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About this vendor

Claire Frances
Claire Frances
Owner

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Rev. Claire Francis is a wedding officiant based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is an ordained interfaith minister and has proudly officiated over 1,000 weddings since 2004. Rev. Claire Francis conducts unique and personalized ceremonies throughout central Virginia and is also available to travel to other Virginia locations and Washington, DC.

Services Offered

Rev. Claire Francis and her team of passionate ministers provide a number of services to help make couples' big day even more memorable. She begins the process with an initial consultation via email or over the phone before asking couples to complete a questionnaire outlining their preferences. Claire offers a range of ceremony options that include customizing vows, rituals, and blessings, with the option of honoring family members and ring vows also included. Rev. Claire Francis can perform at a wide range of ceremonies, including interfaith, inter-spiritual, and intercultural weddings. She is also happy to perform at elopements, civil unions, and vow renewal ceremonies. Rev. Claire Francis and the team conduct a full rehearsal prior to the big, allowing to-be-weds to feel prepared and make any final adjustments to the ceremonial itinerary.

What You'll Love About Rev. Claire Frances

Claire will create a truly personalized and touching ceremony that reflects your unique bond and love story. She works closely with both of you to truly understand your values and what matters to you to craft a ceremony you will cherish. To learn more about the calm, joyful, and moving ceremonies she has crafted for other couples, check out her reviews.

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FAQ

Which of the following are included in the price of your wedding officiant services?

Ceremony Rehearsal

What types of weddings and events do you provide services for?

Non-religious
Interfaith
Ceremony Rehearsal
Vow Renewal
Civil Union

What religious affiliations do you serve?

Agnostic
Baha'i Faith
Buddhist
Earth-Based
Episcopalian
Hindu
Jainism
Jewish
No Denomination
Pagan
Quaker
Shinto
Sikhism
Taoist
Unitarian

In which states are you licensed?

DC
NC
VA
WV

What languages do you speak?

English

Still have questions?

Reach out about anything you didn't see answered here—no question is too small!

Wedding couple

Reviews of Rev. Claire Frances

J
Julie Sent on 12/15/2022
5 out of 5 rating

From Stranger to Friend

There is not a more intimate moment to share with a stranger than your wedding day. But by the time you stand there at the alter Claire is no longer a stranger. Claire makes sure of this by meeting either in person or virtually, sending carefully curated questionnaires and asking the right questions. She read our owes and offered feedback and most of all by the end of the process but before getting married she understood us. Thank you Claire, for making our ceremony so special.
C
Courtney Sent on 12/05/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Best choice for officiant

We greatly enjoyed working with Rev. Claire to craft a ceremony that was reflective of us. She sent us a large packet of choices for each part of our ceremony, which really helped us figure out what we wanted. We appreciated her guidance and attention to detail -- our ceremony came out great! It really expressed who we are as a couple and what we value, and we are so glad we chose to work with her! We wanted someone who could work with our spiritual beliefs that don't quite fall in line with common religion, as well as someone who could help us work in traditions from our background. Rev. Claire hit all of those points for us!
B
Brittany Sent on 04/21/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Wonderful and Personal

Claire was our officiant at both our mini-ceremony with family and recently our big wedding that we finally got to have after several postponements. She was communicative, professional, and very thorough. She made herself available for video calls at odd hours to accommodate my husband's work schedule and differing time zones. Our ceremonies felt personal, intimate, and romantic. Claire provided us with many options for each part of our ceremony and we were able to put together something that was uniquely ours. She even went above and beyond to mail us our vow cards after the fact so that we can keep and treasure them. Thank you for everything, Claire!
Melissa
Melissa Sent on 06/25/2021
5 out of 5 rating

Beautiful, special ceremony

We loved working with Claire! From the first moment we spoke on the phone we connected, and my husband and I knew we wanted her to marry us. We live out of state, so Claire very kindly agreed to Facetime with both of us so we could all get acquainted. The questionnaire she sent us was extremely thorough and made us feel like she was really taking the time to get to know us before our wedding day. My husband and I come from different faith backgrounds, and Claire was fantastic at helping us navigate so that we had a ceremony that we (and our families!) were both happy and comfortable with. We had to postpone our original wedding date due to COVID, and Claire was beyond kind and understanding. Her grace made a difficult time a little bit easier! When our wedding day finally arrived, our ceremony was everything we could have hoped for. It was sweet, personal to us, and a perfect length. Claire even stepped out of the way for our first kiss (without us asking!), which felt like a next-level professional thing to do. Thank you, Claire, for helping to make our day so special!
D
Daniel Sent on 11/10/2020
5 out of 5 rating

