Reviews wedding officiant Michaëla Halewijn | the Netherlands
I am very grateful for all the kind words from all the international couples whose weddings I officiated.
Love stories have always been so very special to me and I am especially captivated by international love stories. Sometimes there can be quite a few obstacles to overcome. Usually one of the two had to leave friends and family behind to be with the one he/she loves. The wedding is especially joyous, because on this day all of their families and friends, sometimes from the other side of the world, join in the celebration of their love.
Wedding ceremony on the canals of Amsterdam
Hiring Michaela as our officiant was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding! Not only was she professional and courteous, she was warm and affectionate with us, as well as with our friends and family.
In the months leading up to the wedding, she took time to get to know my fiancé and me, collecting all the details of our relationship along the way. She was sure to give us options on how we wanted the ceremony to flow as well as for the vows we wanted to select (she ended up helping both of us write our own).
Throughout the ceremony, Michaela was sure to point out the seriousness of the lifelong steps we were taking, as well mention the silly, honest relationship we have together. She was calm and confident throughout her speech and even helped us stay at ease during our vows.
After the wedding was over, more than a handful of our guests mentioned that the ceremony was one of the best parts of the wedding and one of the sweetest ceremonies they had ever been to.
Michaela truly made sure our ceremony was one that us and our guests will remember forever. Both my husband and I recommend her for any couple who are looking for a special and touching ceremony!!
Thank you again for making our ceremony so lovely, Michaela. We really will remember you forever.
Anthony and Sean, San Diego, California
Wedding ceremony in castle Doorwerth
We were initially nervous to ask a stranger, in a foreign country, to perform the incredibly personal task of marrying us. However, the worry turned out to be completely in vain! Michaela was an absolute professional from the start, getting to know us and our exact requirements through to performing the service in accordance to our wishes and adding just the right amount of humour and personal touch. We had numerous compliments on the ceremony Michaela performed from the guests and felt that her thorough research and time spent with us in preparation for the event translated into a meaningful delivery and are so grateful to her for the enormous contribution to such a special day in our lives!
Lauren and Ruben, London, UK
Wedding ceremony in Rotterdam, Het Heerenhuys
An unforgettable ceremony, with a speech that was beautifully written, full of emotion, making the room both laugh and cry. We are unbelievably thankful to Michaëla for making our ceremony so special, for telling our story and engaging all of our guests. We received so many compliments afterwards, many stating they had never seen a ceremony like it before and that it had deeply touched them. Michaëla took the time to really get to know us, to understand our story, us as people, our relationship – meaning our ceremony was incredibly personal. She listened to our wishes and the way she conducted our ceremony in both excellent English and Dutch was flawless, with perfect flow and consideration for the audience. Michaëla really made our wedding ceremony unique and we are so happy that we asked her to be our ambtenaar. The personal touch, the attention to detail and the professionalism of Michaëla was excellent – thank you!!!
Best wishes,
Sarah and Peter, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Wedding ceremony at Rhederoord Estate, De Steeg
Days and even weeks later we had guests remarking about how they enjoyed the romantic ceremony and your in-depth speech. A lot of people were intrigued about the personal circumstances about the story of how we came together that you had incorporated in your dialogue! It really set the ceremony apart from the standard wedding speeches and it’s obvious that you had put a lot of work into sewing it all together. And of course your English was flawless!
Thank you again for your contribution to our wonderful wedding!
Sarahlynne and Kris, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Wedding ceremony on a sailboat in Amsterdam
Thank you again for the lovely service, we could not have imagined it being so absolutely lovely and everything running so smoothly. Your hosting of the event was amazing, the content to your message meaningful and relevant and we had so many guests complimenting us on this after the service and personally mentioning this.
Thank you for making the day so special for us!
Vanessa & Morten, Kopenhagen, Denmark
Vow renewal ceremony on a houseboat in Amsterdam
We would just like to say how delighted we are to have found Michaela to perform our vow renewal ceremony in December 2012.
We wanted to do something special for our 10th wedding anniversary and decided it was to be on a boat in Amsterdam, a place we have grown to love over the years we have been coming.
As an English couple we did not know how to arrange a vow renewal in Holland but Michaela was wonderful supplying us with valuable information.
The whole process was very enjoyable from the initial email to the ceremony itself which was truly magical.
I cannot express how much time and effort Michaela took to really get to know us and understand what we wanted for our unusual request. Her speech at the ceremony was beautiful and we both felt like newlyweds afterwards.
We thoroughly recommend Michaela to make your day special and one that you will remember forever.
Thank you Michaela from the bottom of our hearts.
Lyn and Alan, Surrey, England
Wedding ceremony in The Hague
Dear Michaëla,
We couldn’t have asked for a better registrar for our wedding day! We loved your speech and so did all our guests. Many of them only knew parts of ‘our story’ and very much enjoyed hearing some new details – which shows how much time you took to get to know us. With you we didn’t have to be nervous in advance, as we knew everything was well arranged, that the speech would be beautiful, and that you would be comfortable doing the full ceremony in English. Everything went indeed as planned – and even better, with many moving and funny moments.
Thank you!
Richard and Annika, Voorburg, the Netherlands
Wedding ceremony West-Indisch Huis, Amsterdam
Philipp and I wanted to have our wedding in Amsterdam as that was where we had lived before and where we met. Because we were no longer living in the Netherlands we could not do the legal part there. So we started searching for officiants who could simply tell the story of Shay and Philipp and speak about love instead. We found Michaela’s website and contacted her straight away. We already knew after our first conversation with her that she was the officiant we wanted! She speaks perfect English and asked us the right questions in preparation for the wedding. We knew she could tell a nice story at the ceremony. On the actual day both our expectations were met above and beyond. We knew Michaela would hold a great speech but it was even better than expected. She had talked to all our groomsmen and bridesmaids and made our ceremony incredibly personal. All of our guests loved the story she told and kept asking us “where did you find her??”
The ceremony is what kicks off a wedding and we could not think of any better way to start it than for someone to tell such a beautiful story about how we met and what we mean to each other. We highly recommend Michaela, she is simply a very pleasant person to be with and always has a smile on her face. Thanks again for the amazing work Michaela!
Shay and Philipp, Neurenberg, Germany
Wedding ceremony at the rooftop of Grand Hotel Amrath, Amsterdam
Hi Michaela! Thank you for sending the speech and the pictures. I attached our favorite picture with you. Your ceremony was absolutely wonderful. We appreciated how personal it was and it was nice to hear how we described each other. It was everything we hoped it would be….romantic, intimate, funny, and meaningful. We are actually having our party next week with all of our family and friends and we are going to play the video of the ceremony for them. We both want to thank you for being part of our special day and for the effort you put into our ceremony.
Rachel and Tommy, Boca Raton, Florida