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SoCal Vows
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About This Vendor
Custom Ceremonies in Sunny California
SoCal Vows is a wedding officiant service based in San Diego, CA. This experienced team of licensed officiants aims to bring professionalism and personalization to your nuptials. From beach ceremonies to traditional weddings, they are thrilled to work with you to personalize your vows. SoCal Vows was established in 2009 by a group of officiants who sought to provide relaxed, bespoke services to wedding couples. Over the years, they have developed a laid-back yet meaningful approach to performing marriages. They make it their goal to create a service that celebrates the unique love shared by the happy couple. Whether you want to elope, get married on the beach, or hold another type of wedding, SoCal Vows has got you covered. They offer several comprehensive packages that include various services like vow writing assistance, photography, floral arrangements, and music. They understand that each wedding is unique and welcome you to tailor your service to meet your needs. From the initial consultation throughout the ceremony, your officiant will work with you to ensure your wedding leaves a lasting impression on all in attendance.
Details
Business Attributes
Asian-owned Business
Ceremony Types
Civil Union, Commitment Ceremony, Elopement, Interfaith Ceremony, Non-Religious Ceremony, Religious Ceremony, Second Wedding , Vow Renewal Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
Christian, Protestant, Interfaith
Wedding Activities
Premarital Counseling, Wedding, Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
SoCal Vows Reviews
Share your thoughts with other couples
After planning and re-planning a larger wedding which was cancelled 4 times, So Cal Vows came in with very short notice and saved the day. And on a holiday, Father’s Day. I can honestly say, they exceeded my expectations in every way and It w...
as Magical! Ken was a delight to work with. He found us the Most Perfect location and set the scene Beautifully with Gorgeous flowers and decor that I didn’t even think was possible during a pandemic. It was Exactly what I wanted and gave me the Wedding of my Dreams!!
Advice to Brides, Ditch the Big wedding stress and preparations and Go with So Cal Vows from the beginning. It was Perfect and Ken is Fantastic!
We had booked Ken to perform our big ceremony in June at a winery in Temecula. When the pandemic happened our original ceremony and reception wasn’t an option. We waited until Octoberish time frame to decide we did not want to wait to get marri...
ed. We could not get a courthouse date for a ceremony by the end of the year, which was a blessing in disguise because I doubt we could have even had a ceremony with the restrictions constantly changing. Ken really worked with us to make sure we still had options to get married. He can really customize the day to fit your needs- be it a small ceremony just bride and groom (which is what we did), photography (we added this on), or more friends and family there. He really took care of making the ceremony special to us and very personal. Since it was more like an elopement, it could have gotten awkward quickly if we had not hired a professional with as much experience as Ken. Leading up to the day they took care of everything and even checked in with some tips as far as the marriage license goes. When setting up the date and time, he was able to suggest a good time to start the ceremony and we had the most gorgeous sunset on the beach and took tons of photos. It was the perfect day:) I’ve seen a lot of weddings where people think they can get by and save money by having a friend become certified online and throw something together. I can tell you it makes a huge difference having someone with experience perform your ceremony. You will not regret hiring SoCal Vows. Ken really has a gift- he is extremely personal and makes you feel like you have known him forever. He made our small ceremony extremely touching and beautiful.
Ken and Penjo put together the most absolutely wonderful wedding for us. Due to Covid, our originaly wedding plans were cancelled and I was reluctant to reschedule anything that wasn't going to be just as special as our original plans. To put i...
t into perspective, our original plans were a destination wedding in Cancun with 50 people. Wholeheartedly I can say that SoCal Vows beat any and all expectations and actually left me wondering why I was ever even trying to do a destination wedding.
We went for the entire package with Socal vows, we had a wedding on the beach with 40 people, and dinner at La Dolce Vita. We upgraded our flowers and they did a FANTASTIC job!!! We also had Ken stay at the dinner and play music the whole time which was a very special touch. Without any hesitation, I would highly recommend SoCal Vows. Friends and family were commenting left and right on how wonderful our wedding was and even were guessing the cost was over double what we paid. The value is fantastic, their communication was perfect, and they were incredibly organized and understanding. It was the best day of my life due to them!!
Response from the Vendor on 12/01/2020
Hi Kaleigh... thank you so much for the kind words. Honestly, this might be one of the best reviews we have ever read. You really helped explain what we do and the value we offer, but more importantly you caught the little subtle things that So...
cal Vows tries to provide for every event we do and you appreciate those subtle things. Thank you for your encouraging words and authenticity - it really made our week:)
It was amazing to be part of your special day along with Bardia. You are right, he is a great dancer and some of the groomsmen were also great dancers:) Thank you again for thinking of us and trusting us with your big day.
