Unique Weddings by Darlene

Darlene was so so great! From the moment we met her we knew she was going to be the perfect person to officiate our ceremony! The words she spoke at our ceremony were beautiful and she helped make our vows a very loving and personal moment between my husband and myself. She was open to all of our ideas and made our Unity Shot a great experience not only for us, but for everyone who was present with us! I would highly recommend her to future couples!

My husband and I knew that finding the perfect officiant for our wedding would be a daunting task, but as soon as we met Darlene we knew she was the perfect choice! Darlene was professional, helpful, easy-going, and very passionate about what she does. She helped us plan our perfect ceremony that was tailored to us as a couple. Our ceremony was moving, beautiful, and unique thanks to Darlene! So many of our guests came up to use during/after the wedding to tell us how amazing Darlene was and what an excellent job she did. We loved how Darlene had us pause and face our friends and family before our recessional to really take in everything and appreciate all the love surrounding us—it was very touching not only for me and my husband but for all of our guests as well. Darlene also framed her speech about us from the ceremony and gave it to us as a wedding gift which was so touching! I highly recommend Darlene Rice--having her as your wedding officiant will be one of the best decisions you make during the planning process!

My husband and I got married on June 29, 2019 at St Clements Castle and we were so lucky to have Darlene as our officiant. She is amazing and you can tell that she is passionate about what she does. From the first meeting up to the the day of the wedding Darlene was professional, helpful, and always responsive to whatever questions I had. She gives really good ideas of what to do for your ceremony and is open to other ideas as well. The ceremony was beautiful and short which is what we wanted. She did a great job writing about us as a couple which was included in the ceremony, and it made it personal. She does that for all couples and at the end she gives a frame that has what she said from the ceremony, which is so precious to have. I am so happy that we choose her for our ceremony. Bonus: She lives right near St Clements Castle as well!! Also, I have to add, she has the cutest dogs ever!!

We booked Darlene for our November wedding in Connecticut. She is the perfect wedding officiant. She truly made our wedding unique and special. Weeks before the wedding, she sits down with you and works on creating YOUR perfect ceremony. From choosing the elements in the ceremony to where I should place my hands, Darlene was professional, easy-going, knowledgeable, and will be right by your side every step of the way. We chose to do a time capsule element and she made sure every component was unique and relevant to us as we go forward in marriage. During the ceremony, she spoke with confidence, sincerity, and love. Although she knew us only during our engagement, she instilled heartfelt thoughts into her message as if she had known us for years. Many guests came up to us during and after the wedding and commented on how seasoned and professional Darlene was during the ceremony. She also gave us a touching keepsake that we will cherish together in marriage. For those looking for a wedding officiant, hire Darlene Rice and don’t look back. This will be one of the best decisions you make among the hundreds of decisions you will inevitably have to make when planning a wedding.

We'd give Darlene more stars if we could! She was wonderful to work with, helped us plan a ceremony that was both personal and meaningful. She offered great suggestions, and was extremely professional. Most importantly, she reminded us to pause and take in the moment and appreciate all we'd done to prep for the special day!

We could not be happier with Darlene! She was so down to earth and listened to what we wanted, rather than using a cookie cutter approach. She also warned us about a few negatives with the venue since she'd worked there before, which we appreciate so much since we were able to address them before the wedding. Every guest we talked to raved about her ceremony, it was the perfect length and so touching. This is probably the most important part of the wedding, and we couldn't imagine having gone with anyone else!

Darlene officiated my wedding last Saturday at St. Clements Castle and the ceremony was like something out of a dream! When we first met Darlene after finding her through The Knot, my husband and I knew she was the officiant for us. She was relaxed, funny, open and full of incredible, unique ceremony ideas. We had a Tree Ceremony, where we purchased a tree, gathered soil from our home and our family homes and mixed it all together over a gorgeous baby Dogwood while overlooking the Connecticut River. I couldn't have dreamed a more perfect ceremony for the two of us if I tried. Friends and family continue to compliment the ceremony and exclaim how beautiful and truly special it was. Darlene was incredibly helpful through every step and really made us feel at ease during our rehearsal dinner and especially for our big day. I would recommend Unique Weddings by Darlene to any couple looking to have the most special, memorable and unique-to-them wedding ceremony. She even threw in some beautiful surprises for Paul and I during the ceremony. We are beyond grateful for the beautiful memories we have thanks to Darlene!

