Pastor Stephen Francis

Since our first meeting with Pastor Stephen Francis, we knew we made a good choice with choosing our officiant. When our wedding day came, it felt like we knew each other well, after going through a few weeks of pre-marital counseling and working well together. On the wedding day, he arrived early, he was always easy to find and there were no surprises during the ceremony. He was very professional and at the same time felt like a familiar face. I would recommend him to anyone looking for an officiant, thank you for making our day so wonderful.

Pastor Stephen Francis was excellent. Besides officiating our wedding, we had multiple pre -marital counseling sessions. We learned a lot from the sessions and were given important tools for our marriage. He was very professional, a great listener and so relatable. He was flexible and accommodating on the day of our wedding. The ceremony was splendid. We are thankful to have chosen Pastor Stephen to officiate our wedding.

Pastor Stephen was a delight to work with! We found him through the knot, and we are so happy we did! We just got married last month on 07/22/23 and by the time our wedding came around, we felt like we were being married by a friend! We decided to do the pre-marital sessions with Stephen, which I can’t recommend enough. We figured it wouldn’t hurt us and could only help. After all of the sessions, we honestly felt stronger as a couple, as silly as that sounds. It was just nice to have an outside perspective from Stephen and a reminder of why we were deciding to get married in the first place. Stephen, thank you for treating us with kindness, for treating us as friends and thank you for helping us become husband and wife! We wouldn’t have wanted anyone else for the job!

Words cannot express how grateful we are to have met Pastor Stephen and to have had him officiate our wedding. From our initial meeting , my husband and I knew that we wanted him to be our officiant. Not only is he very relatable, he is also a phenomenal person. We decided to take the 5 premarital counseling courses that he offers and wow, what a great idea- he recommended that we purchase the book “ Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts” and really took the time to get to know us personally while providing us with some very special gems that we will hold close with us through this journey of marriage. During the ceremony, his voice was compelling and was a calming presence, that set the tone for our wedding ceremony. We highly recommend booking him as your wedding officiant.

Pastor Stephen was a fun officiant to work with. This ceremony was one my wife and I wanted have been wanting to do for years and Pastor Stephen made it more special. He met with us multiple times to plan for the ceremony, and showed up on a timely manner to work through some last minute changes. Highly recommend him to anyone who wants an energetic, and professional wedding officiant.

Words can’t express how highly I recommend Pastor Stephen. In fact, meeting him was the best part of the entire wedding process. We decided to set up pre-marital sessions with him in addition to having him officiate our wedding. The sessions were extremely helpful and made us feel so much closer and connected as a couple in the lead up to the wedding. He was so insightful and even checked in with us outside of the sessions just to see how everything was going. Our guests have commented on how amazing and authentic he was during the ceremony, and we couldn’t agree more. He told us it felt like he was marrying friends, and the feeling is absolutely mutual. Lucky for us, this isn’t the end of our relationship with him. For every couple he marries, he has an open door policy and makes himself available for whatever marriage counseling or advice you might need in the future. That is so rare. Do yourself a favor and look no further!

Pastor Francis was phenomenal! We loved doing the premarital counseling with him. It was so helpful! I would highly recommend him for your ceremony. He offers a wide array of ceremony options and tailors it to your exact needs.

Pastor Stephen was absolutely spectacular in his officiating of our wedding. We felt as though he was our personal pastor throughout the process and developed a relationship with him throughout the pre-marital sessions. He helped us craft our perfect wedding ceremony from his many experiences in officiating weddings. He was so easy to work with throughout the entire process, including going out of his way for our rehearsal the night before, and being super early and ready to go for the wedding ceremony so we did not even need to think about him being there. We could not recommend Pastor Stephen more. Not only because of how well he officiated our wedding, but we consider him a lifelong friend and spiritual advisor that we will remain in contact with.

I found Pastor Stephen on The Knot and I am so glad I did. My now husband and I desired an officiant who could also provide biblically based pre-marital counseling sessions. From the first pre-marital Zoom session to the conclusion of our wedding ceremony, was an enjoyable experience with Pastor Stephen. He was personable, easy to talk to, and provided great insight into marriage. My husband and I had an elopement-style wedding and he was very reassuring throughout. I highly recommend Pastor Stephen!!!!

O man where do we begin.....Pastor Francis is the kindest and patient person ever. He makes sure he tries to get know couples before their weddings and guide them. Due to family issues we were running late for rehearsal he was so patient. Our wedding day it rained out of nowhere he was patient again. He does more than other officiant does. So if your looking for an officiant he's your guy. He was willing to do any kind of ceremony we asked of him, religious/non-religious and in the end he improvised even more because we missed our whole ceremony time, so he sped it up for us while putting in everything we wanted.

