My West Michigan Wedding Reviews
Reviews
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
Awards
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![Chris]()
Chris Sent on 05/11/2026Great Service!
Tom was a true professional. We enjoyed his constant communication and he will to get things done for us and our big day! We were happy with how everything turned out and would recommend to others! -
![David]()
David Sent on 04/15/2026Highly recommend!!!
Tom was fantastic. Process leading up to ceremony was super simple and straight forward. He answered all of our questions and was very helpful. Ceremony was perfect. I would highly recommend Tom and My West Michigan Wedding. -
![Kellie]()
Kellie Sent on 03/27/2026Fantastic!!!
Tom was fantastic to work with! He is extremely professional and as we worked with him was helpful throughout the entire process. We had a few meetings with him over zoom for us to get to know each other and to talk through the details of the ceremony. He offered up advice for options to help with the flow of the ceremony based on his past experience, which ended up making a difference the day of. Overall, we really enjoyed working with Tom, his friendliness, process of helping us laying out the ceremony, and overall execution of leading the ceremony was great. Grateful to have him be a part of our day! -
Jill Sent on 01/04/2026
Wonderful Pastor!
Being an older couple who wanted an intimate ceremony in our home we did not have an officiant. I found Tom on The Knot website. His reviews proved what we had hoped for. Tom is kind & caring & performed a ceremony for us that was exactly what we wanted. The planning process allowed us to choose the type of vows we wanted @ Tom walked us though everything with ease. Even our family members were impressed with him. I highly recommend Tom to perform your wedding regardless of the size of your ceremony. We are so grateful! -
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![Kendra]()
Kendra Sent on 11/09/2025New Vintage Place Wedding
Tom was an amazing officiant for my wedding in October. All my guests and parents raved about him. He does great at helping you feel prepared and calm before going in front of everyone you love. He goes with the flow, listens to what you need and how you feel but when problems arise gives you confidence that everything will be okay. Our DJ didn't show and I found out about 10 min before walking down the isle while signing our marriage license and he handled everything amazing and wanted to make sure that everything was going to be okay. I can not give this man enough glowing reviews! -
![Caitlin]()
Caitlin Sent on 10/20/2025Amazing personality
Tom was amazing. He was attentive, kind, knowledgeable, respectful, fast responding, well spoken, professional, well dressed, and easy to get along with. I was extremely nervous and had lots of anxiety. Tom kept making sure I was ok, he made jokes (with my permission) to lighten the mood and make everyone laugh. I had the pleasure of having him at our wedding. He had a form to fill out- personal vows, pre written, prayer vs no prayer, God mentioned vs not. Please give him a chance you will not regret it!!! -
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![Jessica]()
Jessica Sent on 09/28/2025Amazing Experience
Tom did an exceptional job officiating our wedding, making our day truly unforgettable. From our first meeting, we were impressed by how Tom took the time to genuinely get to know me and my now-wife, ensuring the ceremony reflected our personalities and values. His warm and professional approach put us at ease, and he crafted a heartfelt ceremony that perfectly captured our love story. Tom’s attention to detail and engaging delivery made the moment special for us and our guests. We highly recommend Tom to anyone seeking a thoughtful and dedicated officiant. -
![Abby]()
Abby Sent on 09/16/2025Best officiant in West Michigan!
Tom was so incredible from start to finish! He made the process so easy and stress-free and did an amazing job with our ceremony. We got so many compliments from guests saying how well he did and even asked how long he had known us because it was SO personal and intimate despite never meeting Tom in person prior to the ceremony! Would always recommend Tom for anyone looking for a flexible, experienced officiant who deeply cares about the couples he marries and making their day special. -
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![Maci]()
Maci Sent on 09/13/2025Tom was incredible!!
We absolutely loved having Tom as our wedding officiant! He did a perfect job with our ceremony everything felt so natural! Thank you Tom for being apart of our special day! -
![Kate]()
Kate Sent on 09/11/2025Amazing!!!!
