Your Joyful Wedding Reviews
Reviews
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Clint Sent on 12/01/2025
Your Joyful Wedding
Mary is phenomenal!! My wife and I are so glad that we chose Mary to officiate our Wedding!! She listened to everything we asked for and made it all come together in such a beautiful, breathtaking way!! We very Highly recommend Mary!! -
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![Lauren]()
Lauren Sent on 11/25/2025Review for Mary
Mary was absolutely wonderful to work with! She made the entire process so easy and stress-free. She sent us several ceremony options to choose from, which helped us find something that fit us perfectly. Her communication was clear, her guidance was thoughtful, and her warmth made our ceremony feel truly special.
We’re so grateful for her professionalism and kindness. Highly recommend Mary to anyone looking for an amazing officiant! 💍✨ -
Angela Sent on 11/02/2025
Amazing Officiant!
Mary did an amazing job with providing us with a ceremony of our dreams. I would 100% recommend her to anyone that is looking for an officiant for their wedding. She was very helpful with getting our ceremony the way we wanted it to be. She was very personable and made us feel comfortable and not stressed to stand up in front of a crowd and speak. She also reminded us to take in the day and not get lost in the chaos that can happen on this very important day. -
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Eric Sent on 10/08/2025Mary made our day even better
Mary was simply a dream to work with for our wedding. She was able to help us make the ceremony truly special, and was simply a delight to work with in the planning stages, she answered any questions we had very promptly and once the big day came she preformed the ceremony with ease and grace, and helped both me and my bride feel comfortable speaking our vows and promises. I will be recommending her to every one I hear of looking for an officiant. -
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Erin Sent on 07/19/2025
Best Officiant Ever!
Mary was the best officiant ever! She was very organized and intentional with every step in the process. She helped my fiance and I custom make a beautiful ceremony by offering many options that tailored to our needs and vision. During the day, Mary delivered a BEAUTIFUL heart felt ceremony that helped me and my now husband celebrate our love. Mary is calm and loving. Everyone felt at ease in her presence. Thanks for everything Mary! We were so lucky to have you officiate our wedding! -
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Sara Sent on 01/20/2025Mary is the best!
Mary did such an amazing job officiating our wedding. We highly recommend her!! She was so easy and nice to work with. I feel like she understood what we wanted and helped create a perfect ceremony for us that was unique and personal. She worked seamlessly with our photographer and videographer to make sure we captured all our special moments. She even went above and beyond by meeting up with us on a specific date to officially sign the paper. We appreciate her so much for making our wedding day very memorable and exactly what we wanted. Thank you!! -
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Ayla Sent on 11/06/2024Mary / Your Joyful Weddings is THE ONE
The difference a good officiant can make not just on your wedding day, but throughout the wedding planning experience is extraordinary. We had the pleasure of knowing Mary before we hired her, but our experience with her went far beyond a few emails and Google docs. Her communication is timely and professional, and her kindness shone through in her check-ins. She was one of the few people that truly asked us how we wanted our wedding day to feel, not just what we wanted to happen.
We had a private elopement with only parents, grandparents, and siblings on Friday, and a full wedding day with extended family and friends on Saturday. We handed her a tall order: two different ceremonies for two different experiences, and some pretty significant family tension due to divorce and remarriage. Mary not only created two beautifully bespoke and thoughtfully arranged ceremonies for us, but braved an out-of-nowhere freezing rainstorm on Friday and some venue miscommunication chaos on Saturday. She handled my un-amicably divorced parents with graceful and diplomatic compassion, and helped me find a way to honor both of them with specific roles and acknowledgements.
We can genuinely say our wedding day(s) would not have been the same without Mary's guidance and presence. She blended into our families perfectly, and gave us ceremonies more beautiful and heartfelt than we could have dreamed. When you're swamped in To-Dos and overwhelmed by vendor lists, "officiant" may feel like just another space you have to fill to get married. I can promise you Mary is not just an officiant, but an ally for your marriage, and a friendly face you feel relieved to see in the chaos. -
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Kim H. Sent on 10/24/2024Great Experience!
