Gwen Downs, Wedding Celebrant

02/17/2024

Great review from Shawna!

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02/14/2024

Great review from Luis... "Gwen is a wonderful officiant and celebrant whose dedication to understanding us as a couple shone through in everything. The love story she created for us beautifully told our story, making our wedding day even more unforgettable. We had many guests commenting on how it added a special touch to the ceremony. We're incredibly grateful to Gwen for making the entire experience seamless and unique."

"Gwen is a wonderful officiant and celebrant whose dedication to understanding us as a couple shone through in everything. The love story she created for us beautifully told our story, making our wedding day even more unforgettable. We had many guests commenting on how it added a special touch to th...

01/11/2024

Great review from Ginger... "Gwen was wonderful and did a fantastic job with our elopement. She is organized and easy to work with. We highly recommend using her."

"Gwen was wonderful and did a fantastic job with our elopement. She is organized and easy to work with. We highly recommend using her."

01/11/2024

Great review from Danielle... "Was absolutely a great experience. Gwen provided witnesses which made it even more of a stressless process. Thank you again!"

"Was absolutely a great experience. Gwen provided witnesses which made it even more of a stressless process. Thank you again!"

01/10/2024

Great review from shy!

Check out our great customer reviews!

01/10/2024

Great review from Amanda... "Gwen was amazing from start to finish! She helped us through the whole process and made it very easy!! She married us at her location which was beautiful! We had an intimate ceremony with both of mine and my husband’s parents in attendance plus our three children. After our ceremony, she made sure we got all the pictures we wanted and even helped take some. Gwen was so nice!! Highly recommend her!!!"

"Gwen was amazing from start to finish! She helped us through the whole process and made it very easy!! She married us at her location which was beautiful! We had an intimate ceremony with both of mine and my husband’s parents in attendance plus our three children. After our ceremony, she made sur...

01/10/2024

Great review from jenniffer... "Gwen married us last year. She was wonderful to work with. She was also flexible with our work schedule. We highly recommend her!"

"Gwen married us last year. She was wonderful to work with. She was also flexible with our work schedule. We highly recommend her!"

01/08/2024

Great review from Doris... "We had our wedding ceremony with Gwen last August. We recommend her services. Easy to schedule, flexibility, she has a service for every need (big ceremony or just a quick signing! And even has witnesses available in case you need it) and sent the license to the register if deeds very quick. 10/10 services with her. Thank you Gwen!"

"We had our wedding ceremony with Gwen last August. We recommend her services. Easy to schedule, flexibility, she has a service for every need (big ceremony or just a quick signing! And even has witnesses available in case you need it) and sent the license to the register if deeds very quick. 10/10....

01/08/2024

Great review from Danielle... "We hired Gwen because we were looking for a non religious officiant who could tell our story and make our ceremony special. Gwen was very organized and open. We were able to read and edit the ceremony to exactly how we wanted it. Highly recommend Gwen!"

"We hired Gwen because we were looking for a non religious officiant who could tell our story and make our ceremony special. Gwen was very organized and open. We were able to read and edit the ceremony to exactly how we wanted it. Highly recommend Gwen!"

01/08/2024

Great review from LeAnn... "I had found Mrs. Downs via Google search. I booked her for an early spring date and was all set to go. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our original date with an unknown future date in mind. Mrs. Downs was super helpful and understanding. She insisted when we was ready, she would be there. Well, about 6 months later we decided we could finally elope and guess who was ready, Mrs. Downs! She got us in on our new requested date that was actually only 2 days away, so it was a super short notice and on Friday, Oct 13th 2023 we FINALLY elope (we had purchased our marriage license 3x 😆 once before I found Mrs. Downs). She made the entire experience fun and memorable. It was fast, simple and easy. Our toddler didn't even have time to get antsy 😂 (she did in the pic bc she wanted the sign). Mrs. Downs handled the returning of the paperwork so we didn't have too. She even emailed us to let us know she sent it off. It was definitely well worth the hour drive we took to get to Mrs. Downs. She even gave my daughter a snack for the 1hr ride home! I highly recommend her to anyone!!!"

