Father Jerry Bellamy

I knew after our initial phone conversation that Fr Jerry would be the one to marry us. He has a special way of connecting with the audience and making people feel at ease. We had fun up there! His professionalism and light sense of humor are second to none. a month later, our guests still comment at what an amazing ceremony Fr Jerry facilitated. DEFINITELY worth the spend!

We live in Los Angeles and had our wedding in Montecito at San Ysidro Ranch in February. We contacted Father Jerry a few months before the wedding with an excellent recommendation from Maxine Rutledge, our event planner at SYR. He returned our phone call within the same day and we met him in Santa Barbara a few weeks later on the weekend to review the details of our ceremony. I was initially very stressed about the best way to put our ceremony together, but Father Jerry was very professional and with a lot experience, he was able to guide us step by step through every part of the ceremony. We even opted not to have a rehearsal because we felt he would be able to guide us on the day of our wedding and we were right. The entire ceremony was seamless. It went perfectly.

In addition to Father Jerry being very professional, he is also such a wonderful person with a great sense of humor. Our ceremony was amazing and we had so many compliments from guests saying how personable the ceremony was, how beautiful the readings were, and how thoughtful his presentation was. There was a point during the ceremony when he asked us to take a look at our surroundings and the faces of our friends and families and we were so glad he did this. We felt so much love and happiness in the room which helped set the mood for the reception that followed.

I cannot say enough how much we would recommend Father Jerry. He helped set the tone for our wedding and I truly believe our wedding was as lovely as it was because he performed our ceremony.

After searching the internet for days and reading Father Jerry's reviews, we thought he would be a great match for us. We liked the fact that he was a retired Catholic priest, as we are Catholic. Once we met with him in person, we knew that we had made the right choice. He had a lot of experience and had ideas on how to make the ceremony memorable and fun. He made everyone laugh, and cry and our guests complimented him, as he included everyone. Most importantly he helped us feel relaxed, which was much needed after the stress of preparing a weddding. We highly recomment Father Jerry!

Our experience with Father Jerry was wonderful! He is very warm, personable, and provided an extraordinary service for our wedding in Santa Barbara. Even more than this was his acute attention to detail. He was very careful about letting everyone involved in the ceremony know exactly what their responsibilities were, which took a huge weight off of our chests! His friendly, humorous demeanor made for a very comforting, elegant ceremony and we will never forget how memorable he made our special day.

Il pastore Jerry e' una persona molto professionale che ti aiuta a sentirti a tuo agio durante tutta la cerimonia. Lui ha spiegato a tutte le persone coinvolte nella matrimonio tutte le responsabilita' che loro avevano. In conclusione lo raccomando a chiunque si voglia sposare.

Kedves Father Jerry,

Anthony és én szeretnénk megköszönni az összeadásunkat a Te jóvoltadbol. Mi mind ketten nagyon izgatottak voltunk, de Te segítettél megnyugtatni minket a kedves, meleg és humoros termeszeteddel.

Igazán nagy öröm volt megismerni téged, és meg nagyobb öröm hogy te egyesítettél össze minket egy életre.

Köszönjük Father Jerry. Isten Áldjon Téged.

Anthony és Ildikó


ps: Father Jerry,

Thank you for such an amazing wedding service for Ildi, myself and for my entire family. You bring an amazing perspective to the ceremony of marriage and I listened to your every word with great anticipation. Our wedding had so much joy, fun and laughter in it because of you and yet you guided us through the seriousness of our vows and all that is entailed in our love for each other. I have only begun my Hungarian language lessons so I cannot yet tell you what my beautiful wife wrote about, but I am sure it matches my gratitude. I will send you some photos!! Take care Father Jerry (Yes! I insist on calling you that...) God bless.

Father Jerry was the best officiant anyone could ask for. I felt like he created such a warm and welcoming atmosphere at our wedding. He really got to know us and delivered a sermon that was memorable and touched each of our guests. Almost all of our guests told us how wonderful they thought Father Jerry was, and that it was the most beautiful ceremony they witnessed!

We loved Father Jerry! He made our wedding day as special and memorable as we had dreamed of! The ceremony was beautiful, and he had our friends and family both laughing and crying throughout the ceremony. As a mixed faith couple, Father Jerry did an excellent job in including God in the ceremony and feeling His blessing while catering to the traditions of both families. Both of our families are still elated over the ceremony. Father Jerry, thank you! Your words, your charisma and your sincerity truly made our wedding day special.

Additionally, Father Jerry was very responsive to every single one of our emails. Since our very first exchange of communication, he was very approachable and charismatic. He was also very professional and we could tell that he truly cares about the work he does and about helping make our wedding day special. I would recommend him to anyone!

We had our ceremony at a private residence in Montecito, CA. Father Jerry was an absolute delight! He took our ideas and created just the perfect ceremony for us with just the right mood and message. His sense of humor was very much appreciated to keep our nerves from getting the best of us that day. His experience helped everything go smoothly as well. Everyone complimented us on what a nice ceremony we had. We couldn't be more pleased.

Father Bellamy was exactly who I envisioned for my wedding and more. He helped us add a few details to the ceremony. I received many compliments regarding Father Bellamy, and they had even quoted him from our ceremony. He made our ceremony feel very personal. He was very warm, and funny at the same time. He made us stay within the moment during the whole ceremony. Father Jerry is very professional, and excellent at what he does.

Father Jerry Bellamy was AMAZING! We could not have asked for a more professional and down-to-earth person to officiate our wedding. He was so comfortable to be around and had an incredible sense of humor that made the entire wedding fun and relaxing. My husband and I are from Idaho and our wedding took place in Lompoc, California. Unfortunately, we were only able to meet with Father Jerry over the phone prior to the wedding. However, this did not affect our ceremony in the slightest. Father Jerry was able to make us feel like he had known us for years! He wove details about us and our family into the ceremony with absolute perfection. We loved our ceremony and were so grateful to have Father Jerry as the officiant.