Darlene was truly amazing to work with and really made it easy for us to personalize our wedding ceremony...An impressive feat as we do not consider ourselves to be the most creative couple! We had so many special touches within our ceremony and it flowed effortlessly. Our dog Arrow was a part of our ceremony and he was incorporated so thoughtfully throughout the ceremony including in one of our readings. In addition, we also did the wine box ceremony, and it was such a special touch the way Darlene weaved in its significance as well as the contents that we placed within it. When it came time to deciding what we would do for our vows, Darlene insisted that we added a few lines to make it meaningful and personalized to one another; and reflecting back, we are so glad we did it with her guidance! Our vows were so special and light-hearted to one another without having to go the extra mile to think outside of the box. We received a lot of compliments on how personable Darlene was and how she truly personalized the ceremony to showcase who we are as a couple. Her wedding gift to us is also very meaningful and the sweetest keepsake we could have received from her to remember our wedding ceremony. If you are looking for a easy going and knowledgeable officiant, look no further! Darlene will truly make your day feel unique and special!

For me finding an officiant seemed like it would be a difficult task, but once my husband and I met Darlene we knew she was the perfect choice! Darlene was so easy to work with, always responsive to emails or phone calls and constantly making sure everything we wanted was included in our ceremony! Our ceremony was beautiful and unique to us and exactly what we wanted. Afterwards so many people told us how impressed they were by the ceremony and how wonderful Darlene was, we can't thank her enough!

I cannot say enough about Darlene. She was absolutely fantastic and we’re thrilled to have chosen her to officiate our wedding. She was the only Justice of the Peace we met because we knew right away that she was a perfect fit. During our first meeting at her home, she welcomed us with open arms and we felt like we were visiting a close friend. She is such a kind person and we really enjoyed getting to know her in the months leading up to our wedding. When it came time to creating our ceremony script, we had no idea where to start but Darlene helped us piece together a ceremony that was perfect for us. She was prompt to respond to all of our emails, and she even took a very late night phone call (around 11pm!) a couple weeks prior to the wedding to help ease some concerns. It is clear that she truly cares about her couples. On the actual wedding day, the ceremony was just what we envisioned. It was heartfelt and personal, and many of our guests commented that it was the sweetest ceremony they had ever seen! Thank you, Darlene, for helping us create the most beautiful and sentimental ceremony filled with laughs and tears and pure happiness!

Let me first start off the way I am with all of my vendor reviews – We had the perfect wedding day in every single way possible… Darlene performed what most of our guests said was the most touching wedding ceremonies they had ever been to. She gave us so many ideas for ways to make our ceremony extra special and it really was! My husband and I wrote our own vows and Darlene structured our ceremony around that wish. She added lovely readings and just made it all come together so seamlessly. You can tell that she truly loves what she does and cares about all of her couples. I had absolutely no worries that the ceremony would be perfect, but I think Darlene made it even better than I could have dreamed.

Darlene performed our wedding ceremony on May 31, 2015. Darlene is so motivated to make your ceremony special, unique, and so memorable. She helped us participate in a tree planting ceremony involving both sets of parents and it came out beautifully. I would recommend Darlene to anyone looking for an experienced, well-spoken, and exceptionally friendly officiant.

We got married 12 days ago (April 10th) and hired Darlene as our officiant. Like the other reviewers here; she's awesome! We did the sand ceremony, which all of our guests loved. Darlene has lots of suggestions if you don't know what you're looking for...she is just as happy and excited for us as we were on our big day. I would highly recommend her; she loves what she does and it clearly shows. Jennifer

Darlene is amazing! She gave us so many ideas to work with, and helped us come up with a ceremony that was perfect for us. In addition to the vows and readings we wrote, she read a special wedding wish, which she printed and framed for us as a keepsake. Plus, since we didn't have a coordinator on-site (the ceremony was at a private camp) she helped us with the order and procession. I am so happy we had Darlene as part of our special day!

Absolutely loved her!!!!!

This was my favorite vendor by far! Darlene is such a great person, she made sure our wedding was about us not cookie cutter. My husband and I wanted a short and sweet ceremony, with no religious notions. She had suggested a unity ceremony so it wasn't THAT short (originally it was going to be about 5 min long). We chose the Salt Ceremony and it was perfect for us! We had chosen vows we came across online and added a few words to make it our own. Darlene was so happy for us to have found something so unique that she hadn't even done before (salt ceremony) which made the experience much more special. Our meetings were quick and painless, she knows what shes doing, also we were pretty laid back on how everything had to go we let her do her job. She also reads a poem/story/passage that is unique to her client and gifted us with a frame that had a print out of it. You won't find another JP like her anywhere in CT!

Darlene was so amazing. Not only did she perform a moving and beautiful ceremony but she even gave us a framed art piece of our wedding wish. She's is great to work with. I highly recommend her especially if you are looking for something special and unique.