Tom was a great officiant for our wedding. His confidence put me and my now husband such at ease knowing he had everything handled. He was genuine and gave us time to absorb the moment around us. He was so accommodating and responsive to any inquiries we had and really guided us to have the best ceremony that was tailored to our individual story as a couple. Could not recommend enough! You won’t be disappointed. -
![Rhianna]()
Rhianna Sent on 09/10/202510/10 recommend Pastor Tom!
My husband and I got married in September 2025 in Grand Rapids, and we had Pastor Tom officiate. We absolutely cannot recommend him enough! The entire ceremony went SO smoothly and we didn't have to worry about a thing because Pastor Tom certainly knows his stuff when it comes to weddings! The whole process was so easy from booking his services, to composing our ceremony script, signing the marriage license, and of course the ceremony itself. He made the ceremony feel very personal and improvised when needed. We got countless compliments from guests saying how wonderful our officiant was and how smoothly the ceremony went. Having been a guest at so many other weddings recently to compare, I can truly say how great Pastor Tom was as an officiant and I would absolutely choose him again if we did it all over again. Thank you Pastor Tom! -
Becky Sent on 08/11/2025
Happy Day!
Pastor Tom Hamel was amazing to work with and made our day very beautiful and smooth. He was flexible and very easy to communicate with and had the most perfect things to say during our ceremony, even bringing comedic elements. I would highly recommend him as your wedding officiant. I'm very pleased and thankful I found him!
Thank you,
Craig and Becky -
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![Russell]()
Russell Sent on 07/14/2025Tom does an amazing job!
We had the privilege of Tom officiating our wedding. He was better than we could have hoped for. He is very personable and kind. He did his dew diligence about our families, our relationship, and made sure to include key points into the ceremony. He made sure to get all the names (and pronunciation) of everyone we asked to be mentioned in the ceremony. He covers all the bases and makes sure we are relaxed and comfortable while he carries the direction of the service, happy to do all the heavy lifting. We couldn't have found a better person to do as good a job as Tom did. We were very lucky, and grateful. -
![Ben]()
Ben Sent on 07/03/2025Excellent facilitator and great communicator!
Tom was amazing at our ceremony! He is great at reading the room and making some light hearted jokes to ease the stress of the ceremony. He tells you what to say and made our wedding day less stressful. He is an excellent communicator and would recommend him to anyone! Thank you Tom! -
![Casey]()
Casey Sent on 06/09/2025The Best Choice!
Tom is so GREAT! He is humorous, happy, and kind. He gave us a variety of provided options to choose from, in order to decide the theme of the ceremony! Tom is a great communicator, and has been doing this for years. He provides great resources for planning couples to understand the process and paperwork involved in getting married. Highly recommend!! 5 STARS -
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![Sarah]()
Sarah Sent on 09/29/2024Awesome experience!
Tom was wonderful to work with, super professional, and gave us a great ceremony! Absolutely recommend. -
![Tyler]()
Tyler Sent on 09/17/2024A Perfect Day
Tom led us through things flawlessly leading up to the ceremony, and during the ceremony too. We are able to relax and let ourselves enjoy the moment on the day. Tom was tremendously helpful, easy to talk to, and we got a lot of comments about how well he ran the ceremony from our guests. We are happy to have found him and can highly recommend. -
![Kallista]()
Kallista Sent on 07/19/2024Great officiant
Tom was a wonderful officiant. He was very open to incorporating all of our traditions and ceremonies into our wedding. I appreciated his prompt responses and friendly demeanor. He really helped us feel comfortable up at the altar. -
![Abby]()
Abby Sent on 01/03/2024The Best Officiant!
I cannot recommend Tom and My West Michigan Wedding enough! From the initial inquiry, to the big day, to handling our marriage license after the fact--everything was handled promptly and professionally. I had full confidence leading up to our wedding that things would go perfectly, and was not disappointed whatsoever. Multiple people have since asked who officiated, and we've been happy to recommend My West Michigan Wedding each time! -
![Jack]()
Jack Sent on 10/16/2023Excellent & Memorable Experience (for both Parties!)
The experience we had with My West Michigan Wedding was nothing short of excellent. Our Officiant, Tom F. Hamel was professional, prompt, and proactive. He had every step of his pre-wedding, ceremony, and post-wedding steps nailed down to the T - in such a way that any anxiety related to the ceremony (outside of music concerns and other details) simply melted away for us.
