About this vendor
Celebrating love, in all its forms, Sacred Celebrations, is a wedding officiant service and small venue provider serving Virginia, West Virginia, & Maryland. They have had the privilege and pleasure of creating and performing over 750 significant, intimate, and personal ceremonies. Couples who want a ceremony as unique as their love have come to the right celebrants.
Officiants Brenda and John Berry are creative, innovative, and respectful of all beliefs. Married for more than thirty years, they want others to share in that same joy. Brenda and John can work with you to ensure that the ceremony reflects your personal relationship and wishes.
To create a personal and unique ceremony, the Sacred Celebrations, LLC, officiants ask clients to complete a short questionnaire. The answers give a sense of your personality, and you will often hear your own words echoed back during the ceremony itself. They can officiate all kinds of ceremonies, from Pagan to Christian and everything in between. Serving Virginia, Western Maryland, and Pennsylvania, Sacred Celebrations specializes in spiritual, secular, interfaith, and interestingly themed weddings, such as the Celtic Handfasting.
If you need a venue, we can provide that too! Available for 2024 and beyond, Sacred Celebrations’ Appalachian Wedding Chapel and Boutique is nestled alongside the healing waters of the beautiful Cacapon River in the quaint town of Capon Bridge, West Virginia. We offer same day elopement ceremonies and scheduled micro-weddings inspired by Appalachian traditions.
Our boutique provides ceremonial accessories for your custom Appalachian ceremony, and other unique gifts for couples getting hitched. Inspired by Appalachian wedding & courtship traditions & folklore, our Unity Ceremony accessories are designed and created by local artisans for our inspired unity ceremonies and are of the highest quality in craftsmanship. Indoor and outdoor ceremonies are available.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Second Wedding
Religious Affiliations
- Buddhist
- Interfaith
- Pagan
- Secular
- Spiritual
- Unitarian
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
- Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
Reviews
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4.9
out of 5.032 reviews
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Our experience with John was wonderful! He was on time, and very easy to have casual conversations with! He made the process less difficult! We had to push our time back due to a storm, and John was very understanding and told us to just let him know the time. We’re so thankful that he was so understanding and easy to get along with! I highly recommend!
We recently had the pleasure of working with Sacred Celebrations for our wedding ceremony, and we couldn't be more thrilled with the experience. From the initial consultation to the final "I do," John & Brenda demonstrated professionalism, creativity, and a genuine passion for making our day perfect.
The attention to detail was outstanding. They took the time to understand our vision and offered thoughtful suggestions to enhance our ceremony. Whether it was customizing our vows, incorporating meaningful traditions, or simply ensuring every moment was perfectly timed, they were there every step of the way to guide and support us.
What truly sets Sacred Celebrations apart is their ability to create a personalized and memorable experience. They crafted a ceremony that was uniquely ours, filled with heartfelt moments and beautiful touches that we and our guests will cherish forever. Their ability to seamlessly blend elegance and intimacy made our wedding day feel incredibly special and uniquely ours.
The communication was excellent throughout the entire process. They were responsive, attentive, and always willing to go the extra mile to accommodate our requests. On the day of the wedding, everything ran smoothly thanks to their meticulous planning and coordination.
We can't recommend them highly enough to other couples seeking a ceremony that is not only beautiful and well-executed but also deeply personal and meaningful. Their dedication and expertise truly made our wedding day unforgettable.
If you're looking for a ceremony service that will exceed your expectations and create lasting memories, look no further than Sacred Celebrations. Thank you for making our day so special and memorable.
Brenda was awesome! So pleasant to work with. She took the time to get to know us before hand. She made the ceremony wonderful and joyful! We could not have asked for better!
I'm so glad I got to meet Brenda, she really took the time to get to know us and make our ceremony special. Her words are so thoughtful and beautifully written. We appreciate her incorporating or step-children in the ceremony. Thank you for making our day special and for hiking a mountain with us. We will truly never forget this day.
Brenda was absolutely AMAZING! She took the time to get to know us and created the most memorable ceremony we could have asked for. Our guests were raving about how lovely she was and everything she said. Thank you, Brenda for being a part of our special day!
Brenda helped us create a lovely, personalized ceremony. She was easy to work with and helped make the wedding rehearsal go smoothly. My wife and I enjoyed meeting her. Her ceremonies are very unique- check out her website!
