About this vendor
If you want someone trustworthy, articulate, professional and passionate about weddings please contact me! I serve all of Southern California. My job is to share your love story with the individuals you love most. I look forward to meeting you and helping to create your perfect wedding ceremony!
Details
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
- Buddhist
- Christian
- Catholic
- Hindu
- Interfaith
- Jewish
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
- Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
2-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2015.2013.
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.
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.031 reviews
We had spoken with several other vendors until we spoke to Stephanie. Personally, she is such a warm person and we clicked with her right away. It was the easiest and best decision...
we made in going with Stephanie as our officiant. She helped us go through several drafts of our vows and the whole ceremony. Her professionalism, attention to detail, organization, and responsiveness to us was AMAZING! We did not have to worry about a thing! She helped make our ceremony a memory that we will never forget!
Look No further!
Rest assured that Stephanie will take care of all of your wedding ceremony needs. We are two brides ( lesbian couple)and that can be a tough task to meet and Step...
hanie surpassed our expectations ( we're really picky)
we were married on 9/19/15 and Stephanie was great with communication in the months leading up to the wedding. She is extremely well organized, helpful and reliable. It was really important to have someone good looking and Stephanie is very pretty, polite, professional and has a way of connecting with you the couple. My guests loved the ceremony for many of them and myself it was the 1st gay wedding we'd been to. Stephanie did a phenomenal job of keeping the traditional feel to the wedding ( per our request) all while keeping it all heartfelt. you wont be disappointed I promise!
Stephanie officiated our wedding at The Villa San Juan Capistrano on 10/3/15 and it was wonderful! We were initially having some trouble finding an officiant because I come from a ...
Catholic/Christian background and my wife is a Buddhist, but neither of us wanted a church/temple wedding. We also really did not want a ceremony too full of prayers/verses so were keeping clear of priests/ministers. Stephanie specializes in non-denominational ceremonies and she was able to make the ceremony exactly what we wanted.
We live in Northern California and were planning our wedding to be held in Orange County - which can be a little difficult to meet with venders. Stephanie offered to do a FaceTime meeting with us and we were able to get a really good feel for how she would be as an officiant.
She gave us a draft of the ceremony about 2 months before our wedding date which gave us plenty of time to review it and make some changes. We were really busy with our planning and the draft of the ceremony kind of took a back seat (totally our bad!) but Stephanie was soooo great she even let us make changes less than 1 week before the wedding! We decided to add a tea ceremony at the last minute and Stephanie didn't even get mad, in fact she was super excited to work it in for us!
We weren't having a super complicated ceremony so we opted not to have Stephanie attend the rehearsal (it is an extra cost) and we were totally fine. I met with her for about 5 mins the day of just to make sure we were on the same page and work out last minute details (microphone, standing, walking, etc...) and the whole thing went off without a hitch! She was even good enough to step to the side when I 'kissed the bride" so our photographer could get some unobstructed pictures!
We were 100% satisfied with Stephanie and would recommend her to anyone looking for a less formalized, not heavily religious ceremony. She even gave us a set of toasting glasses as a gift!!
I loved the wedding ceremony of my friend's Tyler and Meghan. Stephanie really captured who they were as a couple. The ceremony was meaningful and personal and guests talked abou...
t the ceremony throughout the reception!
Stephanie is the BEST! When my husband and I first met Stephanie, she was so genuine and professional. She instantly connected with us and was so patient at creating the ceremony w...
e dreamed of. She delivered everything perfectly at our wedding and we couldn't have asked for a better officiant! Such a great experience, she definitely comes highly recommended!!
Stephanie,
I just wanted to let you know how appreciative Jenny and I are of what a wonderful job you did during the wedding ceremony. You laid out a beautiful ceremony for Tyl...
er and Megan and made it very personal with your ideas about them sharing their “when they met” comments and their vows, as well as encouraging Ken and me to write letters to Tyler and Megan. Looking back on it, I would have been so disappointed if I had not done that. Thank you for your suggestion and your encouragement.
We have received so many unsolicited positive comments about what a nice ceremony it was and how you did such a wonderful job of making it so personal. We just can’t thank you enough. It was such a special day for all of us, and I’m so glad that you were a part of it.
