Plainfield Officiants + Premarital Counseling

Special Moments Services

Making Important Moments Special

Nothern Illinois

Travel area: Within 100 miles See details

5.0

Verified reviews from real couples

Reverend Mark was our hero! Our officiant faced a last minute emergency that meant the night before our wedding we were in need of someone to officiate our wedding ceremony - something we'd spent months crafting and was no small order (involved multiple customs, special readings and a story about our relationship). Our original officiant thankfully connected us with Reverend Mark who pulled off an incredibly beautiful ceremony for us - no one knew that he hadn't been the one to build it with us. And, he managed to do this in a matter of less than 24 hours! highly recommend working with Reverend Mark.

Grace T.

5.0

Mark was an incredible officiant! Not only was he extremely attentive towards our preferences, he also extremely genuine and kind throughout the entire time we worked together. We recieved so many compliments from guests about his professionalism, and the beautiful ceremony he led. We couldn't have been more satisfied with Mark's role in our special day.

Kelly S.

5.0

Mark Forrest Bidlake

OWNER

Typically responds within 24h

AWARD WINNER (3X)

Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot

Special Moments Services is a wedding officiant company operating out of Plainfield, Illinois. Owner and operator Mark Bidlake is a warm and detail-oriented officiant who takes great joy in helping his clients mark life's precious milestones. Mark will work dilligently to create and deliver an unmatched standard of service for weddings, vow renewals, elopements, and more. Mark of Special Moments Services believes that special, once-in-a-lifetime moments deserve to be honored in a thoughtful, personal way. As your officiant, celebrant, and minister, Mark will work with you to create your ideal ceremony. You may wish it to be traditional, contemporary, religious, spiritual, secular, civil, simple, or elaborate, and he will strive to make your dreams a reality. Special Moments Services offers services to soon-to-be-weds planning a wide range of ceremonies. Mark has experience officiating interfaith weddings, non-religious ceremonies, civil unions, elopements, and vow renewals. He will also attend and can lead your ceremony rehearsal to ensure that every last detail is carefully considered ahead of your big day.

4+ years in business

Speaks English, Spanish

Just me

Details

Ceremony Types

Civil Union

Commitment Ceremony

Elopement

Interfaith Ceremony

Non-Religious Ceremony

Religious Ceremony

Second Wedding

Vow Renewal Ceremony

Planning

Se Habla Español

Religious Affiliations

Buddhist

Christian

Catholic

Protestant

Interfaith

Secular

Spiritual

Unitarian

Wedding Activities

Getting Engaged

Premarital Counseling

Wedding

Ceremony

Awards and Affiliations

3-Time 'Best of Weddings'

2026.2025.2024.

Join couples who chose award-winning vendors for their wedding

Meet the team

Mark F Bidlake

Owner

I was raised the son & grandson of Methodist ministers. I've attended services of a variety of faiths, and am familiar with different traditions. I am ordained non-denominational Christian, consistent with my belief that no single church or faith tradition has a monopoly on God or our paths to Him. My career has taken me across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, exposing me to many cultures. If anything, I've learned flexibility and appreciation of different beliefs, values, and lifestyles. I love having the opportunity to get to know couples, and help them make their wedding exceptional.

5.0

out of 5.0

35 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.

Reverend Mark is consistently praised as professional, responsive, and deeply personal in crafting ceremonies. He’s flexible—handling last-minute changes, rehearsals, bilingual (Spanish/English) and multicultural elements—while delivering a calm, engaging ceremony. Couples and guests rave about his presence, clear delivery, and heartfelt touches. He is highly recommended.

Search reviews

Carlos G

Highlighted review.

10/05/2025

We had a wonderful experience working with Mark as our wedding officiant. He was attentive and quick to respond to all of our questions from the start, making the planning process ...

stress-free. He was flexible and collaborative, working with us to create a ceremony that felt authentic and meaningful. Mark delivered the ceremony beautifully—he had great presence, his delivery was clear, and he kept our guests fully engaged. We also loved how he incorporated some Spanish into the ceremony, which was a very special and meaningful touch. We couldn’t have asked for a better officiant and would highly recommend Mark to anyone planning their wedding.

Grace T

8/05/2026

Reverend Mark was our hero! Our officiant faced a last minute emergency that meant the night before our wedding we were in need of someone to officiate our wedding ceremony - somet...

hing we'd spent months crafting and was no small order (involved multiple customs, special readings and a story about our relationship). Our original officiant thankfully connected us with Reverend Mark who pulled off an incredibly beautiful ceremony for us - no one knew that he hadn't been the one to build it with us. And, he managed to do this in a matter of less than 24 hours! highly recommend working with Reverend Mark.