"I had found Mrs. Downs via Google search. I booked her for an early spring date and was all set to go. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our original date with an unknown future date in mind. Mrs. Downs was super helpful and understanding. She insisted when we was ready, she would be there. Well, abo...

01/06/2024

Great review from Jay... "We were so lucky to find Gwen. Her organization and templates helped us to get on track and stay on track for our ceremony. While the structure put us at ease that everything would get done it also allowed for a lot of creativity at the same time. Her services are top-notch. Thank you Gwen! Jay and Tara"

"We were so lucky to find Gwen. Her organization and templates helped us to get on track and stay on track for our ceremony. While the structure put us at ease that everything would get done it also allowed for a lot of creativity at the same time. Her services are top-notch. Thank you Gwen! Jay and...

01/04/2024

Great review from Joshua... "Wonderful wedding officiant. Exactly what we were looking for. Professional and pleasant"

"Wonderful wedding officiant. Exactly what we were looking for. Professional and pleasant"

11/27/2023

Great review from Joseph... "Gwen did a wonderful job at our wedding! The love story she put together really helped our family and friends feel like they were part of our journey, and I highly recommend her!"

"Gwen did a wonderful job at our wedding! The love story she put together really helped our family and friends feel like they were part of our journey, and I highly recommend her!"

01/03/2023

Another 5-star review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Brittany wrote, “Gwen was a wonderful addition to our wedding! Her ceremony was personal, heartfelt and everything that my husband and I wanted for our wedding. Gwen provided different options for the ceremony and sweet rituals that fit us as a couple. Her ceremony included our guests and family which made it even more perfect. Gwen was super easy to work with, organized and detail-oriented. You would be lucky to have her be the officiant for your wedding!”

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11/10/2022

Gwen performing a love story wedding for Emily and Conner on July 23, 2022. Video courtesy of Toast Wedding Films

Gwen Downs is a wedding officiant in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her celebrant ceremonies are as unique as your love story. She will create a ceremony that is meaningful,…

07/20/2022

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Olivia wrote, “Gwen made sure that our wedding ceremony was perfect and memorable! Hearing our love story that she curated for us after asking each of us thoughtful questions and getting to know us made it truly special. We highly recommend Gwen to anyone who is looking for a unique Wedding Ceremony experience.”

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07/13/2022

Another 5-star review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Taylor said, “Gwen did such an amazing job at our ceremony. We have had many people mention how much they enjoyed the ceremony and that is due to how much work and detail Gwen incorporates in painting the love story of the couple. She was super organized and communicated directly with our party members to gather the information she needed to create such a personalized ceremony. I would highly recommend Gwen if you are looking for an officiant.”

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06/24/2022

04/22/2022

Another 5-star review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jessica said, “Gwen was so amazing throughout the entire process. She is so organized and on top of everything. We truly appreciated her expertise. She made sure our ceremony ran smoothly and we loved the hand ceremony that she performed. We highly recommend Gwen!”

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02/10/2022

Married these guys on a freezing cold day in February. Notice their clothing; the one on the right said he runs hot 😜 — in Holly Springs, North Carolina.






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01/02/2022

Love this photo with Emily and Kyle at Pinehill Pavilion in Youngsville, NC.

12/19/2021

The reviews are in!!!
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Rachel said, "Perfect ceremony! Gwen did a fantastic job! She told our story in such a beautiful, romantic, and funny. We didn't think we'd want a recording of our wedding so we didn't hire a videographer, but that's our main regret now, given how much we loved our ceremony. Not only did Gwen create a super special ceremony for us, she was also very professional in every step along the way--meeting us, getting all of the details about how we met, running the rehearsal--everything was just perfect. If you're looking for someone you can trust to give you the ceremony of your dreams, you need to hire Gwen (and a videographer!)."