SIMPLY AMAZING! From the moment I reached out to Stephanie she replied quickly with information we were looking for. We then set up to meet with her a few days later and instantly ...
knew she was the one we wanted to officiate our wedding. She was organized, easy going, sweet as can be, delivered our ceremony PERFECTLY! We received so many compliments on her style of delivering! My husband and I wanted a little twist on traditional but with a touch of religion; and I was more than we could have ever dreamed of! Stephanie is definitely someone I would refer time and time again! xo
I highly recommend Stephanie Ford to those in need of a wedding officiant. I had the privilege of attending a very close friend's wedding in July in which Stephanie officiated. Now...
, we've all been to weddings, and most of the time we hear the typical phrases as we wait for the words "You may now kiss the bride". In this case, however, I didn't want the ceremony to end. Stephanie was professional yet personable. She was an integral part of the ceremony, yet knew when and how to allow the spotlight to be solely on the bride and groom. Her words were delivered eloquently and left the guests with beautiful and memorable analogies about love and marriage. After the ceremony, everyone was talking about how beautiful it was and what an amazing job Stephanie did.
As a good friend of the bride, I also had the opportunity to hear about how integral Stephanie was during the time leading up to the wedding. She genuinely cares about her brides and grooms and puts everything she's got into making their day special and amazing! I will recommend Stephanie to my friends and family as THE BEST choice for an officiant from now on!
Stephanie is amazing! She worked with us and our very very tight schedule to create a perfect ceremony. She was always easy to contact, very professional, and made me feel complete...
ly comfortable leaving the ceremony in her hands. She really felt like a friend to my now-husband and I throughout the entire process. My guests were moved by the ceremony, and everyone commented on how personal and beautiful the ceremony was. Stephanie really cares about her clients and making their vision a reality, and I recommend her to anyone and everyone.
From the moment we contacted Stephanie about officiating our wedding, to shortly after the wedding when she gave us information about obtaining our marriage certificate, Stephanie ...
was professional, reliable, and genuine.
We started working on our ceremony with Stephanie about a month before the wedding. Along with meeting up several times, we also communicated with Stephanie via phone calls and emails. She was always prompt to return both phone calls and emails, and she always made sure that everything we needed (and wanted) was taken care of. Stephanie introduced us to ceremony elements that we had never seen in any other ceremony before, which we absolutely loved. She helped us incorporate these unique ideas into our ceremony to make it even more personal than we had planned. Her ceremony ideas really helped explain our love story to our guests.
The ceremony Stephanie performed on our wedding day was flawless. She stuck to the format and words we had all agreed on, made sure all of the guests were engaged, and truly put into words the love the two of us have for each other. We received countless compliments on our ceremony from family and friends on our wedding day, and we are still continuing to receive compliments on the ceremony, a month after our wedding. At our reception, we had a cousin come up to us and say, “I just loved your ceremony, but I got so emotional, I cried my false eyelashes off!” As funny as it was, we think her comment spoke volumes about the incredible job Stephanie did performing our wedding ceremony.
Overall, Stephanie was an absolute gem to work with. We felt so blessed to have a wedding officiant who shared such original and unique ideas for our ceremony and our desire of making our wedding ceremony very personal. We would highly recommend Stephanie to any couple getting married, as she made our wedding ceremony even more wonderful than we could have imagined.
-Tyler & Megan Bernth
Stephanie is phenomenal! She's organized, efficient, and accessible to her clients. As a bride planning her wedding from over 1,000 miles away, these qualities were invaluable. W...
e loved that she helped us create a ceremony that reflected who we are as a couple. Stephanie even made a point to socialize with our family and friends during rehearsal. She's very personable and I would recommend her to anyone looking for an officiate in the Orange County area.
I honestly don't know where to start. I don't think I've ever met someone who loves what they do more than Stephanie. She is such an amazing person and is willing to work hard to m...
ake your wedding perfect. She made our wedding ceremony exactly how my husband and I wanted. She was there for us if we had any questions or needed to change something. She really worked with us! I honestly could not have ask for a better officiant. She's the best! I would recommend her to everyone!!!
