141 Reviews for Joan Phillips, Officiant & Celebrant
Recommended by 100% of couples
5.0out of 5.0
Quality of service5.0
Professionalism5.0
Flexibility5.0
Value5.0
Average response time5.0
Awards
141
36 User photos
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Daniela A.
· Married on 05/22/2021
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
10 out of 10
It was a real pleasure working with Joan! She was very responsive and supportive through zoom meetings, weeks before our wedding day. She was very helpful with planning minor details that my wife and I were still unsure of. Our whole wedding was translated and live streamed so, there were many pauses during the ceremony and Joan knew exactly how to handle this! She was still able still capture the intimacy with everyone on zoom live streaming in. There were many messages my wife and I wanted our loved one’s to know during our ceremony and Joan took the time to relay those messages to them beautifully!
We couldn’t recommend her more.
Thank you Joan!
Daniela and Joel Stephanian
Our wedding 5.22.21
Sent on 05/30/2021
Rebecca W.
· Getting married on 02/02/2023
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan is a Blessing to This Industry!!
Working with Joan was an absolute gift. With the pandemic and family health concerns to think about, we'd decided to have an intimate elopement ceremony rather than holding out for a larger ceremony. But Joan's warm presence made it feel like we had family there with us nonetheless. Having absolutely no idea what we were doing at the start, Joan provided thoughtful guidance and tips as we worked out details of our ceremony and vows. In the end, she created a gorgeous ceremony that we'll look back on with happy tears for years to come. Just wow!!! We can't say thank you enough for Joan's preparedness, insight, and assistance. Would highly recommend
Sent on 03/16/2021
Allyson S.
· Getting married on 07/01/2022
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
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5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Perfectly customized ceremony
We held a private ceremony in our home. Joan really listened to us and understood our desire for a short ceremony, yet still filled it with all the love and customization we could have hoped for! She was professional and, in short, the perfect pick. So glad we went with her.
Sent on 02/14/2020
Remi M.
· Getting married on 06/11/2022
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan is WONDERFUL in every way!
We could not recommend Joan more! She made our elopement ceremony better and more special than we ever could have hoped for. We customized every aspect of it, and the resources she provided beforehand helped us immensely. She was so easy to contact with questions and so easy-going and so well-spoken at the ceremony. She filed our marriage license so quickly the following day and made sure to follow up with us with instructions as we were out of state and mailing the paperwork in for certified copies. All in all you should stop what you're doing right now and hire Joan to be your officiant, you will not regret it!
Sent on 09/11/2020
Rachel H.
· Getting married on 03/06/2022
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan is amazing!
My now husband and I are so happy that we found Joan to officiate our wedding. Before meeting with her, I was feeling very overwhelmed by the prospect of putting together a marriage ceremony (especially since we were wanting something a little different) - I had no idea what all would be involved or where to begin. She made everything so easy and did an incredible job of explaining the process to us and giving us ample resources to use along the way. Also, she's just so sweet! My husband said that she's "absolutely meant to be doing this." We have zero complaints and would recommend her to anyone!
Sent on 07/06/2020
Sarah C.
· Getting married on 01/29/2022
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan is wonderful!
Joan was absolutely wonderful. She was so organized and experienced. She provided us with a ton of really helpful materials to help us plan our ceremony: resources to help us write our vows, popular wedding readings, and sample language for us to use for different parts of the ceremony. She was extremely flexible and open to anything that we wanted, but she also provided us a ton of guidance for how things are traditionally or most often done for different parts of the ceremony (always with the caveat that we could adjust anything we wanted to). Our ceremony was personalized, meaningful, and so special. Thank you so much, Joan!!
Sent on 02/13/2021
Chris
· Getting married on 01/01/2022
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan is simply amazing!
From our first outreach, Joan exuded professionalism, thoughtfulness, and positive energy! She instilled confidence by responding to out questions thoroughly. And based on her own of us, she ensured that she understood our inputs and was focused on making our day “ours”, not a preconceived formality. She really listened, shared resources, and wove our “homework” into a truly beautiful ceremony!!! Ours was a small home wedding and our family and guests were most impressed by Joan’s natural ability to bring people together into the community of our day. Whatever you have planned for your special day, we have confidence that Joan will make you and your day brightly shine!
Sent on 02/03/2020
Marjorie H.
· Married on 05/22/2021
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan is the sweetest Reverend
Working with Joan was such a pleasure and very heart-warming. She has so many wonderful ideas and questions to get the bride and groom really thinking about how they want their ceremony to go.