Venue The Royal Banquet & Conference Center
Celebrant Gwen Downs, Wedding Celebrant
Planner Enchanting Events & Designs
Photo Timmester Photography
Music DJ MASS

12/16/2021

HOW TO PERSONALIZE YOUR WEDDING CEREMONY

It’s your wedding day! You’re standing in some hallway waiting for your cue to make your entrance into the ceremony space. You’ve been making wedding decisions for weeks, awake since 5 a.m., and you just want to get out there because you’ve been looking forward to the ceremony ever since you made the brilliant choice to hire a trained and certified Life-Cycle Celebrant ™ to officiate. You know your wedding will be special and personal, thanks to these tips on personalizing your ceremony.

Hire a Trained Celebrant
Celebrants specialize in personalizing wedding ceremonies. They are non-denominational ceremony writers and performers who are adept at juggling the many competing priorities of couples who are getting married. Want to incorporate singers into the ceremony? Get a celebrant. Want to think up an elaborate ritual to honor your guests? Get a celebrant. Blended family? Hire a celebrant. Jewish bride, Catholic groom? No problem. Atheist bride, Hindu groom? Your celebrant has got your back. Non-practicing Catholic bride and groom whose parents are paying for the wedding and have strongly hinted that they are not thrilled you are getting married in a brewery instead of a church? You definitely need a celebrant.

Your celebrant can personalize every aspect of a wedding ceremony, crafting, directing, and choreographing it to reflect the couple’s true personality. Let’s look at the major ceremonial elements and explore the possibilities for personalization therein.

The Space
Many event venues carve out the ceremony space in a way that resembles a traditional church set-up of two groups of seats separated by an aisle. All the seats face the altar space, the area where the couple will stand with their celebrant. But in a country club ballroom or an estate’s backyard, there is no altar. People say altar as a shorthand to refer back to church weddings. I like to refer to it as the “Ceremonial Matrimonial Sweet Spot,” but that’s just me. The point is that since there is no physical altar, the ceremonial sweet spot can be anywhere in the space, and the guests can be arranged anywhere around it. The traditional, common set-up is not very personal. Consider the following fun, personal alternatives instead.

Elevate the ceremonial space onto a raised stage to improve sightlines for everyone and amplify the theatricality of the whole event. The chairs can all be together with no aisle, as in a theater. And if you need an explanation for that, I’ve got metaphors galore right here in my metaphor satchel. For instance, the lack of an aisle represents the fact that these two families and sets of friends are already joined together, and today we are just making it official.

Prefer a more avant-garde theater? Set up the chairs in a circle and have a ceremony in the round.

Do you enjoy the symbolism of labyrinths? Set the chairs in concentric circles so that the bride and groom take a journey in and around all the guests to arrive at the very center of the labyrinth, where their lives will change forever. Very Instagrammable.

Or forget the chairs completely. In fact, forget the ceremonial space! Hold your ceremony on a dance floor, standing, dancing, and underscored by good music. Hold it on a baseball diamond, a basketball court, a putting green, in a pool, on a boat, or in a room full of yoga mats.

Music and Bridal Party Entrances
We’ve all attended weddings where the bridesmaids and groomsmen make lifeless entrances into the ceremony space while some romantic dirge, like Pachelbel’s Canon, crawls through the air. No, I say! Have your bridal party make an entrance! The easiest way to encourage a good entrance is with good music. Choose something lively and upbeat, something from this century, and something that reflects your real personality.

If you really prefer hypnotically beautiful music, meet with your DJ to discuss appropriate instrumental music. DJs are unmatched in their musical knowledge! Find something that suits your auditory mood. One of the most gorgeous processionals I’ve ever seen took place to music from Appalachian Waltz, a collection of music from cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

My point is that the entrance music doesn’t have to be Pachelbel’s Canon or the Bridal Chorus. It doesn’t have to be Christina Perry’s A Thousand Years. While these pieces are gorgeous, they are painfully cliché, which is the opposite of personal. Your music can be anything you want it to be.