I was nervous and a little scared that I was going to mess up on the vows, our officiant was the greatest! Ken made us feel comfortable, his way about being an officiant made it feel personal, he was down to earth, he made our day!! Thank you K...
en and so cal weddings !! It wouldn't have been the same without you.
We were so happy with the ceremony that Ken (SoCal Vows) officiated for us on the beach. We would not change a thing. Ken was the perfect officiant , he did exactly what we wanted. He was warm , funny and made everyone feel comfortable. The wh...
ole process from the booking process to the big day was seamless! Thank you a Penjo & Ken .. you are a great team , we are so happy we found you.
Ken and Penjo with Socal Vows did an amazing job with our wedding. We couldn't have asked for a better ceremony! I always dreamed of a beach wedding and I'm so glad we chose Socal Vows to make it happen. Everything was stress free and it all c...
ame together so well. They were both very communicative over both text and emails. Ken was an awesome Officiant. We were able to tell him what we wanted and he spoke like he'd known us for years. We would recommend Socal Vows to anyone! La Jolla is a beautiful place to get married!
Ken was our officiant for our wedding and we couldn’t have asked for anything more. He did a great job capturing our story and sharing it with our guests. He kept it intimate but didn’t drag it out; our guests loved how he shared a message and ...
incorporated our story into the ceremony. We would definitely recommend him!
SoCal Vows was the best! I wanted a low-key wedding, but even with that kind of event there are always details you don’t think about, or don’t know vendors in the area if you’re from out of town. They helped me every step of the way and staye...
d in touch for all the months leading up to the wedding. The wedding was awesome. Ken did such a wonderful job making it personal to us. His whole team was great. I really appreciate all the time and effort they put into making our day special! I would recommend SoCal Vows to anyone!
We eloped and Ken did an amazing job. He's great at improvising and you can tell he's been at this for a long time. The price was awesome and everything went so smoothly. It was almost alarmingly easy for how personal it felt.
Socal Vows exceeded my expectations. My wife and I originally were supposed to renew our vows (10 year anniversary) in Hawaii, but due to restrictions we had to settle for something local. Last minute planning and coordinating, my wife was able...
to contact Ken and for the amount of time we had he did a superb job! First, location was prime. I almost felt like I was in Hawaii minus the blue ocean & humidity! Decor was excellent as well. The arch, flowers and setup was elegant. The ceremony itself was planned. This was my first time meeting Ken and I truly felt his personal pleasant spirit. He conducted the ceremony with ease and even kinda made me cry during our vow exchange (probably because of the wife’s words tho, but he set the tone for it nonetheless lol). Oh ya, even the music was planned so eloquently. Apart from my 4 little girls (one close to terrible 2’s) being distracted by the sand and bugs, the ceremony couldn’t have gone any smoother than I could have ever imagined. Ken and his wife know their stuff and it shows. What’s nice is you can tell he really lives for the connection and unity between husband and life. Just speaking with him after the ceremony about life and family he truly cares about humanity and positivity in this thing we call life. It’s a little something we all need especially during these weird times. Keep doing what you doing Socal Vows! Doing great.
Response from the Vendor on 09/01/2020
Thank you Jensen for your kind comments. Yes, we love what we do and we do lots of weddings for sure, but it was really special to be part of you and Karen's special day:) There are not many people who have four girls only - you have your hands...
full for sure:) Blessings on the next 10 years of your marriage!!
So let me start off with the good.
1. The price is fair
2. The set up can be beautiful
Now here is the bad.
I really am patient, straight forward and try to be as detailed as possible. Therefore I gave Ken our plans months in advance and t...
hen confirmed them weeks and days before the wedding. He did not reach out much regarding details I had reached out via email confirming things. I purchased 20 chairs. There was 30 (so many empty seats very tacky in my opinion). Ken did not speak or confirm ANY details the day or week before wedding except the date and time as well as a reminder that the balance was due. Via email I asked after the wedding if we can hang around and mingle with guest or do we have to leave and he confirmed that the next wedding was 3 hours after mine and I had time. However they tried to kick us off right after our quick ceremony and it was embarrassing to my guest. Also to add it took the bridal and groom party awhile to find the exact location the set up was on because we had no proper instructions. I don’t know if it’s because I had a smaller beach package and he didn’t care or not but that was not okay and my special day felt cheap in my opinion. Literally they were setting up for next wedding when we finished and started taking wedding pictures. I have emails of how particular and on point I was and he failed us. I see the good reviews and I have to wonder are they even real because this was not okay to us at all. Lastly via email he said they would start our beach setup at 10:15 however the wedding party came early to help set up and could not find them and his phone was going straight to voicemail. When we finally got a hold of him the wedding was starting in 15 min and he said he was doing another wedding (previously he stated we were the first wedding that day) he could have updated us and let us know the time would be pushed back. We did not get that courtesy. He also didn’t inform us the option of using option using a microphone and we had to suffer with the wind and guest/wedding party not hearing vows etc. Go with someone more reliable and consistent. If this happened to me it could happen to any one. Don’t trust all the reviews I doubt this was a one time thing. I have emails pictures of the amount of chairs VS what I asked for. I have emails that show the time he said he would be there to start our setup VS text of him saying he was doing another wedding and the time stamp late. I wouldn’t lie so I hope this business owns up and takes EVERYONES special day seriously **Ps his wife was really sweet and seemed helpful I don’t want to discredit her kindness**Good luck all!