Amazing officiant. Dozens of people asked us how we were related to him because the ceremony was so personal and thoughtful, they figured he had to be one of our relatives. He had a great mix of humor and sentiment throughout our ceremony and the entire planning process.

We didn't have the luxury of meeting with Father Bellamy prior to our wedding since it was somewhat of a destination event. Given this, Father Bellamy was still able to work with us in a way that made it feel like he was right next to us throughout the entire process. He was also able to "tune-in" to our personalities and shaped his delivery to how we wanted it. It was perfect. Highly recommended!

we couldn't have asked for a better person to marry us than father jerry bellamy. he helped make our special day perfect. he incorporated everything we asked and ever offered some amazing suggestions. we were so blessed to have him perform our wedding. i would recommend him to anyone who is looking for someone to say their wedding.

Our wedding was on September 15, 2012. Father Bellamy was amazing. Everyone at our wedding loved him. We got so many compliments on the ceremony. He really made our ceremony so special. From the day we met for our consultation I knew he would be perfect. My husband is Christian and I am Catholic so we really wanted to find someone that would be able to incorporate both religions without offending either sides of the family. He did great. Both of our parents loved him. He also speaks Spanish so that was a plus for my parents and grandma. The ceremony was very important for Julio and I so we are so glad we had Father Bellamy. If you want something unique and beautiful, Father Bellamy is the person to have! Thank you so much for everything!

Father Jerry Bellamy was a perfect choice for our wedding. We got a lot of compliments. We met twice before our wedding and always had a wonderful meeting with him. He has a quick sense of humor which was much appreciated, especially on our wedding day. He did exactly what we wanted in our ceremony and more. He is very professional! I'm just sad that our day went by so fast, but I'm glad Father Jerry was a part of our special day.

Father Jerry Bellamy had a wonderful sense of humor along with an extremly warm down to earth personality. My husband & I were celebrating our 10 yr. Anniversary and Renewed our Wedding Vows at San Ysidro Ranch. Father Jerry added many very meaningful suggestions to us that made our Vow Renewal that much more special. We feel grateful and blessed we were fortunate enough to have chosen him as our Officiant. Father Jerry is the best!!

Father Jerry was fantastic! We came from out of town, and thought that planning the ceremony might be difficult considering we had not met Father Jerry beforehand. That was not the case...We were so impressed with his seamless planning process, choice of words, and suggestions for ensuring the ceremony was enjoyable for us, and our guests. Above all, he is a genuinely kind individual. You will not be disappointed with his services. Highly recommend!

Father Bellamy was very professional and yet he makes you feel very comfortable asking questions, making suggestions, or even changing things up last minute if you feel like it. We loved our ceremony which took place Sept. 8, 2012 and so did our guests! He brought a genuine sense of happiness to the ceremony which was absolutely necessary as my husband I were paralyzed with nerves (haha!). We could not be happier with his services. He incorporated some religious aspects to acknowledge my husband’s beliefs, and because he is bilingual (!) he highlighted some parts of the ceremony by saying them in Spanish as well to acknowledge my background and family. He is a natural and very genuine in what he does--everything just flowed. As my husband and I walked down the aisle together, I was nervous as we had not hired musicians at all and were a bit apprehensive about the awkward silence I had anticipated--not to worry--this turned out to be my favorite part of the ceremony. Father Bellamy began humming "here comes the bride" and all of our guests joined in with him. I will never forget it! I was smiling from ear to ear as we walked in and it still makes me smile thinking about it now! Also, he was very easy to get a hold of, and he meets with you to plan your ceremony--surprisingly this is not standard for other officiates who try to email you the "script" and want to do it ALL over email or over the telephone. We loved our ceremony and as this was the main focus of our day (small wedding/no traditinal reception) we could not be happier!!!!

We honestly cannot say enough great things about Father Bellamy!! His many years of experience make him an expert at what he does. He guided us through every step of the ceremony and added such a special element to our day that I feel could be matched by non other!

Father Jerry took the time to find out what we really wanted in our ceremony and what kind of mood we wanted to set. He took everything we said to heart and also provided useful suggestions from his years of officiating. One of his suggestions was for my husband and I to write each other love notes without the other one knowing, that Father Jerry would then read to us on the day of the wedding. At first I was hesitant because I didn't want to cry like a baby but after we did it I was so happy that we did because it added that personal touch to our vows and it was kind of nice to see my husband tear up :) He made our guests laugh but also reflect, especially during his sermon when he talked about what Love really is. I would definitely recommend Father Jerry to family and friends :)

Father Jerry was outstanding. He has a ton of experience so whether you know exactly how you want your ceremony or have no idea at all, he is able to effectively help you plan it out and time it accurately. The feedback we received from our guests was that Father Jerry performed a heartfelt and moving ceremoy while still making people laugh. I would not hesitate at all to recommend him to anyone who is getting married in the Santa Barbara area, he did an excellent job for us and we thank him very much!

Father Bellamy was outstanding. This was a second marriage for the both of us which only included our kids, parents and siblings. Although it was small we did have specific ideas of what we did and didn't want in our ceremony. Jerry did an excellent job assisting us in putting it all together. He provided the perfect amount of guidance and did it with the right amount of humor. I would definitely recommend Jerry. I plan on having him for both of my daughters weddings. PS - I would highly recommend going with his recommendation of writing a note to each other. Both of us LOVED the notes he read during the ceremony!

