About this vendor
Your Wedding, Your Vibe -
Weddings by Rev. Bill Epperly offers premium wedding packages to couples across the Chicagoland area. Rev. Bill serves a wide range of spiritual orientations - from Spiritual But Not Religious to traditional religious or "Catholic-inspired" to interfaith and secular ceremonies. His weddings feel personal, meaningful, and genuinely aligned with who you are as a couple. Pre-marriage counseling and coaching using the Prepare/Enrich program is also available.
A Wedding Design Process Built Around You
Rev. Bill takes time to get to know you both through an in-depth interview process. He then shapes a Heart Story, a carefully crafted narrative that celebrates you and becomes the centerpiece of your ceremony. With a background in pastoral counseling, Rev. Bill brings a respectful, non-judgmental presence to his work. When you work with Rev. Bill, you enter a “no judgment zone” in which you are invited to relax and be yourself.
Ceremonies for Every Couple
Rev. Bill brings experience officiating for couples from diverse faith traditions and backgrounds, including Christian, interfaith, spiritual-but-not-religious, secular, LGBTQ+, and 12-step recovery ceremonies. He guides you through vows, rituals, readings, and any special elements you would like to include. Rev. Bill also offers pre-marriage counseling and couples coaching, and handles all marriage license paperwork after the ceremony.
Proudly Serving Couples and Families Across Diverse Communities including:
• 12-Step/Recovery
• LGBTQ+
• Military and Veteran Families
• Neurodiverse
• Racially and culturally diverse couples
Details
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
- Christian
- Catholic
- Protestant
- Interfaith
- Secular
- Spiritual
Wedding Activities
- After The Wedding
- Newlywed Life
- Premarital Counseling
- Wedding
- Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
3-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2023.2021.2019.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.084 reviews
Review photos
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Rev Bill was a great officiant! He goes a step further and really gets to know you which we felt made our ceremony much more heartfelt and meaningful. We met with him several times...
over zoom and in person in the year leading up to our ceremony. Not enough great things to say about him. Highly recommend!
We couldn't have been happier with Reverend Bill as our wedding officiant.
From our first meeting through the ceremony itself, Bill was kind, professional, and incredibly flexible...
. One of the things we appreciated most was that he never tried to fit us into a standard ceremony. Instead, he took the time to understand what we wanted and built the ceremony around us. We wanted strong Christian and Catholic elements woven into our ceremony, and he incorporated them naturally and respectfully. At the same time, it's clear that he can tailor a ceremony for couples with different beliefs or preferences. That flexibility was something we didn't find with several other officiants we spoke with.
We also took advantage of his premarital counseling and assessment process, which was absolutely worth it. The conversations and questionnaires gave us a chance to discuss topics we may not have otherwise, and we walked away feeling even better prepared for marriage.
By the time our wedding day arrived, we had spent enough time together that Bill felt less like someone we had hired and more like someone we genuinely knew. That made the ceremony feel comfortable, personal, and authentic.
We've received many compliments from our guests about the ceremony, and we credit Bill for helping make it one of the most meaningful parts of our wedding day. We would recommend him without hesitation.
We truly didn't expect the level of care and attention Reverend Bill graced us with. Not only was he organized, prompt, responsive, professional, and kind, but he wrote the most be...
autiful, heartfelt story summarizing our relationship and recited it perfectly and tastefully at the ceremony. He really did set the tone for the rest of the night and we are so grateful he was our officiant. Thank you so much Reverend Bill!
From the first call we had with Rev Bill we knew we had found the right officiant for us. We cannot express enough gratitude for making our wedding ceremony such a special experien...
ce.
From the beginning, he took time to understand our story, our values and what mattered most to us. Conveying the essence of our journey together while also staying true to our religious background.
The ceremony was heartfelt, beautifully written and delivered with such warmth that it felt deeply personal.
Rev Bill went above and beyond to create a ceremony that reflects our love story and made our day just that more special.
My wife and I got married this September. Reverend Bill was our officiant. We didn't know what type of ceremony we wanted. He listened to our ideas and helped us design a ceremony ...
that felt authentically us. Throughout the process, he was extremely diligent and organized - reminding us of important deadlines and helping us finalize all ceremony details well in advance of the big day. Highly recommend!