John & Brenda were absolutely wonderful! John officiated our wedding and crafted a ceremony perfect for my husband and me, incorporating all of our feedback into the draft program. I had several of our guests tell me after our wedding it was the best ceremony they had ever seen. Thank you for making our day so special!
I am so glad I reached out the Berrys! John and Brenda were very kind, answered all my questions in a very quick and timely matter. Despite the obstacles me and my now husband faced getting married, it was such and easy process with Mr Berry! I am so glad to have met them and they created the most fantastic and wonderful experience that I could have asked for !
Brenda performed our ceremony in February 2024 and it couldn't have been more perfect. Brenda listened to everything we said and made sure it was short and sweet like we wanted, but also very professional, a little bit of wit and very very well spoken. We are very grateful for her and she made our ceremony perfect.
We could not have picked a better officiant team for our magic, earthy-themed wedding ceremony! John and Brenda were phenomenal to work with from the very start. About a year out, we did a lot of searching and researching to find the perfect officiant that would honor the type of handfasting ceremony we wanted to have, but would also give us the freedom to incorporate our own special facets.
When we found the Sacred Celebrations website, we noticed how highly informative and descriptive it was and booking an appointment to meet with Brenda and John was so simple. At our initial meeting, they set us at ease and thoroughly described their ceremony style and every detail we’d need to know to craft a personal and unique ceremony script. We knew we had found the right officiants for us. Brenda stayed connected and in touch in the months leading up to the wedding ensuring our script would contain everything we wanted to have at our wedding ceremony. She was also so helpful in guiding us on what we needed for the handfasting, and explained the process well.
At the ceremony, John completely immersed himself into our theme and embraced the magic! The ceremony he crafted was both poetic and beautifully heartfelt, and his delivery was flawless. We held our ceremony inside Luray Caverns which required about a mile walk to the ceremony site and John didn’t flinch at the logistics of getting there and back. He was timely, prepared and ready to rock! At one point in the middle of our ceremony, a wedding guest passed out and it was a bit of a medical emergency. After the confusion and commotion settled, John adapted and finished the ceremony with ease, his composure calm, exuding the same warmth and mysticism as if the somewhat scary and unexpected event hadn’t even occurred. Now that’s the hallmark of a true professional!
If you’re looking for a unique, genuine, and heartfelt officiant team for your wedding, Brenda and John are it! From start to finish, they’ll ensure your ceremony is one to dearly and lovingly remember, and one completely your own.
Brenda was absolutely wonderful to work with. She worked with us every step of the way to customize our vows and was always available when we needed her
I cannot recommend John highly enough. He is extremely professional and experienced, crafted a ceremony from our interview and questionnaire responses that perfectly fit our vision, smoothly and calmly guided us through our rehearsal, and did a wonderful job with the ceremony.
But beyond that, John is a true artist. If you are looking for a ceremony that is deeply personal, celebrating love and life and drawing on a connection with nature and spirituality, look no further. John does not merely weave words into emotion, he creates a whole world, a little enclave where you and your guests can linger in a moment of pure joy.
There was not a dry eye in the room, and every single one of our guests (even my ultra-conservative, traditional, religious family) took time to tell us that the ceremony was the most beautiful, emotional, and heartfelt one they’d attended.
An absolute wonderful experience. The Berry’s are insightful and very observant, and does a really great job of listing to you and understanding what is important to you and your future spouse.
As we talked about what we wanted we asked for some special ceremonial requested specific to us. It was perfectly integrated.
We were looking for something a little less traditional but also has the familiar structure so that the more traditional family members would fallow along with out too much confusion. It was the perfect balance. I honestly I’m just so happy my now wife found the Berry’s.
There is a lot that goes into a wedding and we can be worried about decorations, and invites, the family politics and food, djs, catering… but the most important part at the end of the day is 30min ceremony where the officiant make you married. I think Jon was just an amazing human and I’m so happy he could stand with us and marry us.
I would recommend him to anyone looking to get married.
John and Brenda worked with us to create a ceremony that fit our personalities. Our guests remarked that the ceremony fit us to a T, and that John was a great fit for us. Communication throughout was a breeze.
Hiring Brenda as our officiant was one of the best decisions for our ceremony that we could have made.
My groom and I anticipated this to be one of the trickier vendors to hire as we didn't have a close friend or family member appropriate for the job yet wanted a hired professional (aka someone who did not know us/our love) to be able to portray our affection, story, and tone for the day and make it a special experience not only for us, but our family and guests as well. We "interviewed" with a couple potential officiants before Brenda and while they seemed perfectly nice and fine, we had a gut feeling they were not right for us. We are so glad that we listened to our instincts and held off to find Brenda.