Response from the Vendor on 08/12/2020
Zachary & Antoinette,
I read your review and want to express our disappointment in your feelings about your special day. Every couple wants their day to be special and memorable in all the good ways for sure. We have spent 10 years working hard...
to create those kinds of days for all our couples and as you pointed out we have over 350 5-Star reviews to prove that is what we do. We have NEVER received less than a 4.2-Star Review until your review. This is important to point out because with these review sites like WeddingWire, The Know, and Yelp you cannot create false reviews. The reviews express the views of the writer. Also to be clear you only purchased a couple of our items and only one of them was a service based item - the photographer. And when your team did arrive you actually brought your own photographer and did not use ours. We are a services based company that is based on the officiant, photographer, and florist. You did not want to use those services because you already had them and only needed the chairs and arch. We normally do not sell those services ala carte but with COVID-19 we have been trying to be flexible for couples so that they can still have their dreams comes true so we offered you that service. We did that for you.
You mentioned that you only ordered 20 chairs, however we always bring more because it is our experience that couples need more chairs and not fewer chairs. This was the case for you as well because your guests asked us to set up more chairs. Fortunately, we had the chairs available and we did not charge you for those extra chairs. So you received 30 chairs for the price of 20 chairs.
You mentioned that the setup time was at 10:15am and that is what we had on our calendar as well so we arrived at the beach location to reserve your spot at 8:30am. By 9:30am your chairs were all set up and your arch was ready for your team to decorate. We gave you the address to the building that was closest to the beach ceremony site, which was about 100 feet away. We also put a team member on the street looking for your setup crew. You tried calling me for details, but as you say I was in the middle of officiating a ceremony for another couple who had to reschedule due to COVID-19. Again, you did not purchase the officiant services so we were able to help out this other couple. we did have a team member at your location to be available for you but somehow you did not connect with them.
With any ceremony it is always important to start on time or as close as possible because it only compounds the schedule of everything following. Your ceremony start time was suppose to be at 11:00am and many of your guests were ready at 11:00am, however you did not arrive at the location until after 11:30 and the ceremony actually started at 11:43am.
There are times when we do not officiate the wedding and when that happens we make sure that the officiant who is doing the wedding is aware of the microphone and how to use it because it is a switchable handheld mic. The officiant said that he understood and appreciated the help and instructions. Due to the late ceremony start it pushed your photos and gathering time after the ceremony to be later. We did not ask your team to begin clean up until 1:00pm, which gave you a full two hours - actually 2:45 when you include the 10:15am setup time.
Again, we are disappointed as much as you are because we work hard to make sure our couples do not feel this way. This has been great feedback for us because this is perfect example of expectations not being clearly communicated on both sides. We have made adjustments to our process to insure that on the week of their event every couple is getting expectations between Socal Vows and themselves.
We do wish you and Zachary the best in your marriage.
Ken, is absolutely amazing. Planning a wedding in 3 weeks can be quite stressful. However, Ken and his wife Penjo were so easy and pleasant to work with. Even as we made a few changes a week out there were 100% understanding. Our videographer w...
as running late the day of and there was no pressure to start exactly on time. When we met Ken for the first time (on our wedding day) it felt like we had known him and he was more of a friend to us. I love how he made our ceremony personalized and included information regarding my husband and myself. I would recommend Ken over and over again!!!
Response from the Vendor on 08/06/2020
Thank you so much for your kind words Aimee:) It was a pleasure to be part of your big day and you two were so much fun… you have a great relationship for sure:) I loved the drone work you guys did too!!
I had a lot of questions before the Wedding day and Ken answered every single E-mail and call, no matter what questions I was asking he was understanding and helpful. The ceremony was quick and easy like we asked and he helped us find a great s...
pot on the beach even though it was a bit crowded. I also really appreciated all of Penjo's help and the great pictures that were captured. I'd highly recommend.
