Mary Alice O’Connor

We are so lucky we chose Mary Alice to officiate our wedding! We got married on July 25^th, 2015, in Walnut Creek. When we started looking for an officiant, we weren’t sure what to look for. We wanted someone who would be flexible enough to work with our preferences and we were looking for a ceremony that mixed traditions from both the groom’s and bride’s backgrounds. Mary Alice ended up being the perfect fit because not only did she help us create the kind of ceremony we wanted, she helped us find the deep meaning and emotion that we wanted to express to each other and to our guests. And she cared about helping make it a great day for us! After the ceremony, many guests came up to us and told us it was one of (if not the) most heartfelt and touching ceremonies that they had ever witnessed. It wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance and direction that Mary Alice gave us. Thank you, Mary Alice!

How can I possibly say ‘I’ve experienced better’ if this was only wedding? I can’t say it was the WORST but it wasn’t OKAY — so two stars it is.
My husband and a few members from our wedding party were reflecting on the ceremony last night and everyone brought up some real solid statements on our officiant during the practice rehearsal, before, during, and after the ceremony.
When we first met Mary Alice:
She was really nice, super friendly, and very supportive, We all sat down and talked about our history and figured out the format of our ceremony. She either accepts cash or checks. She had a suggested rate and said she’d work with us if we were under a strict budget but I totally felt that she’d deserve the rate she wanted because of her having to commute to my home for the rehearsal.
The second time we met her:
She was stressed out over moving and it was pretty obvious that she was pretty much exhausted from packing and preparing her move. However, she was able to pull herself together and we were able to continue on with our session.
The day of the practice rehearsal:
We originally had the practice planned at 2 in the afternoon but we received an e-​mail from Mary in hopes of changing our timeline for another rehearsal that she double booked. We agreed and changed the time to 3. Although the hour change seemed minuscule, it did impact our wedding party and dinner. People were (by then) getting to know each other, eating, and having a great time. When MAO arrived, she was irritable. We tried to treat with with the utmost hospitality and in doing so our practice ceremony went along.
Before the ceremony:
She was obviously not in the mindset of being an officiant. She was beyond irritated and rude to everyone in our wedding party. My husband and I decided to do a «first look» before the ceremony and to take pictures with the party. When MAO saw this, she was pretty upset that she wasn’t able to rally us up to go over our practice rehearsal (which I could understand) but when we were all inside of the building, almost ready to walk out, she looked at one of my girls and snapped at her on when she should take my bouquet. One of the groomsman told us that MAO even said to him that everyone else in the party has something planned to do except for him (in a demeaning tone).
During the ceremony:
1.) She was pissed that my mom, dad, and I arranged ourselves outside of the building so that we could walk in unison down the isle.
2.) She gave us this snotty remark when my husband and I said something to each other, «WHAT ARE YOU TWO BICKERING ABOUT?!» under her breath.
3.) To our two witnesses, she seemed angry as hell while they were signing the marriage certificate.
Dude, her mood swings were just too unpredictable. We should of looked around for an officiant rather than going with the first person that someone referred us to.

So many of our guests raved about Mary Alice. We could not have found someone better! She helped us plan out our entire ceremony and then delivered it just as we rehearsed. You cannot go wrong with Mary Alice, she will stick with you from the first time you meet until the moment you receive your marriage license!

Mary Alice did our ceremony on 4÷4÷15. We could not have asked for anything better. We really felt comfortable and all our needs/​wants were met. We never felt rushed and feel like we gained a friend out of this whole experience.

My husband and I were just reflecting on one of the highlights of our wedding and Mary Alice always comes to mind. From the second we met her, we had an immediate connection; we were comfortable with her and it was like we’d known her for much longer. It’s been almost 2 years since our wedding but we will never forget what an amazing job she did on our wedding. There really are not enough words to express just how amazing Mary Alice is, and this Unilocal review won’t do it justice. Just know that if you decide to go with Mary Alice, she will do a better job officiating your wedding than anyone else that you ever thought of. She is truly one of a kind and a beautiful human being who is relatable and comforting. We love you Mary Alice!