We couldn't have been happier. Father Jerry officiated with a real understanding of the kind of ceremony Christine and I were looking for. He brought a uniquely accommodating blend of dignity, solemnity and wit to our most important moment. Highly recommend.

Father Bellamy officiated our wedding in mid August. My husband and I were both raised in the Catholic church and are religious/spiritual, but we are not active parishoners. Our mothers are both devout Catholics, so we wanted a minister that understood our traditions without having a traditional Catholic mass-type ceremony. Father Bellamy was the perfect choice for us. We live out of state so we first had a two hour conference call with Father Bellamy to get to know him and allow him to get to know us better. He took the time to discuss how we envisioned the ceremony and how much religion we wanted in our ceremony. He spent a great deal of time making sure he understood our wishes. Once we arrived in Santa Barbara we spent another two hours with Father Bellamy ironing out the finer details of the ceremony. Our guests, including our mothers, loved him. The ceremony was personal, funny without being irreverent, and absolutely beautiful. We highly recommend Father Bellamy to anyone getting married in the Santa Barbara area!

Father Jerry is the perfect officiant for your wedding. He is a wonderfully kind, engaging man with a great sense of humor. During our first meeting with him everyone that worked at the hotel could not pass by without giving him a warm "Hi, Father Jerry". His personality is infectious. His stories are hilarious. He is truly one of a kind.

What we appreciated the most about him was his honest concern that we not take things too seriously and that we actually remember our wedding ceremony. Sounds simple, right? Too many people get through their wedding and don't even remember it. Thankfully we chose Father Jerry and he helped us plan a ceremony that we didn't have to live up to. It brought out the best in ourselves. We will always remember it and how warm-hearted Father Jerry proved to be.

Father Jerry was absolutely perfect in officiating our Solvang wedding at Lincourt Vineyards. He spent 2 hours a month before the wedding to get to know 'us' and who we are as people. He catered the ceremony with personal touches that made our special day that much more special. He managed to make everyone laugh and cry (happy tears, of course). He even recommended an amazing harpist, Ignacio Lopez, to play during the ceremony who was absolutely AMAZING. He made great recommendations and also adjusted to our last minute changes/requests (e.g. we had decided to write/say our vows). He was incredibly flexible throughout the whole process and was just a wonderful person to work with (easygoing yet professional).

Thank you Father Jerry!

I cannot recommend Father Bellamy enough.

My wife and I both have similar, but different, faith backgrounds. Father Jerry met with us for about two hours and planned out every detail of the ceremony. He worked in something for everyone- and seamlessly blended traditions from both faiths together.

He has a way of making everyone feel welcome and like they were part of the ceremony. Everyone loved him. Especially us.

When we first met with Father Jerry he made sure that my husband and I had the ceremony that WE wanted. He made us feel comfortable, relaxed and enjoy the moment. After the ceremony, many guest came up to me and said how much they enjoyed Father Jerry and the ceremony.
I would highly recommend Father Jerry for your wedding, you will have a great time.

Father Jerry was an amazing officiant for our wedding in July at the SB Courthouse. We had some high expectations and they were all met, he is very detailed and has a great sense of humor. Made us all feel very comfortable so that we could really enjoy our day!! I would suggest his services to anybody getting married in the Santa Barbara area.

From A-Z, our experience w/ Father Bellamy was wonderful. We had an outdoor wedding, bilingual, with a combination of traditional and personal elements to which he handled flawlessly!! A+++ in all regards. He made it fun, romantic to our style and it was truly amazing.

When my husband and I decided to elope and be married at the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, we only had one concern - who would we find to marry us? We're from out of state, second marriage and really wanted this ceremony to be only about us. No witness, no elaborate staging, just the two of us. It seemed it would be impossible to find someone who would be flexible enough to show up on a Tuesday afternoon for just two people and I turned to the Ranch for a recommendation. They immediately gave me Father Bellamy's information and after one phone call, we knew we had made the right choice. He took as much care in preparing our ceremony with us as I believe he would have if we would have thrown an extravaganza. Our vows were traditional, yet he easily accepted our request for a special ring ceremony. He suggested a reading, which we would have never done, but searching for the perfect piece was a very special part of our experience. And having us write letters to each other was the perfect way to make sure we would remember a day that only the three of us witnessed. He was solemn, funny, intense and light - all at the same time. I can only imagine how well he would engage an audience, even though the lizards, birds and bugs on our cottage patio seemed enthralled by the goings-on! No matter the size, duration, location or even number of your wedding, I have no doubt that the delightful Father Bellamy will make it yours alone, and one you will never forget.

Father Jerry did an amazing job at our wedding. He was funny, personable, and made the whole ceremony seem very intimate and personal. His demeanor put our nerves at ease and allowed us to really enjoy the moment. My favorite part was when he had us stop for a moment in the middle of the ceremony and look around at all the people who were there supporting us. That's not something I would have thought to do, and something I've never seen anyone do before, but I'm so glad that he had us do it because now I have that lasting memory with me always. We received so many compliments after the ceremony--everyone was raving about what an unbelievable job he did. Additionally, he was extremely organized during the planning process. He helped us stay focused, and adapted easily and readily to changes we made in the ceremony. Overall, he was great to work with and made our wedding ceremony perfect and unforgettable.

My husband and I were very pleased with Father Bellamy's participation in our ceremony. I would say that the most important aspect he brought with him was how he wove love into the ceremony. And, not just love between us, but love for the friends and family who were there and also those not able to be there. We had a small ceremony, but it was very complete and satisfying. Throughout our marriage, we will often look back on his words and the thoughts both he and we expressed. Thank you, Father Bellamy! - Penny and Brad

Fr. Jerry has a lot of passion for what he does and it shows. I had my wedding at Mountaingate Country Club on June 29th in Los Angeles. He drove down all the way for my wedding! I looked all over Los Angeles and met with countless officiants and it was important to me to have an officiant that I bonded with and felt comfortable with. My fiance and I drove down to meet with him in Santa Barbara and we planned our entire ceremony and the timings of everything. It was great because we could give this document to our wedding planner and have there be no issues or confusions between the various elements and people involved in the wedding.