Working with Mary for our elopement in Custer State Park was wonderful! We decided to move our elopement date up and to another state, and contacted her with only a couple month's notice. Communication was easy and timely and her kindness and professionalism came through in every email we exchanged. She even gave us suggestions on where in the park to elope since we were traveling from WI. We also loved the fact that she let us customize our vows. She had tons of suggestions and we were able to put together the vows that meant the most and symbolized us as a couple. We couldn't have asked for a better day! -
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Seth Sent on 10/06/2024Magical!!!
My wife and I planned quite spontaneously to change our plans and travel from out of state to get married in the Black Hills area. Mary was incredible at planning the perfect ceremony with us- even when on a faster schedule than normal. We had to change the location due to fires the day before, and Mary was communicative and reassuring to turn a stressful turn of events into an even more perfect day! We adapted and she was willing to meet us at one of our favorite SD views, and from there on, we were swept up in the magic of it all! Even without knowing us from more than a few emails, Mary crafted such an intimate, insightful, moving ceremony around the two of us.
She and her lovely husband even helped us organize ourselves and take photos afterwards. We couldn’t have wished for a more wonderful time! Thank you Mary for sharing your light and wisdom with us on our special day! We’ll be grateful for it whenever we think back on when we tied the knot! -
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Teresa Sent on 07/31/2024Highly Recommend
My husband and I decided to elope in Badlands National Park and Mary did an amazing job. We're from Texas and communication was simple and easy. She was so friendly, professional and organized. Our ceremony was perfect and completely customized to match us. Our wedding was just my husband, my teenage daughter, me, and our photographer. No rehearsal either and Mary knocked it out of the park. Price was great too! I highly recommend Mary. -
Mary Sent on 05/29/2024
Beautiful Ceremony
Mary preformed our elopement ceremony and we can't say enough great things! Communication was great, the ceremony was so prefect. Very reliable and we thought very affordable. Would definitely recommend to any couple thinking about getting married in the Black Hills or surrounding areas. -
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Bee C. Sent on 05/28/202410/10 All the Stars
Mary & Caitlyn are phenomenal. Mary took the lead on ceremony planning and Caitlyn was our officiant on our wedding day.
I didn’t know what to expect from this process, but these two made everything so smooth and easy. I’m sure planning a ceremony can be overwhelming, but we never felt that way when working with Mary.
As far as rehearsal and ceremony go, Caitlyn knocked it out of the park. At our rehearsal, she was able to kindly and firmly wrangle our wedding party and established boundaries to help make our day as stress-free as possible. She was so patient with us when we got excited during the ceremony and just wanted to have our first kiss, too!
We had so many guests tell us that our ceremony was perfectly fit for us, and I give all the props to Mary & Caitlyn for that. -
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Elizabeth Sent on 12/03/2023The One and Only!
We had a destination wedding, so choosing an officiant was one of the most important decisions I had to make. From the first email we had and then meeting in person several months prior, I knew Mary was just what I was searching for and needed! She is gentle, kind and calming, so very organized and is involved for as much or as little as you need. She has officiated hundreds of weddings, so had many ideas for readings, the order of the ceremony, vows. etc.- whatever I needed, she had the options and answers. I loved and respected that she was clear to us that this was our day and she was there to make it happen our way.
Another bonus is that she is from the area and had referrals for everything: bakery, photography, hair, nails, etc. I found my decorator through her and he was phenomenal. Now that our wedding is over, I miss her!! -
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Chris Sent on 11/03/2023
Look No Further Mary Maisey-Ireland Is The Best Officiant We Could Have Hope For
We are way late in writing a much-deserved review for Mary, as me and my wife Cara were married Oct. 2nd, 2021. Mary, I apologize that it has taken so long to thank you and share our wonderful experience in working with you.
