A couple of years ago I came back from a meeting with a couple in Barcelona that led to their wedding which was perfect. While we were chatting something came up and they told me that I had been recommended by another couple that they had met in Hong Kong where they live! This is far from being the first time this has happened, I have had enquiries and later carried out ceremonies for couples who I have been recommeded to while in Singapore or Edinburgh, I have married brothers and sisters (on different occasions) and so on. That same couple who heard about me at a dinner in Hong Kong invited their friends to the wedding and I later married them, this time in Marrakesh! I had another wedding in Sant Emilion, France, for a couple who were at a wedding I did in 2016.  

What I love is the way that sometimes this world seems so small and that a couple can be having a drink with friends in a bar somewhere in Singapore or Hong Kong or wherever and they simply say ... aha, you are getting married in Catalunya, you must get in touch with Toby. That is the sort of recommendation that goes further than what is below, nonetheless what is below is really important to me, so here it is ...

We are back in Canada and reminiscing with friends and I simply wanted to send a big thank you your way. So many guests commented on what a lovely ceremony it was and felt your delivery was delightful, personal and a true extension of our character - we couldn't agree more.

feel free to use that as a testimonial :)

... and I did!

Toby, thank you, also for making me believe! You built this a magical, perfect ceremony for us without the structure of religious or legal traditions, but rather framing them romantically as an inspiration. I did not think it possible until I watched you do it [last] Friday.

This is special since the wedding was in Catalan and the couple went to all the effort to write their thoughts in English for my blog, thank you ----

"Toby was our wedding celebrant in our day and he was outstanding. Ourselves and the guests were completely thrilled on his speech: funny, emotive, time-managed and always showing complicity with us. Toby has showed a great implication with the wedding ceremony from the very first moment we met him and he showed a great commitment for the success of the event. The preparation was pretty straightforward as he understood exactly how we wanted to arranged it. It has been a real pleasure to have Toby in our Wedding!"

This letter had been left in Nicole's draft box and only arrived a few days ago so, though it is about their wedding from last year in Marroco, I decided it had to go to the top ... also ... what a crit! Had to be here

Testimonial for Toby Harper

As a wedding planner myself, I had high expectations for our wedding ceremony. Without hesitation, Toby did more than what we have asked for! It was fun, memorable, meaningful, filled with surprises and emotional, all at once. He exceeded our expectations with his unique, heartfelt ceremony. It was interpreted the way we would have dreamed of. 

We found Toby were reliable to work with, with total trust and he made brainstorming about a creative blessing ritual a nice project together. 

All we wanted was a fun and memorable ceremony and Toby didn't just do that, he was able to have all the future brides ask him to officiate too. All our guests, from young to old have found the ceremony beautiful, fun and engaging.  

Thank you very much for making our wedding so special, xxx Nicole & Christopher #LetsFEIT2018 

Their WhatsApp: Toby, what can we say? Everyone just loved the ceremony so much. They really enjoyed how personal it was and how hilarious you were 😂 you couldn't have done a better job. Just brilliant. Thank you so much Toby, it was a pleasure to have met you.

This was Megan's mail ... lost for words:

It was a wonderful day and you did a fantastic job. You put us at ease and everyone kept saying how brilliant you were as a celebrant ( I think some of my friends that are getting married in a religious ceremony is re thinking their options haha). I loved the personal slant, humorous but also romantic elements to the ceremony...everyone loved it and I was not nervous once you started speaking. It will always be a day I will remember I just wish I could do it all again and take everything in!!!

They sent such a fabulous mail that I just had to put it here ... so here it is ... 

Hi Toby ! 

Their WhatsApp as was:

"Toby, we cannot thank you enough for the ceremony you put on. Everyone thought you did a stellar job, and your confidence, ability to communicate with everyone and willingness to help with every aspect kept me and Nancy and from losing it. We also appreciate that you came into town to meet with us. We could not have asked for anyone better. Thank you again and take care!"