He is able to keep the ceremony up-beat and interesting. This is important and an element people may overlook but you want an officiant that is able to be friendly and amicable to your guests. He also stayed for cocktail hour and spoke to people. He was very friendly. He is definitely worth the cost because you are getting someone who is upbeat, professional, and brings good energy to your wedding. He brings interesting ideas to the wedding planning process as well and introduces different elements you can incorporate. He also files your license for you after. I would definitely recommend Fr....

What more can I say then wow. Everything was perfect!

Father Jerry was absolutely amazing! I've been married for one week now and all I hear is how amazing he was from all of my guest :-) my now husband was so nervous to be up in front of 150+ guest but father Jerry made him real so at ease. He made everything so special for us and our guest. It wasn't just another boring service, it was an unforgetable beautiful ceremony we will hold special in our hearts forever <3

Father Bellamy made our ceremony so special and exactly what we were looking for!! He is so easy to work with and will make your ceremony exactly what you and your fiancee are looking for...he is a PRO! We had guests coming up to us throughout the night complimenting our officiant and how much they loved the ceremony...which is normally the part most people can't wait to get through! We would highly suggest Father Bellamy to any newlyweds, and book him early because he is popular ;-)

Father Jerry was all my husband and I could have asked for in an officiant. He was on the recommended vendor list from The Canary Hotel in SB and we are so blessed to have found him. He was professional, funny, helpful and all of our guests raved about him after the ceremony. Thank you for making our day so special, Father Jerry!

Father Jerry made out day more complete than I ever could have imagined. He was able to blend and balance tradition with non-tradition and help us personalize our moment. The truth is, I wasn't entirely convinced that I was going to be as satisfied with the outcome of our ceremony. I was afraid that we may be gently forced down a much more straight and prescribed path, but I never admitted that.

I was entirely wrong.

Our ceremony was everything I could of hope for and more. It was open and honest and true. It captured who we are as a couple and our combined faith. The entire time we never felt rushed or that Father Jerry was there to provide a service per se. We were not 'customers'. He was there to help us share our moment of matrimony before God and bless our commitment. He was there as the newest member of our family as well as to represent our family who was not there since it was just the two of us. Our ceremony ended the same way it started - feeling incredibly blessed. And because of Father Jerry, we have 2 beautiful letters to treasure as we get older. Something we didn't even think of that added such emotion to our day. We can not speak any more highly of Father Jerry. And you cannot go wrong but choosing him as your officiant.

Father Bellamy - thank you so much for making our day so special for us and our entire wedding party. You did an amazing job getting to know us and suggesting we write letters to each other for you to read.

It was a hit!

I highly recommend your services and truly appreciate all you did for us.

Thank you again.

Respectfully,

Keith & Brooke

Father Bellamy was the officiant for our wedding on 05/26/12. He did a wonderful job and we highly recommend him!

Father Bellamy met with us a few months before the wedding and actually created a ceremony with us that day. He gave us really great suggestions, and was totally flexible on what we wanted to incorporate. He is warm, sincere, and has a light-hearted sense of humor which we enjoyed greatly.

We are so grateful to have had Father Bellamy as our officiant. From the beginning stages of planning all the way through to pronouncing us husband and wife, he truly was phenomenal! We reside out-of-state and have very busy work schedules, so we appreciated his flexible planning process. Father Bellamy used his invaluable experience to guide us in creating a beautiful ceremony that truly reflected our vision. It was non-denominational, peppered with a few traditional Jewish elements, and encompassed everything that we wanted to communicate to each other and to our guests on that special day.

Father Bellamy has a warm charisma that really put us at ease and made us feel connected to our family & friends while we exchanged vows. Our guests were extremely complimentary about "the wonderful officiant" and the ceremony in general. We HIGHLY recommend Father Bellamy! =)

In the words of one of our guests "the minister really set the tone for the whole day...it was perfect". Father Bellamy was amazing. We had an intimate beach ceremony with 40 guests and he had every single one of them laughing out loud and tearing up at the same time. More importantly, Wade and I felt at ease, safe, ecstatic, emotional, and overall just wonderful knowing that we were in good hands.

We asked that our ceremony incorporate some spanish which he did wonderfully. We asked that a deceased parent be remembered for which he had the most perfect suggestion....a white rose placed on empty reserved chair. We asked that the ceremony feel intimate which he executed perfectly. In all seriousness, guests of ours were asking for his contact for whenever/wherever/to whomever they marry!!

Father Jerry was perfect and we can't thank him, or recommend him, enough.

I attended my cousins wedding with my fiancé in May 2011 where Father Jerry officiated. It was then that we decided we had to have him for ours as well. During the planning process he made sure we knew what was going to happen step by step during the ceremony and really helped us incorporate elements that truly reflected us.

During the ceremony he was conversational, charismatic, and his wonderful sense of humor really shone through. I received so many compliments from my guests on how genuine he was. Everyone from my grandmother to college friends were able to relate to what he was speaking about and loved him. He made us feel at ease and brought smiles, laughter and tears to our guests.

The highest compliment I can give someone is a great review. Thank you Farther Jerry for helping make the day so memorable for us and our guests.

Father Bellamy did an amazing job! He was open to any suggestion or change made to our ceremony. He provided us with ideas that made the ceremony even better than we anticipated. Our guests were so pleased that they felt it was one of the best ceremonies they've attended. We received so many wonderful compliments on Father Bellamy that I'm sure anybody would be happy to have him perform their ceremony.