Pastor Stephen is the best we could have asked for. Not only did he take the extra time out to ensure my wife and I were spiritually prepared, but it was really his premarital counseling that set him apart. He and his wife really set my wife and I up for so much success - grateful for the time leading up to when my wife and I got married. Day of (and the days leading up), Stephen was above and beyond prepared, he knew the names of each person not only in our bridal party, but our parents as well - so despite having a relationship with us, it really made the whole experience seem even more like a family event. Perfect balance of poise, grace, humor and reverence - would highly recommend anyone to use Pastor Stephen!

We found Pastor Francis on the knot and really didn’t know what to expect. However from our initial conversation he was polite, professional and warm! We decided to pay for the extra sessions he offered and that was one of the best investments we could have ever done. His sessions were invaluable, it brought us closer together and he gave us many tools to help us with our marriage. I highly recommend him if you want someone that will help create the perfect ceremony you desire! It was a pleasure to have him as our officiant! Trust me you will be extremely satisfied!

Pastor Francis is the best! We decided we did not want a really religious wedding but wanted a few religious elements, and Pastor Francis was able to totally customize our ceremony to exactly what we wanted. The ceremony turned out absolutely perfect. We also decided to have pre-marital counseling with Pastor Francis and it turned out to be one of the best things we've done. Being able to lean on the wisdom of Pastor Francis through the stressful time leading up to the wedding was exactly what we needed. Thank you Pastor Francis!

Pastor Stephen was truly the best person to officiate our wedding. We had such a great experience with him in our pre-marital counseling as well. I would recommend him to anyone!

Stephen was amazing to work with. He was genuine, patient, and overall just a wonderful person. He guided us through our premarital sessions with honesty, no judgement, and even used personal examples to relate to us and our experiences. We couldn’t have asked for a better ceremony. It was tailored exactly how we wanted it. After it all, we’re grateful to have gained a lifelong friend!

My husband and I chose Pastor Stephen for our premarital counseling and to officiate our wedding. We are so happy we chose him and highly recommend him to other couples!! We met three times via Zoom to discuss the book, “Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts”. He was always available for questions and helped go over major topics before marriage. We and our guests loved the delivery of his message in our ceremony. Stephen presented a heartfelt and honest ceremony. Go with Stephen, he is the best!

Pastor Stephen Francis was honestly an amazing choice to officiate our wedding!! We had the absolute best ceremony and it is mostly thanks to him. Plus, the premarital counseling he offered us was 100% worth every second. Pastor Francis is an absolute pleasure to work with. He is a genuine, friendly, relatable, and very personable man. I cannot thank him enough for being a huge part of my ceremony. 40 out of 10 stars all around!

We have nothing but great things to say about Pastor Francis. We spoke with other officiants and they were nice, but they all seemed cookie cutter like. From the moment we spoke with Pastor Francis we knew that we wanted him to marry us. We got such a warm and welcoming feeling that we asked him at that moment. The search was over and he was the best choice for us. He took the time to really get to know who we are and what we wanted for our day. Pastor incorporated humor and a special unity ceremony that was fitting of our family. Our overall experience from start to finish was absolutely amazing and I would highly recommend pastor to marry anyone and for those who May need marriage counseling. He’s one in a million.

We were so blessed to have found Pastor Francis to officiate our wedding. In addition to having him officiate our ceremony, he provided us with pre-marital counseling over the phone which my husband and I found to be very beneficial for our future as a married couple. Pastor Francis is a very professional and caring person, he was also very flexible and extremely understanding as we ended up rescheduling our wedding . On our wedding day, he was very punctual and he delivered a very beautiful ceremony. Pastor Francis is not only there to make sure you have an unforgettable ceremony; he is also there for you to make sure your have an everlasting marriage! We are very thankful for him and we highly recommend him!

My husband and I enjoyed every minute getting to know Pastor Stephen Francis. We decided to do premarital counseling with him and we found it extremely helpful in opening up the doors to important and meaningful conversations that he facilitated quite well. When it came to the actual wedding things were just as spectacular. He kept in consistent contact with us, worked with us to see what we wanted included in the ceremony to make sure it fit our personalities, and overall just did an amazing job. We had a beautiful ceremony and SO MANY people came up to us after saying what a great job he did. He’s very laid back and personable but also takes his job and your marriage very seriously. Hiring pastor Stephen Francis was definitely the best choice we made regarding our wedding. We cannot recommend him enough!

Stephen was an absolutely amazing officiant, we highly recommend! Over the months leading up to the wedding, we really got to know Stephen as he mentored us. He spoke from true experience as a married man himself, and taught us lessons we use all the time. Thanks Stephen!

