Donna Rose Gardner, Honey In The Heart Ceremonies - Santa Cruz, California

Alisha Krumbach

If you want a completely personal and meaningful wedding ceremony then you have found the perfect fit with Donna! Donna crafted our ceremony in a way that both told our story while keeping it engaging. We heard so many compliments after our ceremony about how great it was, with my grandfather-in-law even saying it was the best ceremony he had ever heard (and he has been to many & does not give compliments just to give compliments)! Donna provided amazing samples and guidance on how a ceremony flows while allowing us to insert details special to our relationship. She provided a questionnaire to get to know our "love story." This not only incorporated "us" so well into the ceremony, but provided a fun pre-wedding activity for us! She recommends you to fill them out individually, so after it was a fun date night to get to read each other's answers over some wine. She made the process easy & enjoyable. She took care of everything with the marriage license after the ceremony-- taking it with her and submitting it so we didn't even need to think about it after. She also gave us a copy of our ceremony in the binder she used with our personalized vow books that she printed and thoughtfully strung together with a ribbon of our wedding color. This is a wedding keepsake that we will treasure forever (& have even decided to read each anniversary). You can NOT go wrong by hiring Donna! Donna-- thank you so very much for making this experience amazing, and our ceremony completely unforgettable. You deserve all the best things.

Camille Merose

Donna officiated my husband and my elopement in Mount Madonna and she couldn't have been more perfect. She was kind on the phone and so responsive. She let us customize our ceremony to fit us and made it all feel so important and personal. Her words were so perfect for the occasion. We'd recommend her to anyone, but especially quarantine couples. Even though we weren't able to have our families with us Donna made it feel like we were surrounded by love. Thank you for a perfect ceremony Donna!

Alex MacKenzie

When our original officiant cancelled, Donna swooped in to save the day!

Donna didn't just step in—she dove in headfirst, determined to make our ceremony unforgettable. She took the time to really get to know us, asking all the right questions to understand what we wanted our ceremony to be like.

Donna worked tirelessly to make sure every aspect of our ceremony was tailored to us. She seamlessly incorporated some last-minute, out-of-the-ordinary touches that we wanted, making the ceremony feel uniquely ours.

If you find yourself in need of an officiant who not only saves the day but also makes your wedding dreams come true, look no further than Donna. We can't thank her enough and would recommend her in a heartbeat

Casandra Rae

Donna and Dayna were so wonderful to work with! Donna worked with my fiancé and I to write a beautiful ceremony that was unique to the two of us-it even tied into our venue! Dayna performed our ceremony and she did it flawlessly. She was professional and truly cared about us and our vision. I highly recommend Honey in the Heart to write and carry out a perfect ceremony for you and your partner!

Nate Hintz

We had the privilege of having Donna Rose Gardner as the officiant at our outdoor wedding which took place in the serenely beautiful backdrop of the Redwoods at the Waterfall Lodge this past October. She spent a good amount of time getting to know us, which was beautifully reflected in the words she chose for our ceremony. On the day of the wedding, Donna spoke with an elegance and clarity that resonated with our hearts, and the personal anecdotes she included made the ceremony feel incredibly intimate and special.
We couldn’t have asked for a better person to officiate our marriage, Donna made sure our love story was told in a manner as beautiful and unique as the setting we were in. We highly recommend Donna for anyone looking to have a heartfelt and personalized wedding ceremony.

Alyssa Topusidis

Donna is an amazing officiant. To start, she is the most kind-hearted and genuine lady that seems to truly love being in the presence of real love. We liked her so much that we had her marry us twice; once for the paperwork and again recently for our big ceremony and reception (9 months later).
She does an amazing job with incorporating a love story and any traditions you may have into the ceremony. We chose an Oathing Stone to be added (along with our personalized love story) and Donna’s delivery and conduction was flawless.
Not only is she very comfortable with her work and speaking in front of crowds, but she also came to assist/direct us at the rehearsal the day before. We had no idea how things traditionally go, but Donna did a great job with mapping it out for us.
Months leading up to the event, Donna takes the time to ask the questions (to both bride and groom) to personalize the ceremony. She has a questionnaire for each person, so that she can see each point of view. Donna also has about SIX different ceremony options (if you don’t have verbiage of your own to use). She will also provide different ideas for the traditions (mixing of sands, oathing stone, prayer stones incorporating guests, etc). For our first ceremony, we opted to use some of her suggested vows that she had pre-prepared; however, for our bigger ceremony, we wrote our own vows.
Overall, Donna made it so easy. Whether you are more religious, spiritual, cultural, or none of the above, Donna can fit and perform your ideal wedding ceremony. She is super easy to work with, VERY responsive (quick too), and willing to assist any where she can. We highly recommend her for your special day, or days in our case!

Mallory Clay-Harrigan

I don’t think anyone better could have officiated our ceremony, Donna made it better than we could have ever imagined. From the first meeting to the big day, she put so much thought and care into our ceremony that made it truly special. I loved how many options she gave us for our ceremony, we loved choosing the various parts (like the opening words and ring exchange) and we went with a Celtic handfasting ceremony since it felt like the perfect thing for myself and my husband to seal our vows.

We also really enjoyed the love story questionnaire that Donna had us both complete. Even though we didn’t show them to each other until after the wedding, it was fun to do and talk about and brought us closer together in the months leading up to the wedding.

Donna also made us little vow booklets that I will cherish forever. I am so grateful to Donna for making our wedding day something we will remember forever.

Ariel Bocook

Donna made our elopement extra special. Her kindness, attentiveness, organization and communication, helped the ceremony go so smoothly. Thank you so much, Donna! We appreciate you!!!