collected as always, and delivered a flawless ceremony, which had our guests raving about her as soon as it ended.(And yes, it was kinda funny, kinda serious, but all us.)
We highly recommend Rachael to all couples, whether they know exactly what type of ceremony they are looking for, or if they need a little guidance to shape their perfect day. Her amazing personality, attention to detail, and creativity will ensure all couples have a ceremony they and their guests will not forget. In addition to an excellent officiant, we feel we have gained a new friend in Rachael, and look forward to more “meetings” in the future.
We were looking for a ceremony to reflect us with a few drops of our respective religions and she delivered. Having Rachael Tanner as our officiant was one of the best decisions that we made. Throughout the process she guided us on writing our love story which helped us write our vows. At every meeting, it felt like her priority was to get to know us and to learn about us as a couple. We had a blast working on our ceremony and vows with Rachael.
Her style of writing stood out against other officiants we interviewed. She listened to our suggestions, and turned them into a memorable ceremony. For example, I was inspired by a scene from the movie Mad Max Fury Road, she helped our bridesmaids and groomsmen reenact a more wedding friendly version with them shouting, “You may kiss the Bride!” as they showered us with flower petals!
Our guests learned a lot about us and were moved to tears through Rachael’s words. She is very friendly and professional. In the end, if you want a memorable ceremony that is unique to you and your significant other, Rachael is your officiant!
Rachael was amazing! We loved how cool and casual she was! Def. made us feel comfortable immediately, after the the 2nd time we talked it was like she was someone we had already known for a while! She had an easy process to get to know us, we talked on the phone a few times and skyped as well, then met in person a few times - def. showed she really took the time to get face-time and get to know us overall. The ceremony she wrote was also very beautiful and she was really open and easy going on some edits we wanted to make. During the day of the ceremony - her charisma and strong positive energy really made all our family and friends in the audience, cry and laugh out loud. Would highly recommend her!
Rachael did amazing with our ceremony. Ever detail was perfect, from telling our love story to the sand ceremony. She helped us so much with planning how we wanted our ceremony to be. I definitely would recommend her to other people for there wedding.
Rachael Tanner is the best wedding officiant any couple can ask for. She is professional & fun, and very easy to communicate with. Everyone at our wedding loves how she brings our ceremony to life. We can’t thank Rachael enough for making our ceremony a moment to always remember & cherish. Thank you for letting us share our ideas with you, and thank you for making it happen.
- Tammie & Stephen
Rachael is a phenomenal officiant!! She did an amazing job guiding my wife and me through the process of creating a custom wedding ceremony. She was an inspiring presence throughout the planning phase and exceptional on our big day, seamlessly blending a multitude of cultures, traditions, and beliefs into the perfect expression of my wife and I’s love for each other. That’s all you really need to know, but keep reading if you relish in the details…
My wife and I got married in a May, early evening wedding at the Brazil Room in Tilden Park. It was the perfect venue for us since much of our relationship is rooted in our mutual love of the outdoors. That said, we are from mixed religious backgrounds, but neither of us is practicing. My family is from the east coast with one set of wedding expectations, while my wife’s family is Californian with a very different set of expectations. Last but not least, we wanted to honor some traditional wedding elements but not be bound by them. In other words, we wanted to create a wedding that was uniquely fitting for US and at the same time be respectful to everyone and everything that came before us.
Back to Rachael. Immediately after talking with Rachael over Facetime we knew she was the officiant for us! Our intuition proved right at our first meeting as she guided us through a love story exercise and gave us open ended questions that helped my wife and me converge on a vision for the ceremony. At the second meeting, we fleshed out the ceremony details, determined the roles our loved ones would play, and re-interpreted traditions to meet our desires. Over the next few weeks we exchanged several drafts of language, enhanced all of the ceremony’s parts to perfection, and got to that place where I would tear up and my wife would get goose bumps just thinking about it. You know, all the feels.
We had the rehearsal the day before our wedding. Rachael came to our hotel and met the family and friends who had roles in the ceremony. She was super on top of everything and created a relaxed, fun environment for everyone to feel confident in their part. On the big day itself, Rachael did all the professional things that keep an anxious bride and groom calm… she showed up early, had spare copies of readings, mingled with a few early arrivers, etc. The ceremony itself was then flawless. Rachael delivered in front of 130 of our closest friends and family, some of whom said it was the best wedding they had ever been to.
If you’re still reading and newly engaged, first, congratulations and wishing you a lifetime of happiness. Second, as I said at the top, Rachael is a phenomenal officiant and that's really all you need to know.
Rachel Tanner is amazing! She was seriously one of the best parts of our wedding and made our ceremony exactly what we wanted.
She worked through every tiny detail with us and made us feel comfortable about everything that was going to happen on our wedding day.
I cannot remember how many people came up to us after the ceremony asking if Rachel was a friend from home, or how long we had known her because she made it feel like she had known us our entire lives.