Mary Alice was our officiant on September, 2014. We’re so lucky to have found her. Although we got married in the bay area we were living in London while planning our wedding. Planning our ceremony from abroad was a big challenge but Mary Alice was super helpful the entire time. Every time we were in the bay area she found some time to meet us to discuss our ceremony.
We were very lost at the beginning and didn’t even know where to start, my husband is Chinese and I’m Brazilian and wedding ceremonies are very different in both cultures. We wanted to create a ceremony that had bits and pieces of both cultures. She provided us all with all the material we needed to create our ceremony, including readings, examples of rituals, and other ceremonies. It was almost like she could read our minds, she helped us find the right words for the ceremony and she was always giving advice on how we could improve things for the wedding.
Mary Alice is an amazing person, with an amazing energy. It’s so nice to be around her, it’s like she makes you forget about all the stress of wedding planning.
I don’t know what we would have done without her, our ceremony was beautiful and everyone loved it.

Mary Alice was the officiant for our July 10, 2014 wedding. Prior to the event, we met with her three times in her home, but she will meet with you as many times as you like. We spent a lot of time laughing and sharing stories. Mary Alice was very warm and welcoming. She provided us with tons of material to pick and choose from for our ceremony and was flexible so that we could personalize our wedding ceremony. She also coordinated certain events with the wedding photographer ahead of time so that we would be sure to get the best photos when walked down the aisle after the pronouncement. Mary Alice really helped to set the tone of our entire wedding, which was full of laughter, fun times, and a few serious moments. We would defintely recommend working with Mary Alice if you want a unique wedding ceremony and an officiant who you can feel comfortable with.

Mary Alice was fantastic to work with throughout the duration of our wedding planning and ceremony. She really prepared us for the big day — taking the time to really get to know us. We had a bizarre health situation where my husband was quarantined on the day of our wedding. We called Mary and she raced over to the hospital film our ceremony two hours early, and she stayed through the duration of the showing to the wedding audience. She helped explain the situation with grace and warmth, we couldn’t have done it without her!

My husband and I were so happy to find Mary Alice to officiate our wedding ceremony in July 2014. We went to her home for our free initial consultation. Mary was so warm and receptive, made us feel very welcome and at ease. She took her time getting to know each of us personally and our story of how we came to be together. She was very genuine and sincere, clearly interested in what our expectations were for our lives together. She explained in detail how she would guide us, give us as much material as we wanted in writing our own wedding and she explained she wanted us to have a celebration where everyone felt the love and was included. My husband and I spoke privately while we were there and decided on the spot to that we both had found whom we wanted and settled on her while we were there.
My husband and I decided to go through all of the wonderful written materials which she gave us to use and we selected what was meaningful to us. We included readings, personal vows and several rituals. Mary speaks very warmly to us and effectively to those gathered to put all at ease, to draw everyone in to participate in the ceremony.
Mary Alice was prepared to meet with us 2 more times or more if needed for what we felt was a very modest fee. I am happy to support good professionals like Mary Alice who are moderate in their charges and feel she is very affordable for anyone and that this is important for younger couples on a budget. Though not at all solicited by Mary Alice, we felt she should be paid more by us or others that we are in a position to do so.
I knew going into the wedding that with Mary Alice there everything would be well under control. It is almost like she was a wedding manager. We had family and friends participate in many rituals and blessings and Mary Alice pulled it all together. All of the guests said that this wedding was the most happy loving wedding that they had been to and that they really felt included.
I feel like I and my family have a made a very good friend in Mary Alice and would be happy have our paths cross again.