Thank you Father Bellamy!! :)

Since we were not getting married in the church, it was important to me to find someone that could provide a beautiful service, after all, that is the whole point of the day, the ceremony - bringing 2 people together for life. We wanted a church feel without being in the church. Father Jerry understood what I was looking for and created the perfect ceremony for us. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. We had so many comments from our guests on the ceremony, so I know it was just me that thought it was amazing! It was loving, and fun but serious. Don't look any further, give Father Jerry a call!

Father Jerry was professional, responsive (for someone that's not from CA extremely helpful), detailed during the planning phase and overall did a fantastic job officiating our ceremony...
We had children participating in the ceremony and he was very patient, kind and at the same time playful with them...
Thank you Father Jerry for a memorable wedding!

Father Bellamy was absolutely wonderful!. He helped us create a meaningful, funny, warm and amazing ceremony. He has years and years of experience and shared great stories from other ceremonies he's performed. His calm and inviting demeanor definitely kept us at ease and relaxed. All of our friends and family loved our ceremony and asked how we found him! (Right here on weddingwire!) If you're getting married in SB or nearby areas, we highly recommend Father Bellamy. He truly loves what he does.

Father Bellamy was a great officiant and made our wedding really special. We got numerous compliments about him and were happy with everything. I would highly recommend him to anyone!

Father Bellamy was beyond perfect. He performed our ceremony and we received numerous comments on how it was the most moving ceremony our guests had attended. He was the perfect blend between humorous, sentimental, and charismatic. We highly recommend him!

Father Bellamy was incredible. He has a funny, relaxed way of connecting with everyone in the audience and put us at ease during the ceremony. Our family is part Catholic, part Christian, and part Hindu, so he had quite the job cut out for him to create a service that incorporated multiple faiths and included something for each culture. He united all of our ideas and requests into a heartfelt, sincere and touching service that brought tears to our guests eyes. I would recommend him wholeheartedly to anyone who is looking for a personal and heartwarming officiant. Thank you Father Jerry for everything, may you marry many more happy couples!

Very nice and funny guy. Was very professional and extremely helpful in planning the ceremony. On the wedding day the Rev, made the service go smoothly and went over each stage. He made the entire service very enjoyable with a hint of laughter. Would definately recommend

Father Jerry was the perfect choice for our wedding. He was funny, professional, and was extremely helpful with suggestions as far as how to include close family in our ceremony. It was also great that he was able to make our ceremony Spanish/English so that both families felt represented.
We would recommend Father Jerry for not only weddings in Santa Barbara but in the surrounding areas.

Our guests loved our ceremony as did we. Thank you Father Jerry!

I couldn't have thought of a better person to marry my husband and me. Jerry was not only amazingly genuine but so funny and nice. I had about half of my guests ask me who he was, how i found him, and could they get his number...We even had someone say, "If I was going to hear him speak every sunday, then I would go to church." He not only made our day special but he touched the lives of our beloved guests and that was important for us too!

Father Jerry was the perfect officiant for our wedding. He put as at ease through his humor when our nerves were high, and he had some great, creative suggestions for personal elements to add to our ceremony.

Not only did my husband and I think he was amazing, we had several wedding guests tell us how awesome they thought Father Jerry was and that they felt like a part of the ceremony through his words.

We would highly recommend Father Jerry to anyone looking for an excellent officiant to make your wedding day all the more special and fun for you and your guests.

-S & C

Father Bellamy was so thoughtful throughout our whole wedding planning. He is easy to work with, gives you examples and let us choose exactly how we wanted our day to be.
We highly reccommend Fr Bellamy to anyone. He will shape your ceremony the way you want it. Also, we had so many compliments on his service. I have never heard so many people praise a wedding ceremony before. He really is a genuinely nice man.

Dave and Nicole
Santa Barbara

Father Bellamy is fantastic. My husband and I live in Los Angeles and traveled to Santa Barbara for our wedding. It was a little more difficult for us to set aside time to travel to SB to meet with officiants than if we'd decided to get married closer to home. Luckily, our venue had a short list of officiants they recommended and Father Bellamy was at the top of the list. We called him up and were immediately convinced that he would be perfect. A few weeks later, we drove up to SB to meet with him and plan our ceremony. He made everything so easy. We could add or remove things from our ceremony depending on what we were most comfortable with to create a ceremony that was perfect for us.
All of the guests at our wedding loved him too. We got (and are still getting) so many comments on how great he was and how much they liked what he had to say during the ceremony.
Father Bellamy really contributed to making our wedding day perfect. My husband and I would recommend him to anyone!

Father Jerry was amazing, he spent time with my husband and I before the wedding to get to know us and made sure that we were comfortable with the ceremony he was performing.

It's obvious that he truly loves what he does and makes the wedding day very special for everyone involved. It was like having a friend standing at the alter with you - very comforting and supportive.

Thanks Father Jerry!

Father Jerry, or "Holy Guy," really was amazing. There were plenty of people to please, and a boatload of nerves, but Father Jerry did a great job of adding some levity to our experience - while still being tasteful and eloquent.

I can't tell you how many people came up to us after the ceremony and told us how great they thought the service was. Our recommendation is to, upon your initial meeting, have a general outline of what you want from your ceremony. Leave the rest to the "Holy Guy," because he really is excellent at what he does.

Could not have asked for anything more. Thank you Father Jerry!

Rev Bellamy was amazing! He helped us build a ceremony that fit us and encouraged us to incorporate elements to our ceremony that we had not previously considered, which turned out to be the best part of our ceremony! He made us so comfortable both during the meetings leading up to the ceremony and during the ceremony itself. He is very personable and I think everyone that attended our ceremony not only identified with him on some level but everyone also told us how much they enjoyed our ceremony. I could not be happier with how our ceremony turned out and that is in large part due to Rev. Bellamy.

