Spirited Weddings

When we were looking for an officiant for our wedding, we had no idea how to start the search. We asked around to some friends who got married in Chicago and then starting looking on the usual wedding sites but it was all very overwhelming. Then I decided to look on Unilocal and came across Bruce Otto. We set up a call (we currently live in NYC so planning was all done remotely) and after our chat with Bruce we knew we had found the right person to marry us. And we couldn’t be happier with our decision.
We did the bulk of the planning via email which ended up being a very smooth process. Bruce provided us with so many options to choose from that we were able to customize a ceremony that matched who we were as a couple. We got to pick and choose exactly what we wanted and made tweaks when we needed to. The end result was spot on to what we wanted for the ceremony.
A few weeks before the wedding we made a trip back to Chicago to meet with all of our vendors. Bruce was very accommodating and was willing to working around our schedule so that we could meet in person and walk through the ceremony (thank you again for that). The meeting went great — Bruce is such a veteran when it comes to weddings that he ran us through the day in no time and was so thorough that we hardly had any questions.
Then on the BIG DAY, the ceremony was beautiful. Bruce did an amazing job making our vision a reality. Many of our guests came up to us throughout the night to tell us how much they loved our ceremony. We couldn’t be happier! Thank you again Bruce for everything.

My husband and I were married by Bruce Otto just this past weekend. As we planned our wedding, my fiancé and I knew we wanted a ceremony that was short and sweet. And Bruce delivered just that!
In preparation for the wedding, Bruce was professional and warmly guided us through the process of selecting benedictions, prayers, readings and vows. He was extremely flexible about us adjusting the language to suit our preferences too. Bruce also arranged a series of video chats since my husband and I live outside of Chicago. Bruce made himself available for our rehearsal which was very comforting. He lead the bridal party efficiently through processional and ceremony with authority.
During the ceremony Bruce delivered a very sweet homily that was touching and insightful. His delivery was warm and genuine with just the right tone and cadence to match the joyful solemnity of the event. Immediately after the ceremony, a handful of friends enthusiastically said that it was a great ceremony and paid great compliments to Bruce’s impeccable performance.
I was so impressed with Bruce and can not endorse him enough for any nearly-​weds!

My now-​wife, Tracy, and I heard about Bruce Otto through Unilocal,which — with some judicious readings of large numbers of reviews — has been helpful to us in finding many great service providers.
My wife and I come from different religions & ethnicities and thus, different traditions. Her background is pure Irish Catholic; mine, Ashkenazy Jewish. We therefore were looking at officiants who had experience with mixed marriages. Although there were a few who had large number of reviews, all roads led to Bruce.
We’re both so thankful for this!
Bruce is excellent in so many ways. First, he is proficient at getting couples to work through the differences of traditions. He os very organized, with a breakdown of the various portions of the ceremony. He offers multiple off-​the-​shelf options from which to choose in handling different parts of the ceremony. Nevertheless, he also allows customization.
In my case, I was concerned about the use of the literal use of the word «G-d.»!which some Jewish traditions conflate with the unacceptable use of the hidden name of G-​d. He both accepted and performed with requested substitute (e.g. Lord).
He also played along with my secret addition to the wedding service. I had bought Tracy as a wedding gift, a band to match her wedding ring. I presented it during the critical exchange of rings portion.
He would say, you write your own ceremony. True, but he provides you with the first draft — one with different strokes for different folks.
In addition, Bruce added a definitive spirituality to our late August wedding. Finally, he was able to juggle both the joyous and solemn in our wedding ceremony.
I highly recommend Bruce as your wedding officiant.

We just had our wedding 2 days ago and all of our guests raved at how lovely the ceremony was. It was absolutely wonderful working with Bruce. He was professional, personable, and responsive. I enjoyed the fact that we were able to customize our ceremony. We would highly recommend!!!