From the start, Brenda was a calming yet joyful presence. I suspect this has something to do with her other passion for Reiki. She was an ease to work with and truly seemed interested and engaged in our love story and accurately depicting it during the ceremony. We wanted a spiritual love-based ceremony that included the traditions but in non-traditional ways with lots of personal touches. She truly listened and wrote up a 25-minute (right around the timing we wanted) long ceremony that was absolutely breath taking, personal, and perfect. Not only did it include uniquely touching (yet not at all cheesy) lines about marriage, she included personal words about us both and incorporated the traditional, necessary I do's and exchange of rings in such a distinctive, poignant way. Her delivery of the ceremony was lighthearted and joyful and set an incredible tone for everyone to enjoy and reflect on.
Brenda also had such amazing recommendations for mini ceremonies within the ceremony that we instantly loved and incorporated- we did both a glass unity ceremony and a stone blessing ceremony. I had never seen this done at a wedding and neither had my guests; everyone raved about how cool and special these were to witness and be a part of.
Touching more on our families and friends responses to the ceremony- they absolutely loved it. We got responses that were basically summed up as, "That was one of the best and most uniquely powerful ceremonies I've ever experienced at a wedding and I thought your officiant knew you because she captured the love so well." We had so many guests in tears and huge smiles throughout.
I can't imagine our wedding day without Brenda in it and I can see why she thrives as a wedding officiant- she exudes love and happiness but is also a great professional. Thank you so much- we love Sacred Celebrations!!!
We chose a venue for our wedding that includes most vendors: cake, photographer, music, flowers, officiant, etc.— because planning gives us hives. Brenda came with the package and absolutely helped make our wedding the most amazing and memorable experience we could have imagined. The vows she wrote were exactly what we wanted to say to each other but better than either of us could have written. Thank you!
Brenda was quick to get back to me regarding my inquiry about her services. We had a Zoom call to get acquainted and review her services, as well as to get to know each other a little better. My husband is a little more religious while I am more spiritual, and Brenda helped curate a ceremony that incorporated both of our beliefs. For many of our guests, they have never attended a ceremony like this before and they LOVED it. The ceremony was short and sweet and Brenda had their attention the entire time. She came prepped with a microphone and speaker to ensure all of our guests could hear her, and was patient as our ceremony started a few minutes late. She was excellent with communication and she isn’t kidding when she says she’s a professor of happiness & delight, as her presence depicted both of those qualities. I would highly recommend Brenda as she made the ceremony unique and personal to my husband and I, and provided an unforgettable ceremony.
I can’t speak highly enough of Brenda & the beautiful words she spoke for our wedding! She really made the ceremony special & she really got the essence of who we were as a couple. Flexible & understanding. You won’t regret booking her!!
John was our officiant for an October wedding. The entire process was professional, clear communication, etc. We felt our requests were heard, carried out, and that John had suggestions on how we could make our service about us as a couple. We couldn't be happier with how our day went. It was obvious to my husband and I that John takes what he does seriously. We are grateful.
Many of our wedding guests told us that the ceremony was the best part of our wedding-- not something wedding guests usually say, and ours were sitting in July heat! So that tells you how amazing Brenda is as an officiant. She met with us ahead of the wedding, sent us lots of options for ways to make the ceremony special, and sent us a long questionnaire to fill out about our relationship. Then she wrote the most beautiful, touching, personal ceremony for us. We only met her once or twice before the big day, but it felt like she knew exactly what to say about our relationship. She did such an amazing job! I highly recommend Brenda.
Brenda was simply wonderful. She was professional and efficient, but so very kind and warm. The ceremony was full of love and she made the day that much more special. Highly recommend!
Brenda was the best!
We had no idea what we wanted to say or how we wanted the flow of our ceremony to go. Brenda helped and guided us through our thought process and gave us what we truly wanted as a couple.
Brenda's words rang out with true love that was felt by all in attendance. The first thing that we heard from family immediately after the ceremony was how brilliant the ceremony was!
If you are looking for an officiant that will make your ceremony beautiful and soul touching in and around Winchester, VA we cannot recommend Sacred Celebrations enough!