We highly recommend SoCal Weddings. They took care of every detail plus some. They were responsive communicators who helped keep us on track. Our wedding was beautiful as were our pictures and flowers. You cannot go wrong with Ken and company.
Response from the Vendor on 07/17/2020
Thank you so much for the kind words Alexander. We love our complete beach wedding package for sure. It really meets the needs of those couples wanted to have everything in a small wedding package. Thank you again for thinking of Socal Vows.
Ken was great! He was extremely informative and communicative via email and took the time to find out more about my future husband and myself and weaved that information into the ceremony seamlessly. He was charismatic and well-liked by the gue...
sts and we are grateful that it went so smoothly. He answered our questions regarding the license and arrived early the day-of and made sure it was properly filled out and he also took the responsibility of turning it in so we did not have to. Thank you Ken!
Response from the Vendor on 02/16/2020
Thank you Kristie for your great comments. It was so fun getting to know you and your family... and Cody was great to meet as well. I really enjoyed your ceremony. You can tell that you two really have a special relationship - it shows:) Thank ...
you again for thinking of Socal Vows for your special day!!
Ken is awesome. My husband and I booked an AirBnB in Julian and on a whim decided to elope, just the 2 of us. With only one month notice, Ken didn't miss a step in quickly getting to know our history. His questions were thought-provoking, for...
cing us to sit down and think about the things that really brought us together. I feel like it brought us even closer as a couple at a time when I thought we couldn't get any closer! Ken also made sure to let us know about the paperwork aspect and timing of the marriage license - so thankful for that!
When it came to the day, everything was perfect. Ken showed up right on time to our AirBnB and had a nice chat with my husband while I finished getting ready. One of the best parts about SoCal Vows is that they offer a photographer. Ken's photographer, Panjo, accompanied him and was really great as well. She was really sweet and even helped me with my dress! Our ceremony was flawless. Ken's speech about our history together as a couple was beautiful. I feel he went above and beyond to make our day really special. I can't stress enough how pleased we were with SoCal Vows and Ken as our officiant! We wouldn't change a thing!
Amazing ! I have nothing but good things to say about Ken. He was so patient and easy to work with and he truly made it a point to get to know some things about my husband and I and speak about it at the wedding. He had such beautiful words and...
everything flowed so nicely !
SoCal Vows was incredible! Ken Hoelscher did an amazing job! We planned our beach elopement in a month and from out-of-state. We met Ken right before the ceremony, but had e-mailed and talked with him so much, it felt as if we had known him for...
years. No one could believe that he wasn't a friend of the family! It was a perfect day with the love of my life! Thank you, Ken!
Ken was absolutely amazing. From my first contact with him, he was super helpful with all my questions, guided me and my husband on how to write vows, what kind of ceremony we wanted, any little question we had he was very quick to answer.
The...
day of the ceremony was perfect! Ken arrived early, checked in with the bride and groom, and helped ease a little of the nervous butterflies.
I would highly recommend Ken for any type of ceremony you are looking for!
XOXO
Em and Cory Brewer
Response from the Vendor on 10/30/2019
Thank you for the kind words Emily. It was a lot of fun connecting with you and Cory for your big day. The day turned out to be perfect. Thank you for thinking for Socal Vows:)
Blessings on you marriage!!
I cannot recommend SoCalVows highly enough!! Ken made our ceremony personalized, intimate, touching, funny and...perfect!
He took the time to learn about me and my husband and incorporated that into a ceremony that was very personal. His warm...
th, charisma, humor and genuine care made our wedding extra special.
The other day my husband was reflecting on our wedding and then he said "I miss Ken". Lol! That's how much of an impact he had on us.
Response from the Vendor on 10/24/2019
Hi Jennifer,
It was so fun being part of your big day. You have a great family and friends and you were so relaxed about the day... Jeff on the other hand wanted everything to be just right:) It was great and like I say so much fun. Thank you ...
for thinking of Socal Vows for your special day!!
Ken was amazing! I would highly recommend him as an officiant to anybody. He made my husband and I am very comfortable and everybody enjoyed the ceremony!