From the start of planning our wedding, Mary was extremely helpful in providing several different templates of how she envisioned our ceremony being laid out. We decided from the beginning that rather than having a large ceremony with all our friends and family, we wanted to do a more secluded ceremony with just our immediate family present. Mary had several different basic outline formats available for this type of ceremony that we were envisioning. Additionally, we really liked how in the initial notes she had provided us, she asked for small insights into our lives, which she later wove throughout the ceremony making it seem all the more special. After completing a rough draft of what we were looking to do based off Mary's notes, we sent the draft off to Mary for review and feedback. She was back in touch with us promptly following receiving this basic framework with a final draft of what our ceremony would look like. To say that what she had put together was far better than what we both had imagined is an understatement.
Out of all the different companies and vendors that we worked with planning and carrying out our wedding day, Mary was by far the easiest to work with. Most importantly it was very evident from the start that she was 100% passionate about making our wedding day as memorable as possible, and was completely invested in her field, taking great pride in her work. She was highly organized, made wonderful recommendations, and most importantly carried through exactly with what she had promised to do. Our ceremony was perfect, and Mary made us, and our immediate family feel so comfortable both in working with her in planning, as well as during the ceremony itself. I cannot reiterate enough how pleased both my wife and I were with the high level of professionalism Mary exhibited throughout our experience in working with her, and how special she made our wedding day.
I feel that it is important to also add that on our wedding day (technically, late the night before), my best man (brother-in-law), sister, and niece were all diagnosed with Covid, and were forced to pull out of attending our ceremony at the last possible second. The stress level was very high between both me and my wife, and when it came down to the ceremony itself, with Mary's help specifically, all the stress and nerves faded away into the most beautiful ceremony we could have ever hoped for.
Thank you, Mary, for everything you've done to make our wedding day so special. We would highly recommend Mary Maisey-Ireland to any couple who is looking for an amazing officiant to make their wedding day beyond memorable.
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![DJ Marek]()
Dj Marek Sent on 08/22/20231000% Yes - there is no one better than Mary!!
As a wedding DJ and entertainer I have the privilege of working alongside Mary on a regular basis. Her unique ability to deliver customized and heartfelt ceremonies is simply phenomenal. Mary incorporates countless personal touches and presents them with a calm sense of serenity and emotion. There's just no one better! -
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Tabitha Sent on 07/24/2023Mary & Caitlyn are wonderful!
Mary was super easy to work with over emails. Everything she sent for us to do to create our ceremony was very easy and she was a very fast responder! She had some wonderful ideas for unity ceremonies too! Caitlyn was our officiant. She showed up early for both rehearsal and the wedding. She was very friendly. We went through everything she had wrote down before we headed to rehearse with everyone and we made a few changes. She had a lot of awesome things to say to the wedding party and families and explained how everything will go during the wedding. We received a lot of compliments on her officiating :) -
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Ana M. Sent on 10/29/2022
Absolutely Perfect
Mary was an absolute dream for my husband and I's wedding. Her calming and compassionate listening from day one made us feel like we were going to create the perfect ceremony together. My husband and I struggled when deciding church or no church for the ceremony and Mary took that into account. She sent so many options for different types of ceremonies with different feels and levels of religious comfort. We also knew we wanted to involve my husband’s college priest in the ceremony and Mary made sure to do that. It was an absolutely amazing process. The day of, her words and love for us and for our loved ones there was palpable by all. So many of our guests said they had never been to a wedding ceremony like ours and were teary the whole time. We can only attribute that level of emotional detail to Mary’s unwavering guidance. Would absolute recommend to all! -
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Jessica Sent on 10/19/2022Pure Magic
Second only to the bride and groom, Mary will be the absolute highlight of the ceremony. She is observant, delicate, crafty, funny, and best of all, genuine. She gives your ceremony her all. She can make it feel like you are the only two people on the planet; she crafted this moment just for you. Sit back and enjoy the magic. -
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Tina Sent on 08/21/2022
Exceptional Wedding Officiant
Mary and Caitlyn thank you so much for your guidance and advice, without it we would have never known where to begin! We really appreciated your many options and suggestions throughout the planning process. Every moment of the ceremony was perfect and magical. Caitlyn performed an exceptional ceremony; one we will never forget. We received an abundant of compliments from our guests on how personal, heartwarming and special Caitlyn and the service was. Again, thank you so much for your assistance. Tina and Curtis -
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April Sent on 08/17/2022Wonderful experience
Mary and Caitlyn were wonderful to work with, they made the experience so personal and romantic for our elopement in Spearfish Canyon. The whole process was perfect. Would definitely recommend working with them. -
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Randi Sent on 07/21/2022Eloped from out of state!