Dear future brides and grooms. What can I say? Father Jerry Bellamy was worth every penny. We had visited with other officiants that didn't suite us in the way Father Bellamy did. If you are experiencing challenges with this element of the planning stop the worrying and call Father Bellamy. We were told by our violinist that he has been to 300 weddings and never had he once cried until our wedding. We were told by an elderly neighbor that he has never learned so much from a minister. Our parents were thrilled with the service. The memory of it all will forever be engraved in our hearts as the most incredible experience! If you are looking to have a ceremony that engages those attending and shows them that they are valued in atttending this is the right choice. If you are searching for a meaningful service that crosses all religious boundaries choose Father Bellamy. If you are looking for a minister that is approachable, easy to discuss stressful details with, carefree, and considerate chose Father Bellamy.

Father Bellamy is exceptional at what he does and we would recommend him to anyone, especially if you desire a catholic wedding in the outdoors, as the catholic church will not perform these weddings and Father Bellamy is a retired Catholic priest. He can be a little hard to get a hold of which can be nerve racking but he is very reliable, punctual, prepared and helpful as far as planning your ceremony and offering suggestions. Father Bellamy has a unique sense of humor, and he cannot resist a chance to make a joke. Just something to weigh in depending on you and your guests disposition. Our guest liked him and said so, but sometimes you're on edge because you don't know what he might say next. But he's done thousands of weddings so he knows what hes doing. He will definitely make your ceremony memorable.

Father Jerry had a difficult task ahead of him in that he had to work with two separate faiths (or rather a faith and nonfaith group). He did the impossible! Everybody LOVED the ceremony and at the reception and afterwards many told me that it was the best ceremony they’d ever witnessed!!! The Catholics were pleased, the atheists were not offended! The groom cried and the bride cried and they were happy to see that the other felt so deeply but the emotions were joyful, not sad. Father Jerry, along with the bride and groom's input, created the perfect ceremony for them and their familes and friends. I don’t use the term perfection lightly since perfection is very rare but it really was perfect! The highest compliment (for me, mother of the bride) came from MY 90 year old mother who is a tough one to please! She said that she totally enjoyed the ceremony and thought that “ Father Jerry was really good the way he tied it all together”. Believe me that is high praise coming from her! Father Jerry made it personal and totally "got" where the bride and groom were coming from and where they wanted to go. Wonderful happy memories remain for all of us due to Father Jerry!

My wedding ceremony was everything I expected. Thank you very much.

Both the groom and I have been to 70+ weddings and the officiant never really stood out or if he/she did it was because this person did a bad job. We were pleased to see that Father Jerry is different than other officiant. Our wedding ceremony was everything we could have asked for and more! Father Jerry's bio hit a home run with us because he is a retired Catholic priest like my dad, speaks Spanish (as does the groom's side), and has experience doing non-demoniational ceremonies. When we met with Father Jerry to do the planning for our ceremony, we instantly connected. He is very personable and really makes it about the couple. He doesn't force his views or religion on you and allows you to lead him into planning the customized ceremony. We got many compliments on how beautiful our ceremony was. My aunt was even amazed at the chemistry that we had with Father Jerry even though we only met him a few months earlier. We really liked how the ceremony was about us, love, family, and friends, yet we had aspects that touched on prayer and faith without being too much. We really enjoyed ourselves during our ceremony and think our guests did too! Thank you Father Bellamy!

All we kept hearing, and still keep hearing, is how magical our wedding ceremony was, and a huge piece of that was Jerry. He is a total professional.... and he is hilarious! He worked with us to bring the perfect mix of ceremonial tradition and Californian "laid backness," that we feel really fits us as a couple. He has so much experience and has so many ideas. He is happy to plan as much of the ceremony as you want or let you tell him exactly what you have in mind. We were grateful for his guidance because we weren't sure of what exactly we wanted. He gave us suggestions that we otherwise would not have thought of. Our family and friends all were very impressed by him... they loved him, and we did as well. He is so personable, he makes you feel so at ease. I couldn't imagine a better guy for the job.

Reverend Bellamy was so kind and helpful during what can be a bit of a stressful time! He has a great sense of humor and really made us feel so comfortable. He lets you do the ceremony your way and was a very special part of our wedding!

Reverend Bellamy presided over the ceremony for my wife and I. Neither my wife nor I are traditionally religious. However, parts of our family and friends are. Reverend Bellamy did a skillful job "marrying" our want for a ceremony that would represent who we are as individuals and a couple as well as be enjoyed and appreciated by our guests (religious and otherwise). He did a fantastic job of doing both. Prior to our wedding date Reverend Bellamy had a wealth of experience to contribute to the planning and was very flexible and responsive to our thoughts and wishes. After the ceremony many of our guests provided us with unsolicited praise on the wonderful job he did of making the ceremony about us and keeping the ceremony interesting and meaningful. We couldn't have been more pleased or grateful.

Father Bellamy was wonderful. My new husband and I are not religious - but come from religious families. Father Bellamy was the perfect blend between having the wedding we wanted and making our parents comfortable and happy.
After the wedding everyone asked us who our Officiate was, and how long we had known him because he was just FANTASTIC. His words were personable and loving - even though we have only known him for a few months!

Finding the right officiant for our wedding was a bit of a struggle as we're sure it is for most. So I'm very happy to report that you need look no further than Jerry Bellamy. He's all the things you read in the other reviews - professional, flexible, responsive, knowledgeable, warm and funny. Yes, the guests loved him and are still commenting on how engaging and entertaining he was.