Wow I can not speak more highly of Socal Vows and especially our officiant Ken Hoelscher. Through out the whole time we were planning from the first time he reached out and he was incredibly kind and patient.( I def was not the most responsive ...
bride lol) but he made time to give me a call when I just needed to hear from him how it was going to go, and I thought that was really great! Flash forward to the wedding and oh my goodness what an AMAZING ceremony we had. I mean everyone said it was a perfect blend of emotions happy tears and happy laughs and though a lot of that is to my husband and I, I attribute it a lot to Ken. Ken was so personal asking us before hand questions about each other. I think the greatest compliment was when I talked with people after the wedding they thought Ken was a family friend who knew us for years! That just speaks to how much Ken pours his heart into his couples. I am forever grateful he was our officiant for our special day! Thank you sooo much Ken! Sincerely, The Gruwell's (:
Response from the Vendor on 09/11/2019
Hi Josh & Kylie, thank you so much for your kind words. I loved your story especially about your parents involved Kylie:) You two were awesome to work with and honestly, that makes it so easy to have a great ceremony. So thank you for being a g...
reat couple!! Blessings on your marriage:)
Mark Murphy of SoCal Vows did an amazing job! He took the time to ask personal questions in order to get to know us and wrote the most beautiful vows. He was very receptive to the ideas we had envisioned for our ceremony. Lastly, he was quick t...
o respond when we had questions during the preparations. I would highly recommend Mark from SoCal Vows.
Response from the Vendor on 09/04/2019
Thank you Carol. It was a pleasure working with you and performing your ceremony. All the best to you both!
Mark officiated our wedding. He was very friendly. We met for the first time on the wedding day, but the way he did spoke about my wife and I, you would think that he had known us for a while. He was always quick to respond to my emails leading...
up to the wedding. Both me and my wife were very pleased with Socal Vows.
Response from the Vendor on 08/25/2019
Aaron, thank you for the kind words. The things that you wrote to me and said about each other helped me get to know you. Thank you for putting your heart into preparing for the ceremony. All the best to you both!
We worked with Mark at SoCal vows and he did such an amazing job. The ceremony was perfect and we had several of our guests come up and comment on how well Mark officiated our service. It seemed as if we had known him for years! SoCal Vows and ...
team is highly recommended!
Ken Hoelscher was absolutely great! I reached out only a week prior to the day we wanted to get married and he made it happen! He was quick to respond and help answer all my questions and concern. He really made our day special by asking us to ...
share a little about ourselves prior to the wedding day and helping set up the order of how a ceremony should go. Even though it was just our parents that were there we felt very nervous about how it all would turn out, but it was perfect, Ken made us feel comfortable. It couldn't have been any better! ~Isabela & Daniel
We had a last minute change and needed to hire an officiant. Mark was available and quickly got to work getting to know us and our history. He was so adaptable and able to make changes up to the minute before the ceremony. He brought great char...
isma and made our ceremony perfect. It had enough content to make an impression but made sure the ceremony didnt drag on. Thanks Mark for making our day so special.
While planning our wedding, deciding who was going to officiate was one of the things we had trouble with. Our date was getting close so we decided to go with SoCal Vows because it was a vendor through my venue. I started emailing with Ken, and...
met him just a few minutes before my wedding. We were so impressed with the way he showed up for us. Our guests were telling us it seemed like he had known us forever. He took everything we wanted and so easily brought it to life. Definitely reccommend!! Thank you!!!!
Ken was awesome. He was very flexible with us for our first meeting and made sure it worked with our schedules and was friendly and is easy to work with. He's amazing at what he does. He did a great job of making our ceremony light hearted yet ...
extremely personal at the same time - which was perfect for us! We gave some info about one another and he turned it into something very special. Ken reached out to us several times before the wedding to make sure everything was going smoothly which was super helpful. I would recommend SoCal Vows and Ken to anyone I know getting married!
We loved Ken. He was great provided a personal service and advice in the run up to and during our wedding day! If you need an officiant and you’re in SoCal then pick Ken!
Ken was amazing!! He was so helpful and was great with us. He remembered so much about us. Our family and friends loved our ceremony! It was great!
Ken was wonderful! Unfortunately our schedules didn’t line up before our ceremony but we had emailed quite a bit and he made our ceremony feel like we had known him forever.
Ken was outstanding. We planned the wedding from Arizona. He was easy to communicate with and did a great job of making our ceremony personal.
Response from the Vendor on 10/16/2018
Hi Brandy... it was great getting to meet and hang out with your tribe. You have a great family. It is amazing all of the similarities that you and Andy have:) I got a sneak peak at a couple of the photos and they are looking great... you shoul...
d be getting them in the next day or so. Thank you again for thinking of Socal Vows for your special day.
Ken at SoCal Vows was welcoming and easy to work with. He met us twice over coffee to go over details and customize our ceremony just for us! He is quick to understand people. He read our personalities instantly and knew how to create a ceremon...
y that fit us. He kept it light, fun and sincere during the ceremony.
