Mary Esther Officiants + Premarital Counseling

Reverend Don Goodrum-Wedding as You Wish

Christian wedding minister for the FL panhandle

from Pensacola to Fort Walton to Destin to Panama City, FL

Service area

5.0

Praised by couples for:

Officiant

Great Planner

Seasoned Professional

Fantastic! We loved the ceremony and how well put together it was. Don is very good at his job and took the time to explain everything and asked lots of questions to make sure we got everything we wanted

Paige C.

5.0

Don was wonderful! Efficient and had great communication. We had an elopement on the beach and we are so happy that he was apart of our special day. Make your day easy and book Don!

Ebony M.

5.0

Reverend Don Goodrum

OWNER

Typically responds within 24h

AWARD WINNER (6X)

Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot

Based in Mary Esther, FL, Reverend Don Goodrum-Wedding as You Wish officiates Christian weddings throughout the Emerald Coast. For more than 20 years, Rev. Don has presided over thousands of ceremonies and been God's representative at couples' celebrations of love. Reverend Don Goodrum-Wedding as You Wish feels called to helping brides and grooms commemorate their love before God. He was first licensed as a minister through the Southern Baptist Convention in 1984 and was ordained by the Universal Life Church in 2002. He now officiates weddings across the Florida Panhandle, including Pensacola, Panama City, and Destin. Reverend Don Goodrum-Wedding as You Wish is passionate about ensuring that your ceremony feels uniquely you. He will work closely with you to design a day that honors your and your partner's love story and personalities. From Star Trek-themed nuptials to intimate elopements on the beach, Don has conducted a wide range of festivities. He offers traditional script templates, help with writing vows, running of the rehearsal, and pre-marital counseling.

25+ years in business

Speaks English

Just me

Details

Ceremony Types

Civil Union

Commitment Ceremony

Elopement

Interfaith Ceremony

Non-Religious Ceremony

Religious Ceremony

Second Wedding

Vow Renewal Ceremony

Religious Affiliations

Christian

Protestant

Wedding Activities

Premarital Counseling

Wedding

Ceremony

Awards and Affiliations

6-Time 'Best of Weddings'

2026.2025.2024.+3 more.

Hall of Fame

Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.

Join couples who chose award-winning vendors for their wedding

Meet the team

Reverend Don Goodrum

Owner

For almost twenty years now, Reverend Don Goodrum has been performing weddings along Florida's Emerald Coast. Licensed by the Southern Baptist Convention and ordained by the Universal LIfe Church, he attended the MIdwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. He moved to Florida in 1999 and began performing beach weddings in 2001. Over the years, his ministry has grown until he is one of the busiest wedding officiants in the area, performing on average one hundred weddings a year. To date he has performed almost three thousand weddings, mostly religious, and all of them very special.

5.0

out of 5.0

122 reviews

Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.

Review Summary

This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.

Don is an experienced, professional officiant who communicates promptly, is punctual, and creates personalized, heartfelt ceremonies that guests praise. He handles logistics (license filing, rehearsal, premarital counseling), accommodates last-minute requests, and puts couples at ease. Highly recommended.

Search reviews

Amber H

Highlighted review.

6/29/2024

Don was the completion to our Weddjng day! He was so informative from the beginning, explained everything, took the time to see what we needed and desired for our big day, and felt...

like speaking with a longtime friend! Honestly, could not have been happier with his professionalism. He checked in advance with us to make sure everything went as expected and smoothly as possible. He was prompt, friendly, funny and kind. He captured our vision and ensured each of our children had a part to play in our ceremony. Please consider choosing Don for your important day, he will ensure it is done to your preference and make you feel completely at ease! The happily wed, The Hookers!! (Amber and Christopher)

Paige C

9/20/2026

Fantastic! We loved the ceremony and how well put together it was. Don is very good at his job and took the time to explain everything and asked lots of questions to make sure we g...

ot everything we wanted

Any questions?

Ebony M

9/05/2026

Don was wonderful! Efficient and had great communication. We had an elopement on the beach and we are so happy that he was apart of our special day. Make your day easy and book Don...

Tammie C

8/30/2026

Don did amazing as our officiant! It was a perfect day!