Rev. Bill is a gem and pro to work with. From our first meeting, we felt at ease with his kind spirit and thoughtful nature. We knew immediately that he was the one to create a cer...
emony that felt like “us” while paying respect to the religious backgrounds of our families.
After our ceremony, our guests shared that they’d thought he had known us for years. He even managed to make fans of my very Catholic family, who had been resistant to our non-church ceremony :)
No matter your background, Rev. Bill will work carefully and respectfully with you to craft a ceremony that reflects your relationship and your vision.
In the chaos of wedding planning, meeting with Rev Bill was a grounding experience that always left us reflecting on our upcoming marriage in the ways that truly matter. Thank you Rev. Bill!
From our first interaction, we were struck by Rev. Epperly's intelligent, compassionate, and poetic command of words that made us feel truly cared for. He is truly a master of lang...
uage, crafting a spiritual ceremony that was both loving and professional. Throughout the planning process, Rev. Epperly was a consummate professional -sympathetic, detailed, and attentive, ensuring that every aspect of the service was tailored to our vision, crafting a ceremony that was deeply meaningful and personal to us. On our wedding day, his compassionate presence created a truly transcendent and collaborative experience. The spiritual ceremony he led for us was a memorable moment that will leave us with everlasting memories. Rev. Epperly really was such a beautiful part of our special day, his talent for capturing the essence of our love made our wedding day a truly beautiful and unforgettable day, a profound experience that we will cherish forever.
Reverend Epperly was everything we imagined the officiant of our wedding would be, from the initial zoom meeting to our final handshake at the conclusion of our ceremony. At no poi...
nt did things seem scripted or too businesslike. We are Roman Catholic and wanted our traditions incorporated into our ceremony without turning it into an outdoor mass. He worked with us to create the perfect blend. We're glad we chose him.
Rev Bill was excellent. He was professional, warm, and was an expert aid up to and at our Wedding. He met with us often, got to really know us and our relationship, and offered inv...
aluable advice regarding the ceremony and our vows. And it wasn't just us, our guests commented on just how perfect Rev. Bill was for our special day.
We could not have imagined a better officiant. Working with Rev. Bill was seamless from the start. For every meeting, he was well prepared, organized, and focused on helping you cr...
aft your ideal ceremony! It's amazing how well he understood us as a couple and what we wanted in a ceremony just a few meetings. He created a beautiful wedding ceremony that encapsulated us as a couple, who and what was important to us, and one that truly celebrated our marriage. The ceremony was unique and individualized to us and Bill brought many suggestions on how to make it our own. We received many compliments on our ceremony - with how genuine, heartfelt, and personal it was. Furthermore, not only was Bill flexible and open with our ideas for our ceremony, he also was incredibly accommodating with our schedules. As an out of town bride and groom, we had no issue finding times to meet with him and he was always responsive!
Highly recommend for couples looking for a personalized and special ceremony that is reflective of who they are. Our ceremony was the perfect beginning to our marriage!
From the start of our Journey with Rev. Bill, we were very impressed. Yesterday, he exceeded all expectations and provided us with the best ceremony my wife and I could imagine. I ...
highly recommend working with Rev. Bill. Rev, Bill did such a good job highlighting our Heart story and vows. He was always helpful with any question. I genuinely hope to stay in touch long term. Thank you Rev Bill!!
We were incredibly fortunate to have Rev. Bill oversee our wedding ceremony. Rev. Bill’s ability to personalize every aspect of the ceremony to reflect our love story was truly rem...
arkable. From the initial meeting to the final vows, Rev. Bill demonstrated professionalism, warmth, and a deep understanding of what makes a wedding memorable. We couldn't have asked for a better officiant to guide us through such an important moment in our lives. Highly recommended!
We are so grateful for Rev. Bill and that he officiated for us. Not only did he officiate for us, but he places a great deal of care and consideration in the service he provides. W...
e had regular calls with him and grew to feel very prepared prior to tying the knot. He is very organized and provides a great deal of materials and information for those not knowing what to expect. Our families also really love him, which is a huge plus. It takes a lot of trust when hiring an officiant, and Rev. Bill goes above and beyond - he has become a trusted advisor and friend!
