Honestly, based on the reviews on from The Knot forums, I didn't even bother looking at anyone else. I dropped him an email to ask what his availability was for our date, and he's just full of joy and enthusiasm for what he does. I booked, I pa...id, I called it a day and didn't have to worry about our officiant.
I got an email every 6 weeks or so, just reminding me of my booking and saying how excited he was to participate in our wedding. There was a small glitch where my wedding date got mixed with someone else's, but it was resolved promptly and there were no issues because of it.
About a week the wedding, Roland called me to apologize about the date mix-up and wanted to see when we were arriving, if we wanted to meet in advance, what we wanted to do, and just chat. He's obviously so very, unbelievably passionate about what he does and he's so full of joy when you talk to him. I let him know that I'd text him when we landed on Sunday and give him the room information, and that we were good with just chatting with him quickly before the ceremony, no need for anything fancy. He did mention that we were his only wedding that day, so there was no need to worry about timing.
Here's where I get really impressed.
When we booked, we booked the "Gold Elvis" package that was 15 minutes before the ceremony to get to know us, a 15 minute ceremony, and 15 minutes after for photos and first dance. We figured that would be enough, because we're both atheist and we just wanted something that was fun.
Rev. Roland came dressed as Elvis 45 minutes earlier than expected. He had a sound system with him, which he then promptly set up on the balcony at the Skyline Terrace suite and immediately began to start entertaining guests as they arrived. He did a couple of songs, took some photos, and just generally entertained everyone before the ceremony.
At 6:30, he got my husband and asked him our story and signed some paperwork, came upstairs and asked me some questions and signed some paperwork with me, and gave a rundown of the ceremony. He was prepared to sing/perform all music for the ceremony, which I said it's OK, because we did have 2 songs already prepared for the start of the ceremony. That wasn't an issue, he was excited we'd chosen something in advance, and worked it in.
He ushered everyone outside to start the ceremony, had an amazing little ceremony broken up with a couple of songs to make it fun (and jokes, too). When I started to cry during one of the songs, he stopped the song and sang a different one.
Immediately after the ceremony, he did our first dance, and then let everyone know he was going to lead us in some photos but for everyone to just mingle and eat and enjoy themselves, which was awesome. He lead the poses, which was great because both myself and my photographer had no idea what to expect.
All in all, I could not have been more thrilled with the experience we had with Rev. Roland. It's so very obvious why he's a favorite, and I cannot fathom why you would book with anyone else.
Rev. Roland is so personable and it's so clearly obvious that he loves what he does that it almost seems silly to consider a different minister.