Makenzie R

6/12/2026

Don Goodman was absolutely wonderful as our wedding officiant. From the very beginning, he was kind, professional, and genuinely invested in making our ceremony special. He took th...

e time to get to know us and created a ceremony that felt personal, meaningful, and true to our relationship. On our wedding day, he helped create a warm and relaxed atmosphere while still making the moment feel incredibly special. His words were heartfelt, and he delivered everything with such grace and sincerity. We received so many compliments from our families about how beautiful the ceremony was. We are so grateful to Don for being such an important part of our day. If you’re looking for an officiant who is caring, thoughtful, and truly passionate about what he does, we highly recommend him!

Kelly S

6/11/2026

Don Goodrum officiated our wedding in Florida. He did an amazing job. He was very efficient with communication and had great professionalism. Overall, it was a wonderful experience...

Jennifer G

6/11/2026

💒💗just married! June 1!! Reverend Don was professional and made us feel very comfortable for our big day. He communicated well ahead of the wedding date. He kept in close conta...

ct the days leading to our ceremony. He has a great personality and calming presence. Great review, highly recommend! Jen and Jeff

Jayson S

6/11/2026

Don did an outstanding job officiating our wedding. To be honest, we didn't spend a lot of time planning the ceremony itself. My wife spoke with Don on the phone for a short conve...

rsation before the wedding, and that was about it. Because of that, I wasn't really sure what to expect. What impressed me most was how thoughtful and personal the ceremony felt despite the limited preparation. Don took the time to understand what was important to us and delivered a ceremony that reflected both of our personalities and exactly the type of wedding we wanted. Nothing felt generic or scripted. On the day of the wedding, Don was professional, organized, and made everything feel easy. He guided the ceremony naturally and struck the right balance between being meaningful, personal, and relaxed. One of the things I appreciated most was that Don didn't make the process complicated. We were looking for a simple ceremony that still felt special and authentic to us, and he delivered exactly that. If you're looking for an officiant who can create a personal and memorable ceremony without requiring months of planning and meetings, I highly recommend Don. Thank you again, Don, for helping make our day exactly what we hoped it would be.

Michelle V

6/01/2026

Don was a great officiant! We knew exactly what to expect day-of because of his exceptional communication leading up to our ceremony, and we received many compliments from guests a...

bout how wonderful he was. I would recommend Don without hesitation.

Megan R

5/24/2026

Did a simple elopement for us on the beach! He made it short and simple just like we were wanting.

Lauryn A

5/11/2026

Don was amazing!! We were from out of state and didn’t meet in person until the rehearsal dinner the night before!! Our ceremony was beautiful. Highly professional, affordable & co...

uldn’t have asked for a better officiant!

Jamie B

3/04/2026

BEAUTIFUL CEREMONY! WITHOUT KNOWING US, REV DON KNEW US! GOD IS GREAT! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Kristy D

2/25/2026

We are so grateful to Reverend Don for marrying us. From our very first phone call, he took the time to truly understand what we were hoping for in our ceremony. He listened though...

tfully, asked meaningful questions, and make us feel completely at ease. He touched base with us before the ceremony, which gave us peace of mind. On the day itself, he was punctual, calm and very professional. The ceremony was what we had envisioned - heartfelt, personal and beautifully delivered. Thank you Reverend Don for making our day so special.

Jenna C

12/05/2025

We had Rev Don Goodrum as our officiant for our wedding ceremony. He was so easy to communicate with; we always had fast responses from him (same day, usually less than 10-15 min a...

t most). He was always respectful of our time; he let us pick the meeting cadences leading up to the wedding and reached out as expected for all our touchpoints. The ceremony itself was perfect for us - duration, message. Several guests even told us how much they liked his words. He includes a lot of services for his pricing- he filed the marriage license for us and even conducted premarital counseling. Highly recommend!

Ian W

12/01/2025

My officiant dropped out last minute and don could not have been more understanding and accommodating for us. Despite getting just 2 days of notice he did our rehearsal and our cer...

emony and he did a fantastic job. He has great stage presence and really knows how to speak to a crowd. Thank you Don! You really came through for us in a stressful moment and I couldn't be more appreciative.

Amy K

10/17/2025

Don was the Best! From beginning till the end. He contacted me through email & text before the wedding. He provided all info needed for my big day. Great personality which de...

finitely helped the day go smooth. I would recommend Don for any wedding! You won’t be disappointed

Lisa H

9/14/2025

On our wedding day, Rev. Don Goodrum delivered the ceremony beautifully, heartfelt and full of warmth. We are so grateful for the time, energy and love that made our wedding d...

ay so unforgettable. We would wholeheartedly recommend Don Goodrum to any couple looking for someone who truly cares about making their wedding so unforgettable. He is a quick responder, which I really appreciated being an anxious bride-to-be. We also appreciated his helpful tips after the ceremony as to how to handle our licensure afterwards. We will use Don Goodrum again for any future vow renewal plans.