Stephanie officiated our wedding this past October, and she was so fantastic! She helped us draft the most personal, unique, and perfectly 'us' wedding ceremony. We aren't a very s...
appy couple, and when we started planning our wedding I was adamant that I didn't want our ceremony to be too cheesy. Stephanie helped us fashion a ceremony that was sweet and funny, involved readings from court opinions instead of poems as a nod to my lawyer-nerd-ness, and that included a beer ceremony! And somehow there still wasn't a dry eye!
I would recommend Stephanie in a heartbeat if you are looking for an officiant that is professional, polished, and organized, but who also encourages you to be you! Thank you so much Stephanie!
I attended the wedding of a friend's daughter, and have to say it was a dream wedding. In addition to the beautiful outdoor setting, the wedding ceremony was perfect. The officia...
nt, Stephanie, clearly did her homework. She made everyone in attendance feel like an important part of the special day, and we felt very connected to the bride and groom's love story.
I had the most magical, fairy tale wedding three weeks ago on September 20th, 2014 at a barn! The most perfect setting, perfect husband and beyond perfect ordain! Stephanie Ford bl...
ew me away with how she delivered the message to our guest and us! Her enthusiasm when reading the stories was more than I could ask for! Not only did she keep my attention the entire time but she kept the guests attention as well! It was the most unique ceremony anyone has ever experienced! Not only did she deliver well, she also was extremely easy and very professional to work with! If ever I needed to ask her a question or needed help she was there in an instance to guide me in the right direction. You can tell she LOVES what she does simply because she is so passionate about making it personal and unique for your wedding! I know it was my wedding but I do believe that was the BEST ceremony anyone has ever heard before! Multiple guests approached me to compliment her as well. My caterer had received her number too because he wants to have Stephanie marry his son. We are extremely fortunate and happy with Stephanie and could not imagine having anyone else officiating our wedding!
We recently attended a beautiful wedding in September which Stephanie officiated. She brought love, wisdom and a bit of humor into the ceremony. She is an elequent speaker (clear...
and concise!) and took the time to make the vows very personable for the bride and groom. I'm certain she helped create a very memorable day for the happy couple!
I had the privilege of being the Matron of Honor, at my sister's wedding on September 20, 2014. Her rustic barn wedding was a beautiful vision, containing the most perfect ceremon...
y. As I stood by my sister's side, gazing at our loved ones seated in front of us, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the words that so effortlessly flowed from the officiant, Stephanie Ford. It was obvious that she had spent quality time getting to know my sister and my new brother-in-law,as she was able to capture their stories without missing a beat! The way she described love and life was captivating. I couldn't help but listen with intent ( and, yes, tears in my eyes), as I soaked in her words in hopes to use them in my married life. I especially loved the explanation of "wow days" and "vow days"! Overall, I truly believe in my heart that this ceremony was the best one I have ever attended. I know that Stephanie only officiated my sister's wedding, but she was able to define a marriage. Thank you, Stephanie for making my sister's wedding day more than we could have dreamed. You were outstanding!
I recently attended an outdoor wedding and had the absolute pleasure of seeing two people we care deeply for be married by one of the best officiants I've ever witnessed. Instead o...
f a traditional, boring, monotone ceremony traditionally found in weddings we were greeted with a vibrant, professional, contemporary ceremony that embodied what a true celebration of love should be. Stephanie had clearly developed a connection with the couple during pre-marriage counseling and was able to communicate their love story in a way that captured the spirit of their journey and deep love they shared. I overheard several people throughout the evening commenting on who the officiant was and what a great job she did. It was a real pleasure to witness such a beautiful ceremony. The bride and groom were picture perfect, but having Stephanie Ford as the officiant clearly added an extra bonus to their day! Great Job, Stephanie! Keep up the great work.
