The coolest and happiest couples in the world come to get married on the Outer Banks. Let's make your day FUN, comfortable, full of honor, and totally taylored to fit you from start to finish. Watch a few of the videos here on Wedding Wire or on my website and you'll see what I mean. It's going to be an epic day for you, and I hope to be standing there barefoot on the beach with you! Can't wait to hear your story. :)
Experience Rev. Jay Bowman completed his undergraduate studies at Asbury College in Kentucky and right after, did seminary work at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. Through a small but solid denomination with Swedish Lutheran roots, he got his ordination credentials. With decades of experience in the church, he now delights in joining couples together in matrimony.
Services Offered Rev. Jay Bowman performs several wedding types such as civil unions, interfaith ceremonies, vow renewals, and many more. The licensed reverend also helps couples with customizing their vows upon request.
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James and Lisa Welch
· Getting married on 11/05/2021
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Jay is experienced and caring and puts you at peace!
Jay walked us through what to expect and kept everything very calm and peaceful. He is a wonderful man who really gave us the exact ceremony we were looking for - sunrise with the waves crashing against the shore and Jay's heart felt words delivered in the most beautiful way. We are grateful we chose Jay for our wedding day.
Sent on 05/28/2020
Rev. Jay Bowman's reply:
...and I'm soooo glad you made that choice as well!! Being with ya'll was incredibly natural and comfortable. No drama...just love! May the journey be a.m.a.z.i.n.g.!!!! Big hugs, Jay
Briana Alexander
· Getting married on 02/10/2021
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Jay is the Best Officiant in the OBX!
I can not even put into words how wonderful Jay is. When we first met Jay over a year ago, I knew right away he was the officiant for us. He asked us to watch a two minute video on his website. After my fiance and I watched the video together we were hooked. Jay made everything easy when it came to filling out the ceremony outline. Everything was right there on his website and there was no hunting all over for the vows and readings, it was just a simple copy and paste to the form. Fast forward to the rehearsal and the wedding day, Jay's personality made all our nervousness fade away. By far the best day ever, Thank you Jay! I would highly recommend Rev. Jay to anyone!
Sent on 10/31/2019
Rev. Jay Bowman's reply:
LOVED LOVED LOVED being there with you last weekend, toes in the sand, and celebrating you and Jamie. Such a great crowd of family and friends that you have, and a moment that will be for all time in your lives. Keep being YOU, and take good care of each other. All my best, Jay
Serena Shipley
· Getting married on 10/01/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Choose jay!
There is a reason why this man has SO many great reviews!!! He truly loves what he does and he's AMAZING at it! Aside from giving birth to my daughter, Jay made the most special moment of our lives. We've had quite the rollercoaster journey with planning this wedding. Anytime life got messy, Jay didn't skip the line, he jumped on the rollercoaster with us and threw his hands in the air! (Not literally lol). We've been planning our wedding for over a year. From the very first moments of requesting information from Jay, he was so prompt, fun, and genuine. Up until recently, we always emailed. You really get a sense of his personality just through writing. We knew he was the one! By the time we spoke on the phone, he already felt like a lifelong friend! I could talk for hours!!! So as you all know, weddings from all over got seriously affected by covid-19. We were one of them... When rescheduling, Jay was empathetic, light hearted, and positive. We were able to reschedule to a future date with no additional fees. He was flexible and so easy to work with. 18 days before our original date (5.13.20), we found out Outer Banks was allowing in non resident property owners! I reached out to Jay and our photographer, Lori Douglas, immediately asking if they'd be willing to elope with us!! They were more than happy to make our day still happen!! We are still having a larger ceremony with our friends and family later this fall, so we took the advantage to do a sunrise ceremony. No decor, just us, them, and nature. It was PERFECT! Better than anything I ever dreamed of! My husband and his father loved Jays approach and everything about the experience. It was super special, the ceremony itself exceeded our expectations, and it was SO personal. On top of that, who knew Jay was such a great photographer/videographer! We didn't have a videographer this time around, but Jay not only gave us lifetime memories, but he captured them while we were working with our photographer. He also gave us a bonus and put together a little video of what he captured. LOVE IT! We truly made a lifelong friend and he'll forever have an impact on our lives. We WILL be using him in the future beyond our next ceremony. No need to keep looking, Jays your guy and budgeting is flexible. There's something for everyone. Trust me, every penny is worth the quality and experience you get from him. Love you Jay!!! PS, we're from PA, but distance had no effect on our relationship! 100% a great human being!! Thank you!!
Sent on 05/15/2020
Rev. Jay Bowman's reply:
I REALLY don't know how to respond. Wow! So sweet, Serena....Thank you soooo much. I've obviously been blessed to hang out with a lot of happy people on the beach over the years, but your sunrise ceremony was one of those moments that left a forever mark on me...yes, partly because of the beautiful sunrise, and yes, partly because of the gorgeous setting next to the ocean, BUT mostly because of YOU. You and Billy made me truly feel like family, and then you go and put an exclamation point on it with the dip in the ocean. LOVE! So awesome. Already can't wait to see you in the Fall. Forever friends, Jay.
Rev. Jay Bowman encompasses everything you could ask for in a wedding officiant. We consider Jay to be the gold standard! The ceremony that he performs will resonate with the Bride, Groom, family and guests throughout the years to follow.
As we work many of the caters on the Outer Banks are blessed to work with so many different vendors. Rev Jay Bowman is most definitely one of the best (if not the best) wedding officiants on the whole OBX. He not only makes your day one of a kind, he also makes you feel like he is part of the family!! We have and always will refer Rev Jay Bowman as the first pick for officiants!