Bambi V

9/03/2025

"We had the most perfect, low-key wedding thanks to Weddings As You Wish! From the start, we knew we wanted something simple and intimate, and he understood our vision completely. ...

The ceremony was beautiful and personal—the officiant, Don Goodrum, wove our love story in so seamlessly. We wouldn't change a thing and are so grateful for a perfect, simple, and unforgettable day."

Karly R

8/27/2025

Don was absolutely amazing! We loved how he made our ceremony so personal. Everyone at our wedding loved him as well and was super impressed with how he led the ceremony. He even m...

ade the drive to Orange Beach to us from Florida! Awesome all the way around!

Ashlee G

7/29/2025

Don was wonderful! He helped us navigate getting our marriage license, printed our vows, and drove over an hour in the rain to marry us on the beach. He spoke beautiful words of en...

couragement and made our day truly special.

Jennifer P

7/29/2025

We did a destination wedding where all correspondents were done through email and phone. Everyone made everything easy, flawless, and PERFECT!! Don Goodrum performed the most intim...

ate and special ceremony I could have ever imagined! Even though we had only known each other through phone and email, we felt Don had been our minister for years. He continues to be available to us for any counseling and relationship needs, which shows how much he cherishes his role in our wedding and unity. Don will forever be a part of our marriage and family!

Alisha W

6/19/2025

Don was absolutely amazing! We planned a very last minute elopement on St. George island and he made everything happen! He was nice and very prompt and we had a beautiful sunrise w...

edding!

alla e

5/21/2025

Don was so kind and easy to work with! Our preferences were respected and the ceremony went off without a glitch. Would 100% recommend

Madison O

3/10/2025

I would highly recommend Don. The ceremony was excellent and we received numerous comments on what an amazing job he did!

Kadie W

2/11/2025

Don Goodrum was very helpful for our big day! A very kind and sincere human being. He was very professional and helped answer any questions that we had. He viewed us as people fir...

st and not just a job!

Emily F

2/04/2025

Don was very knowledgeable about the marriage process and helped make our day personal by catering the ceremony to our personalities. He was timely, easy to communicate with, and v...

ery organized.

Maegan G

12/16/2024

We couldn’t have asked for a better officiant for our wedding! Don was professional, very nice and made every effort to ensure our ceremony was perfect. Don was also incredibly org...

anized and patient, which helped ease any pre-wedding nerves and made the process easy. If you’re looking for someone to make your ceremony unforgettable, we recommend Don!

Taylor H

11/18/2024

Don was professional, kind and punctual! He made us feel so comfortable on our big day. 10/10 recommend his services

Lindsey M

11/17/2024

Don did a great job preparing us for what to expect the day of and delivering a great ceremony. He obviously enjoys this job, and he was perfectly professional and personable! Don ...

also was able to keep his composure and keep to his reading even when we had a surprise Blue Angels flyover! We highly recommend Don for your big day.

Shane C

10/28/2024

Don did an amazing job as our officiant for our wedding! He was very professional, responsive to everything we asked for and just a pure delight. I would highly recommend him!

Sarah C

10/22/2024

Don was a perfect fit to our day. He was very professional and personalized everything to us. We would highly recommend him for your special day!

Lisa R

10/11/2024

Don was very professional. He was great about staying in touch throughout the process. Since we aren't local, he took our license back to the courthouse for us. Very pleased with h...

is service.

Maurice B

10/06/2024

Absolutely did everything that we asked for made it short and sweet. He gave really good advice and pointers. It was a beautiful ceremony and he did amazing job.

Amanda B

9/14/2024

Reverend Don was extremely professional and so easy to work with. Anytime I had any questions he was quick to respond and very helpful. He helped our special day be easy and beauti...

ful. We highly Recommend Reverend Don.

Andrea L

9/12/2024

Rev did a great job! He was professional, communicated effectively and made our day very special. Thank you Don!!