Any questions?

Kelly S

1/19/2026

Mark was an incredible officiant! Not only was he extremely attentive towards our preferences, he also extremely genuine and kind throughout the entire time we worked together. We ...

recieved so many compliments from guests about his professionalism, and the beautiful ceremony he led. We couldn't have been more satisfied with Mark's role in our special day.

Tracy D

1/04/2026

In September 2025, we got married and the ceremony at our house was led by Mark. We could not have picked a better officiant or human being to communicate the many important things...

that were, and are, important to us. Mark drove out to our house to meet with us and see the venue- I’m sure it was over an hour away. He was patient walking around the yard, brainstorming the ceremony, and listening to us interact as a couple. When we sat down to discuss the ceremony that he had drafted, he took plenty of notes, asked for clarifications, and was no-pressure about things we hadn’t thought through yet or weren’t interested in. There were several touches of his own input that we loved and incorporated; some poems to choose from, introducing by name and location all the people who were online, recognizing those who changed plans with just a few months’ notice, and asking that phones be turned off so we could all be mentally present during the ceremony. Even during the ceremony, some things weren’t planned and he was so cool about adding in my mother in law’s speech, sharing the mic, and just being so calm and confident that everyone else relaxed, too. By far, my favorite aspect of the wedding and the reason I fell in love with Mark’s approach even before we met him, was the way he seamlessly led a dual-language ceremony in Spanish and English. It was so important to me that no one feel left out, that we were all in the same moment hearing the same words at the same time, that people from halfway across the world and next door all felt like their presence was integral to the day. I also didn’t want a canned ceremony where one paragraph in English was followed by the same in Spanish, from a flow standpoint as well as the fact that there were several bi-lingual guests. Mark found a way to reiterate in a different language, without sounding redundant or boring. After the ceremony, Mark stayed, ate, laughed, danced, talked with guests, and was genuinely interested in being there and enjoying the party itself. Mark, you helped make the day one we will be proud of, happy to remember over and over, and a one-of-a-kind day that we 3 created together, then so eloquently brought everyone else into. Thank you for choosing to be with us and share your time and talents at our wedding! Tracy & Oliver

Anne S

11/16/2025

Mark did an amazing job officiating our wedding! He took his time and cares about making your ceremony everything you want!

Mark P

10/04/2025

Mark was all we could ask for as a wedding officiant. It was clear to us early on that Mark does not cut corners. Mark was clearly very passionate about what he does. Mark is very ...

concerned with making the wedding service exactly what YOU want. Mark was very personable during our sit downs, and was willing to do as many drafts as it took. If you want the job done right, go with Mark.

Crystal A

10/02/2025

He went out of his way to make our wedding special. We couldn't have asked for a better officiant. He made sure that we were happy with his services and added personal touches to t...

he ceremony. It couldn't have gone any better.

Maribel C

9/05/2025

Mark was an amazing officiant. We were looking for somebody who would make our ceremony unique and centered around our love and love story and he did just that. He was always very ...

responsive and profesional to our needs and expectations, we absolutely loved to have him and would hire him again.

Grace C

6/30/2025

Mark helped us create a ceremony that was beautiful, memorable, and tailored to us. He gave great advice on crafting all the parts of the ceremony and was very open to any of the i...

deas that we had. He was willing to make all the things that we wanted to happen work. He was very responsive and timely, and answered all of our emails and questions. We recieved MANY compliments on our ceremony and Mark's speaking itself!

Elizabeth L

6/24/2025

We got married on June 7th and couldn’t be happier with our officiant. He was incredibly accommodating and made the entire process feel easy and personal. One of the things we appr...

eciated most was how he incorporated both English and Spanish into the ceremony, which meant so much to us and our families. So many of our guests told us how amazing he was, he brought the perfect mix of emotion, warmth, and humor. He truly made our ceremony unforgettable, and we’re so grateful to have had him be a part of our day! Highly highly recommended, he was a huge contributor to the ceremony of our dreams!

Taylor C

6/23/2025

If you're looking for the perfect officiant for your wedding, Mark is the one. From the very beginning, he was incredibly kind, professional, and genuinely interested in getting to...

know us. One of my favorite parts of working with him was that he took the time to ask about our story—it made the ceremony feel so personal and meaningful. My husband and I truly couldn’t have made a better choice. Mark brought warmth, sincerity, and the perfect touch of personality to our special day.