Mary was great from beginning to end. She gives SO much information to help with planning the perfect ceremony no matter what your style. We had no idea how to construct our elopement ceremony and coming all the way from Illinois, I had nothing but confidence in her the entire time. Highly recommend her!
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Madilyn Sent on 07/06/2022Stop right here and set up a meeting with Mary! She is wonderful!
Mary played a big role in helping make our day special and seamless! Being full time students, Mary was very flexible with our schedules. We first met at a coffee shop and instantly knew that we wanted her to officiate our wedding. She eased so much stress regarding the ceremony because we had no clue where to start. We wanted to tie some religious aspects into the ceremony but did not want a full on Catholic wedding, and Mary knew exactly what to do. After the first meeting Mary shared an extensive document with us that included several options for each part of the ceremony so we could handcraft what we wanted. It worked perfectly! One of our favorite parts was brainstorming unique unity ceremony ideas with Mary. She had tons of ideas up her sleeve. We had plenty of time to chat back and forth before the wedding day, and Mary would check in every once in awhile.
Mary even helped us find a venue (and provides recommendations for other vendors as well).
The day of the wedding was snowy and very cold. Mary arrived early, and the ceremony was carried out perfectly.
Mary, thanks for helping make our day one we will cherish forever!
-Madilyn and Austin -
Susan Sent on 05/02/2022
Look no further, Mary is your gal!
Let me tell you about Mary. We hired Mary to marry us in the Black Hills and have no regrets whatsoever. She is incredibly thorough and pours her heart and soul into being a wedding officiant. She married my husband and I for our elopement that, in the planning stages, was a little rocky with regard to the venue. Mary was very helpful and dedicated to helping us problem-solve. At the moment of truth, Mary delivered. She was on time, was dressed professionally, and had the pages of our wedding ceremony inside of a very nice book with our ceremony printed out and inserted into document protectors. She took the time to help us with a second witness and took the time to help us write the perfect ceremony that was so very special and unique to our own story. It was so beautiful and so special. We are so appreciative of her services. If you are looking for an officiant in the Black Hills, Mary will not disappoint! Thank you, dear Mary, for making our special day one that we will never forget!! Susan & Jerad Groon -
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Stormy Sent on 02/27/2022Professional, calm energy - we loved Mary!
Our family gathered in the Black Hills to celebrate my birthday and we took this opportunity to renew our wedding vows after 25 years of marriage. Mary was excellent and we would highly recommend her. She communicates well, she cares about what she is doing, and she will make sure that every detail is covered. She has a calm, reassuring presence, that is effective in leading the ceremony with a gentle nature that allows her to go with the flow and generates a sense of well-being and peace. Prior to our ceremony, she spent time reading a book to our 3-year-old granddaughter (who was in charge, btw), and Mary went along with this also - she notices the small things that matter. We were quite happy with our ceremony and felt very blessed to have connected with Mary. It is a day we will remember and cherish for the rest of our lives, so we know it's an important decision. Mary knows this, too. -
User5408119 Sent on 10/26/2020Mary was easy to work with and made a beautiful custom ceremony for us
Mary was an absolute joy to work with. We decided to get married in SD (we are from WI) after our wedding had to be cancelled twice. We only had one month to plan and Mary was so easy to work with. She helped us plan a beautiful ceremony over just a few emails. She was open to any suggestions we had and wanted to get personal details about us and our relationship. On the day of the wedding she was professional and yet seemed as though she had known us for a long time. Our guests commented that the ceremony was so beautifully put together and delivered. They could not believe it was done with a few emails over just 3 weeks. I would absolutely recommend her! -
Matt Sent on 03/05/2020
Mary is a joy to work with!