We just got married in Chicago on Sept 26^th at the Rookery and Bruce Otto conducted our ceremony. To the say the least, it was the most wonderful moment of our lives and Bruce did a great job. He provided us with a structure to build our own custom ceremony, and he was flexible to include quirky elements (like a pinky swear thumb lick vow that was special to us, but obviously a bit goofy). There were moments of appropriate sadness during the Remembrance, solemnity during the more Religious parts, and authentic wisdom bestowed upon us by Bruce during his homily. We didn’t know Bruce very well and never met him in person prior to the wedding rehearsal (because we live in California), but nonetheless, the way he conducts the entire planning, rehearsal, and ceremony itself is very professional and sincere. We couldn’t be happier with the service Bruce provided for us on this momentous occasion.

It was absolutely wonderful working with Bruce. He was professional, friendly, patient, responsive, and really let us tailor and customize our ceremony. Conrad and I met with him twice — once to go over the process and another time to finalize the ceremony — but our friends and family thought we’d known him for some time and kept complimenting us on the ceremony. You can tell that Bruce really enjoys what he does and his experience with weddings shows in the questions he asks, the details he considers, and how calming he is. We loved everything about our wedding and Bruce played a huge role in making sure the day was as perfect as it was.

Bruce performed a beautiful, simple, heartfelt ceremony for our restaurant wedding in Chicago. It was exactly what we had hoped for – a personal ceremony that was about celebrating our relationship with each other and our community, and it set the tone for the whole rest of the evening. So many people approached us throughout the night to say how lovely and perfect for us the ceremony had been!

I had no idea how to go about finding a wedding officiant… so I went to Unilocal and searched for wedding officiant. After seeing all of Bruce’s positive reviews, I immediately emailed him. He was the only officiant I emailed. Not only was he available for my wedding date, but he was also available for an initial meeting that upcoming weekend. My husband and I met him at his house and the meeting went wonderfully. Bruce outlined the entire process for us and had all the details very well organized. We immediately felt that if we selected Bruce as our officiant, we would be in very capable hands. Beyond that, my then-​fiancé and I also felt that his presence was a very calming and familiar one. As soon as we said our goodbyes, we looked at each other and agreed that we definitely wanted him as our officiant — we hadn’t even made it to his gate yet!
Our initial reactions proved solid because throughout the entire process, Bruce was extremely professional, capable, and calming. His process for allowing us to have a hand in what was said during the ceremony (minus the homily, which Bruce writes) was like a Choose Your Own Adventure book and made it possible for us to really make the ceremony our own. There was no detail that Bruce didn’t cover — many details that I never would’ve even thought of if it weren’t for him.
When it came time for the ceremony, I was a bundle of nerves. I was noticeably trembling as I walked down the aisle and upon reaching the front. Bruce’s presence, confidence, and ease of speaking had a calming affect on me, though, and thankfully I was able stop shaking. Even though we had a good idea of what was going to be said, it was our first time hearing Bruce’s homily. It was definitely a pleasant surprise; it was touching and funny and really spoke to everyone in attendance. It was the perfect combination of seriousness and lightheartedness.
Following the ceremony many guests mentioned what a great job he had done and my husband and I couldn’t have agreed more. We truly had the A-​team of vendors and our wedding wouldn’t have been as amazing as it was without Bruce.
Fun random fact: Bruce was the officiant for our floral and décor girl’s wedding! She couldn’t sing Bruce’s praises enough and mentioned that even now, years after the wedding, her friends and family still commented on what a great officiant she’d had!

Chris and I feel very fortunate to have had Bruce as a part of our wedding day. He was very professional, organized, and genuine. Making decisions for each detail of your ceremony can be daunting, but Bruce has definitely mastered making this process as seamless and easy as possible. We love food as much as Bruce does, so his «buffet of items» to choose from were so helpful. It allowed us to make selections incorporating religious and non-​religious portions to our ceremony. His pre-​meeting document allows clients to think of each detail, and compile a complete document prior to meeting with him. During the final meeting, it was so easy to just talk through everything and confirm details. During the ceremony rehearsal, Bruce took charge and communicated all important details to all of our friends and family. We felt completely comfortable knowing that our ceremony was in great hands with Bruce. On the wedding day, everything went so smoothly. We also appreciated the fact that he knew to step to the side at the end of the ceremony so he wasn’t in the photo before we recessed. The next day, we received a follow up email with information regarding our marriage license which was so helpful, and we appreciated his promptness.
Thank you Bruce for being such an important part of our wedding day!