Tom's demeanor during the ceremony allowed us to enjoy the moment, while still having a guiding hand in case we needed to make adjustments or repeat a given line. He also had a great candid moment when the rings were presented, and incorporated that moment of amusement as a sharing of joy (and hilarity) with those present.
While our ceremony was only 30 minutes in length, Tom efficiently uses that time to make it very meaningful and joyous to all in attendance. We cannot recommend him enough! -
![Jess]()
Jess Sent on 08/10/2023Wonderful experience!
Tom was excellent! All of our guests raved about his ceremony. He rarely read from a script and made eye contact with us and our guests nearly the entire ceremony. He’s great at ad-libbing to add humor while also keeping the moment special and intimate at the same time. Our guests said they were captivated the entire ceremony and he kept it around 20 minutes. Tom was very responsive throughout the entire process and made each decision easy. His questionnaires really helped with timeline and preparation. We couldn’t speak more highly of Tom and his approach. We would recommend him to anyone in search of an officiant! -
![Leya]()
Leya Sent on 07/09/2023Our Guests Couldn't Stop Raving About Our Officiant!
I couldn't have asked for a better officiant than Tom. I loved how he gave options for the flow of the ceremony and we were able to customize based on our religious/spiritual background. After the ceremony, my guests kept commenting on how great our officiant was. Tom was professional, communicative, and I highly recommend choosing him for your wedding day! -
![Erin]()
Erin Sent on 06/23/2023Just book with Tom!
My husband and I could not be happier with our decision to book with Tom for our wedding at the Bay Pointe Inn. We were admittedly a little anxious about booking someone that we had never met before to officiate our wedding, but our ceremony went absolutely perfectly. Tom has a warm and welcoming presence that made both my husband and I feel comfortable throughout the ceremony, and he allowed us to choose ceremony options that fit our religious and personal preferences.
We had multiple guests tell us that it was one of the best wedding ceremonies they had ever been to - light-hearted, emotional, and not too long. If we could go back and do it all again, we would book Tom every time! -
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![Kaytlin]()
Kaytlin Sent on 04/25/2023Wonderful Experience - 10/10 Recommend!
I highly recommend Tom to officiate your wedding. My husband and I switched up our original wedding plans last minute and booked with Tom about a month prior to our wedding date - he was available and so very accommodating! Tom was early to his arrival, well prepared, dressed for the event and his speeches were heartfelt and included special, specific information about us. He made us both feel so comfortable. -
![Alex]()
Alex Sent on 11/29/2022The Perfect Ceremony
Tom was the most professional and memorable wedding officiant. He memorizes his lines and engages the audience to make your ceremony the most memorable for just you two, mom and dad, small wedding, or large weddings. Everyone will complement you for picking the best officiant for your special day.
He offers great advice for your wedding ceremony, gives examples for how to write vows, and is able to add special requests into the ceremony such as Hand Fasting, Readings, Candle Lighting, etc.
He also accommodates all types of couples and of all sexes. Tom can tailor your ceremony the way you want it, whether it has tones of religion or if it's just about love.
If you're getting married in West Michigan and need an officiant, stop your search and pick Tom.
You won't regret it! -
Ricky Sent on 11/03/2022
Comforting
Tom made us fell so comfortable from the moment he arrived at the ceremony. He just asked a few questions of us and the photographer. He reassured us that he would make things run smooth and according to plan. I even had a last minute (literally) change to ceremony for my mother to read a poem and he fit it in at the perfect time it was beautiful. Thank you Tom -
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![Jenae]()
Jenae Sent on 10/25/2022Great experience with Tom!
Tom was recommended by our DOC and I’m so glad we got linked with him. He was prompt with emails to schedule an initial meeting and he was very warm and friendly. It was easy to work on the ceremony script and we could customize it if we wanted and there were many options to choose from when completing it. Tom assured us that we had nothing to worry about and he was right! During the ceremony he did great and made us feel comfortable. Nearly everyone I spoke to after the ceremony noted it being one of the best they have attended and that they really enjoyed it. We would definitely recommend. Thanks so much Tom! -
![Amanda]()
Amanda Sent on 10/25/2022No one better.