Rev. Bill was absolutely wonderful. We had such a lovely time getting to know him as we collaborated on the design of our wedding ceremony. The end product was everything we hoped ...
for, incorporating some of our favorite poets and deepest beliefs in a beautiful reflection of us as a couple. Thank you so much!
my wedding was put together quickly and I was hesitant on who I would get to perform it -I was pleasantly surprised -the Reverend Bill was punctual and explained everything In deta...
il -he took the time to ask about my family -as well as -spoke to them so he can get a feel of who we were
He said just the right words when he married us
I highly recommend him to others when trying to find a reverend
Bill was an excellent guide throughout the marriage process! He was a great resource for any and all questions, was very responsive, and was flexible to our requests. He was always...
professional and made our day special
Rev. Bill is extremely helpful, patient, and willing to listen. We are lucky to have him as our officiant. And the wedding turns out to be great thanks to his help and experience. ...
Would definitely recommend Rev. Bill to any of our friends who are getting married. Thank you , Rev. Bill!
Reverend Bill was wonderful to work with. He replies instantly and is very transparent about the whole process. We are so thankful for all of his help and for his professionalism, ...
even at the very last minute! He took the time to get to know us and we felt comfortable chatting with from the start. He was also very flexible! My husband and I were on the other side of the world when we were trying to plan our ceremony, and Rev. Bill always accounted for the time difference when setting up our Zoom calls. He is so thoughtful and he did a great job with our ceremony. My family was very impressed, and they can be a tough crowd sometimes. Thank you for all of your help, Reverend Bill!!
We had a truly wonderful experience working with Reverend
Bill! From our initial consultation through the entirety of our wedding day, Bill was so thoughtful and attentive with the...
service he provides. We were specifically looking for an officiant to craft a secular, but still earnest and romantic ceremony
for us. Bill crafted something that was customized to include various readings and moments that felt meaningful to our story as a couple. Chatting with Bill so that he could learn more about us brought us closer together as we had to recount our history together in a way that you normally don’t get to do very
often.
We received countless compliments from our friends &
family about how great Bill was during the ceremony, and so many of the specifics people made reference to were things that were his creation for us. He was even able to provide some levity during an unexpected interruption that made the whole room laugh. So, Reverend Bill is a great speaker in addition to being a
great Reverend. If it weren’t for only having your wedding day one time, we would love to work with him again.
Rev. Bill did an excellent job with our ceremony and I would highly recommend him to anything looking for someone to officiate a wedding. He was very detailed in preparing for the ...
ceremony and had some great suggestions. It was a very pleasant experience working with him to plan our dream ceremony and he really took the time to get to know us as a couple.
We had Reverend Bill officiate our wedding this past August and have nothing but positive things to say. From the introductory meetings, planning sessions, to execution of the cere...
mony itself, he was always caring, considerate, and dedicated to making sure everything we were looking for was brought to life. He truly cared about getting to know us and what we were looking for, which made the process as fun and easy as possible. Rev Bill was great on the big day, giving a memorable and personal ceremony that received many compliments from our guests. Couldn't recommend him more!
We are the couple which prefers a wedding to be formal and elegant, but also fun and loose. Rev Bill listens carefully, spends time getting to know you and your wedding ceremony st...
yle preference. He takes what he learns from you as a couple and prepares his delivery around it. The result was a wonderful ceremony and a memory that will live with us forever.
My husband and I are so glad we chose Rev. Bill for our wedding. We knew we wanted our ceremony to be unique to us, but weren’t exactly sure how to make that happen. Rev. Bill was...
great at helping us sort that out and was so patient when we were indecisive about certain aspects! We got many compliments on our ceremony and how it was very “us” - just what we were hoping for :)
Rev Bill Epperly married us last month, creating a beautiful and memorable ceremony!! Even my grandmother (who really wanted a church wedding) was extremely impressed by Rev Bill! ...
He really listens to what you do and do not want in your wedding ceremony! He seamlessly creates exactly what you, as the couple desire at your ceremony! He is extremely professional, accommodating, and most importantly, reassuring! I cannot stress enough that having Rev Bill for your ceremony is the right move! I would recommend him to anyone :) Thank You so much Rev Bill!!
