Best Marriage Celebrant Lowell Near Me

Boston Tech Team: Positive:Professionalism,ResponsivenessSussie is so sincere and genuine 💛. She did an excellent job.

Steph JustSteph: Positive:Professionalism,Quality,Responsiveness,ValueSussie did a amazing job with my cousins wedding

Hannah Hinton: Positive:Professionalism,Quality,Responsiveness,ValueSussie did amazing work for my husband and I! She got us right on track, on short notice and was very flexible and accommodating. She's very responsive with both calls and texts, and she chatted with my family at the wedding too, which they enjoyed.

Dat Nguyen: I just attended a close friends wedding planned by once upon a time and it was an absolutely amazing experience. Intimate, memorable, fun, and effortless. Sussie was an absolute charm and she was always around to help out and make sure everyone was having fun.

Marianny Rivera: Sussie was the wedding planner for our wedding on 8/9/2019. I had seen her be the officiant in a friends wedding back in 2017 and I knew she would be the one to marry me one day. We used her both for the justice as the peace as well as a day of coordinator. Leading up to the wedding she was very attentive calling me and sending me emails to make sure I was on track with everything. Then the day of the wedding while my wedding party and I were getting ready Sussie made me feel like a true bride! I did not lift a finger, she made sure everything was done and everyone fulfilled their duties, even went as far to making sure I was staying hydrated enough for the big moment. Our wedding ceremony was specific to us and very special. She did it in both languages and all of our guest were able to enjoy and participate in our beautiful moment. I would truly recommend Sussie to anyone. I am still having people coming up to use telling us how great she was.

Kevin Nyabuto: Susie is very professional she is personable and indeed an expert. You can't go wrong,these guys know their stuff,highly recommend.

Matthew Kowalski: Sussie was a godsend for us as we were planning our wedding, piecing together our own vendors and trying not to stress over the details. Sussie not only was incredibly responsive, meeting with us personally and over the phone multiple times to get everything right and even recommending great vendors that did amazing work for our wedding - she saved us money! Not only that, she was very detail-oriented and always had our itinerary updated with any last-minute change we made - and added some nice details for the day of. Not only that, her facilitation of the wedding itself - all parts of it - on the day of allowed us to enjoy our friends, family, party time, and the love of our special day without anxiety and stress. Although we’re happy the rigor of wedding planning is over, we’re sad we don’t get to work with Sussie anymore! A planner and day-of coordinator is crucial and we could not have done it without Sussie. Book Sussie and Once Upon A Time Wedding Services and gain back some peace of mind!

Mike Kowalski: Once Upon a Time helped plan and organize my brother and sister-in-law's wedding and everything went very well! Speaking for myself, the communication between Susie and I was very professional in that she was always available to answer any questions I or the other members of the wedding party had in a clear manner. She and her team did a great job of making the wedding as smooth and beautiful as it could be!

Dr. Al Costanza: Sussie, made Cinthya and Rafael's ceremony very special!

Michael Kozlowski: As a video production specialist pre-production and game planning is key in order for my employees and I to create the best possible product for our clients and whenever we work with Once Upon A Time Wedding Services the communication and clarity of how the wedding day will unfold is second to none. Every time we are able to partner up with their team we know that the day will run smoothly and that no detail will be left unchecked. If you are a vendor, or a couple looking for wedding planning services, do not pass-up this gem, you will be blown away by their work ethic and attention to detail!