Their WhatsApp after the wedding: 

Hello Toby I hope all is well. Just wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you from the bottom of my heart . You set the tone of our wedding and so naturally made me feel at ease. Everyone said your are an amazing individual who is as unique as this city. Thank you once again and hopefully see you soon as we love popping over to Barcelona as much as possible . Best wishes Mike and Mrs Martyn

Toby,

We finally are back in NYC after our honeymoon. We wanted to reach out and tell you how much we loved our ceremony. Our friends and family kept saying it was the best ceremony they have ever been to. Everyone laughed and cried – it was the perfect mix and we couldn’t have asked for more. Thank you so much for making our day so special!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Jess and Damian!

These were their whatsapps that arrived today, the day after their wedding:

Rebacca’s WhatsApp:

Toby thank you so much for yesterday. You made the day beyond special for us. Every single person , bar none, commented on how wonderful your ceremony was. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us. You really were so wonderful and made the day what it was, memorable and amazing. You were a massive part of that. I hope we can stay in touch xx

 Matt’s WhatsApp:

There wasn’t a single person who didn’t mention what a wonderful, thoughtful and well presented ceremony yesterday was. Thank you ever so much for making the day more special- you’ll always have a place in our hearts and it would be lovely to meet up in the future over a drink. Lots of love and thank you, thank you, thank you.

Hello Toby,

We would like to thank you once more for the wonderful ceremony you held for our wedding.

This was truly exceptional and we feel very fortunate that you carried out this ceremony.

Thank you once more, it was all great!

Katie + Kris

This is their WhatsApp, as is:

Hi Toby, I hope you are keeping well and still cooking 😁 we just wanted to tell you how amazing the ceremony was from the beginning to the end it was absolutely perfect.. so many people spoke to us afterwards on how special you made it and from the bottom of our hearts we thank you very much 😊 you made our day perfect.. we are currently reminiscing on our two week anniversary in Dubai wishing we could do it all over again!! ... the winebox is stocked and ready to go for the 1 year anniversary! Many regards, Lee and Gemma

Thank you so much for yesterday. We had such a good time and have spent the day looking at pictures and goggling over everything . After the ceremony we had an amazing dinner and spend some good quality family time together. You were wonderful and personal, and very heartwarming. Thank you so much for being a part of our special moment. I know we’re quite a crew but we all had a really great time. Thanks again, Julie

Toby!!!

Wanted to say a HUGE thank you for our time!! It was honestly the best day of our lives; and you made it so easy going for us. I will send you some pictures soon… Elisa our photographer did an amazing job!! Next time we are in Barcelona, we will give you a heads up and maybe we can meet up for a few more drinks :)

Good to hear Sarnia isn’t that gross skin disease… thank goodness. Thanks for the info… Luke especially loved to know ;)

Keep well buddy… hope to see you again…. because we will DEFINITELY be back!!!

Cass and Luke

HI Toby.

This is what Brittany had to say when all was done and dusted:

Thank you so much, Toby! It was such a pleasure having you officiate our wedding Sunday. All of our guests raved about you and the ceremony. :) David and I both feel you truly captured us as a couple — it was wonderful feeling that you had a real sense of who we were, and brought that feeling throughout. Again, thank you! 

We wish you all of the very best,

Brittany (+ David)

Their mails ... as were: 

Hi Toby,

Thanks again for everything, it was a perfect day. So many people commented on how great the ceremony was, you made it so personal and easy for us so thank you.

All the best and hope you’re wedding season goes smoothly!

Cheers, Tommy

Hello Toby,

Thank you for everything yesterday and keeping the guests entertained whilst I was late!

The ceremony was all I’d dreamt and more. Thank you 

Best wishes

Lauren

Their WhatsApp: 

Hello Toby! We are back in HK now since a few days, still recovering from jetlag but as well from the magical time of our life! 🙏🏽 actually, very very big ... you did an amazing job!! We loved the ceremony so much and you managed to make it so personal and fun! A lot of guests mentioned how amazing your part was!! We wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!! And separately thanks for being able to manage all my emails :-) I’m sure that some will keep you in mind for when it’s their turn, and we will happily refer you! 