Bruce Otto was the perfect officiant for our wedding! He is very friendly, professional and provides customized ceremony. We have received numerous compliments from our wedding guests about the awesome job Bruce did. I would highly recommend Bruce Otto to anyone.

We couldn’t have asked for a better officiant for our wedding! Bruce was incredibly organized throughout every step of the planning process and helped us design a ceremony that was unique and personalized. His ceremony delivery was warm and genuine and we received so much great feedback from our guests. Thank you Bruce for making our big day even more special!

Bruce was referred to us by our wedding planner and it was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. He was professional, engaging, receptive, and tailored the ceremony to achieve our vision for the day.
Bruce met with us twice before the wedding. He asked for information on us as a couple and why we were working with him. The questions were not overly probing but made us feel that he truly wanted to tell our story. After all ceremony decisions were made he helped pull all information into one document for us and our wedding planner. This saved us a lot of time and angst.
Our bridal party traveled from all over the country for our wedding so the ceremony rehearsal had us a little nervous. We knew everyone was going to be excited to see each other and may be distracted. Bruce was able to respectfully take control on the rehearsal so everyone had the information they needed. He was fun and engaging with our friends which was a huge help.
Bruce warned us the vows we wrote were a little long. We had the intention of revising them prior to our wedding but things snow balled and we did not get to it. In a last minute effort, my husband emailed Bruce and asked if he could help. Bruce edited the vows so they were not too lengthy but kept all the content that was important to us.
We received many complements on the ceremony. Our friends and family commented it was the perfect length and was just «us». Bruce also took over the marriage license paperwork and promptly mailed it in with a PDF copy waiting in our mailbox the next day. Overall, we would highly recommend Bruce as I am confident he can tell the story of any couple.

My husband and I were married by Bruce and he was the perfect officiant for us. We live in California and communicating with Bruce via email, Skype and phone was very easy to do. He helped us create the perfect ceremony with just the right amount of spirituality we were looking for. He is friendly, personable, well spoken, professional and overall a wonderful officiant. Our friends and family are still talking about what a wonderful ceremony he performed and so are we. Thank you Bruce for a memorable and meaningful ceremony!

We loved working with Bruce, and we highly recommend him as an officiant! Bruce created a personalized ceremony for us, which felt very true to who we are as a couple. I remember tearing up reading through the text of the ceremony before the wedding.
The way he officiated was very genuine and sincere. A lot of my friends told me that this was the best wedding ceremony they have been too, because Bruce sounded so kind, wise, and caring about us. We feel honored that he officiated our ceremony, and we will remember the words of wisdom he shared with us on our wedding day.

Although it looks like it’s been said, Bruce did an amazing job officiating our wedding. While many of reviews praise his ability to perform a beautiful service that is non-​denominational (which ours was), I should note that he is very user friendly and can incorporate religion as much as you would like or not like. Also, I didn’t know it at the time, but he helped craft one of the readings (the reader had originally thought he was giving a speech at the reception). Long story short, he is a full service officiant who makes sure EVERY aspect of the ceremony is handled appropriately and tastefully.
Afterwards, all of our recently engaged guests wanted his contact information so they could use Bruce as well. Can’t get mad at them since we also borrowed him from our friend’s wedding!

Bruce Otto performed the ceremony for our August 16, 2014 wedding and he was phenomenal! His method for wedding ceremony preparation was seamless and professional. He gave us a planning guide that made things very stress free and he allowed us to customize our entire ceremony, which was a great alternative to writing our own vows.
Bruce delivered a thoughtful and well spoken ceremony that all of our guests appreciated. The section where he added his own words was full of great advice and we were so grateful to have him with us on our special day!
Thank you, Bruce!