Ken made our wedding feel so personalized and so special. He took the time to get to know us as a couple including our style together, our interactions with each other, and our vision for the wedding ceremony. He delivered. I was VERY particula...
r about the flow and the style of the ceremony and it was everything I imagined and more. We also wanted to add a Chinese Tea Ceremony. He did a fantastic job of highlighting the point of the ceremony and really capturing the theme that we were “Better Together.” I am so thankful for Ken for making this experience so seamless.
Mark (Murphy) made my groom and I feel very relaxed and in the moment. I really appreciate that because I felt so rushed and chaotic prior to walking down the aisle. He was also loud and clear, which I really liked because we had a lot of guest...
s sitting in the back. My family said it was really touching and I’ll never forget the moment he announced us as husband and wife! Also, he will help you with ANYTHING you’re lost with. This was the first wedding in both our families in a long time so we often were lost. Couldn’t have made it without him! Thank you so much Mark!
We couldn't have been more pleased with Ken and the vow renewal ceremony he performed for us! He did a terrific job.
We live in NY but we held the ceremony in Newport Beach. Ken worked with us via email to make sure that the ceremony would be ...
tailored specifically to us. He did a fantastic job of getting to know us. And when we finally met him, it seemed like we had known him for years.
Ken made it a very special day for us.
Response from the Vendor on 08/29/2018
Hi John & Diane,
Thank you so much for the reviews and the kind words.
It was great getting to know you two and getting to know your family.
40 years is an amazing achievement for sure… I hope that everything work out so that we can do this a...
gain in 20 years:)
Again thank you for thinking of Socal Vows to help you on this special day.
We had a great experience with this vendor. Ken was our officiant & he did an absolutely outstanding job! He was so easy to work with. I would HIGHLY recommend using SoCal Vows!
Ken is the best pastor to have on your special day. It was planned with lot of rush and he was so accommodating . He even went beyond and had actually prepared the whole sequence of events for the special day and we especially loved how he desc...
ribed our feelings for each other based on the note we had shared with him earlier towards the end of the ceremony .
Ken did a great job with our ceremony. He kept it funny and light, just how we wanted it. Our guest appreciated his humor as well. But he was also very sentimental and I loved how he prayed for us at the end of the ceremony.
Ken Holscher is absolutely the BEST! We couldn't be happier with our decision to go with SoCal Vows for our wedding ceremony. From the start, Ken was quick to answer emails and flexible to our schedule. We had our first in person meeting, and i...
nstantly clicked. Having been to over 30 weddings ourselves, we wanted our ceremony to incorporate some traditions, but most importantly be representative of us as a couple. Ken flawlessly personalized the whole thing, and spoke about the day we met and how we got engaged as if he'd known us and our story for years. We received more positive feedback and compliments about our officiant than any other aspect of our wedding...even more than the chicken and waffles we served ;) To have our ceremony go so perfectly, which was the most important to us on wedding day, means the world to us. We are so grateful to have found Ken!
Socal vows did an amazing job! Ken went above and beyond to make sure that our special day was everything we wanted it to be and so stress free. We had a small intimate wedding before a big wedding in Maui and Ken was on board with what we want...
ed from the beginning. He was always willing to help and answer questions and was so flexible with made the day of even easier. He made it personal for us and wanted us to know that he would be there every step of the way. I would recommend Socal vows for anyone!
Ken was awesome! It's amazing what he did with just a couple of emails back and forth. He was able to take all of our words and ideas and transformed them into delivery that was full of wit and humor. He answered any and all questions we had wi...
th such ease and compassion. Both my husband and I, along with all of our guests, found his delivery far better than just exceptional. We had no idea what to expect but he made the process so easy and comfortable.
Thank you Ken! You did an amazing job.
Jose and Monica Carranza
Ken was amazing from start to finish. He always stayed in contact with us and made sure that we were on track throughout the planning process. We loved the ceremony message and wouldn't have changed a thing about it! Ken was amazing and capt...
ivated our attention, as well as our guests. Thanks for everything, Ken!!!
Mark Murphy was an amazing officiant. He was on top of everything from day one and we appreciated the good communication. Even though we didn’t meet him before our wedding, he made sure to make the ceremony personable and made us feel like he...
put time into personalizing our ceremony. We asked that he kept it short and sweet and he did just that. All of our guests even commented on how perfect the timing of everything was. He was quick to take care of the paperwork as well. We are very happy with all the services he provided us. Thank you Mark!
Ken did an absolute amazing job officiating our wedding! We had a hiccup on our day and our ceremony stared an hour later than expected. Even with the time crunch Ken assured our guests beforehand and pulled through our ceremony flawlessly. He ...
is professional, patient, funny and an absolute delight. You will not be let down!
