BAY AREA CEREMONIES
Personalized … Exceptional … Innovative
Dr. Richard A. Kaplowitz, Officiant
Fees for Weddings
and other Ceremonies
This page lists and then details the fees for Bay Area Ceremonies:
Ceremony: $500
Rehearsal: $300
Elopements: $140 up
You can have a marriage
ceremony designed for and about the two of you, an exceptional, joyful, unique customized and personalized wedding that reflects who you are as individuals and as a couple.
You aren’t being offered a standard- formula, one-size-fits all McWedding – instead, getting hitched will be easy, romantic, personal, creative, and fun for you and your guests!
Fees are based on the reality that a 30-minute "Rick" ceremony is generally built on 10-15 additional hours of time and expertise invested in providing you with an unmatched level of service and innovation.
Rick offers his premium officiant services in an informed, ethical, and legally sound manner.
Fees are guaranteed at the agreed level once booked.
Wedding Package options include Silver, Gold, and Platinum packages.
- An Interview Session. An initial, hour long discussion, generally undertaken in person at Rick’s home office. This meeting allows mutually establishing if Rick is the right officiants to help you achieve your wedding vision. This no-obligation service is provided to you free of any charge.
- A Planning Session. This additional hour long planning session, at Rick’s home office (or, optionally, at an appropriate location of your choice), enables a fuller discuss your vision, and how that vision will be realized for you.
- Ongoing Consultation by telephone and e-mail regarding the ceremony script and other wedding considerations.
- A Rehearsal Session. Typically an hour or longer, your rehearsal session will have you and the members of your bridal party projecting poise and confidence throughout your wedding ceremony. You can see a rehearsal-to-ceremony video.
- The Administrative Session. Every wedding requires about 30 minutes of preparation of the legal documentation prior to the marriage ceremony. This is actually the foundation of meeting the requirements for a legal marriage. This session then substantially reduces the actual time required for signatures during ceremony itself. After the conclusion of the ceremony, all documentation is promptly filed, by Rick, with the County Clerk.
- The Wedding Ceremony. Your wedding ceremony will be yours – joyful, completely unique, and distinctive from any other ceremony you or your friends have ever experienced. It will convey all the right emotions and tones to make it a spectacular success.
Some couples do not require all six elements; others may require additional assistance.
Several core packages have been bundled together to offer outstanding value. The primary differences among these packages are the additional time required by Rick to help you coordinate the achievement of your vision for your ceremony. All base packages include a total allowance of 50 miles of round-trip travel from Palo Alto to and from the ceremony site.
The Silver Wedding Packages start at $500
Great for couples who want a small ceremony (25 guests or fewer), or a ceremony prior to a destination wedding at an exotic location.
This economical option includes an initial consultation meeting, a draft ceremony script for your personalization, ongoing telephone and e-mail consultation, officiating at your ceremony, and preparation and filing of all the legal documentation.
The Gold Wedding Package starts at $650
A popular service level chosen for early afternoon & some evening ceremonies, this package includes all of the Silver package components plus an additional hour long planning meeting which allows for a more personalized ceremony, and regular Q&A dialogue by phone or email. With this package, Rick will also advise you about conducting your own wedding rehearsal if needed, although he will not be in attendance at the rehearsal.
The Platinum Package starts at $800
The Platinum package is the primary service level for most Saturday afternoon and early evening wedding ceremonies. It includes all of the Gold package components as well as Rick’s live participation and guidance at a detailed, hour-long rehearsal ceremony designed to enable your entire wedding party to achieve and display poise and confidence.
This package is designed for brides and grooms who really want their wedding procession, bridal party positioning and recession to look sharp and crisp. It is highly recommended for any bridal parties of six or more people, and it is essential for a ceremony held in a prestige or unique venue, where achieving a well-executed visual look is required.
In circumstances where for the bride and groom require services that go beyond those of the Platinum package, a quote will be prepared. For example, sometimes couples who have previously attended one of Rick’s weddings may ask him to officiate at a ceremony well beyond the San Francisco Bay Area, down at Big Sur, for example. Or, the ceremony might require the officiant to stay for an extended period of time because it is being held on a boat, on an island, or in a hot air balloon.
You can Contact Rick using the form on this site, or by calling him at 650. 852 – 9700, to ask how he can make your wedding day everything you ever imagined it would be and more.
Extras: The above packages cover most ceremony requirements.
- Ceremonies held beyond a 25 mile distance from Palo Alto, as calculated by MapQuest/ Google Maps, cost an extra $2 per mile of distance for the added time and travel expenses.
- Should commercial parking be required or parking passes not supplied directly to Rick, then this will be billed to you at cost.
- Should special costumes or attire be required for theme or ethnic weddings, if these are not supplied directly to Rick by the client, then these will be billed to you at cost.
Your ceremony date and time are locked out from anyone else's consideration from the moment you schedule your initial interview with Rick. That time slot remains reserved up to the time of the interview and for 7 days thereafter. No one can take your date away from you while you are awaiting your interview with Rick. Then, you have a week after the interview to confirm with Rick, or to select anyone else if you so choose.
Rick also guarantees that he will not book more than one other wedding ceremony on the same day as yours, and that commitments will be more than properly sequenced to ensure that you get the full attention and focus you deserve during your ceremony.
A deposit of $250 is required to complete the booking process. All but $100 for Silver and Gold or $200 for Platinum ceremonies is refundable up to 4 months before the ceremony. The balance is due no later than 3 months prior to your ceremony. Payments are normally by check, made payable to “Rick Kaplowitz;” PayPal, Credit Cards, and cash payments are also accepted.
Bay Area Ceremonies also offers family members and friends of couples the opportunity to engage Rick's services as a gift to the lucky couple, so that they can then direct their remaining resources to other priority items. Contact Rick for details.
Elopement // Short-Notice Weddings Fees - Link
Wedding Certificate
Rick will prepare for signing at your ceremony, free of any extra charge, an attractive Certificate of Marriage which you can then use and display in the manner of your choice.
Your certificate can be customized and personalized to reflect anything you might wish to add, including additional signature blocks for extra witnesses, children, or whomever you select.
Should you wish to locate and purchase any of the many specialty certificates which can be found on many bridal websites, Rick would be pleased to have them completed appropriately during the official signing, if you will supply them to them prior to the ceremony.
For those, who really wish to have something unique, there are many calligraphers who specialize in preparing these one of a kind documents.
Baby Welcoming / Naming ceremonies,
Renewal of Vows, &
Memorial Celebration / Funeral Services
Packages start at $350.
Includes an in-depth consultation and planning,
a customized, personalized ceremony script,
and an allowance of 50 miles of round-trip travel.