Jonathan L

8/27/2024

Don was extremely helpful throughout the leadup and execution of our big day. Allowed us to customize our ceremony to tailor our wants and needs. He even amended our ceremony tim...

eline to accommodate for a sped-up ceremony to allow guests and the wedding party to get out of the heat and into the AC quicker while still retaining a beautiful ceremony. Highly recommend Reverend Don-Goodrum to anyone looking for an officiant in the area.

Nikki B

8/05/2024

Beautiful ceremony.

Molly H

6/30/2024

Don was so kind and generous! He was the perfect officant for us!

Mary Grace S

6/17/2024

Don officiated our wedding and did a great job! We asked Don to do a short, traditional, Christian ceremony, and he did just that! Don's communication was very professional, he tol...

d us everything we needed to know ahead of time. The ceremony was exactly what we were looking for! If you are looking for an officiant that will listen to your wants definitely hire Don!

Katie G

6/04/2024

Rev. Don provided us with a lovely wedding service, though I had several guests come up to me on my wedding day noting that he was not very professional before the service which wa...

s disappointing. In my own personal experience, he tracked me down flustered literal moments before my wedding when the coordinator was attempting to hide me before the start of the ceremony. He wasn't overly friendly to me or my bridal party about the marriage license and asked payment again which was apparently was previously discussed and taken care of with the wedding party prior.

Emilee H

5/13/2024

Don was very cordial and professional throughout the entire process, including our pre-marital counseling. He answered our questions quickly and thoroughly and did a great job duri...

ng our ceremony. Would highly recommend Don!

Lisa D

5/09/2024

Reverend Don Goodrum was incredible! Such a nice intimate service on the beach for our 25th wedding anniversary vow renewal!

Kameron H

5/07/2024

Don officiated our beach wedding May 3rd 2024 and did a fantastic job. He was very professional and even came the night before for rehearsal per our request. Could not recommend hi...

m more!! Thank you Don!

Chelsey S

5/06/2024

Working with Reverend Don was an absolute pleasure from the moment we met him. He made the entire process of preparing for our big day incredibly smooth and stress-free. On the day...

of the wedding, Reverend Don was self-sufficient, calming, and conducted the ceremony with grace and poise. His professionalism, approachability, and prompt communication made us feel confident and comfortable throughout the planning process. Reverend Don checked in with us when needed, ensuring that every aspect of the ceremony reflected our wishes and vision. One of the most beautiful parts of our wedding day was the heartfelt ceremony that Reverend Don crafted based on our preferences and requests. His words truly captured the love and commitment we share, making the moment unforgettable. We are incredibly grateful to Reverend Don for his exceptional service and for helping to make our wedding day so meaningful. We wholeheartedly recommend his services to anyone in search of an officiant who is not only professional and reliable but also genuinely cares about making your special day perfect. Thank you, Reverend Don, for being a part of our journey and for officiating our wedding with such warmth and sincerity.

Ashley W

4/23/2024

Don was exceptionally professional and easy to work with. He was easy to communicate with and arranged the ceremony exactly like we wanted. He was exceptionally well spoken and hea...

rtfelt. We got so many compliments on the him and the ceremony!

Heather S

4/19/2024

We had a lovely experience with Seas The Day Weddings and Reverend Goodrum. Would highly recommend him again! He called and emailed regularly to inquire about all our wants, needs ...

and expectations for the day. It was beautiful and couldn't have been more of a perfect day!!

Jenna A

4/19/2024

Pstr Don was perfect! He touched on my favorite scriptures and sentiments. Made our little ceremony feel personalized and special. Highly recommend!

Piper B

3/28/2024

Don performed a beautiful ceremony for us. He was super responsive with communication and scheduling for the ceremony. He made sure that the ceremony was exactly what we had wanted...

. If you are having your wedding in his area, hire Don for your ceremony.

Carly B

12/19/2023

Don was amazing! He was very intentional and made it a point to get to know us as a couple prior to our wedding. He truly made our day so special! He even stuck it out in the rain ...

during our ceremony! We can not recommend Don enough— we feel so fortunate that he was a part of our special day. He even went out of his way to file our marriage license for us! Thank you so much Don!

Ashlee M

11/10/2023

Reverend was amazing! Very responsive and helpful. Ceremony was great!

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(850) 217-8727

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Reverend Don Goodrum-Wedding as You Wish

Reverend Don Goodrum

Owner

Typically responds within 24h

Reverend Don Goodrum-Wedding as You Wish's photos

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Reverend Don Goodrum-Wedding as You Wish

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Wedding vendors in Mary Esther

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