Bruce was the perfect officiant for our wedding. My wife and I did not want a religious ceremony, and Bruce was more than accommodating in this regard. The ceremony was perfect, and Bruce has to be the best officiant I’ve seen at any wedding.
As others have said, it’s very hard not to like Bruce, as his personality is so disarming and warm. Throughout the entire process leading up to the wedding, his guidance was very reassuring and helpful.
Thanks again, Bruce!

We found Bruce on Unilocal!and were impressed with all the positive reviews and detailed feedback. When we first contacted him, we had to correspond back and forth via email a bit because my fiancé lived out of state. Once we were ready to meet in person, we found Bruce to be very accommodating, friendly, calm, and eager to help us create the ceremony that we wanted, as other reviewers mentioned. After meeting with one other officiant, we selected Bruce. We couldn’t be happier with our choice. His planning booklet was VERY helpful, he advised us when we needed help, and he was very willing to incorporate some of the traditions that we wanted to include to help personalize our ceremony.
We opted for a rehearsal, and even though Bruce had a wedding to officiate the day before our wedding, he made the time to come and do a quick run-​through, which everyone appreciated.
On our wedding day, Bruce was very reassuring and told us to simply give him a panicked look if we got stuck reciting any of our vows. I got stuck once and he very calmly repeated himself so that I could get through it. We also found his homily to be really thoughtful — it’s one of the moments I remember the most from the whole day. Our family and friends all commented on Bruce and how awesome they thought the ceremony was.
We couldn’t be more pleased with Bruce and we definitely recommend him if you are looking for an officiant for your wedding.

We were given the recommendation for Spirited Weddings and Bruce Otto from our venue, since he had performed many other weddings there in the past. We could not have been happier making the decision to have Bruce marry us. He was very pleasant to work with. We met with him a few times, as well as kept in contact with him over emails. Each time, he was very straight forward and eager to help create the ceremony that we wanted. He gave us suggestions on different reading and blessings, which made it very special and personalized for our wedding. He was also very open to incorporating our cultural traditions into the ceremony. When needed, he was very helpful in suggesting changes to make the ceremony flow as smoothly as possible.
Once our day had arrived, Bruce was very calm, which in turn made us less anxious. There were a few bumps during the ceremony (the candles wouldn’t light, some of our older aunts and uncles didn’t remember where to go, ceremony music was off cue), but that is expected with any wedding. Bruce remained professional, was understanding, and was very patient with all of it. We are extremely thankful for Bruce’s calm attitude. It helped us not worry about those little things and to just enjoy the moment all together.
We will never forget his kind words and advice for us from the ceremony. He helped us to create the perfect day, and for that, we are extremely thankful. Bruce will always have a special place in our hearts. We would strongly recommend Spirited Weddings to any other couples getting married.

My wife is Catholic and I am Jewish, so we knew wanted someone to officiate our wedding in a way that was non-​denominational but still respectful to both our religions.
Our original thought was to have one of our friends who knew us both well officiate as that would add a personal touch. In hindsight, I am so glad we did not do that. Bruce brought both the professionalism of an experienced officiant and the care of a friend who got to know us and helped us tailor our ceremony to how we wanted it.
We found Bruce off Unilocal and quickly found out why Bruce has so many five star reviews. It’s because beyond being an officiant, he’s also an advisor. He asks questions about our relationship and our histories. He listens very well. He offers advice but never dictates decisions.
Most of all he made the process for us easy and stress-​free (well, as stress-​free as a wedding can be). He walked us through the ceremony from front to back and brought up many small details we would have missed had it just been us planning the ceremony. He made the process easy by giving us a selection of popular options often chosen by couples that we could easily mix and match. He also had no problem with us selecting material he did not pre-​populate.
Bruce married us on ⁶⁄₂₂ at Stan Mansion. I personally thought the ceremony was perfect and many of our guests did too. I thought it was very uniquely us, while also being classic and well run. It was exactly what we wanted.
Thank you, Bruce. I would hire Bruce again, but hopefully I’ll never have to.