Stephanie Ford officiated my daughters wedding on September 20, 2014. She did an absolutely amazing job. Cheryl & John's wedding was an outside venue, and the grounds were beautif...
ul. That would make for an amazing wedding alone, but the ceremony that Stephanie did put the wedding on a whole new level. It was beautiful and well spoken. She took the time to get to know the bride & groom early on by communicating with them, and during rehearsal, Stephanie took the time to help guide us through the ceremony. Afterwards, my family and friends kept complimenting us on what a beautiful service Stephanie did. We heard all night that this was a fairy tale wedding and having Stephanie as the officiate made all dreams come true! Thank you Stephanie Ford!
Sent from my iPad
Stephanie was the officiant for my sister's dream wedding. I have never witnessed a wedding ceremony that was as personal as Stephanie made my sisters. She had my sister and her no...
w husband write their love stories of how they met and shared them that day. It was amazing! Everyone that attended couldn't say enough about the ceremony! I will remember this ceremony more than my own because of how beautiful it was. Thank you Stephanie for helping make my sisters wedding even more magical than I imagined! You are the BEST officiant I have ever seen and I would HIGHLY recommend you to anyone!!!!
When I set out to find someone to marry us, I knew I wanted a female. I wanted someone strong,fun and very easy going, Stephanie fit all of that and more! When we first met Stepha...
nie, she made us feel so comfortable. She was very down to earth and just a joy to talk to. She made us feel at ease and she was very professional. During our first meeting with her, we felt like she understand not only how we felt about one another but also what we wanted our wedding to be like. Since it was not the first marriage for either one of us, we appreciated that she was non- judgmental. Stephanie provided us with examples of other ceremonies and helped us decide what was best off us. She was never pushy and always accommodating. We kept in contact with her up until the wedding, going over minor details, she was always on top of her game! Our rehearsal with her was simple and easy. After the rehearsal was over, we left knowing that she was going to make your day perfect. The day of our wedding was perfect! Again she made us feel so comfortable and we had so many compliments about her and our beautiful ceremony. We would definitely recommend Stephanie to anyone. Stephanie is very eloquent and we were truly blessed to have chosen someone who made us feel so comfortable.
First and foremost, Pure Lavish Events loves "He Said, She Said!" Stephanie has quickly become our preferred officiant, she immediately connects with our couples and listens to the...
ir story whole heartedly to ensure that their ceremony has meaning and depth. She truly has a gift and a heart made for this career.
She comes early to every rehearsal and ceremony and has even lent us a helping hand when setting up. Stephanie is so genuine and cares deeply about her couples. She truly wants their day to be perfect and goes beyond to ensure that happens. Not to mention her smile lights up the room and her professionalism goes unmatched.
We will continue to refer Stephanie and are excited for many more weddings together!
Stephanie is awesome!! I knew it the moment I met her. We wanted a non-denominational officiant for our wedding and she gave us exactly the ceremony we envisioned. She's super orga...
nized, which really put us at ease. We knew she would show up, be prepared, and help keep US calm :) She's incredibly warm and funny--just a really good presence. I did a lot of the writing for our ceremony, but she had some great suggestions for making it better and did such a wonderful job with leading the ceremony. I got tons of compliments from guests on how nice it was. I'd highly, highly recommend her!
My now-husband and I had our first meeting with Stephanie at Starbucks and weren't sure what to expect. She was so sweet and really seemed interested to hear about our courtship a...
nd upcoming wedding. She had a questionnaire she completed about our hopes & goals as a couple. Our meeting seemed to go by in a flash but in reality was a few hours long. Stephanie is based in Orange County and was willing to make the drive to our rehearsal AND wedding deep in the Inland Empire with a minimal mileage fee. She was insistent on attending the rehearsal and we found that some potential officiants were not interested and that was a deal-breaker for us. The rehearsal was important to us and it was nice knowing Stephanie understood that and was on the same page. We kept in touch periodically to work on the ceremony and she provided several examples to give us a place to start. At the rehearsal she was fun and made the experience really exciting. We shared a few jokes and she put us as ease going into the biggest day of our lives. On the wedding day she arrived early and spent some time with the ladies in the bridal suite. She joked with us, took pictures and shared stories and even rapped the vows just minutes before we walked down the aisle! I was cracking up the whole time and knew we chose the right person to marry us. Stephanie is open-minded, easy going and charismatic. We discussed her outfit options (never crossed my mind!) and she ended up looking like the perfect addition to the wedding and fit in well with a gray shift dress and yellow jewelry to coordinate with our wedding colors. She is beautiful inside & out and we heard so many great compliments from our family and friends about the ceremony and Stephanie's personality. I highly recommend her if you're looking for an officiant!
