Creative, Innovative, Warm & Welcoming
$500 starting price
San Francisco Bay Area
Service area
Howard Steiermann
OFFICIANT
Typically responds within 24h
AWARD WINNER (1X)
Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
Based in San Francisco, CA, Howard M. Steiermann offers officiating services for your wedding day. Howard is an ordained non-denominational minister and rabbi who loves to help you craft a beautiful, meaningful ceremony that expresses your love and joy. His decades of experience will ensure a relaxing and enjoyable wedding day with warmly welcomed guests and a unique celebration of love.
Howard fondly remembers witnessing weddings at the church in his hometown. He would sit across the street, eagerly awaiting the triumphant exit of the newlyweds and their loved ones. Howard is a true lover of love and is constantly moved by a wedding’s public declaration of commitment and partnership.
Howard M Steiermann welcomes couples of all denominations and backgrounds, ensuring that your wedding ceremony encompasses your unique traditions and beliefs. Howard will work with you to personalize your day perfectly, engaging and delighting your loved ones. Whether your wedding is traditional, single-religion, or a civil union, Howard will be with you every step of the way to see you off on your married journey. You can contact him today to learn more about his services.
LGBTQ+-owned Business
Speaks English
Prices & packages
Couples usually spend $1,036
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Details
Ceremony Types
Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Elopement
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Second Wedding
Vow Renewal Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
Interfaith
Jewish
Secular
Spiritual
Wedding Activities
Wedding
Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
Any questions?
Meet the team
Howard Steiermann
Officiant
Growing up, there was a large church in the center of my hometown. I recall sitting on a bench across the street, excitingly anticipating the bride + grooms' joyous exit out the double doors, surrounded by their cheering family and friends.Weddings still excite me. I enjoy crafting personalized ceremonies and rituals. I love wishing a couple well as they embark on life’s journey. I am a lifelong romantic. I am always moved by a couple's “I do’s” ~ by hearing their public declaration of love and partnership. I look forward to working with you on your special day.
Availability
Reviews
5.0
out of 5.015 reviews
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Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Howard, a highly recommended wedding officiant, is described as kind, thoughtful, patient, and professional by multiple reviewers. Couples praised his ability to create personalized and meaningful ceremonies that honored their traditions and reflected their relationship. Howard's cultural sensitivity, inclusivity, attention to detail, and professionalism were highlighted as factors that made their wedding ceremonies unforgettable and special. Overall, couples highly recommend Howard for his exceptional services in helping create memorable wedding experiences.- Top reviews
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Tori M
5.0
11/28/2024
Howard is so kind, thoughtful, patient and professional. Thank you so much for everything.
Rachel M
5.0
9/30/2024
Howard was a joy to work with! He met with us multiple times leading up to the wedding to get to know us as people, as a couple, and to fully understand our relationship to religion and Judaism and worked together with us to craft a ceremony that honored Jewish tradition yet still felt perfectly us. He's totally open to meeting you where you are spiritually and his passion and skill for creating a fully customized ceremony was excellent. We received many compliments from guests that this was one of their favorite ceremonies to witness and that they "could truly feel *us* within the ceremony."
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Meera L
5.0
9/23/2024
We had a great experience working with Rabbi Steiermann! Because of his guidance, our ceremony went from being the part of our wedding we were most apprehensive about to the part we were most excited for and proud of. He was very culturally sensitive, curious, and welcoming, and we would especially recommend him for anyone having a multicultural or interfaith wedding like ours.
Elliot K
5.0
8/14/2024
Rabbi Howard was absolutely incredible. My wife, Marissa, and I had a destination wedding in Napa (coming from NYC) and he made us feel so comfortable during the ceremony and the months leading up. His demeanor was A+ and we could not have been more fortunate to have been introduced to him. We both highly recommend his services - you won't regret it!
Yoni H
5.0
7/27/2024
Howard was simply the best. He took time to get to know my wife and I and made sure to include things he learned about us in a gorgeous and meaningful ceremony. Not only was Howard kind, caring, and genuine, but he is also an absolute professional with the pre and post wedding details (for all the legal things we weren't aware of). We also couldn't have been more thrilled to have his insight an suggestions with our ceremony, vows, and overall organization of the moments leading up and shortly after the ceremony itself. Our guests couldn't stop sharing how special Howard's words were. He is so inclusive and was able to weave a mix of religion (jewish, emphasis on the "ish" and non-secular) and ensured that all cultures were so well respected. To put it simply, Howard made our wedding so incredibly special we have to recommend him to any couple getting married. Thank you, Howard - you made our day so amazingly special!
Dave G
5.0
7/18/2024
Howard was great. Got several compliments after the ceremony from attendees! definitely recommend
Amber M
5.0
6/16/2024
Very professional but kept everything fun even on short notice. Felt very comfortable and relaxed and we had a lovely ceremony tailored to us. Thanks so much!
Darren & Karen M
5.0
6/16/2024
Upon our initial meeting with Howard, we knew we wanted him to perform our wedding ceremony.
He created the most memorable and personal experience for us.
His attention to detail was beyond our expectation.
We absolutely recommend Howard to help create an unforgettable event for your special day.
Amber M
5.0
4/22/2024
Howard was great, would recommend him unreservedly. Very personable and performed a great ceremony. Thank you!!