The Ceremony Itself
You’ve already hired a trained celebrant, and they will have been working with you to personalize every aspect of the ceremony. They’ll welcome everyone in as inclusive a way as possible, citing every state and country from which your guests have traveled. They may even say a few words in a foreign language if some guests don’t speak English fluently. They’ll honor every family member you wish in exactly the way you wish. They’ll remember your dearly departed in as dignified and brief a way as possible. They’ll get everyone excited to be at a wedding. Then, when they talk about you, the guests are in for a real treat.

The Love Story
Celebrants are, essentially, professional storytellers. They write great love stories. The centerpiece of each celebrant ceremony is a love story that is specific to the couple getting married. Even if everybody present already knows the couple’s story, they’ve never heard it told by a professional storyteller before. Love stories cover how the couple met, how they got together, how they fell in love, and how they got engaged. The celebrant expresses everything that is most important to the couple, making sure everyone understands why they’ve gathered and why they need to celebrate the couple with extreme enthusiasm. The top celebrants weave love stories that are equally hilarious and heartfelt, holding guests’ attention with true, accurate humor, then surprising them with the power of sentiment. They evoke laughter and tears. They express important thoughts because weddings are important. They connect facts about couples in ways nobody has ever thought of before. Love stories illuminate.

The Vows
Write your own vows. Nothing is more personal than what you promise your partner. If you need help, there are experts out there who work with couples on personal vows all the time (for example, Tanya Pushkine, aka The Vow Whisperer, and yours truly).

If you don’t write your own vows, your celebrant can ask you a series of questions to which you answer “I do.” You can work with your celebrant to craft the exact questions you want to be asked.

This post was originally published at EverydayBride.com and was written by Christopher Shelley of (www.illuminatingceremonies.com).

12/04/2021

WHAT IS A WEDDING CELEBRANT? By Alice Prendergast Wedding celebrants take what you’d call a “full-service” approach to weddings, ideal for couples who are in the market for a truly one-of-a-kind wedding ceremony experience. They go through months of training, learning everything from the funda...

11/02/2021

Another 5-star review!
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Jasmine said, "I can't say enough great things about Gwen and her celebrant services!✨ My fiancé and I wanted something "short and sweet." A large wedding was the last thing either of us cared for, so a nice intimate elopement was right up our alley. We happened to find Gwen on a whim and thank goodness we did! 💍💐 Gwen made the process of getting married so simple and the experience one to remember. She was even able to provide us with witnesses—something we couldn't do since we are new to the area. Gwen took care of all our needs (right down to the signing and mailing of our certificate), and was quick to respond to any questions/comments/concerns we had. 🧾🖋️ Her venue is cozy and quaint and we even had a few photos taken, with some complimentary props Gwen provided! Booking her was easy as 1-2-3, thanks to her website and we got to be wed on Halloween 🎃 (a shared dream of ours). We couldn't have asked for more and highly recommend Gwen to anyone looking for a professional, caring, and attentive officiant for their wedding or elopement! 👰🏾‍♀️💕🤵🏻‍♂️ P.S. She also had the cutest dog, that she let us both snuggle after our wedding; we love animals so that moment was just icing on the cake for us! 🐶🐾"

10/30/2021

A chill is in the air! Christie and Bradley, I can’t wait to officiate your wedding and tell your story on this beautiful Autumn day under the 18’ pergola

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10/17/2021

Olivia and Bryan, a little rain isn’t going to stop you two from getting hitched. I can’t wait to tell the story of how a 7th grade crush led to a waterfall proposal 8 years later. Congrats, you two! Let’s get this started!

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10/03/2021

What a perfect day for a wedding! Nicole and Patrick, it’s been such a pleasure working with two people so extraordinary. I can’t wait to tell your story of how a skydiving student fell for his instructor! Let’s get you two hitched!

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