We had such a great experience working with Pastor Stephen from our first pre-wedding classes where he had us ask each other and ourselves thought-provoking questions to prepare for our marriage, to the rehearsal when he made sure the whole thing ran smoothly and that we were 100% comfortable no matter how many times we had to run it through (we only needed it twice! 😂), to the beautiful ceremony on our special day. So many of our guests still talk about how amazing and moving the ceremony was! Thank you so much for everything!

My husband and I are spiritual but we do not have a church home. We wanted an officiant that was not just qualified but also relatable. The moment I spoke to Pastor Francis, I knew he was the right person. Not only did Pastor Francis ordain our marriage, he also offered 5 sessions of premarital counseling. Topics covered were facilitated with the use of a book titled: Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts , which also included a workbook that my husband and I had to read and answer questions based on our individual beliefs. My experience with the premarital counseling sessions were phenomenal. The tools we gained to improve our communication were so helpful. Also my husband, like most men, shy away from counseling sessions. Initially he was reluctant to participate lol! He said to me "All we need is someone to marry us and that I always want to be extra!" But after our first session with Pastor Francis, my husband was praising him and asking me if he should find out if the Pastor does individual counseling sessions because he felt very comfortable talking to him; especially about his feelings on love, family and anything that fell under that umbrella. After we completed the sessions, Pastor Francis orchestrated our wedding rehearsal and helped us prepare for our ceremony by allowing us to select from an array of ceremony readings that were traditional, religious, non religious etc. Once married the Pastor handled the paperwork so that we can obtain our marriage license. From start to finish Pastor Francis was on point! Just an all around amazing person. I would absolutely recommend his services and we look forward to continuing the counseling sessions with him. If you are looking for a Pastor or even a marriage counselor, stop right here. You hit the jackpot.

My husband John and I were blessed to have Pastor Stephen officiate our wedding. Throughout our time with him he was so wonderful to work with. He made us so comfortable and we felt very connected. Besides us, our guests raved about what a beautiful ceremony he performed. He completely tailored everything to our needs and wants while giving us helpful suggestions along the way. If you are looking for a memorable experience at the altar I highly suggest Pastor Stephen.

Pastor Stephen was nothing less than amazing. We hired him 4 weeks before our small wedding ceremony and we were in contact at least weekly Leading up to our event. He was punctual and very professional the day of and was able to tailor the ceremony to exactly what we wanted. So happy with our decision and would recommened.

Pastor steven was always available and wonderful to speak to. He was patient and wanted to make sure that our wedding ceremony was just the way we wanted. I was much calmer knowing that he had everything taken care of :)

Pastor Stephen was absolutely amazing and we couldn't have asked for a better officiant for our wedding. Pastor Stephen made sure to go over all the details with us,made sure everything was exactly how we wanted it, and even tried helping us with stuff that wasn't his job. He went above and beyond our expectations and I would absolutely recommend him to everyone. Thank you Pastor Stephen for making our wedding day wonderful!

Pastor Stephen was absolutely phenomenal! We opted for the premarital counseling and he was so easy to talk to, very down to earth while also being profession and offering great advice. He was amazing at our rehearsal and was a wonderful speaker when he wed us. We feel blessed to have had him enter our lives! Thank you!

Pastor Francis was nothing short but the best. My wife and I did the 3 pre-marital classes with him over the phone and had him officiate our wedding last week. He was polite, professional and prompt. We went over the ceremony over the phone a few days before and it sounded even more compassionate in person. He arrived 30 minutes prior to ceremony starting. He gathered everyone to start getting seated when the time came. He had some very beautiful words to say that even my parents came up to him after and said thank you. We would like to Thank Pastor Francis again for marrying us in front of our families, friends and God.

Pastor Stephen officiated our wedding on 1/25/20 and he did an amazing job! We wanted a non-religious ceremony and he really worked with us to tailor the ceremony to exactly our liking and gave great suggestions! He was extremely nice, professional and easy to work with! I would recommend him to anyone!

Stephen officiated the ceremony for our October 19th wedding and we couldn't be happier with how things turned out! Right from the beginning, Stephen presented himself in a professional manner while his clear passion for his work as a Pastor confirmed we made the right choice. He went above and beyond with helping us figure out our ceremony style and was always available to answer any questions we had. Stephen reached out on multiple occasions leading up to the wedding in order to discuss ceremony details, and worked closely with us to ensure everything was exactly how we wanted it. We received numerous compliments from friends and family on how well Stephen did officiating our ceremony. We highly recommend him to anyone getting married in the future, no matter the style of ceremony you are looking for!

Great and quick ceremony. Stephen and was very professional and patient. He helps you along the way to customize your ceremony options and was a pleasure to meet and work with. Highly recommend.

