I could write paragraphs to express how amazing Bonnie is but unfortunately, I don't have the time. That being said, Bonnie is WORTH EVERY PENNY (and to be honest, is quite reasona...ble for her amazing services).
For some background, I looked into hiring an officiant and paid a $75 deposit for their service to essentially save the date. After that was when I things went downhill for me. This person did not want to meet with us but acquiesced after my repeated inquires of "do you need to speak with us or get any information from us for the ceremony". When we did finally speak, the conversation was all of 8 minutes. She didn't ask or care to know one single thing about us and really just asked operational questions about the wedding (will there be music, who is walking me down the aisle, etc). I understand that's important but that was the entirety of the chat. I didn't want to push getting to know us any further. We ended the call and I sat silently (concerned and upset). My partner and I both had a pit in our stomach after the conversation and knew we had to find someone else.
In comes BONNIE. My partner somehow found Bonnie and she was just so much different. A breath of fresh air! She cared about getting to know us! She wanted to know our story! She inquired about our backgrounds! She laughed with us. She shared her background. It felt wonderful! We knew within 5 minutes of the call, Bonnie was the woman for the job! Lots of exclamation points in this review but that is just how lovely a person Bonnie is, I need exclamation points everywhere. In addition, she didn't require a deposit before she would speak with us. This was huge after my previous experience. She was gracious with her time on that initial call and even gave some good tips regarding open enrollment things for our jobs to keep in mind. Additionally, she gave us a really well thought out worksheet with some questions. This helps her form her ceremony talking points and is quite fun to do. However, my partner and I did need a bit of reminder to submit it. And again, Bonnie was on top of it with reminder emails. She also was so flexible and willing to chop or amend anything to make us most comfortable and stay true to our vision. She was personable, professional, kind, funny, and just the best person for the job.
Remember- Your officiant is going to be presiding over your ceremony (big or small). How much effort or time they put into preceding over your ceremony will show. Dont go for the cheapest option (unless you just want to get it done and in that case might just make sense to consider elopement--which I think is also a great option). We wanted some thoughtfulness behind the person speaking over our union. Mission accomplished. Everyone gushed about Bonnie, almost as much as they gushed about me. Everyone thought we KNEW Bonnie, like for some period of time- she never came across as a generic officiant. Officiants set the tone for your ceremony. You will not regret her as your choice. Lovely lovely person and thoughtful, well executed service. My partner and I couldn't thank her enough!