Finding an officiant that could truly satisfy and lead us through the spiritual component of our wedding ceremony was an essential part in planning our ideal marriage celebration. Khara and I knew the presence of God would be with us on the big day regardless of how or where we were married. However, it was our greatest hope that we could find someone that would serve as a guide, symbol, and friend to our love - as well as the depth of our 'non-religious' spiritual beliefs. After interviewing a candidate or two and exhausting a few of the standard avenues used to find an officiant, we came across the opportunity to meet with Melinda.

My first conversation with Melinda regarding our wedding not only gave me the impression that she may be the person we were looking for - but, I was also left with the feeling that my wife-to-be might really enjoy working with her as well. With that, I was pretty sure we were well on our way to finding what it is that we were looking for. Melinda was flexible in meeting with us mid-week, which was pretty important to us considering that most all our days seemed pretty consumed by work, wedding planning, and life's responsibilities. Our first meeting felt a lot more like sitting down with a like-minded friend than an interview of a potential officiant. We enjoyed not only being able to share a bit about our personal life and beliefs - but, also felt like we got the opportunity to run Melinda through our gamut of questions and expectations. Needless to say, Melinda made it through with flying colors. Khara and I were quick to agree that she was perfect for the job the moment we got in our car after meeting with her.

Melinda was very helpful in not only supporting our spiritual beliefs but, in supplementing us with ideas and resources that made it a lot easier for us to create the kind of ceremony that we had envisioned. We came to find that talking about 'what our ceremony should be like' and actually realizing that vision are two different things. Melinda's experience and support in guiding us through this process was very valuable. And the care, preparation, and confidence she provided us with leading up to the wedding were indispensable. Perhaps one of the greatest assets a couple can have during the hectic run-up to their wedding is a support system that they can count on to be composed, reliable, and reassuring. Melinda proved to be all those things as well as a friend to us through the planning, rehearsal and actual day of our wedding. In the end, we felt pretty blessed by the fact that we not only shared our wedding day with someone that helped us express our love and spiritual beliefs - but, that we also really enjoyed having by our side as we made the finest commitment of our lives.

On 9.24.11 Melinda Rodriguez was a significant part of me and my (now) husband’s special day. She had the very important job of marrying us and did so with elegance and professionalism. It was her manner that really kicked of the positive energy and vibe that carried throughout our ceremony and into our reception. Our process to finding an officiant was challenging. It is difficult to look online and feel that someone is the right person for you. We considered friends or family but nobody was quite right. We met other officiants who had a detached process of going through a checklist of mostly annoying suggestions to compile the ceremony…would you like a rose ceremony CHECK, do you want to be tied together to symbolize the ‘tying of the knot’ CHECK… One officiant also pinned a rose onto my fiancée’s shirt in our first meeting, which just appeared to be a desperate and unauthentic attempt to get us in the wedding mood. We saw Melinda at work at the wedding of Khara and Hubert Schroeder several weeks before. We asked the newlyweds of their experience and heard nothing but positive things, so we set up a meeting.

What a gift it was to spend time with Melinda. She has a unique quality that makes you feel comfortable almost instantly and has a safe presence that allows you to share of yourself. There was no checklist, no agenda to determine different components of our ceremony, but rather a genuine conversation about life, love, marriage and spirituality. She offered guidance if needed, while still allowing us the freedom to decide what was important to us in our ceremony. We walked away from our time together refreshed, refocused on what was important and ready more than ever to get married! We greatly appreciated that time with her and we knew right away that she was the person for the job. The day of our wedding we received a thoughtful text from Melinda, this is just one example of her mindful approach to her work. During the ceremony she spoke with a strong voice, that compelled you to listen, really listen to the words that solidified our commitment to each other. She takes purposeful pauses to allow room for the bridal couple to really take in those important moments that you only get to have once. We received many, many compliments from our guests about our ceremony. Our day was perfect in every way, just as Melinda told us it would be. We are thankful and honored to have worked with her and would recommend her to anyone looking for an officiant.

~Shoshana Garisek Schroeder