Warm and personal ceremony

We feel so lucky to have had Reverend Claire Frances as our officiant. She guided us through the process of designing a ceremony that was meaningful to us. Her questions for us about our beliefs and values and those of our families helped us discuss with each other how we wanted our ceremony to feel. Claire also presented examples of different approaches to the individual elements of the ceremony for us to choose from and adapt.

On the day of the wedding, Claire brought a warm energy and kind attentiveness to the proceedings. We appreciated her advice to pause and take in the moment in the midst of the ceremony. Finally, since we limited our attendees to our parents and siblings due to the coronavirus, Claire found ways to acknowledge our loved ones streaming in from their homes in a way that felt natural and intimate. We are so grateful to Claire for making our ceremony so special and recommend her highly!
Courtney
Courtney Sent on 12/08/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Beautiful, Touching Ceremony

We decided to work with Claire after video chatting with her to discuss our envisioned ceremony. She was easy to work with and helpful when we were unsure about various parts of the ceremony. The ceremony she drafted for us was so beautiful - both families loved it and the touching message she conveyed.

One thing that Claire really excels at, which I didn't realize until looking at our wedding photos, is stepping aside at important times during the ceremony to give the photographer a clean shot. Thank you Claire for marrying us and delivering such a beautiful ceremony!
Vanessa
Vanessa Sent on 11/13/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Sweet and intimate ceremony

Claire did such a great job officiating our ceremony. We were the most nervous about our ceremony, but Claire put us at ease. She included little details from our questionaire which really put a personal spin on it. The words she wrote made our ceremony feel so sweet and intimate. Couldn’t have asked for anyone better!
Katie
Katie Sent on 05/20/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Fantastic and personal!

Claire did a fantastic job of personalizing our ceremony. My husband and I come from drastically different religious backgrounds so the search for an officiant was difficult to say the least. Claire incorporated elements that addressed what he values, what I value, and what we value to really make it our own. Her message was so meaningful and beautiful. The process is so easy and she does just a fantastic job. I'd highly recommend her!
Adam
Adam Sent on 04/07/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Excellent, Intimate, and Committed

Claire was wonderful. She worked with us in every aspect to create a personal and intimate wedding ceremony. On the day of the wedding she assisted dynamically going well above and beyond the expectations of an officiant. Claire brought kindness, love, and joy to our most special day. Highly recommend.
H
Hailey Sent on 10/09/2018
5 out of 5 rating
Claire was incredible! We wound up finding her late in the game and she was only available because of an unexpected cancellation. She was SO flexible and interested in making our wedding ours. She gave us a lot of ideas based on what we expressed interest in and then she was able to help us create the perfect, personalized ceremony. The energy was calm and warm; exactly what we were going for!
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Awards

52
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2015 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2012 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2011 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2010 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2009 Winner
illustration message review

Are you interested?

Real Weddings

Gaby & Chris
28 photos · 09/22/2017

Team

Claire Frances
Claire Frances
Owner

Professional Network & Endorsements

Blue Mountain Weddings Blue Mountain Weddings Wedding Photographers

Words ARE the wedding, and Reverend Claire always gives her couples, family and friends the bond of a magical message. Consistently great. Highly recommended.

Eve Watters Eve Watters Wedding Musicians

I've played for dozens of weddings performed by Claire, and it never fails- the atmosphere is always calm yet joyful, and her words are always so moving. She knows how to create a meaningful ceremony sensitively tailored to each couple, yet she really knows how weddings work and how to make things flow smoothly. I always leave feeling better than I came!

Harvest Moon Catering Harvest Moon Catering Wedding Caterers

We have worked with Claire and her team quite often at our weddings. She listens to the bride and groom's vision and creates a beautiful ceremony that everyone will remember.

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