She was hands down one of the best "vendors" we had for our wedding, and besides that just an awesome, caring person!
My now-husband and I had no idea what to expect. We are different religions so wanted to keep it as secular as possible, and Rachael was able to help us navigate this seamlessly. We had a few meetings and she had us fill out some questions that really helped us go from not having a clue to being clear on how the day would go -- even so much as helping us come up with creative solutions to some things. She's fun, affable, and so easy to work with!
We had the pleasure of working with Rachael for our wedding this August. We opted for the simple ceremony option and were beyond pleased with the result. Rachael took the time to get to know us (from a distance) and came up with a ceremony that we both loved. Even after the wedding I have guests asking how we knew her. They are shocked when I explain we hired her as our officiant. I am so glad we did. We highly recommend Officially Hitched for your ceremony officiating needs.
Really great officiant! Everyone at our wedding thought she was our friend because of the heartfelt ceremony she gave. Rachael guided us through the entire ceremony and helped us plan it. It was so special in large part due to Rachael.
This review has been long overdue. Where do I even start? Planning our wedding was one of the most stressful things I have ever done and choosing Rachael to be our officiant had to be the easiest and best decision my husband and I made. When we met Rachael at our consultation, instantly we knew she was exactly who we wanted to officiate our wedding. She was so kind and easy to talk too. It can be difficult to trust someone with something as sacred as a wedding ceremony and she just made us feel so comfortable. After a few meetings, she was really able to get a sense of us as a couple and put together the most beautiful and meaningful wedding ceremony. Our guests complimented us and loved the special touches that were added to our ceremony. I would recommend Rachael to anyone searching for an officiant. We will never forget her.
We opted for the all inclusive option where Rachael wrote everything for us. I am so glad we did! It was a big relief to have a professional craft the perfect service instead of trying to do it ourselves. Over our meetings together she got to know us as a couple and was able to create a personalized love story and service that was just what we wanted. I highly recommend having Rachael be part of your special day.
Rachel was phenomenal! She guided us in figuring out what we wanted our special day to be. She gave us a break down of our big day, gave us different options on how to structure it, and when we wanted to add our own little thing to the ceremony she went above and beyond by doing her own research! I'm only getting married once and I was thrilled to have Rachel officiant.
We were so happy and honored that Rachael was the one to marry us. She was perfect from start to finish, and met with us multiple times to ensure we got the exact ceremony we wanted. She was able to effortlessly blend religious and non-religious elements, and best of all, made it interesting! Many of our guests were talking about the ceremony afterwards, and they were all very impressed! I cannot recommend Rachael enough.
Seriously incredible! Rachael helped us craft such a unique and memorable ceremony that truly met our specific needs and desires. She is an intuitive listener, someone who just "get's it", and is able to communicate what she hears effortlessly (well, maybe there's effort, but you couldn't tell). She was so easy to work with, we loved her process of guiding us through the different considerations as we made our ceremony together. If you're looking for something very personal, I highly recommend Rachael at Officially Hitched! She's dope. Just call her.
"She's beautiful" are the first words that our wedding planner Peter said when he saw Rachael. And as we got to know her in that short window of time, we found out that she was as just as beautiful on the inside. Not only was the California weather and scenery perfect for our outdoor, vineyard wedding (we live in Atlanta where it can be very hot and humid) our officiant Rachael was absolutely perfect too.
We FaceTimed with Rachael twice during our long-distance sessions. She got to know us, our families, and what we were looking for on our special day. She is truly intuitive, thoughtful, kind and a seasoned professional who crafted a beautiful, touching format for our wedding that included unity candle lighting (with our moms), bible verses, poems, love letters and memories that we will always cherish. Our favorite part was the "jumping of the broom." Rachael even relayed the significance of the ritual which made our broom jumping oh so awesome! We jumped so high in our heels it was as if we were airborne! Our wedding day was amazing thanks to Rachael. We are forever grateful.
Rachael was so amazing! From the first phone call, she made my husband and I feel calm and taken care of. It was very important for us to have a more non-traditional approach to our ceremony without the mention of religion. She did an incredible job weaving together our love story, our love of nature, and the significance of our ceremony location (Muir Beach Overlook). She spoke the most beautiful words and truly created unique and personal ceremony. If we did it over again, we would choose Rachael a thousand times. You'd be very lucky to have her marry you!
Working with Rachel for our intimate ceremony in Muir Woods was maybe the best decision we made! From the getgo she was readily available and easy to work with. When we first hired her, it was for a small elopement, but two weeks before the ceremony we decided to invite others. She handled this change like the pro she is, without even missing a beat. Additionally, as a particularly unique pair of people, she was excellent at tailoring the ceremony to our particularly unique needs!