I really searched high and low to find someone that was not to stuffy, and that could bring something new and fresh to my wedding. I wanted something that was non-denominational an...
d someone that would really set the tone for my outdoor vineyard wedding. Stephanie was better then I could have ever thought! She helped my husband and I really mold our vows to what we were looking for. She also was so kind to give my husband a pep talk right before the wedding to calm his nerves. I would 100% refer Stephanie to anyone looking for a friendly,organized, and personal officiant. I will never forget you Stephanie xoxo!!
Of all the people that helped to make our wedding day special, Stephanie made it the best!!! We started working with Stephanie about a year before our wedding for pre-marital coac...
hing. We found this to be so much fun and really beneficial for both of us. We developed a friendship with Stephanie as we worked together and it was obvious that she truly cared about us both as individuals and as a couple! As our Wedding Officiant, she more than delivered! Our ceremony was beyond amazing: personalized, upbeat and inspirational. It was everything we had hoped for and more. I had numerous guests comment to me on how wonderful the ceremony was and what a great job she had done. I honestly can’t say enough about Stephanie. She is such a genuine person and a perfect fit for this world of work. We feel very fortunate to have found Stephanie and plan to maintain a lifelong friendship with her.
Stephanie was not only professional in all aspects of her role as our officiant, she was warm, friendly, and made us feel so comfortable before and on the wedding day. Stephanie w...
as always available to answer any questions we had and helped us create a ceremony all our own. We received so many compliments after the wedding. Thank you Stephanie, for helping to make our day even better than we could have imagined!
I have to say that there were many parts of our wedding that were fantastic, but Stephanie was a part of the most important and she made it the best. Stephanie is, not only, extra...
ordinarily professional and well spoken, but she is also very warm and genuine. She was pleasant and easy to work with throughout the process of writing the ceremony. I found her very helpful and detail oriented when editing our final draft, which was the most stressful part. In addition, Stephanie received many compliments from both sides of the family. I truly enjoyed her presence on the best day of our lives and will never forget how much she cared and what a great job she did.
Thanks so much Stephanie!
ps we will email you our picture soon ;)
Love Adam and Katie
We met Stephanie about 3 weeks prior to our wedding during our first pre-marital couseling session. Right off, we appreciated her being so relatable and engaging. She is very profe...
ssional and uses her knowledge to with us in a way that makes us open up and gain an impactful experience from each session. We owe our preparation for marriage and willingness to continuously to work on our relationship to Stephanie.
Stephanie married us on 8/3/12. Her orgnaization and guidance throughout the process of creating such a memorable day was very efficient, accurate and thorough. As she was with us when we first met, she was very engaging with our family and they all loved her. She created a very intimate feeling during our ceremony. Honestly, we would not have had it any other way. We are so happy we selected Stephanie to direct us through our pre-marital counseling and to perform our wedding ceremony!!!
Eric and Jessica Lampkin:)
Stephanie was nothing but professional! She was poised and sweet and extremely easy to work with! I would recommend her to anyone. Our vows were perfect, they were romantic without...
dragging on and being repetitive. She allowed us to customize our vows and they never once felt as though they were "cookie cutter vows". She showed up early being fully prepared and I never once had to worry "is Stephanie going to make it on time?!". She was one of my favorite vendors.
Very helpful, organized, and poised.
When my photographer was 2 hours late and my nerves were running haywire she did everything she could to help me. She even took pictures of m...
e and my bridesmaids with her own camera just to help calm me down. Also my veil was coming out and she took her own bobby pin out just to help me. Her little gestures and her understanding was so much and more. She is what an officiant should be. She is more than just an officiant! ! ! You cant go wrong with her ! ! ! I would recommend her 1000000000xs over!
Contact
Newport Beach, CA | Orange County
He said...She said's photos