Jamilka Maldonado: Sussie is a life saver! I really thought I could do it in on my own but the stress was too much and she step in to save my sanity haha. The most sweet and attentive wedding planner ever. Whatever I needed she was there questions I had she was a email, txt, or a call away! She made sure everything was done through out from beginning to end. In my case she came in from 5 months prior to the wedding? So she asked me everything I had done and have yet to do. Her excitement in everything she does is what got me. She really cared and love what she does. There were times I wasn't really too excited about my own wedding my OWN WEDDING! She lended me an ear of why I wasn't excited but helped me overcome the situation that was,happening and helped me get excited about it once again. The day of the wedding I was as calm as can be and enjoyed every minute of getting ready with my girls and my mother and mother in law to a point that my hair dresser said "Your so weird!" and my response "Why you say that? Because it's your wedding day and your showing no signs of nervousness or even panicking about anything!" To whomever is reading this I'm telling you now Sussie gives you that sense of relief. She I literally on top of anything and,everything that needs to be done before and during and if there is a hiccup she finds a way to get things done. Sussie had a lot on her plate with my wedding because she wasnt just our wedding planner she was also our Justice of the piece and travel planner. You won't be disappointed I'm telling you now. She wasn't just our saver but became a friend that my husband and i cherish so much. We love you and miss you Sussie❤ thank you so much for the most perfect stress free wedding! VICTORY!!🎉🎉🎉🎉

Olivia Kotsopoulos: We came to Maureen while preparing for our wedding and marriage in the hopes of crafting a wedding ceremony that spoke to our values and centered our community, rather than putting us on a pedestal. In a beautiful surprise, by the end of our sessions we had a plan for such a ceremony… but it felt more like the natural side effect of the work we did together to better articulate our values, understand our partnership, and craft our hopes for our future. We are approaching the rest of our planning from a centered, discerning, and joyful place. What a gift it was to find her! One of the very best experiences we've shared in this "liminal space" before marriage.

Lieva Whitbeck: Maureen helped us craft a queer polyamorous community wedding ritual beyond our wildest dreams. It left our guests saying things like, "that set a new standard for the magic spell that a wedding casts" and "that was like a birth, a wedding, and a funeral all in one" and "that was the most beautiful ritual I've ever witnessed." If you're thinking about celebrating a relationship with a ceremony, step *one* is to call Maureen. She's amazing.

Shealyn Lonergan: Where to even begin! My husband and I feel incredibly honored to have had the privilege to work with Maureen in this process. We were led to Maureen per recommendation of our wedding photographer. We initially were lost in what our wedding ceremony should look and feel like, and who should officiate us, as my husband and I are not particularly religious or spiritual. Maureen helped us discover more about ourselves, each other, and our love, and keep grounded in the meaning of our marriage and wedding during what can be a very stressful time in life. We attended her vow retreat which was incredibly meaningful and we left inspired and even more so connected to one another. During our ceremony, Maureen performed true magic in enveloping our community in what felt like one big hug. We continue feel embraced by the warmth of our ceremony and hope to hold on to that feeling for as long as we can. Thank you Maureen for helping us celebrate our love in our unique manner and for bringing our community together in a way like no other before!

Gabe Murchison: We worked with Maureen in her past life as a wedding photographer. We were absolutely thrilled with our wedding day, and Maureen was a huge part of that! It was a LONG day, and she was upbeat and enthusiastic throughout. Doing romantic stuff in front of a lot of people could have felt awkward, but Maureen did an amazing job at making us feel comfortable and relaxed -- she brings the perfect mix of humor and sincerity. She was also incredibly understanding and flexible when we postponed our wedding by two years (!!) due to Covid. As an LGBTQ couple, it was important to us to work with someone from the community, and we are so lucky to have found Maureen! (Also, our photos are SO fantastic, but that's probably not why you're reading this review!)

Ryan Sigurdson: Maureen provided an amazing, personal, thoughtful, and joyful wedding ceremony. She took the time to learn about my wife and I, through both 1-on-1 and shared conversations and she took those conversations to heart in shaping the ceremony. Like many things, you will only get out of this what you put in but Maureen creates the space for you to share and explore everything you love about your partner. She is a wonderful person to bring into your life in this amazing time and celebrate your love with her.

Kelly Boyle: As a wedding planner, the ceremony is my favorite part of every wedding celebration. There is something truly magical about watch two people committing to forever, surrounded by all of their loved ones. And, not all ceremonies are alike.Maureen takes such good care of her couples and really takes the time to get to know them. After working with a couple for nearly a year, I was pleasantly surprised to learn new things about my clients during their love story. Who knew Dairy Queen was so important to them!I was also impress with how she effortlessly weaved two families and two religions together into a loving, joy-filled ceremony.Any couple would be lucky to have Maureen craft their ceremony!