Loving, caring, heartfelt, professional, and truly unique. Mary Alice was definitely meant to be the one to oversee the joining of mine and my husbands lives. Upon our first meeting I knew very quickly that Mary Alice is all and more than i could have asked for in officiating our ceremony. Our initial consultation was more like a reunion with a very dear friend than a first introduction.
Mary Alice listened and learned about how my husband, from the Philippines, and I fought so hard to be together after having been separated by great distance and our journey of reaching our dream of being together. She encouraged us to create a ceremony about us, our lives, and our future.
Mary Alice took a small, intimate ceremony at City Hall and made it into a memory of a lifetime. All those how have watched the video of our ceremony have remarked about the beautiful ceremony Mary Alice presented.
My husband Francis and I will eternally be grateful that the Universe allowed Mary Alice to come into our lives. Her graciousness and kindness is beyond measure.

Mary Alice officiated our wedding on March 16, 2014 and she did a great job!
We met with Mary Alice twice before the wedding. During the first time, she had a talk with my husband and I to better understand of our background. It did not feel like a consultation but friends meeting up for coffee. Then she handed us different versions of welcome speeches, vows, etc. for us to choose, which were well-​written and well-​organized. We met again two days before the wedding for a short rehearsal, which was really helpful and she didn’t charge us extra for that.
On the wedding day, she arrived earlier to make sure everything was under control. She even greeted my guests at the entrance like a member of the family. It was so touching! She officiated the ceremony in a pleasant and humorous way and none of my guests were bored of it.
Although it is a little pricey to book Mary Alice, but you get what you pay for. I highly recommend Mary Alice!

Mary Alice is a rare gem. She is vivacious, down to earth and completely personable. As far as ministers go, she is simply the best. We loved what she did for us so much we had her as an honored guest at our reception. Those who attended our wedding all thought she was a longtime friend. Little did they know we had met only a month before.
She officiated what our guests describe as the most beautiful and moving ceremonies they had ever seen. I knew minutes into our initial phone call that she was the minister for us. She helped us easily weave together the most personal, heartfelt and spiritual ceremony we could have ever imagined. She takes time to get to know you and then provides you with tools to help you create the ceremony of your dreams. Look no further and schedule an initial meeting with Mary Alice. You will not be disappointed.

If you are looking for a wedding officiant, then you would be very fortunate to have Mary Alice by your side. We were referred to her my friends, and working with her and having her at our wedding turned out to be one of the most pleasant parts of our wedding planning process.
Mary Alice listens. She asks good questions. She gets to know you and what you want. And she does it all with a warm heart and loving smile. Our friends and family all assumed that we had known Mary Alice for years. And thats truly how we felt.
We would recommend Mary Alice without any reservation. She is that good… and that wonderful!

Mary Alice was wonderful, she was very accommodating and personal. Our ceremony was very beautiful and reflected our lives and love for one another. She had wonderful ideas and let us choose our own prayers and blessings so it had special meaning to my husband and I and our families. I would recommend Mary Alice for any future couple wanting a beautiful ceremony. She made our day very special and we could not thank her enough. Love, Pablo and Nicole Garcia

Mary Alice was a calming presence at our wedding in May ’11. My husband and I are living in NYC and got married in Walnut Creek so it was stressful to plan our wedding from afar but Mary Alice has a very friendly and calming manner which put us at ease. We spoke to her over the phone from NYC and met with her in the bay area once prior to our wedding. We were unsure whether we should hire a professional officiant or just have a friend marry us but in the end, we decided to go with Mary Ann and did not regret it one bit. She made our ceremony very meaningful.

Mary Alice did an amazing job at our wedding ceremony this past June. My husband and I had met with other officiants, and we did not have good experiences. So, when we first met with Mary Alice, we were a bit nervous! She invited us to her home and really seemed interested in getting to know us as a couple and as individuals. Immediately, we felt very comfortable with her. At no time did we feel pressure to go with her. She was honest and did tell us that wedding season was upon us and that we should make a decision soon. She wasn’t pushy nor was she forceful with us. She basically told us to think it over .
We loved the fact that she was willing to work with us. We actually met with Mary Alice a total of 3 times to go over our ceremony program. Yes, she is used to doing things a certain way… BUT in my opinion, I think sometimes it’s nice to have someone who just knows what they are doing. We trusted her and believed that she would do a good job. She did not disappoint!
She showed up on time to our rehearsal. She had some discrepancies with our day of coordinator on logistics, but in the end she was accommodating. She started the rehearsal by gathering everyone in a large circle, and then had all of us introduce ourselves. Although she talked about the «earth, moon, sun, etc…», it was short. My husband and I thought that it was nice that she included everyone in the rehearsal. Our guests felt welcomed.
On the day of the wedding, she was excellent! At first, I thought she was a bit nervous, but i think it was just my own nervousness. She was able to calm my husband and I as we did our vowels in front of 250+ guests. We received many compliments about our ceremony and people found it warm, touching, and sweet.
Go with Mary Alice if you want someone who knows what they are doing, who will allow you to be creative, who will be punctual, and who really seems to care about your wedding! She’s well worth it! We paid $ 625 — including rehearsal in SF. AFterwards, she mailed off our marriage certificate! No problems! Thank you Mary Alice!

