~ Officiating Your Love Story ~
Gratitude for Reverend Shanandoah…
“Love Notes”
Click here to Read over 130 Five-Star Reviews
09/29/13 Wedding
Red Rock Crossing – Traditional Native American Ceremony
The moment I saw Shanandoah’s website I knew she was going to be perfect for our ceremony. With only 5 weeks of actual wedding planning time, Shanandoah made everything easy for us! We wanted a traditional Native American ceremony and everything Shanandoah had to offer in that regard was perfectly what we wanted. She even worked with us to add a few personal touches to make our wedding day unique. She is professional, kind, and has wonderful energy that will help make your special day one to remember! If I was to do it over again, I wouldn’t change a thing! Thank you, Shanandoah!
08/04/13 Wedding
Beautiful Wedding Vow Renewal in Sedona!
My son was getting married two years ago in Sedona and we were looking for someone to officiate at the ceremony. We met Shanandoah and after our meeting we walked out,looked at one another, and knew we had found the perfect person. She listened to us and intuitively recognized what we were looking for. Needless to say the ceremony was beautiful! My sister and brother-in-law who live in England visited us this summer to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and I decided to surprise them with a vow renewal ceremony and naturally the only person I wanted was Shanandoah. She chose a lovely,secluded spot beside Oak Creek,included our 13 year old grandson as ring bearer,and incorporated Native American prayers that were in my son’s wedding. My sister and brother-in-law were enchanted and the tears flowed. It was perfection.
07/24/13 Wedding
Destination Wedding at L’Auberge De Sedona with Rev. Shanandoah Sterling
When Paul and I decided on a destination wedding, I knew I wanted our ceremony to take place at L’Auberge De Sedona. We had vacationed at L’Auberge 2 summers prior and were absolutely amazed by its beauty. Once our location was chosen, our next step was to choose a wedding officiant. It was the resort concierge who highly recommended Reverend Shanandoah Sterling.
Reverend Shanandoah was truly incredible. Planning a wedding can be a nerve-racking time, but her soft spoken voice, beautiful smile, and professionalism put our hearts and minds at ease. She guided us through each and every step of the wedding ceremony with patience and kindness. Her love and kindness shined through from beginning to end creating this truly magical moment in our lives that I will never forget. She was more than I could’ve ever hoped for. Our wedding ceremony wouldn’t have been the same without her!
05/22/13 Wedding
Sedona AZ wedding
Our wedding was May 22 at L’Auberge in Sedona, AZ. The ceremony and setting were beautiful. When people ask us about the wedding, our answer always includes how wonderful the officiant was! Beyond any expectations….. How often do people talk about their wedding and even mention the minister? It just doesn’t come into the conversation….
The service touched us in a special way. Shanandoah is so friendly and down to earth but so spiritual at the same time. She also has an amazingly beautiful voice. We couldn’t be more pleased!
05/08/13 Wedding
Grand Canyon wedding with Rev. Shanandoah
We were referred to Rev. Shanandoah by our wedding planner and we’re very glad we chose her as our officiant. She is a wonderful person and a true blessing.
Since we live in Europe we didn’t see Rev. Shanandoah before our wedding day but she handled everything perfectly by phone and e-mail. She sent us the texts for the keepsake booklet well in advance so we were able to review everything and change some details.
Apart from her calm, loving and gentle personality, what makes her stand out is the fact that she senses what people want for their ceremony and she is extremely flexible in accommodating those wishes.
We wanted a short, non-religious ceremony with all the “cliché” ceremony items (e.g. “If anybody here knows any reason why these people should not be joined in holy matrimony …) but we did ask Rev. Shanandoah to perform a ring blessing. The ring blessing was a wonderful, sacred moment of rest in the ceremony. Rev. Shanandoah also provided us some very good suggestions for texts and poems to be used in the ceremony.
All the wedding guests raved at how amazing the minister was and I think that’s quite exceptional.
Another remarkable thing is that she manages to read the ceremony texts out loud as though she is reading them for the first time (with smiles and great intonation). And she has a charming, soft voice.
Our Grand Canyon wedding was a dream come true and Rev. Shanandoah was just perfect!
4/27/13 Wedding
Serene Cathedral Rock Ceremony friends still comment about!
First, her card reflected the multi-cultural ceremony options I knew I wanted. Then, as soon as my husband got off the initial call to Rev. Sterling he told me I would love her. After that, it was a creative collaboration to design a ceremony that reflected our two souls and the intention for our life together.