Brenda was an absolutely wonderful officiant for our microwedding. She reached out immediately, was responsive, and delivered a beautiful ceremony. Her small touches of making me feel comfortable when I came to the altar and looking at us instead of reading her script really made a difference. I would HIGHLY recommend her to any couple!
Brenda was an absolute joy to work with! She went out of her way to accommodate special requests from us and took the time to get a feel for us as a couple. The handfasting ceremony she put together for us really reflected our down-to-earth style while keeping things light and relaxed. My husband and I both received compliments throughout the night from guest about how much they enjoyed the ceremony and Brenda herself. We are so grateful to have had her as our officiant!
Brenda was very quick to get back to my emails. I loved how kind and flexible she was. Definitely worth every penny! You can feel how much she loves what she does.
My husband and I got engaged May 29,2021 and we reached out to Brenda in June. Luckily she was available for our 10/15/2021 which was awesome for us because she was so great! Over the 4 months that we got to get to know her she was awesome. The ceremony she wrote for us was so beautiful and she helped calm my mind that my self written vows were good enough to be spoken out loud. Unfortunately, and sadly, she had a family emergency so her husband John stepped up and performed our ceremony. I was nervous at first because we didn’t meet him until our rehearsal but after that my nerves were put to ease. He was just as great as her. I can’t say enough good things about the both of them and how thankful we both are. ❤️
she took another couple 6 weeks before our date without any warning. I had trouble receiving the contract and she assumed (without follow up) that we weren't getting married anymore. I find assumptions to be highly unprofessional in a service environment. When I e-mailed her with additional questions and explained I had trouble receiving the contract, she ignored my questions and told me she sent me the contract. Then I wrote a review, since she wasn't listening. My opinions and conclusions to my experience have been censored twice because this vendor disputed it, instead of talking to me about it. I am now dissatisfied with both this vendor and the Knot. You never know what kind of conflict can arise with any vendor; choose someone who has empathy even in conflict, especially for an officiant. I did not feel empathy when she pulled the rug out from under me. I ended up getting my officiant through Wedding Wire.
Brenda was so wonderful! We had a couple phone calls prior to our wedding to introduce ourselves and then filled out some questions that she sent us. Neither my husband nor I are particularly religious, so we were a little concerned about how we would put together a thoughtful ceremony. When Brenda sent us the first draft, we were BLOWN AWAY. She so perfectly captured our love and the sentiment we wanted to share. The ceremony itself was equally as wonderful. She was engaging, funny, and thoughtful. The length was perfect. We received so many compliments from our guests. It was everything my husband and I wanted in a ceremony and more. Thank you, Brenda!!
Brenda was absolutely amazing! She is the sweetest and worked with us to create the perfect ceremony. I had some many people after the ceremony telling me how wonderful it was because it was so personalized and filled with love and I couldn't agree more! She made everything so simple for us and walked us through everything we needed to make sure we had all our paperwork in order. You can tell how much work and love she puts in all she does. She even created a beautiful certificate for us to display! I am so happy we choose to work with Brenda, she is simply fabulous.
I cannot recommend Brenda enough!! She is so amazing! She tailors her ceremonies to you and is so great to work with. Our ceremony was perfect for us and we had guests mention how perfect her words were. She sends everything to you months before hand, so you have all the power to edit and revise anything you want. On the day of, Brenda was amazing! In the midst of a crisis on our day, she was such a calming presence for myself and even helped untie my dress' bussle! Our guests loved her and I couldn't agree more! Brenda, thank you so much everything and being a part of our day!
Brenda was very easy to work with and accommodating to fit our schedule. She made everyone feel at ease and let us easily create a personalized ceremony that was perfect for us.
Brenda was FABULOUS! We wanted to make the ceremony non-traditional, but still be still be reverent and rich. She worked with us to tailor an unforgettable ceremony. Everyone keeps talking about how I amazing and meaningful the ceremony was and that they had never been to such an interesting one (no one was dozing, at all). We followed an Irish handfasting tradition, but Brenda worked with us to make it more participant engaged. We found ways together to honor our passed mothers. We incorporated our dogs and members of our family. We told stories of our 17 years together and she did a great job personalizing our history in her words and blessings for us. Brenda was very enthusiastic and her endearing charm set the tone for the day. It was a magical day on the hilltop and Brenda was the orchestrator that made it happen! Her fees are modest and she is worth far more (she was definitely our best deal of the day). I hope you are lucky enough to have Brenda be your officiant.
Contact
Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia
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