Alexis R

6/12/2025

Provided a beautiful wedding ceremony for my daughter’s wedding. He was very attentive to my daughters and her fiancé‘s request for what to include in the ceremony. He drove over t...

wo hours to attend our rehearsal dinner. He was very thorough in going through every detail of the ceremony with the bridal party at the rehearsal dinner. I would highly recommend him for a wedding officiant!

Beth K

3/26/2025

We cannot recommend Mark Bidlake highly enough! From start to finish, he was an exceptional officiant—professional, flexible, and truly dedicated to making our ceremony special. Hi...

s calming presence put both me and my husband at ease, allowing us to fully embrace the moment without nerves getting in the way. What meant the most to us was how he seamlessly incorporated our unique traditions, including the Jewish stomping of the glass and the sharing of a special mead crafted by my husband's father. His attention to detail and genuine care for our love story made our wedding ceremony feel deeply personal and unforgettable. If you’re looking for an officiant who will listen to your vision, while bringing warmth to the ceremony of your big day, Mark is 100% the one

Nathaly V

3/08/2025

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Mark for making our wedding truly special. With only a week to plan, we initially scheduled a simple courthouse ceremony for Saturday, Feb...

ruary 15. However, just days before on Wednesday evening we decided to have a more meaningful ceremony at our home instead. We reached out to Mark around 8 PM that night, and without hesitation, he agreed to officiate. Mark delivered a beautiful bilingual ceremony in Spanish and English, allowing all our guests to follow along and be part of the moment. His warmth and professionalism made our day even more memorable. Thank you, Mark, for being a part of our special day!

Allison T

12/19/2024

Mark was great to work with and was very accommodating with our script edits. The ceremony itself on the wedding day was perfect, I wouldn't change a thing. We had so many guests t...

ell us how beautiful the ceremony was. Definitely recommend!

Trey I

10/18/2024

Great to work with! Would be open to critiques and changes we would want to make to the ceremony. Highly recommend.

K O

10/14/2024

Mark was so absolutely amazing. Answered all 1000+ of my questions, talked us through the entire process and made sure our ceremony went off without a hitch. It was truly magical a...

nd we have Mark to thank for all of it♥️

Alyssa H

9/09/2024

Mark is a great choice for an officiant. He really took the time to get to know us and our story and draft a script for us. We then worked with Mark to make sure it was exactly wha...

t we wanted. On our big day, he arrived early, made the ceremony run smooth and captured all we wanted in it!

Grace B

8/27/2024

Mark was wonderful and helped to make our day special!

Nick A

8/26/2024

My husband and I were married by Mark and Special Moments Services on July 4th, 2024 and couldn’t have asked for a more magical and wonderful experience. He is very kind and profes...

sional when asking us how he was to perform the service.

Robin S

8/26/2024

Mark did the most amazing work for our ceremony. He spent hours - he met with us twice. He made it very very personal.

Franz W

8/26/2024

Mark was amazing for our wedding. He met with us multiple times to get a feel for our story. Communication was great and he was timely and professional. I would highly recommend...

him.

Elizabeth C

8/26/2024

Mark Review Our original officiant cancelled on us about 2 months before our wedding and that was the best thing that could have happened because then we found Mark! Working wit...

h him was so easy. He was extremely responsive and clear and made the entire ceremony process seamless. He sat down and took the time to get to know my fiance and I and our love story and then crafted the most beautiful ceremony script which we were able to approve and make changes if needed (which we didn’t even need to the first draft was so perfect). He helped guide us on the flow of a normal ceremony and helped incorporate our catholic roots as well. Everyone loved our ceremony and talked about how beautiful and heart felt it was. And we truly felt so special on our wedding day. We are so thankful that our original officiant didn’t work out.

Jessica R

8/25/2024

We found Reverend Mark through thumbtack. He was the second Reverend we talked to about marrying us and we could immediately tell he was going to be the right person for us. He is ...

a very genuine, heartfelt person. He walked us through everything, coming up with suggestions and even made a ceremony draft for us to approve. He was available for any questions we had and met us in person to go over the final draft of the ceremony. He also came to the rehearsal and made sure everyone knew what to do and when. He truly made our day even more special. We highly recommend Reverend Mark, you will see how much he cares and you can tell he loves what he does.

Carlie O

8/25/2024

We had the pleasure of having Mark as our wedding officiant, and we couldn't be happier with our choice. From the very beginning, he made the entire process smooth and stress-free....

He took the time to get to know us as a couple, which really shined through in the personalized ceremony. If you're looking for an officiant who will make your day magical, we highly recommend Mark. We couldn't have imagined a better person to help us start our married life together!