Response from the Vendor on 12/18/2017
Thank you Krista. It was great getting to know Arturo and his friends. Even though we got a late start I think that everybody loved it and it was worth the wait:) Thank you again for thinking of Socal Vows to help officiate your wedding.
Leading up to our wedding Ken sent helpful emails/reminders and quickly responded to any inquires we had, including last minute additions to our ceremony. Our ceremony was short and sweet, but he made it so heartfelt, memorable, and personaliz...
ed… just the way we envisioned it. Our guests highly praised our ceremony and loved Ken. We would highly recommend SoCal Vows to anyone planning their perfect wedding day.
Response from the Vendor on 11/26/2017
Hi Kathleen,
It was so fun being part of your ceremony with Stoney. Mt Woodson Castle is beautiful and Stoney was a pretty funny guy to hang around:) Very nice ceremony for sure... great job!! Thank you again for thinking of Socal Vows for you...
r wedding.
Pastor Ken was AMAZING!!! Prior to our wedding he sent the most helpful emails/reminders and quickly responded to any inquires I had. On wedding day, he was this calming force for both myself and my husband. Our ceremony was short, but Ken made...
is so heartfelt, memorable, and personalized. In fact, our guests thought that we knew Ken for years based on how personalized our ceremony was! Throughout the night, we received so many compliments about Pastor Ken from our guests. If you need an officiant for your wedding, please hire this man! You will not be disappointed!
Response from the Vendor on 11/14/2017
Hi Renee... it was such a pleasure being part of your ceremony. You two have a very special relationship and it shows... I loved it when Mitch got down on a knee to put the ring on... very classy:) Thank you so much for thinking of Socal Vows t...
o help you with your special day!
Ken quickly responded to all of my questions during the planning process which was super helpful since we were planning our wedding from the east coast. Ken performed a beautiful ceremony for us the day of the wedding. He made the ceremony pers...
onal for us and lighthearted which was appreciated.
Response from the Vendor on 11/09/2017
Hi Jessica... it was great working with you and Tommy for your ceremony. I was surprised how well the kids did up front. They were great! Thank you again for thinking of Socal Vows for your ceremony.
Ken was our officiant and he was a pleasure to work with. He was responsive to email and texts. Timely email reminders to tell us what we needed to do when so that our ceremony would run smoothly were automatically sent out. Ken was knowledgabl...
e and prepared. He made a few jokes, which weren't expected (this is why the 5th star wasn't given), during the ceremony to lighten the mood. I enjoyed our meetings and really felt i didn't have anything to worry about in regards to the ceremony, which is a great feeling. I would definitely recommend SoCal vows to anyone I know getting married.
Thank you so much for the beautiful ceremony! It was funny, personal and perfect! I will definitely recommend you to family and friends.
Response from the Vendor on 11/06/2017
It was so great getting to know you and Wayne and being part of your ceremony. It was awesome to be the first wedding at that Julian venue too:) Thank you again for letting Socal Vows be part of your special day!!
My husband and I had the pleasure of having Pastor Ken officiate our wedding ceremony. It was our "public ceremony" as we were legally married almost a full year before we were able to have a traditional wedding with reception (#militaryproble...
ms). Ken made the entire process easy! We were unexpectedly moved out of state four months before the wedding and Ken was timely with his emails and responses. Even with meeting him about five minutes before the ceremony started, he did a great job and incorporated details from our email conversations into the ceremony. He was completely flexible with allowing me to have two readers and mentioning important family members whom were with us in spirit. Thank you Ken and SoCal vows!
Ken was great!! He was there to answer all of my questions and accommodate my special day! Could not asked for anything else any other way!
Response from the Vendor on 10/27/2017
Thank you Erica for letting Socal Vows be part of your big day. You two looked great in your white dress and white tux! I sent Pat your email address so you should be getting your pictures in the next couple of days. Thank you for choosing Soca...
l Vows for your officiating as well as your photography!
Ken is awesome!!!
There are so many things to worry about planning for your wedding day and from the minute i contacted him, everything was seamless. He responds very quickly and is so organized and helpful when planning your special day.
You...
can definitely tell he is a professional. He speaks well, has a great tone and just general warmness about him that makes it feel like he has known you and your significant other forever. He did a great job of telling our story and did so because he took the time to ask the important questions of our past and overall relationship.
Lastly, rest assured that he will mail in everything you need to make it official so you can enjoy your honeymoon and overall blissful married life!
We highly recommend him for your big day!!
Response from the Vendor on 10/25/2017
It was such an honor to work with you and Eric on your special day. I love the way Eric processed down the isle to Hell's Bells... total Padre fan for sure:) Again, thank you for choosing Socal Vows to officiate your big day!