We met with several officiants before choosing Rev Bill. My first impression of him was how thoughtful he was about our vision for the ceremony and the experience we want to rememb...
er for the rest of our lives. Throughout the process, he took the opportunity to get to know us individually and as a couple and made considerable effort to understand our ceremonial preferences. Rev. Bill was very organized, communicative every step of the way and accommodating and patient with our crazy schedules. Thank you for the memorable experience!
Rev Bill officiated our 8-28-21 ceremony and I intended to write a review much sooner. He was professional, organized, and very thoughtful throughout the process. It was literally ...
100 degrees for our outdoor ceremony and I was very nervous/queasy so we asked him to shorten everything at the last minute. He didn’t skip a beat and found smooth ways to do it on the fly. A couple of cousins have booked him to officiate their upcoming weddings and we highly recommend him for yours!
Reverend Bill is awesome and a true professional! He was understanding of our unique situation and desire to move up our wedding and did a wonderful job creating a beautiful ceremo...
ny for us. Rev. Bill is personable and kind, and above all we really appreciated his timely communication and prompt responses.
We cannot suggest working with Rev. Bill more to plan your perfect day. He is a great person that will go above and beyond to make your day special.
Thank you Reverend Bill!
Rev. Bill was easy to work with and he took a personal interest in our journey to marriage. He helped us navigate a complete reschedule of our wedding due to the pandemic, and was ...
always there to help us. When the day finally did come he was extremely well prepared and delivered an excellent service. Our guests raved about how much they enjoyed it. We greatly appreciated that Rev Bill kept the ceremony light and engaging befitting a joyous celebration. People enjoyed how humorous and genuine Rev Bill is and we wholeheartedly recommend him to perform your service.
Rev Bill was fantastic. Easy to talk to from the beginning, he clearly cared about what we wanted. He helped us craft the ceremony that was comfortable for us. He was prompt and...
very caring and personal, but always totally professional. We had a problem with getting our Marriage license, it apparently got lost in the mail. Rev Bill took lots of extra time to correspond with us and Cook County to get it straightened out. He made a trip at his own time and expense downtown to sign papers a second time. I couldn’t be more please with how he treated us.
We couldn’t have been more pleased with our ceremony. We were seeking a Catholic based ceremony, and Bill carefully listened and planned the ceremony based on our wishes. Many gues...
ts commented on the details and just how beautiful the ceremony was. Bill was easy to work with and readily available if we had a question or needed to make a change. Highly recommend. Thanks Bill!
Rev Bill was integral to making out day perfect. We met with him multiple times and were able to work with him to make our ceremony exactly as we wanted. His experience, expertise,...
and extensive resources (so we could intertwine some religious elements) really helped us make the ceremony perfect. He was prompt and super helpful at getting our group organized and prepared during the rehearsal, and perfectly executed during our ceremony. Highly recommend if you are looking for an officiant!
We hired Rev. Bill for our NYE wedding and we are so happy we selected him to be a part of our wedding ceremony! We both were raised in Catholic families but we did not want to get...
married in a church. Rev. Bill did an excellent job making our ceremony feel like a catholic ceremony without having to be in a church. Both of our families were extremely happy with how our ceremony went and we received compliments all night after the ceremony from our wedding guests on how nicely done and beautiful our ceremony was! Rev. Bill made us feel so comfortable being up there during our ceremony, and also planned several meetings leading up to our wedding so all 3 of us felt comfortable and did not at all feel like a stranger was conducting our wedding. We cannot recommend Rev. Bill enough! Thank you, Rev. Bill!
Rev. Bill was the officiant for our elopement in August 2020. Rev. Bill was incredible from the start! Over a series of calls, Rev. Bill learned about us as individuals and a coupl...
e. Rev. Bill was very responsive, had wonderful advice on how to structure the ceremony, and even provided great relationship advice (like scheduling an "annual leadership retreat" with your partner to discuss goals for the year). Rev. Bill had many ceremony reading options for religious and agnostic couples. Rev. Bill was also very accommodating. We had to change the time of our ceremony, from 8:00 PM to 5:30 AM, just the week before our ceremony; Rev. Bill made adjustments in his schedule for us and was able to accommodate the time change! It was a huge ask, and we are very thankful. Stop looking, you should hire Rev. Bill!
