tinkypatz
Wedding: 12/18/11
Leslie is absolutely amazing - she is the perfect officiant and composer of your ceremony. My husband and I wanted a ceremony that was unique to us and very personalized. Leslie was more – so much more – than a voice declaring us husband and wife. The great thing about Leslie is that, not only is she great at leading a crowd, but you meet her and you feel like you have known her for years. I mean that in all sincerity. She has this special way about her, and you know that she truly finds joy in being your celebrant.
We had no idea where to start looking for a ceremony template, but Leslie had it all! She sent a wedding ceremony workbook that even included romantic sayings and blessings. She is able to customize your ceremony HOWEVER you want it! Leslie was more than accommodating and willing to schedule skype conferences around our time constraints, to ensure that we were comfortable with every aspect of the ceremony. She listened so intently and excitedly to our stories, and I just knew we had made the right choice!
We also asked Leslie to attend our wedding rehearsal and I'm glad we did! We had so much going on and she handled the rehearsal very professionally. It was nice to be able to hand over the responsibility and just enjoy the experiences! Leslie also did all of the leg work for us to ensure that our marriage certificate was waiting for us when we returned from our honeymoon, which was one less thing to worry about. Leslie was a true professional and she put our minds at ease! I would recommend her to anyone looking for a heartfelt, personal officiant. There is not ONE bad thing that I can say about Leslie, I recommend her wholeheartedly, you will not regret hiring her!
VSoros
Wedding: 6/18/11
Leslie was incredibly supportive and attune to me and my husband while planning our marriage celebration. She was thoughtful, warm, engaging, and officiated a beautiful ceremony - a memory we will always cherish. Thank you, Leslie.
Katie
Wedding: 10/16/10
From our very first meeting with Leslie, we knew she was the perfect person to officiate our wedding ceremony. We met with her twice in her San Francisco office, first to review our options, and then to go over the ceremony we had created using her Wedding Ceremony Workbook.
Communicating with Leslie via email was so easy and she was always responsive and insightful. Neither my husband nor I are religious, and Leslie helped us to craft a wonderful non-religious ceremony infused with poetry and meaning. We ended up having a ceremony that combined some of her writings with passages we had written ourselves. When we were up at the altar, I was so grateful for her calm and soothing presence. She delivered our ceremony beautfully, and so many guests commented on how perfect our ceremony was and how well it reflected our personalities.
Rachel
Wedding: 6/20/10
We could not have been more pleased to have Leslie as our Officiant for several reasons. First of all her demeanor was perfect, very warm and sophisticated and sensitive to the mood we wished to convey. She seemed to not only have a joy and understanding but also a sense of humor that kept everything light and easy but still heartfelt. She was easy to contact and often returned my emails within a few hours, the first time we spoke was very easy. Creating the ceremony was easier then expected with her help and her workbook was full of all the subtleties we could have wanted. Mostly though her belief in our love and the importance of the step we were taking really endeared her to us.
Cris
Wedding: 6/20/10
Leslie was fantastic! We could not have asked for a better officiant. Our families, friends, and us loved the ceremony and Leslie. Her style was warm, heartfelt and you could tell that she did it with joy. She was incredible helpful all the way through. From the initial contact, to meeting her face to face, to working and preparing the ceremony. Leslie accommodated us completely and she was very flexible. We absolutely loved working with her. She has a fantastic Ceremony Workbook with lots of ideas and suggestion that allowed us to tailor the ceremony to our liking.
Natalie
Wedding: 6/19/10
We knew Leslie was the right person to officiate our wedding as soon as we met her. She is a very kind person and understood immediately the kind of ceremony that we wanted. We wanted a ceremony that would incorporate our love for one another and our spiritual beliefs, while hopefully making our guests who are religious feel inclusive and respected. We provided Leslie with some of our thoughts and from that she was able to capture the essence of what we wanted to create something beautiful. Our other concern was that some of our guests only speak Spanish. Since Leslie does not speak Spanish, she was willing to ask her boyfriend if he would translate parts of the ceremony for us. He did an amazing job too!!! We got many compliments from our guests about the ceremony, saying that they had really enjoyed it and were very touched by it. I highly recommend Leslie as she proved to be very professional and understanding. Although we were nervous during the ceremony, we found some calmness in that Leslie and Carlos were with us, helping to guide us through it all.
tastelifetwice
Wedding: 8/15/09
We can't really begin to put into words how happy we are with Leslie's work, but here goes...
Having Leslie there as we moved forward together into marriage was just an indescribable peace. Just being in the same room with her is calming. Her aura alone envelops a space with a thoughtful serenity, and it is because of this that when she speaks people listen to her with their hearts and minds.
Throughout the planning process, she was kind and receptive to all of our most intimate thoughts and preoccupations. We were deeply touched by her willingness to take the time to ask the right questions and gain a deep understanding of the various perspectives involved in our ceremony. My parents are Christian, his parents are agnostic, we don't know what we are, and both our extended families are either Christian or Presbyterian... Needless to say, her spiritual guidance pre-wedding was a huge comfort to us.
She was always on time, always professional, always a pleasure to meet. We will forever treasure her contribution to this day.
Many of our family and friends were begging to be introduced to Leslie. If you want someone to reinforce your marriage with a ceremony that is real and one that truly represents who you are, I would strongly urge you to at least meet with Leslie. We will recommend her services to anyone planning a wedding.
angk
Wedding: 10/4/08
Leslie officiated our wedding and helped to make the ceremony one of the more stress-free components of wedding planning. We planned our Napa Valley wedding from New York City and Leslie was responsive and supportive in answering all of our questions by telephone and email and also worked with us to incorporate a traditional Chinese tea ceremony as part of the wedding ceremony. Leslie's tone captured exactly what were were hoping for in creating an intimate and meaningful ceremony. We would definitely recommend Leslie as an officiant for any couple.
shirin
Wedding: 12/31/04
Leslie was wonderful. My husband and i wanted a secular wedding and Leslie really helped us infuse the vows with power and meaning. One of my husbands oldest family friends told me it was one of the most intimate and beautiful weddings he had ever been to.
Nancy
Wedding: 10/5/96
Our wedding service combined traditional wedding ceremony components with Native American traditions. We found Leslie very helpful in creating a ceremony that would be meaningful to us and she helped us take our concepts and turn them into a beautiful ceremony. Everytime we had a question or needed any resources, Leslie was able to provide a variety of information and worked with us to create something special to us (for example our vows). As the wedding date approached, Leslie provided calming guidance for both my husband and myself so that we were able to place other pressures aside and concentrate on ourselves and the meaning behind the ceremony. I would recommend Leslie to any couple seeking an officiant for a very special day.
Josie
Wedding: 10/7/95
Leslie officiated at our wedding 13 years ago. Together, we created a ceremony that combined some of the traditional wedding ceremony with poetry and music. Leslie was very helpful and made the process easy and pleasurable. She was prompt, cheerful, sensitive and fully supportive. She has a beautiful feminine voice. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to arrange for amplification as our ceremony was large and outside at a somewhat breezy site.
As well, we sat down with her for several marriage counseling sessions prior to our wedding which were very helpful. Although I initially thought they were unecessary, both my husband and I found them to be thorougly enjoyable and insightful. Leslie gave us a list of ten areas of life to consider (such as family, money, children etc.) and we were able, in just a few sessions, to consider each topic and the expectations we brought to our marriage. We found that doing this in a formal way with Leslie was very helpful and also enriched our connection with her for the ceremony.