Mindful Ministry

We hired Bill and Joanne a little over a month before our wedding, and we could not be happier that we did.

If you haven’t experienced it already, wedding planning can quickly become overwhelming as you’re inundated with all the details and decisions that go into making the day special—even if you have a wedding planner, like we did. In the middle of all that planning, it can be surprisingly easy to lose sight of the very reason for the wedding: celebrating the beginning of a life with the person you love.

Working with Bill and Joanne provided a welcome reprieve from that chaos. Their process gave us an opportunity to step away from the logistics, reflect on our relationship, and think about what our marriage meant to us. Planning the ceremony with them became one of the most meaningful parts of our wedding experience.

The ceremony itself is highly customizable, and Bill and Joanne worked with us to create something that felt personal and right for us. Through the materials they provided and our meetings together, we were able to figure out exactly what we wanted our ceremony to look like. And, if you’re as naïve as we were going into the process, there is a lot more that goes into planning a ceremony than you might expect! Their materials made the process manageable, and each meeting helped us see how all the pieces were coming together.

One particularly special part of the process was the private marriage reflection during one of our meetings. It gave us a chance to reflect together on our relationship and upcoming marriage in a way that we probably would not have done otherwise amid the craziness of wedding planning. Joanne also provided a complete outline of the ceremony, including all of the readings and other materials, which was extremely helpful.

All of that preparation paid off on the wedding day. The rehearsal was organized, and the ceremony went seamlessly—even with some summer lightning making an appearance in the background!

Working with Bill and Joanne was genuinely one of our favorite experiences of the entire wedding-planning process. We highly recommend them. Their approach is thoughtful, flexible, and highly customizable, and they will work with you to create a ceremony that truly feels like your own.

Bill and Joanne were one of our favorite vendors we worked with for our September 2026 wedding. They were so great to work with, such kind people, they helped us to create a unique ceremony that centered around our relationship journey. They were open to making our ceremony as religious or spiritual as much as we wanted OR didn't want. They provided us a nice book to look through on parts of a wedding ceremony, it was a great resource. They encouraged us to write our own words throughout the whole ceremony, and we are grateful we did that, it was so personal to us and we received many compliments on the ceremony and how it seemed unique and so personal. It was perfect and I would not change anything about it. Their price package was affordable, and the options were nice to be more involved or less, depending on what we wanted. They are very responsive and communicate well. We are forever grateful they helped make our wedding so special!

Thank you Bill and Joanne, you both were very thoughtful, attentive, and helpful during the process. We are grateful for the service you offered to officiate our wedding and help us on the process leading up to it so that we felt comfortable knowing how our ceremony would unfold.

You custom tailored the event to our liking, with your feedback and suggestions to help us brainstorm, and your many options and examples that helped us to consider what direction to go!

Bill and Joanne are both wonderful humans with an amazing history together, we are grateful to have shared these special memories with them and we wish them all of the best in their futures.

10/10 recommend everyone to contact them and discuss the opportunity, you should not overlook them!

We were a bit lost when we set out to find a wedding officiant. We had both been married previously and been fortunate to find each other a little later in life than we might have preferred. We wanted a dignified but low-key wedding and reception with enough religious references to satisfy the expectations of pious, aging family members that had enough personalization to reflect who we were as unique individuals who had chosen to formally join our lives.

Like many others, we searched online. We interviewed a few candidates. And when we met Bill Mies, we knew immediately we had found what we were looking for. Our first meeting with Bill lasted more than three hours, which was the first indicator of the amount of time, care and guidance he would provide us over a six-month ceremony development process. In that first meeting, he asked us deeply personal questions about ourselves and urged us to articulate love for each other in ways that fostered a deeper connection. He also shared extensive personal details about his own life story and how he came to do what he does now. Quite simply, we bonded with him instantly. And we’re so glad we did.

Over the next six months, we met with Bill and Joanne multiple times, completing tasks along the way to design a unique ceremony. They provide a book and urged the purchase of a second to use as a guide that included everything from traditional Bible passages and religious readings from non-Christian faiths including American Indian and Chinese proverbs. It also included a selection of secular readings (we chose the famous “what is real?” passage from Margery Williams’s The Velveteen Rabbit). Bill helped guide us through the parts of the ceremony, from the structure and cadence to how to write deeply personal vows. All told, he spent probably close to 12 hours with us over three meetings prior to the ceremony itself.

Along the way, communication was excellent. Between meetings if we had questions, replies from Bill or Joanne were swift. Bill’s presence at the wedding ceremony itself only elevated the graciousness of the event. His sonorous voice and dignified cadence projected such a warm presence as we stood before beloved family and friends on a beautiful October day in rural Virginia and exchanged our vows.

So many couples dream of having a perfect wedding. We truly had one. Bill and Joanne truly were instrumental to making that happen. We eagerly recommend them to anyone who asks and urge those couples to trust their process. It really works.

It's an absolute privilege to recommend Bill and Joanne to other couples. Working with them both was one of the best experiences I have ever had with a vendor, and they created a beautiful and meaningful ceremony for our family. Many of our guests told us it was the best ceremony they've attended, and we couldn't agree more. As a same sex couple who wanted a ceremony that was spiritual and reflective of our religious upbringing, while also respectful to our identities, working with Bill and Joanne was one of the best decisions we could have made. From the first call, they met us with open minds and hearts, and built a ceremony that was rooted in love, respect and reflective of our family's hopes and dreams. They incorporated our three children into the ceremony in a way that engaged them and made it fun and meaningful. I would happily serve as a reference for anyone considering working with them and recommend that you reach out. They brought a tremendous amount of dignity, care and consideration to every interaction and have our utmost gratitude.

Bill and Joanne helped us create a beautiful ceremony for our wedding in St. Michaels, MD. After searching high and low for an officiant and being stonewalled by local parishes, we landed on Bill. We set up our initial virtual call and knew after our first conversation that my wife and I wanted him to perform our ceremony. Bill is upfront and easy going about the process and has a comforting way of assisting you in the hand-picked creation of your ceremony. His wife, Joanne, also provides immense support in the editing and execution stage of the draft ceremony. Together, they are an all-star team who are ready to provide as much or as little support as you’d like. Would recommend their services to anyone in need of a heartfelt, sincere, and lasting ceremony officiant. Thank you both!!

A huge thank you to Reverend Williams and his wife. We were deeply touched by their attentive listening, their patience and their kindness, which accompanied every moment of this collaboration for our wedding ceremony. A real harmony, guided by the Spirit, was woven between us, and this gave each exchange a special, almost sacred flavour. We came away enriched, calmed and grateful for the grace we shared on this journey together.

When we got engaged, we knew we wanted a meaningful ceremony that reflected us as a couple, included some aspects of God/religion, and would be performed by someone who married ALL couples. Bill and Joanne were the perfect officiants for this! They were a pleasure to work with. The first meeting, which was free, we could immediately see their attention to detail and how they truly care about each couple and making the best wedding ceremony possible. We loved how we could pick and choose exactly what would be said in the ceremony, and what Bill would say of us. Bill and Joanne were super responsive and their input based off their vast experience was very insightful while respecting what we wanted. Working with them was the most enjoyable and least stressful part of the wedding planning process. On our wedding day, we felt very comfortable in front of everyone because of the preparation Bill and Joanne put into our ceremony.

Worked with us to create the perfect wedding for us. They helped us through the entire ceremony. They ensure that your vows, prayers or other readings are incorporated into the ceremony are meaningful and special to you and your partner!

More that I could ever ask for. Very special and tearful celebration for us. We were blessed to have Bill and Joanne be a part of our wedding.