Mary Alice is wonderful! We used her for our April 30^th wedding at Heather Farm in Walnut Creek. She was so easy to work with, and really worked with our crazy family dysfunction and dynamics :) We wanted a non-​religious ceremony that included different cultural elements, and she executed it flawlessly. We met with her 2 or 3 times at her house, and at no point did we ever feel pressured or rushed. She really listened to what we had to say. We received so many compliments on our ceremony too– she has a way with words!
I think her cost is very normal for what she provides. People assume that you’re hiring someone for just an hour of work, but Mary Alice put hours and hours into us, and so much time and effort. She is great!

I had the opportunity last month to observe Mary Alice officiating a wedding for a friend’s daughter. She did a moving and meaningful ceremony, guiding the participants through several readings with ease.
I understand that her rates are VERY competitive, if not lower than average.
I would recommend her without question.

Mary Alice did an amazing job on our wedding. She worked with us until we came up with a ceremony that truly conveyed our love for each other. She is a very kind and sweet woman. It was as if a close friend or family member married us.

Mary Alice officiated our wedding and was amazing!!! This was the item that brought me the most stress while trying to plan our wedding in just 7 weeks. I had no idea where to begin since I only go to church a handful of times a year and when I do it’s Grace Cathedral, so I didn’t have anyone that was a give-​in. My now husband is not religious at all and I am, so we had to find someone who could balance that as well. We knew we needed someone who could make a special ceremony just for us, but I had no idea how to find that person.
I decided to just start emailing people and seeing who was available. I heard back from Mary Alice and she seemed very friendly and wanted to get right in to a meeting with us so she would have a chance to see and talk to us a couple of times before the wedding. To us, this seemed like a good sign. So, one Saturday morning a few weeks before the wedding we drove out her home office in Pleasant Hill and just sat and talked to her for a couple of hours… she asked us questions and, as cheesy as this sounds… or even is, we really did just talk and laugh and cry, it was fantastic. As soon as we walked out of the house we knew that was it, she was the one. She made us feel comfortable right away, she helped us know how to go about planning everything, she talked to us about how we were feeling and got us to be sure we weren’t neglecting ourselves through the process. It was really fantastic.
That day she sent us home with a lot of different ceremony ideas and had us piece together all the different elements we really liked. We emailed back and forth talking through our decisions. We met again, finalized the ceremony, laughed and cried some more, rehearsed a little, and away we went.
The day of the wedding she was amazing… yes, amazing again. She talked everyone through the prep for the event. During the ceremony, I was blubbering far more than I ever would have expected and she calmly placed her hand on my lower back and reminded me to breathe… it was so comforting. She reminded us to take it all in, take our time, look at each other, enjoy the moment before we walk away down that aisle.
A number of people that night said it was the best ceremony they had ever seen. It was us, it was heart felt, it was all genuine, and it was amazing. I have to thank Mary Alice for it all. She even came back and said a prayer with my Mom and I before the ceremony, knowing that I was more religious than my spouse and that it would be an important moment for me.
She is a true professional at what she does, learning about everyone, and understanding what they will need and what they will want when they have no idea.
If you have the chance to meet Mary Alice in the way that we did, you are a lucky couple!