Weddings by Marlene Amezcua

ing our ceremony details. We were lucky enough to have an outside venue but not so fortunate with our original minister (cancelled on us). Covid was not something we had ever planned for and we had a hard time finding a new minister. I was giving up hope until the coordinator at our venue suggested Marlene. Maggy said she stood out more than other officiants and ministers because she had officiated ceremonies at her venue more than a couple of times. She said since she was always back and forth she had not heard an entire ceremony. The only thing she did notice was that the guest enjoyed her services because they weren't stuffy and she could see them smiling and hear them laughing. Our ceremony was bilingual and non-denominational since I am Baptist. I kept telling my husband non-denominational is still Christian but he didn't understand until Marlene explained it to him. Marlene met us in person at her office the week before our wedding of November 29, 2020, and was able to wright a ceremony based on a simple and easy to fill out questionnaire. It was an extra fee but well worth it. My then fiancee, now hubby said it was a must that we honor his late grandfather and Marlene incorporated him in an eloquent manner. Last minute my fiancee surprised me with a personalized wine and letter set that he wanted to include during the ceremony (part of his wedding present along with a sparkling bracelet). Marlene helped me write my letter to him that same morning because it had to go inside the wooden box during the ceremony. She then went and wrote the wording for the wine ritual on her own in Spanish and English. If you want a serious ceremony don't call her. On the other hand if you want a couple of laughs with tear full moments here and there then Marlene is the one to call.

ne to review what to expect. I filtered "non religious ceremony" on the Knot App and hired her for this reason. I remember she asked me if she could mention God because some couples prefer not to, and I said yes that was fine although my husband and I are not religious it was ok to mention God since his parents are Catholic. I thought I made it clear to her that my husband and I were not traditional. As I was walking up with my dad, we were both tearful. Marlene made a comment to the groom "oh wow she is not happy." My husband told me this afterwards. I was shocked she made this comment, she was far off from the truth. The truth was my dad and I were tearful as we passed our memory table with a picture of my mom. During the ceremony, she made a ton of traditional comments putting my husband and I in categories and assumptions. 1. She made reference that my husband was the bread winner and turned to me and said and I hope you make money too one day. Um what! We BOTH are harding working health care professionals and both working towards completing our masters degree. 2. She made reference to affairs. Who mentions affairs during a ceremony? 3. I remember standing at the "altar" thinking oh man stop talking and let's get to our vows so my husband and I can talk. 4. When I walked into the home she was in my family's kitchen. She should not have been in the house at all for the safety of others. (reflecting back I should have made this clear to her due to covid we would have preferred her to not be in the house, but didn't think this was something that had to be said) The officiant's words during the ceremony were cringeworthy and very off base with who my husband and I are. This is 2020, not 1945. If you decide to hire Marlene, then learn from my lesson ask for the script and verbiage to approve beforehand. Overall, we look back and we had a blast during our wedding! We just laugh about the cringeworthy ceremony and erased the officiant's words from our videos.

of state, I didn't have the luxury of speaking with Marlene face to face, but that didn't matter at all. She sent us all the necessary documents to get an idea f who we were as a couple and what we wanted out of our marriage. After the ceremony, Marlene took our wedding license back to the courthouse for us to get processed. She was punctual, professional, and just great overall for the ceremony! Highly recommended!

nd quickly came up with some beautiful wording. My guest loved her and said it was not what they expected from a women officiant. I'm Hispanic and the bilingual service was perfect for all my guest.