All this was wonderful, but more impressive to us, were his instincts and understanding as to how to make the ceremony meaningful and memorable to us, the bride and groom. For most, wedding stress and nervousness create an atmosphere where the ceremony becomes just a blur for the husband and wife to be. Not only did Father Bellamy take the lead and make the ceremony stress free, he created unique and thoughtful moments in which we could not only bond with each other, but with our family and guests - and beyond that, moments that bonded our guests to each other. This created a positive, joyful and loving atmosphere that carried over through the reception until the last guest (reluctantly) said goodnight.

These were master strokes that could only be born of experience and a sincere desire to create the most memorable ceremony possible. One is not likely to find this among well meaning, ordained amateurs (even your cool, funny uncle Bob) as it is rare enough among professionals (based on our experience).

In other words, we liked him. Thanks Father Bellamy!

- Dave and Anna

Father Bellamy was truly a blessing to find and have as our officiant. He sat down with my husband and I one afternoon to spend time planning what was the perfect ceremony for us. It was so helpful to hear his point of view and what he has found works best from his years of experience. He helped us create a ceremony that really reflected our relationship and values. The day of the ceremony I was so grateful for his sense of humor and kind reminders. I am so grateful that he was a part of our very special day.

I contacted Father Bellamy about his availablity, experience, and rates, and immediately knew he was going to be the officiant for our wedding! Without really comparing other officiants, I thought he was a bit expensive, but he was completely worth it! If you are going to try to cut back expenses for your wedding, the officiant is NOT the place to do it! After all, the ceremony IS your wedding and what you'll cherish forever -- the reception is just a celebration/party.

My husband and I live in Seattle, so planning a wedding in Santa Barbara was extra stressful. We met Father Bellamy once in person before the wedding to plan the ceremony and it worked out beautifully! In just a couple hours (maybe even 1), we had our perfect ceremony planned!

Father Bellamy had many suggestions for our ceremony and really worked with us to make sure the ceremony reflected our personalities. My husband is Catholic and speaks Spanish (along with his family), so we were able to incorporate a bit of the Catholic traditions and some Spanish, which made it very special. Father Bellamy is also very humorous and captivating -- he really made the guests feel like they were a part of the ceremony.

I am confident that we couldn't have found a better officiant! Give Jerry a call and I am sure you will see what I mean after one conversation.

My Wife and I were married by Father Bellamy on May 1st in the Santa Barbara area. We could not have been more happy with the service he provided us. It was heart felt and amazing. He really reached out to us beforehand and personalized what he did for us. He is wonderful at what he does and a wonderful person also. He helped make our most important day as perfect as can be. In short we give him 5 out of 5 stars across the board and give him the highest of recommendations.

I do not believe a 5 is generous enough a rating for Fr. Bellamy, he was a 10+ in our book. When my wife and I decided we wanted an outdoor wedding we looked around and saw that we could get married in Santa Barbara on the court house grounds we were excited. But after speaking to the courts they only used a room in the court house or the back steps. Some what deflated by this news I contacted the SB county parks dept., spoke with Jeanne Lopez and she highly recommended Fr. Bellamy.
I read the reviews (just like this one) and called him the same day. Since we would be traveling from out of town and the court house was all we knew, he suggested other venues for us to consider. After deciding on the Santa Barbara Mission Rose garden all we had to do was show up.
My wife andI were raised Catholic but were looking for a civil service, however much to our surprise we had the best of both worlds from Fr. Bellamy. With just our families gathered in the Rose garden (a spot I highly recommend), Fr. Bellamy performed a very memorable moment we all loved. A splash of humor, a dash seriousness, a sprinkle of religion, and even a moment to stand silent to marinate all of it under the clear blue sky that the day presented....... AAAHHHHH!!!!!
Thank you Fr. Bellamy for all you did to make our day simply amazing. With your help, kind words, professionalism, personalism, and genuine heart we had a beautiful wedding.

Father Bellamy truly made our Ceremony a unique and memorable experience for us as a couple and to all of our most precious guests. We chose Father Bellamy because of his strong experience, but also because he provided specialties such as bilingual readings.

I currently work in marketing and event planning so I understand how all of the small and big details make all the difference. When choosing an officiant, we wanted someone who offered experience and a great personality that would fit well with our event.

We have to say Father Bellamy was perfect. The ceremony was well-paced and thought out and captured all of the elements we wanted. We have typically attended traditional Catholic ceremonies and they were often stern and somber versus joyful and full of love and care. Father Bellamy provided just the right amount of religious touches we were looking for while celebrating us as a couple and bringing smiles and laughs to our guests. We highly recommend choosing Father Bellamy for your special day.

Being from out of the Santa Barbara area, was depending on good referral for a reliable, professional Officiant to handle wedding vow renewal duties for our 25th Anniversary. Couldn't have been happier with the hotel concierge's recommendation of Father Jerry Bellamy.
Spoke a couple of times on the phone but didn't meet Father Jerry until the actual service---held in rose garden across from the SB Mission.
After 15 minutes my wife and I felt like we'd known him 15 years.
Not only do we recommend and endorse Father Jerry, we hope we can visit with him on future trips to Santa Barbara.

Father Bellamy performed our wedding ceremony on 27th November. He was superb. The ceremony is the most important part of one of the best days of your life, so finding somebody who can deliver a personalised, relaxed yet moving ceremony is extremely important. There is nothing we would change. We talked to several officiants however, Father Bellamy outshined all others and greatly exceeded our expectations. He was articulate, humorous, able to project, easy to work with and (an added benefit) extremely photogenic. We now have wonderful memories of what we and many of our guests said was the best ceremony that they had ever attended.