Hope remaining days were fun for you and your wife!! Lots of love, Nicole and Christopher

"Thank you so much for being you! You really did bring it all together and made the ceremony perfect: intimate, quirky and very touching. "

Toby was fantastic from start to finish!! After our initial meet via Skype we instantly knew we wanted Toby to conduct our ceremony. The service was so personal to us, our life and how we met. All our guests commented how unique yet fun the service was with some saying it was the best service they've witnessed. We particularly liked that parts of the service was conducted in Spanish. 

Thank you Toby. 

Annie & Lewis Anderson  

We wanted to say a massive thank you for conducting our ceremony! For both of us it was the highlight of the day and we have had incredible feedback from all of our guests. 

We loved the format and they way you told our story and the things we 'love' and 'hate' about each other - you made everyone laugh and cry in all the right places. And we loved the reading you did at the end. All in all, it was perfect. 

"Toby, we are so very grateful for the amazing part you played in our wedding. Guest after guest spoke to us afterwards to say how personal, entertaining and outright fun the ceremony was, and that's testament to how skilfully you conducted it - particularly given the extreme heat of the day, which you soldiered through commendably. It was so nice to get to know you before the day, from the various email exchanges to those drinks in Barcelona during one of our pre-wedding visits; it made the ceremony even more special and personal for us, especially as you weaved the various stories and anecdotes we'd shared with you into the ceremony so masterfully. The idea to have a wine-box ceremony was also a stroke of genius - something that none of our guests had ever seen before, but which they found so touching. Thank you for helping to make our big day so unforgettable. Un abrazo! Matt and Jason x"

Dear Toby

We have returned now from our honeymoon in Tuscany and would like to take the opportunity to thank you for a truly wonderful ceremony.

It was exactly what we wished for; personal, funny and heartwarming. Our guests loved it too and commented that this was the best ceremony ever. You added your own personal style and we really loved the end result, it was perfect.

Many thanks also for sharing the copy of the ceremony with us.

Thank you so much for making it so memorable!

A big thank you and all the best,

Alessandra & Darren

Dear Toby,

I can't thank you enough for your part in our amazing day. Your incredible good nature and professionalism allowed us a ceremony we couldn’t have even imagined. 

Every one of our guests were also full of praise for you and the way you narrated the ceremony. 

Many many thanks from myself and my wonderful new wife.

Sincerely,

John

Their mail ... as is!!!

"Dearest Toby,

Mr & Mrs Martin "

"We want to thank you for delivering (I'm not sure if that's the right word?) an incredibly meaningful, intimate and joyful service. We were looking forward to the whole wedding celebration, and enjoyed it thoroughly, but for both of us the ceremony was the most wonderful part. I've been to numerous church weddings, and weddings in registry offices, and have become so used to the standardised/typical formats whereby the whole thing feels like a ticking box exercise before the real celebration, that I was quite blown away by how momentous and significant it was. I wouldn't have changed one thing about it and have spent many moments since thinking back to it with an overwhelming feeling of happiness. I'm sure you get this after all of your weddings, but pretty much all of our guests commented on how brilliant you were and how enjoyable the ceremony was - my sister went one further and moaned that she wished she'd had something like that for her wedding 5 years ago!"

Thank you so so much for such a wonderful ceremony. Many of our guests commented on how laid back and how personal it was to us which is not something you really find here in the UK. Needless to say, I think you will have a few enquiries if any of our friends do get married in the area! Thank you for all you did in preparation of the day; I know some of the information came to you a little later than we would have liked but the ceremony you gave was second to none. We can't wait to watch it back on the videos!

and this is something I found online from them: 

Describe the ceremony, what made it unique/special

Walking up to the top of the ceremony area and seeing all of your friends and family waiting and smiling is such an amazing feeling.
Toby our celebrant was amazing and was the highlight of the ceremony. Still to this day we have comments from our guests telling us how personal and relaxed the ceremony was. Toby managed to tailor it completely to us (with only a few Skype calls and emails to go by) and managed to make us feel completely at ease throughout. No nerves in sight.

I asked Nicole and she said I could add her mail here and it was too good an offer to pass up:

Hi Toby

Their mail, I told them that no more feedback was needed, that this said it all ...  

Hi Toby! 

The ceremony was amazing. Everyone keeps telling us how it was the most personal and enjoyable ceremony there have been too and that you were amazing, which you most definitely were! :-) 

We can't thank you enough! 