Rachael is the perfect choice for any couple, no matter what they have in mind, or don’t! We had barely any idea at the outset of what we wanted, but by the time we reached the woods, the ceremony was perfectly ours. So much so, that afterwards our family just could not stop complimenting what a wonderful job she did!
Her pricing options are clear, her communication is prompt but never over bearing, and her words are masterfully composed. I would *highly* recommend Rachael no matter whether you’re religious, part of the LGBTQ+ community, clueless about your ceremony, have the ceremony planned down to the last second, have an entire 300 person family, or are eloping with your beloved. You simply can’t go wrong with her :)
After the ceremony, our guests were wondering how many years we have been friends with Rachael! This is how incredibly well and personal she was able to narrate our story through the ceremony.
We met three times, getting to know each other and collaborating on our ceremony and vows. She took our anecdotes, jokes, and stories and created a perfect narrative to tell the guests. She also helped us improve our vows through a series of questions. These have also helped her put together the ceremony.
Our wedding day was filled with warmth, showcased our personalities, and has left our guests saying it was one of the best ceremonies they have ever attended. We cannot recommend Rachael enough! She did an amazing job to help us create our own fairy tale wedding!
My husband and I had the pleasure working with Rachael this month. She is truly a great officiant!
I felt an instant connection with her during our first phone call because Rachael took the time to get to know us as a couple and applied that to our ceremony. The consultations/ phone calls with her were really helpful. Her flexibility, openess and experience, made it such an easy process. We received many compliments from our family about how special and memorable it was! I would strongly recommend Rachael to future couples.
My husband and I can't say enough glowing things about Rachael! Working with her on our wedding ceremony was a huge treat, especially amidst the many stresses of wedding planning. If you're looking for a warm, incredibly personable officiant with a calm but commanding presence—and one who can move comfortably between moments of sincerity and levity in your wedding ceremony—then look no further than Rachael. Over the course of a few months and many enjoyable Skype meetings, we worked together to craft a custom ceremony that felt 100% like us. Without Rachael's guidance, that wouldn't have been possible—we wouldn't have known where to start! But she was an amazing partner in that process, giving us tons of ideas and options about everything from readings, rituals/traditions, and the overall flow of the ceremony, while still remaining completely flexible based on the direction we wanted to take. (We were blown away when we read the finished product; Rachael is an amazing writer!) On our wedding weekend, she guided our nervous family members through the rehearsal, then delivered a flawless ceremony the next day—and as an awesome bonus, she wore a killer outfit and lipstick on our wedding day, so she's also a beautiful presence in all of our photos! Not only did I thoroughly enjoy working with Rachael as a wedding vendor and a consummate professional, I also felt like we gained a lovely friend in the process.
Rachel was an amazing officiant and I would highly recommend. Everyone told me how amazing the ceremony was and how great she was. Rachel took the time to meet with us via phone before the ceremony which made both of us feel even more comfortable. On the day of our wedding, she was prompt and professional. Thank you! from Mayra and Hassan
Rachael worked with me and my fiance to create our wedding ceremony, which also included a love story about our relationship, and our vows. (We chose the combination DIY-with-consulting-package.) She was very easy to talk to and collaborate with, and provided us with a lot of thoughtful questions and resources so we could come up with ideas and write. She gave us useful feedback and suggestions that made our writing better. The ceremony Rachael designed was beautiful, meaningful, and thoughtful. Many of the guests I spoke to told me that they enjoyed the way she officiated the ceremony and her warm presence. Overall, she worked really hard and did an excellent job. Rachael, thank you so much for making the most important part of our wedding day as special and memorable as it could be.
Rachael Tanner is an excellent officiant and was perfect for our elopement ceremony on the beach in Half Moon Bay, CA. We had almost no idea what we wanted for our ceremony that was planned in just a few weeks. But, we knew we wanted an officiant who was relatable, and adaptable to who we are and Rachael was just that and more. She is flexible and articulate. She listened to what we wanted and gave us plenty of options to choose from based on ceremonies she had done in the past. She was even willing to work with us to personalize one that was unique to us, which she delivered well and in a way that was meaningful to us. She is extremely efficient and professional. We didn't get a chance to meet beforehand since we were not local but she worked with us remotely to write the perfect ceremony for us. We loved it! From planning to the day of ceremony, everything was seamless and stress free. She arrived on time and took care of the license. She is kind and thoughtful and it was a pleasure working with her. Without any reservation, we highly recommend Rachael Tanner and OfficiallyHitched to anyone searching for a wedding officiant.
We are so happy that we found Rachael. We eloped from NJ and did t have a particular location picked out, we just knew we wanted to get married in a redwood forest. She went above and beyond for us and researched locations and found the perfect spot. The ceremony she conducted was perfect and was truly represented our love for each other. It was as if she really knew us intimately. Everything she said was everything we needed to hear. It was truly intimate and was centered on our love. Rachael you made our day truly magical, and for that we will be forever grateful.