Rev. Sterling guided us through the process, providing her expertise and knowledge of various traditions for us to select from. What a lovely melting of ancient traditions we created! Guests still comment about how lovely our ceremony was and how perfect Rev. Sterling was at creating the most peaceful, sacred space for us all to come together in love even though we were actually in a public park. We were in our own bubble.
For me, it was very special to authentically honor the ancient spirit of the land and I am grateful that Rev. Sterling could provide us with blessings from her Native American heritage. It meant a lot to me.
One of the strongest memories I have of my wedding day was Rev. Sterling’s calmly talking to me before walking out to the rocks to set up for the ceremony. She took my hands and looked me in the eyes; she centered my mind on this one moment in time. There was nothing more to worry about, nothing to think about except enjoying each moment of the beautiful day of love with family and friends.
It took me 4 months to sit down and write this review because I could write so much more…(and a busy summer) 😉
Thank you for wonderful memories!
Namaste to you Rev. Shanandoah.
04/20/13 Wedding
She is an amazing person!
You will not be disappointed with Shanandoah! We live in Colorado and I reserved her for our April wedding we had in Sedona, Arizona. We met up with her and she listened to what we wanted, gave us some great ideas, and built us an amazing ceremony. The day of she was amazing – she made sure everyone was doing well and even helped calm down the bride (me!). Talking to her, you know she is an amazing, beautiful person and I hope I get to see her again! XO
04/13/13 Wedding
We love Shanandoah!
Our wedding was a few months ago in Sedona, and I was planning it from where we live in Seattle. After researching several officiants online, I settled on Shanandoah. Her communication style and the ceremony she performed were so personalized to us, yet still highly professional. She took the time to get to know us over several emails and phone calls, and the day of went so smoothly. She was very flexible as some of our original requests changed and our vision evolved. It was important to me to have a woman marry us, as well as someone who works with all faith traditions, including non-religious. In line with our requests, there was just enough integration of her Native American heritage to make it special and honor the land (she can include many different ceremonial traditions, and will do as many or as few as you like). We also got a keepsake booklet of the entire ceremony. Shanandoah was lovely to work with, and her rates are very reasonable. Highly recommended!
04/08/13 Wedding
Fantastic Officiant!
My husband and I picked Shanandoah from the internet. We live in Los Angeles and decided to have our wedding in Sedona. Shanandoah gave us at least an hour of her time in our initial consultation before we agreed to use her, which was very generous. She knew we weren’t familiar with the area and she was very helpful is giving us “a local’s” perspective and tips about logistics and timing. After we decided to go with her, she sent us a suggested a ceremony based on our discussion. I believe it was one of I think four types of ceremonies. We then read thru the ceremony and I cried the entire time, it was so beautiful (and I’m a marshmallow). However we did take a lot out because we wanted a short ceremony. She in many instances within the suggested ceremony gave us wording options so we really felt like we got to customize our ceremony for us. She then had the ceremony printed into a nice booklet that was not only a keepsake but what she read from at the ceremony. When we finally met her in person the day before the wedding she walked us thru the ceremony, gave us tips on how to stand, the timing and answered questions we had to make us comfortable. We unfortunately had to deal with a major wind storm with threatening rain on our wedding day. Since we had the ceremony outside this was a big deal. Shanandoah was able to accommodate us when we decided to move the wedding up 6 hours ahead of schedule the night before because of the weather. Shanandoah was a very calming presence for us at the ceremony and she was seemingly unphased by the wind storm (which is more than we can say for our family). Our family had never met her before either but they were all very impressed by her. She is a beautiful, spiritual person. Neither my husband nor I are religious but she helped us come up with a ceremony that made sense for our beliefs. We were really happy we chose her.
Krista & Jarret
Thank-you for Blessing us by creating a Beautiful ceremony for our Wedding Day. We are Truly honored and humbled to have met you. ~March 2013
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Kira & Anthony
Thank you so much for making our day so amazing. We could not have asked for a more perfect wedding!~March 2013
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Jenni & Mike
We extend our thanks and happiness to you for helping us create a wonderful celebration on Valentine’s Day! The day was wonderful and beautiful and just perfect. Many thanks and much love to you! ~ Valentine’s Day Wedding 2013
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Cynthia & Mike
“Hi Shanandoah – Thank you so much for your warm blessings at Shoshone Point. We really appreciate your guidance through our journey, and enjoyed our time with you. We have received many compliments on your ceremony, and we have some great pictures to share with you. You’re in our hearts forever!” ~ Grand Canyon
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Jami & Lane
“Shanandoah Sterling is one of the most AMAZING people we have ever met! Her beautiful, serene spirit brings a welcome calmness to the craziness of pulling off a wedding. She is patient, helpful, knowledgeable, kind, and professional – not to mention funny and sweet! Thank you, dearest Shanandoah, for making our special day even MORE special – we love you!! From Lane & Jami”
Heather & Brandon
“Shanandoah is not only an amazing officiant; she is an amazing person. She has a true gift. She can weave the bride and groom’s ideas from a rough draft to a final masterpiece. With a varied cultural background, she has the knowledge to make your ceremony as basic or as creative as you dare to dream. You will never be able to find another officiant as affordable, professional, knowledgeable, loving and helpful as Shanandoah. She will make your BIG DAY as perfect as you imagined!”
