Wedding Officiant Barbara Ann Michaels, Jester of the Peace

I learned about Barbara through a friend who had attended a wedding where Barbara was an officiant for. My friend and the bride and groom of that wedding spoke of their unique ceremony and their amazing experience with Barbara that I was compelled to have her officiate my own wedding! My husband and I are SO grateful that we had Barbara marry us! I was an anxious and frazzled bride and Barbara had such a warmth to her that completely put me at ease. Her eyes and presence are just warm and loving. My husband and I are not traditional people so we really loved the special twist that Barbara delivered during our wedding ceremony – it was a blend of sweet sentiment, fun, humor, and endearment that was very unique and personal to our relationship. Our guests were all raving over how amazing Barbara was and how our ceremony was one they had never witnessed before! Barbara was an absolute treasure on our wedding day. We are so thankful that she made our wedding that much more memorable and magical. Thank you so much, Barbara! We love you!
— Jessica & Tony Married on 11.22.15

Barbara was brought in as a surprise by my wife to do a fun, vow renewal for our 10^th anniversary. She was amazing– warm and present, yet full of moment and poise. She created such a perfect space with us and our friends and family, with the perfect balance of facilitating the experience, having the guests speak to us and having us speak to each other. She’s a real pro and, while this is perhaps not what a true wedding officiant should ever want to hear, «I’d use her again in a second».

A wedding is supposed to be a sacred event. I wanted humor, but not mockery.
I thought my fiancée, Javier, was going to faint from embarrassment.
Make sure you meet this person before hiring, you may realize that the word ‘jester’ doesn’t belong in a wedding title

Our wedding was amazing! Everyone had told us by far one of the best weddings they ever been to. The biggest highlight was Barbara she was outstanding in the way she brought our love story to life. We have a story where we were forced to keep our love a secret for many years and we finally were able to show the world our true love for each other. We invited people who thought they were coming to a love celebration and not a wedding. We made everyone wear a mask on arrival and then the wedding ceremony started. Barabra took our story and with her amazing personality had our guest full of tears and full of laughter. She is amazing, charismatic, well spoken and wonderful to listen to. We found her on Unilocal with great reviews that really don’t even justify what she has to offer! I had guest wanting her information so they can use her in their future weddings and renewal of their vows (which inspired love). By far the best element of our special day! Thank you Barbara you will always be a special person to us. Tim & Kristin

As if you can’t tell from reading all the other fabulous reviews, Barbara is fantastic. My husband and I were fairly laid back about the whole wedding planning thing, but we did want something more meaningful to us than the «do you take this person, do you take that person» thing. Almost immediately upon meeting Barbara for the first time, we knew that she fit the bill perfectly.
Over the course of a couple months, we met and corresponded with her several times, and the end result was a wedding that was completely us. We got to share our «official» story with those closest to us, which was great to hear and be able to tell. I’ll admit, I was one of the «I’m cool with whatever» brides and didn’t want anything that I personally thought of as kind of tedious (sand ceremonies? You mean every time I move from now until I die I have to not break this vase of sand?), but Barbara suggested a couple little touches that made the wedding that much more meaningful. My guests still talk about how great the ceremony was, and I’m so happy that we decided to go with her.
If you’re on the fence about Barbara, get off. She’s awesome.

My husband and I just got married this past weekend, and we were so incredibly moved by Barbara Ann’s ceremony she created for us that we felt compelled to immediately shout praise from the rooftop! She is a wonderful person with an amazing gift and passion for what she does.
To all the couples out there looking for that certain someone who can put words into YOUR story and share it with meaning and love — Barbara Ann is your woman! She absolutely loves what she does, and it’s apparent in her dedication and support she gives to those she works with. She was so pleasant and patient throughout the months we worked together collaborating and building the ceremony, it really calmed our nerves knowing she was going to be the one standing up there with us on our big day. She made is so easy, we just talked and told her what we felt in our hearts and she put it into beautiful words that became our ceremony.
Fast forward to wedding day… before the ceremony Barbara came in to the bridal suite to say hello and meet the MOB and the bridesmaids… she was so cool and did something fun and special that helped calm everyone’s nerves, making us smile and relax — much needed on wedding day! During the actual ceremony itself, we felt so comfortable with Barbara up there, she knows exactly how to guide you when you’re nervous and even stood behind us to help us repeat the vows so we didn’t miss a beat. After the ceremony, we literally couldn’t keep count of the amount of guests coming up to us and telling us how moving the ceremony was and how amazing our Jester of the Peace was. Many many many happy tears. Even our 7 year old «tough guy» nephew who carried the rings got teary eyed during ceremony, if that doesn’t melt your heart I don’t know what does!
Please do yourself a favor and book Barbara Ann for your wedding, you will have the most amazing ceremony and memories that will last a lifetime.

Barbara is wonderful!
She was really invested in understanding our story. She was consistently caring and upbeat through the preparation and writing process. At our wedding she was relaxed, articulate and professional. Barbara has a statuesque and ceremonial presence. Working with her gave our wedding gravitas and form. We ended up with exactly what we wanted — a ceremony about us that was personal, humorous, sentimental, fun and meaningful.

The first wedding I attended that Barbara officiated at was enough to make me realize I needed her to perform the ceremony at my cousins wedding several months later. My cousin and her fiancé live in the UK, and their first introduction to Barbara was on skype. The distance did not prevent her from getting to know them, their story and what was important to them. She gave an amazingly personal and emotional ceremony that moved everyone in attendance. It was truly one of the most beautiful weddings I’d ever been too.
Every detail was planned to perfection! I highly recommend Barbara!