Molly Costello: Maureen was such a calm and collected guide through our entire process. Her approach is carefully considered, and resulted in an extremely personal and touching ceremony. Through multiple sessions, Maureen helped us retrace the steps of our relationship up to this point so we could better chart what our future in marriage would look like. Neither of us had any specific religious or cultural elements we wanted to use as a starting point, so Maureen’s guidance was invaluable in putting together our ceremony. She was so easy to collaborate with, and helped us to tell our story in a concise yet powerful way. It was so good that we accidentally kissed too early! Of course, Maureen totally rolled with it like the pro she is. Many of our guests complimented our ceremony, telling us how wonderful it was to hear the details of how our love story unfolded. We are so grateful to Maureen for sharing her talent to craft the perfect ceremony, and would recommend her in a heartbeat to anyone looking for a personalized, meaningful, non-denominational ceremony.

Katie and Matt Sousa Brophy: Working with Maureen on our ceremony was my favorite part of planning and preparing our wedding.Neither my husband nor I are religious, although I am someone who considers herself spiritual and wanted our wedding ceremony to feel like a sacred moment and help substantiate the transition we were making. Maureen helped us achieve the balance between spiritual but nonreligious through her many suggestions for rituals and traditions, which allowed us to choose ones that felt authentic and meaningful to both of us.We spoke to Maureen together, then separately, so she could learn about us and our journey (on Zoom and on the phone). She was a joy to talk to, and by the day of our wedding seeing her at the venue before the ceremony was like greeting an old friend.Everyone has had nothing but wonderful comments about the ceremony she crafted and the way she delivered our story (which we had full power to edit and work together on). Two of our friends who are getting married in October even asked how we had found her!Maureen is an absolute gem of a person and an 11/10 officiant. We couldn't recommend a better person to help you craft a personal and meaningful ceremony for your wedding.

Rebecca Sinisgalli: Maureen did a truly heart felt job with telling all of our wedding guest my husband's and mines love story. She truly took the time to get to know us and who we are as a family. All of our guest said it was the best ceremony they have ever attended because they felt through Maureens words they were able to get to know us as a couple and our journey into becoming a family.

Erica Laplante: When my husband and I got engaged, the task of planning the ceremony was daunting. We didn't want a traditional (catholic) wedding, but as spiritual people, we wanted our ceremony to reflect the significance of our commitment, and the moment. We felt overwhelmed by the task of crafting a meaningful ceremony that was "us." Our fabulous photographer, Kelly Benvenuto, suggested we reach out to Maureen, and as soon as we met, we knew she was the officiant for us.Working with Maureen is so much more than "hiring an officiant." Over the course of the wedding planning months we met a number of times so she could learn more about us, both as individuals, and as a couple, and played a significant role in helping us navigate challenges that came up during this process (thank you, again!) We were blown away by her depth of inquiry, her intuition, and her ability to take the fragments of stories we shared with her and turn it into a beautiful narrative. (One family member even assumed she was a life-long friend because the she "spoke of us like she really knew us.")Maureen's calm, warm and fun presence is exactly what you want what you want standing next to you, and guiding, one of the most significant ceremonies of your life. She helped us develop and integrate number of really special rituals that were truly unique and authentic to us, and our community. Months later, we still hear from family and friends that it was the most memorable and meaningful ceremony they had ever attended. It easily was our favorite part of our wedding day. Thank you again, for everything, Maureen!