All our guests were gushing about how wonderful the ceremony was, and the 'best ever'......which obviously I agreed with!!

I hope you recovered from your vodka fig.....

Hi Toby,

Rinki: I would just like to say how thankful we are that you could do our ceremony, everyone loved it and most of all us. We couldn't have asked for anything better or for ANYONE better for that matter, it was beautiful and is something we will cherish for the rest of our lives 

Michael: I'm sold! 😃

Thank you again for everything. The day wouldn't have been the same without you, you made it very special for us.

Dear Toby 

Words aren't enough to describe what we felt during our amazing ceremony. You were simply SUPERB!  Everybody was extremely impressed and were singing your praises for the rest of the day.  Many of our guests said it was by far the best and most personal they had ever been to.  Diana & I thought it was absolutely perfect, surpassing our highest expectations, you were terrific and really made our day what it was.

We wanted to send you a huge thank you after you created the most funny, warm, caring, memorable and lovely wedding ceremony. It was truly the most magical setting with Villa Catalina as the backdrop for our fairy-tale wedding. The day was just magical aided by all the team at the villa to include Servais and Helena, Pip, Jo and Mingo the band guy!

 

But our thank you goes to you for making the ceremony so personal and joyous and for including our two boys so beautifully into the ceremony. You made it so magical, humerous yet romantic.... just perfect for us as a modern family. Our family and friends felt so honoured to be part of the intimate setting and they loved the idea of the signing of the nuptuals.

Hi Toby!
I just read through your service again and it brought a little tear to my eye. What an incredible day.

I saw that you'd put something up for your website which looks perfect! As for the blog, we cannot possibly express how happy we were with the ceremony. It was one of the things all our guests commented on and we were so touched by how personal it was to us. I think it was the best ceremony any of us had ever been to. Bravo!
All our love,
Hannah and Ben

"On behalf of Becky and I, we'd like to thank you so much for being our officiant. You did an absolutely magnificent job making all the guests (and us) feel extremely relaxed.

So many guests came up to us to compliment on the ceremony and in particular the job you did. It was relaxing, fun, funny and very us so thank you again for contributing to our perfect day."

"Toby was brilliant. Warm, friendly and funny, Toby helped set everyone at ease during the ceremony and helped settle a few pre-wedding nerves while waiting for the bride. The ceremony was perfect, Toby was funny and sincere and conducted matters brilliantly. We cannot recommend him highly enough, thanks Toby!"

Thank-you very much for making our day the happiest day in our lives...Your touch opened up the gates to dream land and your charisma, guided us through this uncharted territory. I wish life treats you well..

"... thank you once again for a fantastic ceremony that many people have said was perfect for the occasion. It was just what we wanted and fitted in perfect with the relaxed, intimate feel for the rest of the day."

"When we first met Toby to discuss being the celebrant for our wedding we felt very assured by his professionalism and approach that he would do a great job. On the day, our ceremony was amazing! Toby was faultless and impressed all of our guests. We did the wine box ceremony which so many people said was a lovely idea. As a celebrant, I sincerely doubt that you could find anyone better."

We wanted to thank you so much for being part of our day, your approach made it so unique, enjoyable and something we will never forget. We had so many comments about you afterwards-everyone was very impressed :) 

"A friend who also had a humanistic wedding said he liked your wording very much, especially this part: "by the confidence vested in me by...."

It was perfect and without you the day would not have been possible!! You have a wonderful way of doing the ceremony, light and funny but still very meaningful and personal - the perfect balance!"

“We knew from the moment we met Toby that he was going to be fantastic, and he certainly didn’t disappoint.  His warmth, humour, sincerity, and relaxed nature ensured our ceremony was everything we could hope for.  Six months after the big day and our guests are still commenting on what a great job he did and how lovely he was; his words and manner were one of the highlights of the day.  We couldn’t recommend him more highly.”

We both had a fantastic day and can't stop talking about it. I think you did a great job and am all happy! :)

Love

Helena 

Many of the guests said it was the best ceremony they've seen. We'll done!