Suzie & James
“Our officiant (Shanandoah Sterling) for our wedding was SUPERB. Requests made for our ceremony, were fulfilled with the best expectations. My personal recommendation would definitely be Sterling Weddings, based on the excellent service we were granted.”
Shoba & Steve
“Shanandoah was wonderful to work with, she was very patient and walked us through the process of creating a beautiful ceremony that let our true personalities show through. She really took the time to get to know each of us in order to really become a part of our day and it really meant a lot for us to have her there.”
Rebecca & Jeff
“If you are looking for a person who is willing to keep everyone focused and on schedule – including the musician, photographer, guests, and is doing it with such tenderness, patience, understanding, flexibility, professionalism and can laugh and cry with the bride, Sterling Weddings of Sedona is the one and only choice. Don’t bother looking around. Spend your time relaxing and getting ready for your Wedding Day!”
Liz & Mike
“Hi Shanandoah, Thank you so much for everything! You made our day so wonderful — we are still on cloud 9! All our best, Mike and Liz”
Elaine & Craig
“Shanandoah, We cannot tell you how much we appreciated all you did for us. Our ceremony was beautiful Thanks to you! We were blessed to have you perform our ceremony. Thanks again, Craig & Elaine”
Rhea & Andy
“Shanandoah, We can’t express how much we appreciate all you have done for us!! Our experience was absolutely magical. We wish for you many more weddings to officiate in your future. Thanks again we love you! Sincerely, Andy & Rhea”
Aja & Dean
“Shanandoah, Dean and I both want to thank you for making our wedding ceremony perfect for us. You didn’t leave out a single detail in our planning, which made every minute run so smoothly. Thank you for all the time you spent behind the scenes and on the phone with us. We will definitely recommend you to anyone we know getting married in Sedona. Thanks again, Dean & Aja”
Lynn & Daniel
“Shanandoah, You have helped us create the ceremony of our dreams!
Reverend Sterling is an amazingly beautiful person and spirit. From the moment, I first spoke with her I knew there was no one else who could perform my wedding ceremony. When my then fiancé and I discussed it, he was convinced also. Daniel and I come from different religious backgrounds. Daniel is of Native American descent. Reverend Sterling met with us and discussed how we wanted our ceremony performed. She then created a beautiful mix of non-denominational Christian and Native American for the perfect ceremony. Daniel and I both came to feel a bond with Reverend Sterling. She is a loving, kind, and gentle soul with a heart of gold. Should we decide to renew our vows at some future date, we will most certainly ask Reverend Sterling to be a part of that ceremony also. We enthusiastically recommend her to perform the wedding of your dreams. Many thanks & much love, Dan & Lynn”
Kathie & Frederick
“Dear Shanandoah, Thank you for making May 10th a wonderful beginning. You are now a special member of our family! Blessings, Fredrick & Kathie”
Danielle & Morgan
“Shanandoah – Well, what can we say. Thanks for everything. You have touched us in a way that we never thought was possible. We had a most fabulous honeymoon in Kauai and just got back to Denver tonight. It’s nice to be home but I’m still trying to touch myself back with reality. We thank you again for everything and wish you the best. Love, Danielle and Morgan”
Jeni & Kevin
“Shanandoah, Your love and guidance have touched our hearts and lives. We will take your soft words and wisdom with us as we step forward together.
Wishing you joy and love! Love, Jeni and Kevin”
Glenn & Pam
“Shanandoah, We’ve been so busy that we haven’t had the time to write and thank you for such a beautiful ceremony. It was so nice having someone like you to marry us …we felt so comfortable and you made it a magical day. Thanks so much!!!!! Our whole Sedona trip turned out to be just perfect. We loved it and wanted to stay. Good Luck……I hope everyone who wants a Native American ceremony picks you…. Sincerely, Pam & Glenn”
Todd & Elizabeth
“Dear Rev. Shanandoah, Thank you for adding to the joy of our special day.
Sincerely, Todd & Elizabeth”