Caroline Steiner: My partner and I had always been planning to have a religious ceremony. However after much discussion and reflection about our beliefs and values, we made the decision to not have the ceremony in a church. With this decision, we still wanted to have a deeply meaningful and sacred wedding; we didn’t want to feel like the ceremony was just the “official” part needed in order to have the party afterwards! When we stumbled upon Maureen’s website, it felt like she was speaking directly to us! We hadn’t realized it at the time, but a deeply spiritual, but not religious ceremony was exactly what we were looking for.After our first inquiry meeting with Maureen, we were hooked - Maureen has such a warm, inviting, understanding presence. We immediately felt comfortable opening up to her and having her lead us through the ceremony creation process. Although we had never met in person, and only met over Zoom a couple times, when we arrived to the front of our ceremony, it felt like an old friend was by our sides as we crossed the threshold into marriage!Maureen took such care to get to know us individually and as a couple and then wove together a beautiful story and script for our wedding. We also wanted to incorporate some religious elements into the ceremony and she did so flawlessly. Reading through it the first few times, we were struck about how it felt “so us.” The ceremony was the part of the wedding we were most looking forward to and it is now officially our favorite part.We received (and are still receiving) countless comments from guests about how the ceremony was beautiful and that Maureen was so amazing. A few guests told me it was the most beautiful ceremony they’ve ever witnessed. Great friends mentioned how it was so nice to learn more about our relationship and one Uncle (who we do not know very well due to distance) remarked how special it was to learn so much about us and our relationship through the ceremony. One guest actually said “I don’t know how much you paid that woman, but it was absolutely worth every penny!”Thank you Maureen for all the energy and thought you put into making our ceremony, as well as the process of building it, so special. We are so grateful we stumbled upon your website and cannot thank you enough.

Andrea Pillaro: My fiancé and I are so excited for our wedding now that we have a beautiful ceremony written by Maureen! The entire process was a joy, she actually helped us both recenter what is important in the wedding planning process, our relationship and our future together. Maureen is easy to work with, she responds promptly, and kept us updated with her progress the entire way. I was concerned we would struggle with the more emotional side of things but Maureen knows how to bring it out in you without any discomfort.

Kayley Meyer: We reached out to Maureen to write our wedding ceremony that our friend was officiating. We wanted our ceremony to be personal to our love story and inclusive of our families. Maureen blew away any expectation that we had for our ceremony! She did an amazing job listening to what we wanted and provided awesome ideas to help our ceremony feel unique and personal. She truly took the time to get to know each of us and our love story. We are so grateful to Maureen for all her help and would recommend her services to anyone!-Matt and Kayley Meyer

Dave “DLR” DeLaRosa: We really enjoyed the whole experience of working with Maureen to officiate our wedding and write our ceremony. As a couple with one religious person and one person who is not, it was most important to us that we could find a balance between the two that we were both comfortable with and captured both of our beliefs. This is what initially drew us to reach out to Maureen and from the start communication was easy. The process of actually creating our ceremony was well timed and never felt rushed or stressful- in fact the whole experience was very stress free and fun. As someone who tends to be more private, it was difficult for me to envision feeling comfortable with our story being told, however Maureen really worked to find a balance between telling our story and sharing what felt comfortable for us. Overall, we would highly recommend working with her for a personalized ceremony experience.

Heather Roberts: Maureen was absolutely wonderful to work with, and we would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a wedding officiant! Maureen’s process of getting to know us as a couple in order to create a meaningful, personal ceremony was so thoughtful and thorough, and we felt deeply cared for from the very beginning. Maureen has such an incredibly calming presence, and in the midst of wedding planning chaos, a calming presence is very much appreciated and needed! Working with Maureen, we felt listened to every step of the way, and she was endlessly helpful as we worked through different aspects of the ceremony, always sharing her thoughts without ever judging or pressuring us about any decisions. Reading our ceremony for the first time, we were amazed by how Maureen was able to capture all of the most important elements of our relationship, despite only having met with us a few times. It speaks volumes to how attentive and invested she is in her work, and we felt this from our first meeting to the day of our wedding. We could not have asked for a more caring or positive person to create such a beautiful ceremony for our wedding!