Mary officiated our wedding in September and worked with us to craft a unique ceremony that was truly a reflection of Jeanette and me. She was very flexible and closely listened to our comments and requests, incorporating them into a wonderful ceremony. We would highly recommend her to anyone wanting a unique ceremony they will remember! -
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Kailey Sent on 01/04/2020Wonderful!
Mary was so wonderful and made the whole process so easy. Wedding planning is stressful and she made the ceremony planning so enjoyable!!! She also did an amazing job incorporating our daughter into the ceremony!! I will recommend her anyone who is looking for an officiant! Thank you Mary! -
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Nicole Sent on 09/25/2019Spectacular
Mary was so wonderful to work with especially coming from out of town. She made the planning process so simple and stress free. She is quick to reply and great to work with. I would recommend Mary to anyone -
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Amy M. Sent on 09/16/2019What a wonderful experience with Mary!
Mary was phenomenal on our wedding day and every day leading up to it. She is one of the most genuine and kind people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Mary knows how to handle the smallest and largest hiccups and I can’t imagine our day without her! -
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David Sent on 09/05/2019Wonderful Person and Officiant
If you're thinking of getting married in the Rapid City, SD area, I couldn't recommend Mary enough. We wanted to have a small (two people) ceremony and I asked Mary about suggestions for a small outdoor ceremony. She suggested Falling Rock (google this if you haven't heard of it; Gorgeous!). We loved the idea. We met Mary at her office and took care of the paperwork. Next, we took the short trip to Falling Rock. Combined with Mary's sincere ceremony and the beautiful landscape, we were both fighting to hold back tears. It was wonderful! Mary was easy to work with and always responded promptly to my multiple emails and questions. She also provided us with options for readings, ring readings, and vows for the ceremony. We had some things we wanted to use and chose some of her options as well. She even helped us out with suggestions for dining and recreation as we are not from the area. Five Stars!!!!! -
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Carrie Sent on 08/27/2019Personalized and Meaningful Ceremony
Mary helped us create a ceremony that was tailored made just for us. We were able to work together ahead to customize the ceremony to include everything that was meaningful to us. She was able to put our minds at ease so that we could relax and enjoy our special day. We highly recommend. -
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Tricia Sent on 08/25/2019A Beautiful Ceremony
Mary did an amazing job officiating our wedding! We couldn’t have asked for a better person to perform the ceremony. She had so many ideas to share during the planning process, and when it came to the wedding day, the message she gave was absolutely beautiful. Mary was so easy and fun to work with! She made our wedding visions come to life! -
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![Jessica]()
Jessica Sent on 06/26/2024Thank you Mary!
When it came to planning our wedding, we envisioned something much different than any wedding we had attended before. It was wonderful to collaborate with Mary and create our perfect ceremony in one of our favorite places among nature with our closest family and friends. Each detail reflected our unique love story and personalities, highlighting our passions, values and beliefs. Having our dog carry our rings and get loving hugs and kisses during a ring warming before our exchange and then stamp his paw on our certificate was priceless. After the ceremony, our guests raved about the special touches and all the details considered in our readings, vows and unity ceremony. Mary’s experience shines through in the different ideas she presents and her support in navigating the most important part of our wedding day. Our ceremony could not have happened without her. Mother nature may have presented some challenges but it was all so beautiful, and we would not change a thing! -
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