I would recommend her to every couple looking to get married
Sent on 06/02/2021
J. V.
· Married on 05/09/2021
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Absolute Perfection
Joan worked hard to create a ceremony that was extremely personal and extremely touching. It could not have been better. She is one of the biggest reasons why our wedding day was amazing. Highly recommended!!!
Sent on 11/16/2019
Elizabeth A.
· Married on 03/10/2021
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Such a pleasure to work with
We contemplated having a friend marry us and I'm so glad we didn't. Joan was such a pleasure to work with. She was so thoughtful in her approach and created a ceremony that was perfect for us. I'm so glad she was part of our day and her words will be with us forever.
Sent on 12/10/2020
Shannon
· Married on 03/04/2021
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan is the best!
We feel so lucky to have had Joan Phillips officiate at our wedding. We knew Joan was the right fit for us from the first time we spoke to her. She is so warm and caring, and has a very calming presence.
She is also very flexible! Due to the pandemic we ended up scaling down our wedding plans, and Joan made absolutely wonderful suggestions to ensure that our day would still be very special and meaningful.
The ceremony was truly joyful. Joan shared readings we had chosen, and our own memories and thoughts of each other. When she shared some of the things my husband had told her about me/us, I literally laughed out loud! It was really delightful, and reflected us and our personalities perfectly.
Sent on 04/05/2021
B. C.
· Married on 10/12/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Prepared, Thoughtful, and Kind - Joan Made Our Ceremony a Beautiful Day to Remember
My husband and I had to postpone our wedding due to COVID19, so we decided to have a small elopement ceremony with just us and an officiant. Joan made this experience just as meaningful (maybe more) than the bigger ceremony would have been!
From our first zoom call with her, we knew that she was going to be a wonderful fit for us! Joan is an incredibly kind and warm person. What impressed us the most, though, was her level of preparation! The questionnaires, resources, and anthology of readings were above and beyond what we had expected!
Using our responses and our chosen reading, Joan crafted a beautiful customized ceremony that wove the themes of both throughout. We could definitely see her experience (as both an officiant and someone with a master's in English), her dedication, and her attention to detail throughout the event.
We whole heartedly recommend, Joan! She's a gem!
Sent on 01/24/2021
Nicole S.
· Married on 10/09/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Thoughtful, amazing officiant!
We hired Joan Phillips as our officiant for our upcoming wedding, however, like many we had to postpone twice. Joan was so flexible and worked with us when we had to reschedule both times. We finally decided to hold an intimate ceremony this year for our family and hold a larger wedding next year. We are so grateful Joan was able to also officiate our small ceremony this year. Joan was so easy to work with and offered as many calls as we’d like to discuss our vision and honestly she blew us away with her ideas and listened to us and all of our wants. The genuine care and creativity was impeccable. Joan was extremely professional and spoke loud and clear for all our family to hear at our outside ceremony. All of our guests had so many amazing comments about Joan’s service and we look forward to working with her again next year! I highly recommend Joan Phillips!
Sent on 10/19/2020
Diana F.
· Married on 08/22/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Perfect Ceremony!
We had a tall task for Joan to officiate our inter-faith wedding in the middle of a global pandemic, on a date that already had special meaning to Joan, and despite all these obstacles, Joan was absolutely fabulous! Without having known us previously, Joan depicted our love story perfectly, as if she knew us from the beginning of our decade long relationship! Our guests were laughing and crying, and overall, left with an overwhelming sense of joy! Our guests all raved about the ceremony, and we couldn't be happier to have had Joan officiate our wedding ceremony!
Sent on 09/22/2020
Katie C.
· Married on 08/15/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Incredibly beautiful and personal ceremony
Joan was our wedding officiant through Simply Eloped. She was absolutely incredible. She personalized our ceremony in a way that made us feel she had known us for years. It was the first compliment my family gave right after the ceremony, they loved the personalization. She was in constant contact with us right from the start and made everything so easy. You can tell she absolutely loves and takes pride in her role. She helped make our wedding day absolutely perfect. I highly recommend.
Sent on 09/29/2020
William B.
· Married on 07/31/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Incredible Experience!
Joan was incredible!! We had to delay our wedding due to the shutdown, and when we could finally start planning again it was chaos. We came to Joan last minute and she was outstanding - she helped us realize our vision for the wedding and prepared a beautiful ceremony for us. I cannot recommend her highly enough!
Sent on 08/10/2020
Gina V.
· Married on 03/29/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan is amazing!
Joan was kind, thoughtful, warm, and made everything seem so easy and just right. She the took time to get to know us in person and by asking insightful questions and beautifully weaved our love story into the wedding script.
We were delighted with the outcome and will forever be grateful for all the extra work she did, as we got married during the pandemic.