Rachel Ward: Maureen is amazing! She took our vision of a faithful, but not necessarily religious, ceremony and turned it into reality! Even my devout Catholic Nana couldn’t stop raving about how special the ceremony was. We could not have been happier with our day and how awesome, organized, and kind Maureen is

Aryana Robinson: We had the best experience working with Maureen. It's hard to put words to describe your best day ever! So here goes my best attempt. First off she is probably the most warm and kind person to begin with so our first phone call with her we knew she was the one we wanted to work with. What we didn't know is how amazing our ceremony was going to be! We knew we wanted something nontraditional without offending any religious sensibilities, but weren't sure how it would be created and how we would express this. Maureen"s step by step process was painless and fun! She listens so thoughtfully and carefully and really gets to know you as a couple and people.When we read our first draft we couldn't believe how amazing it was and how it told our love story and described us as people. She devotes so much time to crafting the perfect ceremony. We barely had any edits or changes to ours! We also found that the unique process of creating this ceremony with Maureen helped us get more clear about how we were going to make our wedding a really unique, different and intimate experience. We didn't want ours to be religion focused but if you do she can custom create whatever you want it to be like.I personally don't like being the center of attention however this ceremony felt like we were all part of a special experience together with our community instead of performing a ceremony. This created a special feeling on our wedding day that continued for weeks after. It was a special day we will all always remember together. My Uncle the week after the wedding said he was feeling the love and on a high from this special day and ceremony.Maureen is a special person and has a true gift for storytelling. If you're looking to make your wedding a truly memorable one then you should definitely contact Maureen ASAP! It is hard to put into words how beautiful and amazing this day was and how perfect our ceremony was to reflect who we are as people and as a couple! Best of luck! :)

Shannon Matos: Maureen officiated our wedding in beautiful New Hampshire this past Fall. While the day was absolutely perfect, I have to say one of my favorite parts about the whole experience was planning our ceremony with Maureen. Her process is so thorough and personalized, her attention to detail is of the next level, and more importantly her love and passion for what she does was felt throughout the whole planning process. We truly appreciated her ability to weave our personal beliefs, with a mix of personal inspiration creating something truly custom for us. We both felt equally represented and we felt that our ceremony actually brought our guests and families closer in togetherness. If we ever renew our vows there is only one person we'd ever consider as our officiant... Maureen Cotton is AMAZING, and we will recommend her every time!

B Kaushal: My (then) fiancée and I reached out to Maureen just a few weeks before our intimate ceremony and we're so glad she was able to fit us into her schedule. Maureen had a great process to help us each reflect on the meaning of marriage and what we wanted out of a wedding ceremony. She helped us pull the threads together of things that were important to each of us and to both of us together and crafted a beautiful ceremony (we cried basically the whole time) that reflected our relationship thus far and our hopes for our marriage going forward. We can't say enough good things about Maureen. She was so patient with us and so warm and welcoming to the guests who were able to join us on the day of. She made the day feel so special and we're so lucky to have had her as part of our wedding!

Megan LaMarca: Maureen Cotton provided our wedding day with an incredibly special and moving ceremony. Our wedding planners, Whim Events, recommended we talk with Maureen when we mentioned our Catholic upbringings didn't entirely fit how we defined spirituality in our relationship. We scheduled a call and were immediately excited about her perspective and how insightful she seemed to be about our relationship even already in the short conversation. She worked closely with us for the many months leading up to our wedding day to get to know us individually and as a couple so she could represent our relationship thoughtfully in the ceremony. She had crafted a perfect script and ceremony plan before COVID hit, and then we put everything on hold. A few months later, we decided to go ahead with an intimate ceremony and so we brought Maureen back on board for this different event. She effortlessly adjusted the ceremony to fit the new setting and environment and we went into the day feeling confident and excited about the updated ceremony that included our own personal vows, a few Catholic readings from our mothers and a handfasting ceremony that we felt represented the coming together of our two families. The whole 25 minute ceremony was absolutely beautiful and brought everyone to tears. Our families were so touched by how she represented us and our union. Maureen was fantastic and set the mood perfectly, all while making us feel very comfortable with the COVID wedding situation by standing off to the side as she performed the ceremony. She was so prepared and lovely to work with from the very beginning and she captured our story so well, as if we had known her for years. Maureen is lovely and so kindhearted and we couldn't imagine anyone better suited to have officiated our ceremony. Thank you, Maureen, for everything!