My partner, Ayinde, and I were in a long-distance relationship when we contacted Pastor Stephen for pre-marital counseling -- I was working in Ecuador and Ayinde was working in New York. We were interested in a Christian Pastor who was affordable, flexible, and willing to communicate with us virtually because we were planning and preparing for our marriage from two different countries. Pastor Stephen was very understanding of our situation and worked with us accordingly to make sure our desire to be happily married became a reality. He made two orders of the “Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts” book set by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott, for us to read and discuss during the premarital sessions. He referred to scriptures from the Holy Bible and shared practical stories from his own marriage to help us better understand some of the principles mentioned in the pre-marital books. He traveled from upstate NY to Brooklyn NY to help us with the wedding rehearsal and mailed our marriage license to the City Clerk following the wedding ceremony. He went above and beyond to make sure we had the resources necessary to complete premarital counseling and have a heartfelt wedding ceremony. We couldn’t have asked for a better wedding officiant and therefore highly recommends Pastor Stephen.

I absolutely wish I could give Stephen 1000 stars!!!!!!! We originally found him on The Knot and only wanted use of his Officiant services. It quickly became apparent that premarital counseling couldn’t hurt. It was one of the best decisions of our lives!!! Stephen took the time to walk us through our marriage expectations, our communication skills and our relationship with God. He was amazing!! Then he tailored the wedding vows to our personal style. On the day of the wedding, he made himself available to both of us and even led a prayer for the men which brought my husband to tears. Our service was wonderful and Stephen was an amazing part of it. We plan to continue with post-martial counseling. He’s stuck with us for life!!!!

Being a member of Valley Christian Church, it was important to us that we be married with our Pastors. When my fiance asked Pastor Stephen to marry us he was met with an excited and warm response. Going through premarital counseling we both knew Pastors Stephen and Jasmine would ask us the hard questions, challenge us to grow and help us set up a Godly foundation for our marriage. On our wedding day Pastor Jasmine prayed with me, walked me to the ceremony entrance and made sure everything was right on schedule. Walking down the aisle seeing Pastor Stephen alongside my groom was exactly what we hoped for. We are so grateful for Pastors Stephen and Jasmine Francis!

Pastor Stephen & his wife gave us pre-marriage counseling in a more condensed time frame than is typical (we were engaged for 3 months). But we never felt overwhelmed or rushed in our sessions. We appreciated the workbooks to get us thinking & talking about various topics. Pastor Stephen also officiated our tiny outdoor ceremony & we can't say enough good things! Highly recommend.

I found this vendor from the knot app. at first I was skeptical to use a pastor i found from an app but it was perfect! Beautiful ceremony that fit us perfectly.

Our experience with Pastor Stephen was a wonderful one. From our first counseling session to our wedding day and beyond he was supportive and an amazing guide. He is super friendly and we both felt like we could talk to him and his wife Jasmine about anything for hours. They are a great couple with whom we adored spending time with. They were great role models for us as a young couple. Pastor Stephen gave us the opportunity to fully customize our ceremony, but also guided us along the way and gave us a variety of text to use as a starting point. We were beyond pleased with the ceremony itself, the whole thing went completely smooth and everyone loved the tone, how the ceremony flowed, and how short yet meaningful our ceremony was. Our guests complimented us about Pastor Stephen and the way he delivered our union. We look forward to renewing our vows with him!!

From the first time we met Pastor Stephen and his wife, Jasmine, we knew they would be perfect for our wedding. Through out the pre-wedding process to the day of, Pastor Stephen and Jasmine were attentive to all our needs/concerns. Their warm and personable personalities made it easy to open up during our pre-marital counseling and their advice and wisdom go beyond their years. Pastor Stephen gave us options for the wedding vows which was helpful in personalizing our nuptials, in addition to integrating our own special touches to our ceremony. It all came together perfectly!! We highly recommend Pastor Stephen.

Stephen and his lovely wife made our special day perfect. From the premarital counseling to the day of the wedding. They were great and worked around our crazy schedules. They are real down to earth people who are easy to talk to and get your feelings across. They are great listeners and give excellent advice. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for them and our church valley Christian church. God bless. - Vinny and Bree

Pastor Stephen Francis and his wife Jasmine provided both pre-marital counselling and officiant services. This is a second marriage for both my husband and I, so my husband was a little skeptical about the counselling services. However, we both greatly benefited from the marriage counselling. Stephen and Jasmine were flexible and accommodating to our crazy work schedules. They were very personable and helpful in giving us counsel and advise in our upcoming nuptials, blended family and some of the issues we were facing. Their advice have already helped us since. Pastor Francis provided different wedding vows and was willing to incorporate our own. It was a great experience, I highly recommend him.