Bill was great to work with every step of the way. We originally had a larger wedding planned in April but had to reschedule, and Bill was adaptable and understanding throughout th...
e process.
When the time came, he really put his full effort into planning what was now the 2nd ceremony (with only immediate family at a different venue). Bill got to know us through conversations with our close friends. It showed in his stories and added a great element to the day that may have otherwise been missing.
We asked for a wedding that was spiritual and shared traditional wedding values but was not religious and couldn't have been happier with how the day turned out.
We'd recommend Bill to our friends and others here.
We highly recommend Rev. Epperly. He is polite, professional, thorough, and attentive. He conducted our ceremony smoothly even under Covid-19 restrictions. He met with us severa...
l times and our ceremony was very personalized and meaningful.
Rev bill has been described as dove. He works very hard to make sure your day is special. During our ceremony he spoke about how we met and what we mean to each other. He is so k...
ind and warm hearted, you will not regret hiring him.
Rev Bill was very easy to work with and extremely flexible with all the changes to our plans due to COVID. He is a genuinely kind hearted man and customized our ceremony to our ex...
act wishes. I would recommend him to anyone!
Originally, we had another officiant to officiate our wedding, however she stepped down and recommended Rev Bill! He took over where our last officiant left off and agreed to do th...
e wedding at her price and with the script originally created. He added special information to our ceremony making it personalized and connected with us every step of the way through video calls and email. He also mailed our wedding certificate to the courthouse. WE ARE VERY THANKFUL for Rev Bill especially for officiating us during the pandemic!! He accommodated our requests that involved pandemic requirements as we. He was very kind and professional. Definitely recommend!
Rev. Bill. Wrote a touching, personalized ceremony for my husband and I. Three months later and I am still going back to read the previous vows he helped us create. We opted for...
a secular service and the touching words he wrote for us were reverent and conveyed the importance of our commitment without being religion heavy.
Rev. Bill is the best! From the start, he began building a relationship with us and really getting to know us as a couple and as individuals. We met on numerous occasions, in-perso...
n, phone and emails. He was very flexible on meeting locations and times and was willing to meet whenever and wherever was most convenient.
He asked a lot of questions, which was great, and also really got you to think and reflect on your relationship and everything leading up to the special day. Rev. Bill is was also very empathetic and insightful and provided a different POV, which was good to hear from.
Leading up to the wedding day, Rev. Bill was there during rehearsals and making sure we all knew our roles, including the wedding party. The actual ceremony went without any issues! It was exactly how we practiced and he was there a few hours before to get everything finalized and have a few moments with us.
Overall, the whole process was enjoyable and very smooth and would recommend him to anyone!
My wife Morgan and I had Bill officiate our wedding and we’re extremely pleased with his effective communication beginning from the front end and continuing through the wedding day...
.
Due to logistical reasons, we set up our conversations before the wedding through video calls to get to know one another. We quickly discovered Bill to be someone we felt very comfortable with, was very relatable and we knew we were in great hands. If there was ever anything we weren’t clear on, he was always one step ahead of us and had all of the answers.
Highly recommend Bill for anyone needing an officiant.
We recently worked with Rev. Bill for our wedding in Chicago and I can't recommend him highly enough for any couples looking for an all-star officiant in the area.
Throughout the...
entire planning process Bill could not have been easier to work with or more supportive of making our vision a reality. In our pursuit of a multi-cultural ceremony, Bill provided thorough research on Hindu and Catholic ceremony components and clearly took the time to explore the best ways to go about blending traditions for a beautiful cohesive final product. Although we ultimately decided to go for a more secular ceremony, Bill definitely takes the time to put together a script for your wedding day that's exactly what you are looking for. He sent us multiple drafts of the scrips, met us for coffee and in-person to get to know us, our story & relationship, and collaboratively put together then delivered exactly what we wanted. Our guests loved him, his presence, and the atmosphere he provided for our wonderful day.