Joan - Please stay lovely and healthy, as we last saw you under that gorgeous cherry blossom tree for our nuptials.
Dan & Gigi
Sent on 05/13/2020
Jessica J.
· Married on 03/15/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Hire Joan before she's booked!
Joan officiated my sister’s wedding in Rockville, Maryland, and was a pleasure to work with throughout the process. Joan was organized, generous, and helpful during the planning process and on wedding day. My sister and her now husband told me that planning their ceremony with Joan was one of the things that made them most excited about their wedding day. Joan really tailored the ceremony to the bride and groom and took the time to chat and get to know them in the months leading up to their wedding. Not only is she an experienced and versatile officiant, but Joan also showed herself to be an all-around kind-hearted person.
Sent on 03/20/2020
Bianca J.
· Married on 03/15/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Best Officiant Ever!
Joan is a genuinely kind and wonderful person who also happens to be an amazing officiant. Joan took the time to get to know who we were as a couple in addition to understanding what we wanted out of our wedding ceremony. Joan brings a wealth of past knowledge and experience with her services and uses that information to ensure that everything aligns perfectly on the day. Joan was not pushy about the the flow of the ceremony or the rituals that should be included, but used the information she learned about us to craft a truly unique experience. Our wedding ceremony would not have been as incredible or the same had it not been for Joan!
Sent on 04/03/2020
Stephany
· Married on 12/19/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Amazing, beautiful, comfortable, lovely
She’s was Great and made everything easier for us thank you so much and I’m so happy we Chose you for our very special day
Sent on 01/04/2020
Sarah R.
· Married on 11/01/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan was wonderful as our officiant!
Joan was wonderful as our officiant! She was extremely flexible and made our ceremony very personal, warm and memorable. We had numerous comments from our families about how beautiful the ceremony was. There were tears and laughter and special touches she helped us add. Joan made the whole process easy and straightforward by giving us questionnaires about our lives and relationship, as well as giving feedback on our personal vows. We’re so grateful we hired Joan to officiate on our special day.
Sent on 11/10/2019
Holly W.
· Married on 10/19/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Amazing and personal ceremony
Joan made our ceremony so special! She took the time to get to know us through her questionnaire and created such a personal ceremony for us with all of the things we wanted. We had a small wedding with our parents, siblings and grandparents. Everyone commented on how great Joan was. I would highly recommend her!
Sent on 10/20/2019
Brittany N.
· Married on 09/20/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Perfect and easy to work with
Joan is THE SWEETEST, most professional, easy to work with officiant. We could not have chosen a better person to entrust with our ceremony. We opted to fill out her questionnaire and let her surprise us with the rest, and we couldn't have been happier as a result. She was able to weave together meaningful, intimate details with a little humor - per our request to give a very sweet, light, but romantic ceremony. After meeting with her, having her work with us for the ceremony and rehearsal, she feels more like family to us.
Sent on 09/29/2019
Johanna
· Married on 08/10/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Loved the Personal Touch!
I hired Joan literally like 3-4 weeks before my wedding and I was so happy I was being picky! My husband and I were looking for a non-generic wedding ceremony that really explain us and showed our family and friends the love we share. Joan delivered that! She had each of us fill out a questionnaire asking our point of views in the relationship. She also helped us pick our vows and poems we wanted to include in the ceremony. It was beautiful what she came up with! My family raved about the ceremony and some even said it was the best one they've ever been too. If you want a personalized ceremony, pick Joan!
Sent on 10/03/2019
Vianna
· Married on 07/20/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Joan is the best!!
My husband and I realized early on in our planning process that we wanted a non-denominational officiant, as we were going to have an interfaith ceremony at a secular venue. Thus began the scramble to find the right person to whom we would entrust the creation and carrying out of the most important part of our wedding: the ceremony. We were so lucky to find Joan!
Joan was wonderful to work with from day one. She is friendly and warm, professional and organized. She's a great listener who really gets to know you. Her questionnaire is good for your ceremony and good for you—it makes you sit down and think about why you love the person you are marrying, which is a nice thing to do between calls to florists and DJs.
Joan used our answers to her questionnaire to craft our wedding ceremony story, so what she read at our ceremony was a perfect combination of our own words and hers (and she is a very good writer!). In our meetings and emails leading up to the wedding, Joan helped us to refine our ideas for the ceremony. She suggested what ended up being the perfect ritual to bring together my husband's and my respective heritages.
After the ceremony, our guests could not stop praising Joan! They were so impressed with the ceremony—how personal and unique it was—and with her presence. Our wedding was really special and Joan was absolutely a crucial part of that.