I've worked with Tom many times over the years as a fellow wedding vendor. Hands down the best officiant you'll find. He's kind, and calm, takes all the worry out of planning and the day of is a delight to work with. I got so many compliments about the ceremony, specifically about Tom. -
![Vicki]()
Vicki Sent on 10/17/2022Day of Love
Paster Hamel made our day the most special day we could ever ask for. He helped us throughout the entire planning process to make our day the most memorable day ever. His personality is the BEST. The poem he read for us about LOVE was so inspiring to the both of us as to the Love we share between each other. I cannot express how happy we are to have had Pastor Hamel perform our ceremony. We cannot Thank you enough for the kind words, easy of the stress and made it fun and full of love. We had the best day ever. -
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![Madi]()
Madi Sent on 10/11/2022Highly Recommend
Tom was great. The "homework" questions we filled out to craft our ceremony language were straight forward and provided a variety of options ensuring that our ceremony was true to who we were. Tom was a wonderful communicator and even accommodated a time change in our ceremony. It was obvious that Tom is experienced and was well prepared for our big day. Highly recommend! -
![Beth]()
Beth Sent on 07/25/2022Absolutely the best
Tom was 5 star amazing .
He quickly responded to any & all correspondence. He customizes your wedding ceremony to your preference. Tom is very personable & humorous. Do not hesitate to book your wedding with My West Michigan Wedding, you will be very pleased !!
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![Lien]()
Lien Sent on 07/25/2022Tom was perfect
Tom was so helpful and professional from beginning to end. He helped to make our wedding ceremony so special. All of our guests were raving about him. He is truly gifted and we can’t recommend him enough! -
![Kevin]()
Kevin Sent on 07/09/2022The Best Officiant Around
My wife and I could not do a rehearsal because we were traveling from out of town. Tom did a great job with day of coordination to make my wife and I feel at ease as well as our bridesmaids/groomsmen relaxed. All of our guests said that he was superb and would love to refer him for future weddings. Overall, it was a great experience with Tom. -
Samantha Sent on 05/25/2022
Perfect day!!
Tom was absolutely amazing from start to finish for our ceremony!! He was so great with helping us communicate between bridal parties to ensure everything would go smoothly. Everything was perfect! Thank you Tom :)
- The Bakers ❤️ -
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![Heather]()
Heather Sent on 05/23/2022Above and Beyond
When our original plans fell through I panicked, that is until I found My West Michigan Wedding, specifically Tom! From our initial inquiry up until our wedding day, Tom went above and beyond. Three words that come to mind: flexibility, accommodating, and attention to detail. It was obvious that Tom had a lot of experience under his belt and he left us feeling confident in all aspects of our ceremony! Our guests are still commenting on how great our ceremony was :) Thank you Tom, and My West Michigan Wedding, for your expertise and professionalism. 10/10 recommendation from us! -
![Kassondra]()
Kassondra Sent on 04/13/2022Tom was fabulous!
I hired Tom as he was in the area where our wedding will be held. As well as the reviews. Our families are both non-religious but that doesn’t mean we don’t believe in prayer so we added that into our ceremony! He made us feel super comfortable & open both before & during the ceremony! -
![Josh]()
Josh Sent on 03/21/2022Our wedding
We had a small wedding, and planned last minute. Tom was able to come through for us. Any questions we had were answered, he is respectful of all religious outlooks and if you’re not religious he offers non religious ceremony options. The day of the wedding he made everything stress free, he is very personable, very well prepared for ceremonies. During our ceremony he rarely looked at notes and every one of your guests complimented him for that and for the professional manner he conducted the ceremony in especially on short notice. Thank you Tom for helping us make our special day even more memorable!! -
![Lindsey]()
Lindsey Sent on 11/08/2021Excellent!
Tom did a great job! He was prompt at getting our wants/desires for the ceremony and was easy to talk to! -
![Steffanie]()
Steffanie Sent on 10/20/2021Tom was absolutely amazing!
I would recommend Tom to anyone in need of an officiant. We were absolutely blown away by how great he was and truly helped make our special day perfect.
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