I called Ken just a week before my wedding and even with my last minute planning, he was able to book me for my date. I am so pleased with how everything went. He was absolutely amazing. It felt like he knew my husband and I for years. Many of ...
my guests thought he was a long time friend and we had so many people tell us how awesome the ceremony went because of him. He lead the ceremony with a great mix of humor, seriousness and spirituality. He kept great communication with us and made me feel like he had everything under control prior to the wedding. I would highly recommend Ken to anyone that is looking for an AMAZING officiant. Thank you Ken for such a memorable experience. It couldn't have been any more perfect.
Response from the Vendor on 10/05/2017
Thank you Adaire for the kind comments. On another note, I am so glad that I did the wedding for you and Ryan because I was suppose to be in Vegas for a conference starting on Monday and we were staying at the Mandalay. So in many ways your wed...
ding may have saved my life so it was a great event all around:) Thank you so much for finding Socal Vows to be part of your big day!!
We hired Ken to be our officiant for our wedding. He did an amazing job with the ceremony and made it very personal. He also spent a lot of time emailing us to check on how our wedding planning was going and to make suggestions for our ceremony...
to make it be our most special day. I never questioned our choice of having SoCal Vows be our officiant. We received exceptional and professional service!
Response from the Vendor on 09/21/2017
Thank you so much for finding Socal Vows... it was an honor to be part of your special day!!
We LOVE Socal Vows! OMG HIRE KEN! Ken was absolutely the best Officiant! He took the time to get to know us and to understand our relationship. We got married on April Fool's Day and had some crazy fun ideas that he went along with and he ne...
ver missed a beat. He made every aspect of the ceremony emotional at the right time, fun at the right time and touching at the right time. It was our dream ceremony that we will cherish forever. Our guests can not stop talking about how perfect Ken made the ceremony!
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Response from the Vendor on 09/21/2017
Thank you so much Tom & Lynne for letting Socal Vows be part of your special day. I loved the creativity of the ceremony, especially the way we tricked your kids:) Thank you again!
Ken Holscher was an absolute professional to work with! My husband and I were planning our wedding long distance (we live in Northern California) and Ken was so accommodating with our schedule and was very quick to answer any emails. When we fi...
nally met face to face, he was friendly, funny, and so knowledgable. By the time our wedding day rolled around, we felt so calm knowing Ken was going to be right there with us. We added a rose ceremony for our mothers (Ken's awesome idea), but SoCal vows offers many unity ceremonies to choose from.
One suggestion we would make is to pay the extra $100 so Ken can come to your rehearsal to practice the ceremony and answer any last minute questions- totally worth it!
Happy Planning!
Amelia&Scott
Ken always checked in to see if I needed anything. He was very responsive in answering any questions I had. He was very helpful with advice and options for the ceremony. He was a pleasure to work with!
My husband and I chose SoCal Vows because they were recommended. We were glad to have chosen this service. It made our wedding day much easier. They are pros and they were great at guiding us to make our ceremony sweet, funny, and special.
We are so incredibly happy we had the privilege of having Pastor Ken officiate our wedding. My husband and I come from two different Christian denominations and it was important that both sides of our families were included and comfortable bei...
ng in attendance without losing the Christian base for our ceremony.
Pastor Ken was wonderful in his communication before the ceremony, emailing and asking questions to get a feel for both of us so he could personalize our ceremony (which was perfect)!
On our wedding day, Pastor Ken arrived early and checked in with both myself and my groom to see how we were doing and if we needed anything. We were both instantly comfortable with him and our ceremony was personal and perfect! We received numerous compliments from family and friends (ranging from very traditional Catholics to very modern Christians) all stating that they so enjoyed the ceremony and felt that Pastor Ken was friendly, warm and caring. He made sure all of our paperwork was in order to file for our license as well.
Thank you Pastor Ken for beautifully enhancing our marriage ceremony! We are blessed to have had you as a part of our day! :-)
Ken was amazing! He made the ceremony fun and special for my husband and me. I received so many compliments about the ceremony from my guests.
Contact Info for SoCal Vows
Mostly San Diego but also Temecula and Orange County
Meet the Team
Ken Hoelscher
Owner
Ken Hoelscher is always honored to be part of happiest day in a couple’s life - their wedding. Because Ken has had the privilege of officiating in over 500 weddings in the past five years he brings the perfect balance between light and casual to intimate and sincere. But most of all - he has a fun time doing it! Ken has been a pastor for over 27 years In addition to officiating weddings, If he is not officiating a wedding or performing his music you will find him riding his Harley with this wife. He is married to his wife Penjo and has three kids Dakota (20), Justin (15), and Cece (14).
