Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
Rites of Passage, LLC is a wedding officiant service based in Burlington, VT. Whether you envision a religious, interfaith, or secular ceremony for your wedding, founder Kristabeth Atwood will ensure that it reflects your unique love story as you tie the knot. With Kristabeth, you will have the experience of co-creating your ceremony so every aspect is meaningful to you.
Kristabeth has over 25 years of officiating experience, from elopements to large-scale weddings. With a Master’s degree from Bangor Theological Seminary, she brings a wealth of knowledge and invites collaboration to achieve your wedding vision. She welcomes couples of all gender expressions and identities and finds joy in getting to know each couple before the big day.
With Rites of Passage, you will receive a fully customizable experience. After learning about your unique values, traditions, and dreams, Kristabeth will weave them together and craft a beautiful personalized ceremony. She can assist with writing vows and guide you toward readings that fit your style. Although wedding packages are unique to each couple, all include face-to-face consultations (Zoom or in person), a custom ceremony, a draft review, and rehearsal attendance. Kristabeth believes your wedding is one of life’s most joyful transitions and is eager to participate in your special day.
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
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Meet the team
Kristabeth Atwood
Owner
For 25 years, I’ve been honored to companion people through the transitions of their lives. During my 18 years as a church pastor, I designed and officiated weddings for my congregation and community. Today, I bring my pastor’s heart to my work with people of all identities and spiritual and secular worldviews offering custom wedding ceremonies to celebrate each couple's unique love story.
I currently live in Burlington, Vermont with my husband and dogs, Cider and Nigel. In my free time, I love walking in the woods, reading novels, cooking, or trying to brew the perfect cup of tea!
Reviews
5.0
out of 5.0
14 reviews
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Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Kristabeth, the officiant, received glowing reviews for her exceptional services in creating personalized and meaningful wedding ceremonies. Reviewers praised her patience, professionalism, and ability to incorporate unique elements, such as traditional and cultural aspects, into the ceremonies. Kristabeth was commended for her attention to detail, organization, and open communication throughout the planning process. Couples appreciated her thoughtful and caring approach, which resulted in beautiful and memorable ceremonies, making her highly recommended for creating special and intimate wedding experiences.
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 4
Allie O
5.0
10/22/2025
We loved working with Kristabeth. She was experienced, friendly, and helped us decide the details of our ceremony. Our guests thought she was great, too. Highly recommend!
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 10/23/2025
Thank you so much! Your wedding was beautiful and it was a delight to work with you.
Cyndi R
5.0
9/30/2025
Kristabeth created the perfect ceremony for us. We didn't really know what we wanted, but knew it had to be meaningful. Kristabeth really took the time to get to know each of us. S...
he was kind, loving, and patient. She guided us through each section of the ceremony giving us options which allowed us to make it our own. We are forever grateful for the beautiful ceremony she helped us create.
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 09/30/2025
Thank you for the joy of working with you to create your ceremony! I was great to get to k...
now you both and be with you on your special day.
Any questions?
Neuvic M
5.0
8/27/2025
Hello all,
I enjoyed working with the officiant Kristabeth Atwood for my wedding ceremony. She was such an incredible resource to me and my wife. She guided me throughout the whole...
process and provided key insights to prepare for our wedding ceremony from the first day I reached out to her up to the wedding day. The officiant was very professional and polite in her communication. She was so patient to listen to our love story and knew how to relate it to the public. Most importantly she was such a kind and loving person with a positive spirit. She communicated only positive energies to me and my wife which was necessary to move forward with the wedding preparations. In addition, she was open, flexible and ready to help anytime we got stuck with something. Officiant Kristabeth is such a loving and caring person. She is mindful of respecting people's culture and tradition and knew the types of wedding traditions she could suggest to us as she picked up our traditional needs. The officiant provided timely and clear feedback to our questions. Overall, I recommend officiant Kristabeth to those who are looking for a professional and caring officiant who can provide the right insights for a successful wedding ceremony. She was a blessing to our marriage.
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 09/30/2025
It was such a joy to work with you both. I enjoyed learning more about your culture and tr...
aditions!
Lauren P
5.0
6/18/2025
Kristabeth helped us to create a wonderful and personal wedding ceremony. She provided so many helpful resources, took the time to get to know us and our story, and was very organi...
zed and communicative throughout the process. We would highly recommend working with her!
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 06/18/2025
It was wonderful to work with you and Emmett, Lauren! Your wedding was beautiful. It was a...
joy to be part of your special day. Thank you!