In short, Father Bellamy tied together our dream wedding. We wanted to be with someone who brought spirituality and compassion to our wedding - and Father Bellamy did just that. He gave us a huge amount of time before the wedding to hear our desires and to help us craft a ceremony that reflected our personalities. He made us laugh along the way and made us know that we weren't just "fill in the blank" names in a template ceremony. All of our guests raved about his service and said it was the best wedding they had attended. We know that Father Bellamy helped us begin our life together in a loving and authentic manner and we can never thank him enough for that.

Father Bellamy was a very important part of our special day. He not only guided us step by step of what to expect and help us prepare, but he offered much advice and personalized our ceremony to fit us and our families perfectly. I highly recommend Father Bellamy to anyone looking for the perfect officiant to give a ceremony humor, grace, style and memories to last a lifetime.

Father Bellamy was an absolute pleasure to work with. Not only did he provide the type of ceremony that we wanted, he also had some excellent suggestions for how to personalize it. He was tremendous at keeping us calm during the ceremony and making everyone feel comfortable. Our guests commented on how touched they were by some of his unique elements.

Finding the right officiant was very important to both of us. After going to 3 weddings in a row where the couples names were mispronounced, vows done wrong, etc we were worried our vision of a beautiful ceremony would be a disaster. Father Jerry completely put us at ease. My husband has said multiple times how comfortable Father Jerry made him feel as they walked to the altar as the ceremony began. Every single guest, without fail, has told us how much they loved our ceremony, how warm and intimate it felt. My husbands side of the family is mainly spanish speaking and Father Jerry was able to translate pieces of the ceremony flawlessly. Thank you for making our day so completely unforgettable.

For the bride and myself, it was more than a bonus to have a "fully trained ... ordained ..." minister for an officiant. Yes, a couple "could" go to an uncle, a judge, or even an Elvis impersonator, but Jerry's background was ideal for the bride and myself, as we love the Lord as our Saviour.

I know Jerry from his days as an active Catholic priest at the parish our family attended. We gave him "free reign" as to how to celebrate our wedding vows, encouraging him to interject his great humor at will.

Jerry incorporated our family and guests into the ceremony in an inviting way that I haven't seen before. This also, added to the joy of our ceremony.

We are so happy we chose Father Bellamy to be our officiant. We've received a lot of positive feedback from our guests. Many of the guests told us the ceremony was very unique and personal. Although we had only met Father Bellamy once for our planning meeting, many of our guests assumed we've known him our whole lives. We really enjoyed Father Bellamy's overall message.

Father Jerry Bellamy was exactly what we wanted in an officiant. After meeting with him the first time, we knew we had made the right choice in choosing an officiant. He listened to our opinions, ideas and took what was important to us to heart. Our ceremony was truly a reflection of our relationship- he had taken everything that was important to us and magically designed a ceremony that was uniquely "us". We would definitely recommend Father Jerry to friends!

Father Bellamy was the perfect choice as our wedding officiant. His expertise and professionalism allowed us to incorporate both old and new traditions, and give us the ceremony that we had envisioned. So many of our guests were telling us at the reception how amazing they thought Father Bellamy was during the ceremony. If you get married in Santa Barbara, I highly recommend him.

Fr Bellamy was a joy to have preside over our beach wedding in Santa Barbara. He was friendly and very easy to work with. He truly wants everyone to have their own special ceremony and works diligently to make that happen. My husband and I truly enjoyed the warmth he brought to our ceremony and he gave me some of the best advice of anyone during the planning of our event.
I would honestly recommend Fr Bellamy to anyone planning on getting married in the Central Coast area--you will LOVE him!

Father Bellamy is the sole reason for our amazing ceremony. We LOVED him. He met with us prior to the wedding and designed a special ceremony for us. He is a very busy guy though- and it it hard to get a hold of him! Completely worth it!

Father Jerry Bellamy was wonderful! Our wedding ceremony was all we ever dreamed of because of him. He made it so personal, so funny, and so memorable. We are so happy we found him! One of the best choices me made in the wedding planning. We will be referring our friends to him in the future. If you're looking for a wedding Officiant who will really take the extra effort to give you a ceremony that is fun and memorable go with Jerry!

Father Bellamy was very helpful in preparing and celebrating our wedding. Easy to work with, flexible and efficient, he worked with us to create a very personal wedding, did it with very little back and forth in planning, and came all the way down to Malibu to officiate. It was great being able to have a man of the Catholic faith perform our ceremony, even if it was on a beach outside the church. He was humorous, supportive and professional throughout the whole process including the day of with a sermon that gave meaning and depth to our wedding, not just formality.

I got married April 3,2010 and I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am. My wedding was perfect, Father Bellamy is the best. He makes you feel so comfortable and it felt like it was only my husband and I. He's super funny and makes the wedding go by so smooth. Thank you so much Father Bellamy, God Bless!

Jerry is a very nice guy!

I've had the pleasure of shooting a few weddings with Jerry and he has always been top notch. His ceremonies have always been emotionally crafted and a beautiful to shoot.

Father Jerry Bellamy is great to work with! He keeps the ceremony running smooth and stress-free. His style, charm and wit are the biggest benefits of working with him. I highly recommend Father Bellamy to my clients.

Father Jerry was great to work with!

A consummate professional who brings a ray of sunshine and joy to every wedding he touches.

We have worked with Father Jerry many times over the years and he has always been great! He is a quality officiant who does NOT do a cookie-cutter ceremony like so many others. He is always a joy to work with.

Jerry and I have worked together for a long time and he is a wonderful, pleasant, and caring officiant who can handle most any type of ceremony just beautifully.

I've had the pleasure of photographing Father Bellamy's weddings for many years. He is professional and personable. It's easy for me to recommend his services to couples getting married in Santa Barbara.