reviewer's reviews

Mary Jean Valente was fantastic. We got married at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena and Mary Jean was our officiant. My now-husband and I are both writers and when we were planning the wedding, we knew we wanted to write our own vows, but we didn't know where to start exactly. Also, we didn't know what kind of officiant we wanted, but we were particular about what we didn't want. We didn't want an officiant who had a personal agenda to promote or someone who was attention-needy, or someone who wrote a ceremony that we didn't relate to at all. I feared I would never find the right person. I spoke to a couple of officiants who just somehow weren't the right match. Then I called Mary Jean after seeing her profile on the Here Comes the Guide website. I liked her pictures--I thought she looked kind, and she had a certain sincerity about her. We started talking and I was immediately struck by how articulate, intelligent and thoughtful she was. She wasn't ADD/distracted at all, and she seemed completely dedicated to helping couples execute a ceremony that was custom-tailored to their personalities and beliefs (and she seemed completely able to help you figure out what would be right for you, even if you had no idea what you wanted or where to start!). We met with her and were further impressed by her attention to detail and organized approach to designing a ceremony. My husband and I tend not to be big on planning, but Mary Jean gently kept us on task and provided deadlines that were so helpful. Because of her, we ended up with a ceremony that we loved--it was personal, it reflected thoughts that were important to us, and it was uniquely "us". Mary Jean was gracious and our friends and family loved her. All throughout the process, she was a pleasure to work with. I cannot recommend her highly enough!
Courtney