David M

8/14/2024

It was great talking wedding and married life details through with you before the wedding, and the ceremony was excellent. Thanks Mark

Julienne S

8/10/2024

Thank You So Much Mark!! Mark was excellent! We are so appreciative of everything that he did for our small ceremony. He was also the first officiant to reach out to me and could a...

ccommodate the date we were looking for, which was honestly within 3 weeks. The service was beautiful, and I recommend Mark over and over again. Thank you for making our day truly special :)

Kevin W

8/08/2024

Hiring Mark was the best decision we could have made! From the start, he was friendly and accommodating, going sonfar as to have a Zoom meeting with my wife and I before hiring hi...

m. He even told us his story, which had some similarities to our own love story and added a personal touch to his service. He offered suggestions, which were very good, while maintaining that this was our wedding and it should be what we want. He also took notes on our love story, the good, the bad, and the humorous, and incorporated it very well into the ceremony. My wife is from Nepal, and he did a prepared greeting in Nepali to acknowledge her parents, relatives, and friends. Finally, he was also very friendly the whole day, engaging in conversations with many of the guests before the ceremony (while we had some unforeseen delays), and at the reception. If you are looking for an officiant, I would highly recommend Mark! We are so glad we chose him!

Brenda T

12/08/2023

Mark was super helpful both before and during the ceremony. He took time after our ceremony to mingle with the small guest list of family and made them feel special. He even read ...

the children's story I wrote for my Dad. Thanks Mark!

Response from Special Moments Services on 12/08/2023

Thank you Brenda and Jeff. It was a joy to be a part of your special day. God bless !

Michael B

11/29/2023

My wife and I would just like to start off by say that Mark was absolutely wonderful. With all the decision making that goes into wedding planning, hiring someone to actually marry...

you can be especially nerve racking. Finding Mark was a blessing. Mark was well planned and thoughtful. He was very attentive to our vision for the ceremony, offered suggestions and had a variety of options for the sequencing of the ceremony and verbiage used so that we could feel expressed and well represented through him. Setting up meetings and phone calls were very seamless. Mark was flexible and available when it was convenient for our schedule. The ceremony was smooth. Mark worked together with the DJ, the venue coordinator and the wedding party to ensure everyone stayed on cadences. Best of all was the amount of compliments we receive from our guests for how great of a job Mark did! My mother-in-law said, “It felt like Mark really knew us both so well”. We couldn’t say “Thank You” enough to Mark for making our very special day that much more than we expected.

Holly G

11/26/2023

Mark was amazing! He took the time to listen to our love story and put it eloquently into our ceremony. It was everything I had hoped for. He was on time and very helpful. He made ...

me feel at ease the moment he walked in. I highly recommend Mark and Special Moments Services!

Joseph B

9/17/2023

Mark was very helpful in helping us navigate a wedding that was complicated by multicultural barriers, He assisted us in finding a venue that could meet the needs of our ceremony,...

crafting a service that met our familial and spiritual needs, and helping us through the nervousness that often accompanies a wedding.

Taylor P

9/15/2023

Mark is an excellent officiant! He got to know us as a couple and made sure to hit on everything important to us in our ceremony. We received nothing but compliments from our famil...

y and friends. Thanks again for taking care of us! We are looking forward to working with Mark again in the future!

Amber D

9/04/2023

I knew right away when my now husband and I met Mark that he was going to be a great choice for our wedding. Mark is professional, prompt in his responses, emotionally supportive &...

genuinely kind. Our wedding ceremony was absolutely precious and we highly recommend Mark to anyone who is looking for an officiant for their wedding. We feel very blessed and grateful to have met Mark. I have been to several weddings through the years and I can honestly say that Mark is the best wedding officiant.

JUDY G

1/30/2023

Mark Bidlake was a great choice to officiate our wedding. He was very helpful planning the flow of the event and assisting with our vows. He did a wonderful job of offering ideas...

, establishing a working format/template and then letting us make adjustments to personalize the script. The communication was excellent pre-event and he, of course, arrived early to prepare, review and even help with decoration of the dais. You’ll find Mark to be warm, caring and lighthearted. He is also a patient and understanding man. My husband came down with Covid the day before our first wedding date so we had to cancel in a hurry and reschedule. Mark was very gracious about it all. All of our guests thought the ceremony was beautiful and graceful. Our many thanks to Mark for helping to make our day memorable and very special.

Service area & Contact info

Travel area: Within 100 miles

Additional charges may apply

(815) 779-6308

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Special Moments Services

Mark Forrest Bidlake

Owner

Typically responds within 24h

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Special Moments Services

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Service area & Contact info

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