"Toby,

I just wanted to drop you a note to thank you for such an incredible ceremony! It was just perfect. We both loved how personal and funny you made it whilst keeping it special and romantic. Everyone came up to us after and said it was the best ceremony they had ever been to and how fabulous you were. Should you ever need us to give you a testimonial we would be more than happy to do so!"

... I thought the mail said it all, and a bit more, so no need for a testimonial!

"I cannot Thank You enough for this evening. Is was quite emotional for us both.., you made it very special."

This was a renewal of vows 10 years on held with just the 3 of us.

"Ours was a simple affair, but of great significance nonetheless. We had always dreamed of a perfect and personal ceremony where we promised our love to each other forever, held in a magical location somewhere in Spain, a place we will always be in love with. Even though it was just the two of us, your attention to detail, gentle manner and good humour made us feel very special and we knew that we had chosen the right path. It was such a perfect day and you were the perfect celebrant.

Thank you Toby. 

A+++ Would get married by you again :-)"

"The ceremony was fantastic.  We loved your style and character which made it feel very special. Lots of friends and family remarked on how personable and charming you were. 

Sara-jane and Peter"

The whole day was amazing, thank you for doing such a wonderful job, it truly was fantastic. Everyone commented on how great you were and you really put us both at ease. It was lovely to have the Spanish flavours in there too!!

We got married in Barcelona in June 2014. We initially had a different officiant, who informed us 2 days before that he couldn’t make it but already had contacted Toby to be his replacement. We believe sometimes things happen for a reason, as the ceremony couldn’t have been any better. Toby came to meet us in Barcelona prior to the wedding and wanted to know as much as possible, already making more effort than the previous officiant. The ceremony itself was just wonderful. Toby conducted it with so much passion that he was able to create an emotional yet happy atmosphere for our intimate ceremony. His ability to work different languages into the ceremony was greatly appreciated and even though he said German is not his main language to conduct ceremonies, we thought his German skills were excellent and greatly appreciated. If we had known Toby before we would have never looked elsewhere and can strongly recommend to use Toby for any type of ceremony.

I hope the remainder of your 2013 was sparkling. You really made our little party in October fantastic. It was a joy to have you celebrate—our guests were raving after you left.

(MIREIA WORKed WITH VAL AND IS A WEDDING PLANNER HERSELF, SO HER RECOMMENDATION IS QUITE SOMETHING)

 Toby, we are without words to thank you for your care and concern for us on our wedding day

I still remember how our guests were so impressed by you ... Thanks to  your sensibility, sympathy and "savour fair" everyone felt part of our ceremony and was deeply moved, making it something very personal throughout.

We could not have had anyone better to carry out our wedding, thank you so much for being a part of the best day of our lives.

Toby, no tenim paraules per agraïr-te tot el teu carinyo i el cuidado mostrat cap a nosaltres el dia del nostre casament.

Encara recordo com la gent deia lo molt impressionats que van quedar amb tu… Gràcies a la teva sensibilitat, simpatia i al teu saber fer vas aconseguir que tothom s’emocionés i es sentís involucrat, personalitzant en tot moment la ceremonia d’una manera PRECIOSA e INMILLORABLE.

No podríem haver tingut ningú millor que ens casés, moltíssimes gràcies per formar part del dia més maco de les nostres vides.

"The most special part of our wedding day remains our magical ceremony. Toby made sure our wedding was romantic, witty and meaningful. It was wonderful, all our guests have commented on what a beautiful ceremony it was. Behind the scenes and throughout the organisation before the big day Toby was really helpful and responsive. Thanks for a spectacular start to our married life Toby :)"

"You are so natural and just added so much humor and life to our wedding ! We are sure that every one of our guests will never forget our wedding with you as part of it." 

"It was great to meet you finally.  Thank you for a wonderful ceremony.  Our family and friends, as did we, thought it was perfect and very emotional.  Thank you again."

“Thank you again for this beautiful ceremony. You can plan as much as you want, but one never knows how it will turn out on the day itself. Well, it was beyond our expectations and we really loved every single minute of it. So did our guests. Some of them asked for your details, so they can get in touch with you for their own wedding! No better compliment than a satisfied audience! Whenever in Amsterdam, you are always welcome.”