Thanks so much to Bill for all of his wonderful work! He's a rockstar and you'll give him a call if you know what's good for ya!
My husband Nick and I are so happy we found Rev Bill to marry us on May 18, 2019. We were so impressed that he truly understood us as a couple after only meeting with him for an ho...
ur. Each time we met with him after that we felt like he understood our relationship and would be the perfect person to reflect that to our wedding guests. He was extremely professional, personable and organized. He asked us to review every detail of our ceremony so we felt comfortable with every reading, prayer and vow. He even gave us great ideas to help make our ceremony more special like adding a flower ceremony for our parents. We would highly recommend Rev Bill to anyone looking for an amazing officiant!!
Rev Bill was an absolute blessing to have have officiate our wedding. He was always there for questions and concerns. He understood what we really cared about during our big day an...
d delivered just the right words! He was funny, thoughtful and just a joy for our audience to listen to. We couldn't have chosen better. Thank you so much Rev Bill! Liz and Zeke
Rev. Bill performed a heartwarming ceremony that told a story of our courtship as if he had known us for years. He was punctual and took time to give us detailed information. We co...
uldn't have chosen a better officiant for our special day. Thank you Rev. Bill.
We could not have chosen a better, more professional, more thoughtful officiant than Rev. Bill. He really took the time getting to know us. He made our ceremony very personalized, ...
comfortable and charming. Run, don't walk towards Rev. Bill if you are looking for an officiant. Thanks so much Rev. Bill for making our ceremony so very special and personalized. Kirsten & Tony
We were so happy with our ceremony by Rev. Bill. He got to know us a little bit before the ceremony, so he was able to make some personal comments during the ceremony. He let us c...
hoose readings/ceremonies we wanted, but then still provided the structure for the ceremony. We were so happy how it turned out and had lots of compliments. He was very easy going and enjoyable to work with!
Rev. Bill was a great find! He was great to work with and really accommodated our vision while planning out the wedding ceremony. My (now) husband and I are not religious but spiri...
tual and he made us feel comfortable about our choices and carefully crafted the ceremony with appropriate words. We choose to do a few sessions of the counseling for ourselves, but to also spend some more time with Rev. Bill before the big day so it wouldn't be a stranger marrying us. We enjoyed the assessment and Rev Bill was very accommodating to our schedules and ran the sessions really nicely.
Leading up to the big day, we had clear and consistent communication with Rev. Bill finalizing details and he provided some nice words of reassurance that every bride needs the week of her wedding! haha On the day, he was very timely (important for a type A bride like me!) and always had a lovely calm demeanor. Overall, we had a great experience with Rev. Bill and would highly recommend. I even received comments from my family and friends that they really like him, and his voice, and demeanor so it wasn't just us who like him!
You can't go wrong with Rev. Bill!
Rev. Bill was funny, sincere, and great to work with!
Rev. Bill is the best! My fiancee (now husband) and I met him for coffee in late 2017, and after one meeting knew that we wanted to move forward with booking him for our 9/8/18 wed...
ding.
Throughout the entire process, Rev. Bill was incredibly responsive, met all timelines set and made everything so easy. We did not have a really clear idea of what we wanted for our ceremony, except that we wanted it to be on the shorter side and aligned with our personalities. He wrote the most perfect ceremony which we were able to review and edit months before the big day. We met again about 2 months before the wedding to go over everything, and again our minds were totally put at ease. We had no idea what we were doing, and Rev. Bill's guidance was invaluable.
About 3 weeks before the wedding we decided we really wanted to have a rehearsal. Rev. Bill fit it into his schedule with no problem, and was great about giving us, our families and the wedding party the guidance we needed. On the day of the wedding, everything went perfectly! We invited him and his wife to join us for the reception, and it felt like they were part of our group of family and friends. We are SO glad he was available for our wedding date!
In addition to him being a great person, Rev. Bill submitted our marriage license right after the wedding, and emailed us a copy with a cute word cloud. He is sending us a bound copy of our ceremony as a keepsake, and even shared a guided meditation in the weeks leading up to the wedding to keep us calm. Rev. Bill is the best, and we would absolutely recommend working with him for your ceremony!
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