Allison W
5.0
1/30/2024
We cannot say enough about the incredible Howard!! He officiated our wedding a few months ago and it truly was the best part. Every single guest has said to us that it was the best ceremony they have ever been to. Not only did he meet our expectations, but he exceeded them. He met with us multiple times, taking copious notes, and truly listened to everything we asked for. He took aspects of our life and incorporated them into the most beautiful ceremony ever. We feel beyond blessed to have such an incredible memory and we recommend Howard highly for anyone interested! Not only the best Rabbi but also such an amazing person!
Kelsey O
5.0
3/31/2021
Rabbi Steiermann was one of the best parts of our wedding. I myself am not particularly religious, but am spiritual. My husband is Jewish. Finding a Rabbi that could perfectly capture all the Jewish traditions while also speaking to those of other faiths in the room felt impossible until we met Howard. Rabbi Steiermann asked us questions we ourselves hadn't considered and was very thoughtful and responsive throughout the process. Howard was also particularly sensitive to advocating FOR us. We ended up holding a private Ketubah signing prior to our larger ceremony where Howard delivered beautiful messages and sentiments and we read our vows. I really do attribute the calm, loving atmosphere to our Rabbi. Rabbi Steiermann is a rockstar. BOOK IMMEDIATELY.
Maria S
5.0
8/09/2020
We feel so fortunate to have had Howard officiated at our wedding. He is very professional, reliable, friendly, caring, and compassionate. His calm and peaceful demeanor made our wedding a beautiful event, and we had lots of compliments from our friends and family. Howard guided us thoughtfully in preparing for our ceremony and was very empathic and considerate as we are a couple of different faiths and different ethnic backgrounds. He explained things honestly and thoroughly and was open to answering all of our questions.
Because of COVID, Howard FaceTime with us before our wedding to learn more about us. That, to me, was fantastic because, after that, he was no longer a stranger. He guided us and reviewed our vows. On the day of the ceremony, he was very organized, and his words were so soothing and specialty tailor to us that made our wedding ceremony so incredibly beautiful and enjoyable. He was incredibly supportive, and we highly recommend it.
We can’t even express how pleased we are with every aspect of Howard’s Officiant service! He far surpassed our expectations in every way, delivering a perfectly customized ceremony and executing it flawlessly! Howard was warm, funny, professional, prompt, and gave me lots of personal attention. Many thanks, Howard!”
Dalia F
5.0
11/20/2019
We are so grateful that Howard was able to officiate for our wedding. We wanted a ceremony that would incorporate traditional Jewish elements, but also be relatable and understandable for our friends and family who are not Jewish, and to be a reflection of us as a couple. We requested no mention of God, and Howard easily presented us with alternative options, and kept the ceremony in the spirit of the Jewish tradition, with modern English interpretations of Hebrew blessings. He was also so lovely to work with leading up to the wedding — we met several times in person, and exchanged countless emails fine-tuning all of the details. We were initially worried about what to do about our vows since we didn’t intend to share our vows publicly with our guests, and Howard was so supportive in suggesting vow options that would create a ceremony that was comfortable for us. Howard also constantly encouraged us to stay true to ourselves and our wishes throughout the whole process, which was so helpful to keep focused on what we imagined for this key part of our wedding day. He has a confident and calming presence that made us feel secure in knowing he had the ceremony handled, which was such a relief to know the ceremony was something we did not need to stress or worry about when planning all of the other details that go into a wedding. We couldn't recommend Howard more!
Margit D
5.0
11/25/2018
Howard co-officiated at my son's wedding with the bride's aunt Sally. They created a beautiful ceremony that was very personal and moving with a delightful touch of humor. It was stunning how the ceremony uniquely reflected the bride and groom and how the preferences of both families were honored. Howard and Sally collaborated long distance but guests thought they regularly worked as an officiant team. I already knew that Howard would create a lovely, meaningful, inclusive ceremony on his own. Now I am so impressed with his ability to also create such a special ceremony working with another officiant.
Anna S
5.0
11/22/2018
Howard was the best wedding officiant we could ever have hoped for. He designed a lovely, bespoke ceremony for us that was beautiful and elegant and touching, and felt inclusive for everyone in attendance.
We are LGBTQ, with Jewish and non-denominational protestant families, we're originally from Atlanta and Austin, and we live in San Francisco, so our ceremony had to be a delicate mix. Howard asked us all the right questions to make our ceremony reflect who we are and was especially focused on making our ceremony inclusive. We especially appreciated that he was able to take Jewish traditions and make them current, relevant and digestible for the mostly non-Jewish crowd.
We had been planning on having a friend officiate, but that fell through about six weeks before the wedding, and Howard was awesome about jumping in. We really only had the vaguest idea of what we wanted out of our ceremony, and Howard gently guided us through the process. Howard provided structure where we needed it, and was a voice of calm throughout the whole thing. We knew we were in good hands and that we wouldn't have to worry about the ceremony.
And we were right: we got so many compliments on the ceremony! Our parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, and even our DJ and photographer told us how touching it was.
We highly, highly recommend Howard. He's thoughtful, experienced and open-minded; he has just the right mix of gravitas and lightheartedness. He created the most beautiful ceremony for us--we'll never forget it, and we're so happy we chose him.
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Howard M Steiermann Ordained Wedding Officiant
Howard Steiermann
|
Officiant
Typically responds within 24h
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