Kyra R
5.0
6/11/2025
Krystabeth was absolutely wonderful to work with! Though my husband and I were planning a wedding from several states away, Krystabeth was extremely accommodating and worked with u...
s over multiple phone calls and zoom meetings, taking her time to get to know us and capture our story. We felt like she truly focused on our love story, which was enjoyed by so many of our guests. I can’t recommend her enough!!
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 06/12/2025
Kyra, it was a joy to work with you and Jherell! Thank you for the trust you placed in me ...
and the chance to help you celebrate your love!
Danielle H
5.0
10/18/2024
We had the pleasure of working with Kristabeth for our October 2024 elopement ceremony. Kristabeth was so attentive and engaged in learning about our story and our dreams to incorp...
orate them into a beautiful, meaningful and one-of-a-kind ceremony. Our ceremony was personal and intimate, and Kristabeth helped us to incorporate so many wonderful elements to make it unique. We will always cherish the memory of our beautiful ceremony!
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 10/18/2024
Thank you for the opportunity to work with you to create your beautiful fall wedding in th...
e Green Mountains! It was a delight!
Ashley H
5.0
10/09/2024
Had the honor of working with Kristabeth for my small wedding in Ludlow, Vt! She worked very closely and diligently to give us the best ceremony. We are pagan and did a handfasting...
ritual at our ceremony, and she had so many great ideas for which way we did it! The ceremony was smooth and beautiful. We couldn’t be more happy with the turn out!
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 10/10/2024
Thank you, Ashley! It was a joy to work with you and David!
Shanti G
5.0
8/23/2024
Kristabeth was wonderful to work with! She helped us create a beautiful ceremony for our family. She was warm, grounded, insightful and creative. She brought a wealth of resources ...
and ideas to help us create the ideal ceremony. Many of our guests remarked on how lovely the ceremony was! We highly recommend Kristabeth!
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 08/23/2024
Thank you, Shanti! It was a joy to work with you and Sandy!
Emma W
5.0
8/14/2024
Kristabeth was the perfect officiant. She was lovely and easy to communicate and work with. She happily hiked up a little trail to a meaningful spot in Vermont - all to make our d...
ream elopement ceremony happen. Her voice and words were beautiful and comforting. We felt completely at ease. I’m so glad we found her!
Jeni G
5.0
3/25/2024
Kristabeth is just so wonderful. She spent a good bit of quality time getting to know us before our wedding and it truly showed in the service she officiated. She is warm and thoug...
htful. She worked hard to weave in bits of each of us and our story along with the traditional elements we requested. Several family and friends commented to us that the ceremony was very “us” and fit our union so well. A true testament to the love and care she puts into her work.
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 03/26/2024
Your winter wedding was magical! Thank you and blessings!
Kristi C
5.0
3/10/2024
We were looking for a simple elopement ceremony and Kristabeth put together a beautiful personalized ceremony while keeping it simple like we wanted. She provided a lot of resource...
s and met with us several times, via video chat, to make sure everything was the way we wanted it.
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 03/20/2024
Thank you so much, Kristi! Your wedding was such fun!
Andrea C
5.0
3/08/2024
Being a second marriage for both of us, we wanted a very intimate and unique wedding experience, which Kristabeth so masterfully provided for us! I remember our first meeting with ...
her, she asked, what do you want to remember about the ceremony years from now? That guided every other piece of the planning. Getting married on our favorite beach with our personal story shared was so meaningful. We created the script so it was exactly what we wanted. And, yes, when I think back now on that day, what I wanted to remember from it IS what I remember. We were both incredibly happy with the whole experience!
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 03/20/2024
Thank you, Andrea! It was great working with you and Ken. Your wedding day touched my hear...
t!
Melina G
5.0
3/07/2024
We loved working with Kristabeth for our wedding! She is very thorough and makes it easy to schedule meetings via video chat. We love that she took the time to get to know us as a ...
couple and was open to customized ceremony requests. She is very kind and welcoming. All in all, everything went very smoothly and we are glad she was a part of our wedding day!
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 03/20/2024
Thank you, Melina! It was such a joy working with you and Siobhan.
John L
5.0
3/05/2024
Kristabeth, Rites of Passage, knocked it out of the park preparing us for the wedding day and marriage, and then leading the ceremony. Everything went perfectly and we stayed calm...
throughout, mostly thanks to Kristabeth's presence. I get stressed easily and my spouse is a type A but neither of us experienced any stress on the day of or before.
Perhaps the best and most meaningful part of using Rites of Passage for our wedding was how well Kristabeth listens. We felt heard all throughout.
We never doubted that we were in good hands. The best of hands.
Response from Rites of Passage, LLC on 03/20/2024
Thank you, John! It was a joy working with you and Danielle!
