BILINGUAL WEDDING OFFICIANTS CELEBRATING LOVE STORIES IN NYC, BOSTON, + BEYOND
Celebrating Love and Partnership with Bespoke Wedding Ceremonies in English & Spanish
We're Dani and Karla, Latine sibling wedding officiants passionate about storytelling, inclusivity, and making sure your wedding ceremony reflects you. Based in New York City and Boston, we specialize in bilingual wedding ceremonies, custom vow renewals, and fun, meaningful elopements.
Whether you're planning a vibrant city wedding, an intimate park elopement, or a heartfelt multicultural weekend-long extravaganza, we bring experience, love, and vibes that are anything but cookie-cutter.
ALL LOVE IS CELEBRATED HERE
YOUR WEDDING OFFICIANTS
Dani
she/her/ella
Scorpio☼ Virgo☽ Sagittarius↑
First-Generation
Old Soul
Milennial
Based in NYC
Travels Everywhere
Dani is a NYC-based wedding officiant and love storyteller who founded Once Upon A Vow originally as a vow and speech writing service but pivoted to officiating wedding ceremonies in 2015.
After marrying her first couple on her own wedding anniversary (November 3rd) in her favorite park (Prospect Park), she fell in love with this intimate storytelling role. The signs were in her face so Dani listened to the universe and was ALL IN from that moment on. As she navigated this new wedding world, she knew she had to bring her sibling, Karla, on board to add their unique voice to this traditional space.
In Dani’s past life, she worked in non-profit administration focused on geriatric research and social services. The burnout led her to take a leap and try something that lit her soul on fire. With the support of her familia, she started this small business out of her 1-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn.
In her spare time, you can find her playing hide and seek with her son, visiting the New York Botanical Garden, and enjoying a chai latte.
Karla is a Boston-based wedding officiant and love storyteller; the queer/immigrant half of the sibling-duo at Once Upon A Vow.
With over 15 years in worlds of education and the non-profits, they are always eager to engage in deeper dialogue about equity and justice, reach across lines of difference to harness the power of the collective, and develop and support efforts that will shift the paradigms of our current systems and institutions.
Karla’s excited about traveling and marrying more queer couples (and comrades) in NYC, Boston, and beyond. They’re also looking forward to partnering with other wedding professionals interested in elevating our industry to truly reflect and celebrate all expressions of love, which means disrupting the status quo and forging fiercely forward on a quest to dismantle the white heteronormative patriarchy.
In their spare time, you can find them cackling with their nibling over some inside joke, rollerblading like it’s still the 90’s, and enjoying a Reeses peanut butter cup.
Karla
they/them/she/her
Scorpio☼ Leo☽ Aries↑
Immigrant
Young at Heart
Gen X
Based in Boston
Travels to NYC + Beyond
Our Vibe
Modern. Inclusive. Personal. Bilingüe.
We create ceremonies that make your guests cry, laugh, and cheer—sometimes all at once.
Our Philosophy
Love is the universal language.
We’re here for every couple—queer, multicultural, interfaith, bilingual—who wants to feel seen, heard, and celebrated with gusto.
Our Vision
To change the wedding industry one ceremony at a time—making room for diverse, vibrant, custom experiences led by progressive humans who care.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
For us, Biggie’s lyric “Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way” is more than a Brooklynite anthem. It’s a way of life and it’s at the core of who we are and what we believe.
We believe that love is the universal language that connects us all and it’s in divisive times, like these, that we must spread love as far and wide as humanly possible. For us that means being inclusive, non-judgmental siblings who enthusiastically celebrate the awesomeness of your love story. We excitedly officiate ceremonies for same sex couples, interracial couples, interfaith couples, multicultural couples, and those who have historically been denied the basic human right to love and marry.
OUR VISION
As sibling wedding officiants, we dream of a day where the wedding industry celebrates true diversity and inclusion embracing the beautiful spectrum of real couples’ journeys to getting married.
We foresee a future where old-school, boring AF, template ceremonies are a thing of the past. Where couples expect a personalized ceremony officiated by someone who cares about them. Where we, as a community, acknowledge that the ceremony IS central to the wedding day and an incredibly special moment that marks that next great chapter of your lives.
We see ourselves helping to elevate the officiant world into the new era of fun, meaningful ceremonies that kickstart the love party! We hope you’ll join us as we continue to make our heart print.
FAQs
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Yes, we are primarily registered in NYC and Boston. Our ordination also allows us to legally officiate ceremonies in states like New Jersey that don’t require state registration. We have also applied for one-time registration in nearby states like New Hampshire and will gain registration for any and every state where we officiate ceremonies.
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Yes, we received our ordination from American Marriage Ministries and United Life Church.
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HELL YES WE DO! We are passport ready and will travel any and everywhere for love. The furthest we’ve traveled out west has been to Portland, Oregon and the furthest we’ve traveled internationally has been to Würzburg, Germany.
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These days you can complete your marriage application online and schedule a virtual or in-person appointment through Project Cupid. If you’re traveling to NYC, you’ll need to be in New York for both virtual and in-person appointments. Check out the City Clerk website for more info. https://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/content/
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Here’s all the info you’ll need to know to obtain your marriage license in Massachusetts.
https://www.mass.gov/guides/getting-married-in-massachusetts-before-the-wedding
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You’ll want to contact us as soon as you secure your wedding date. Fridays and Saturdays tend to be the first weekend dates we fill each year so definitely reach out to us sooner rather than later.
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Definitely! Our fave part of wedding ceremonies are your VOWS and we will absolutely hold space for this sentimental moment in your ceremony. We are 100% down to support you in writing and editing your vows.
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Of course you can and there are many high-touch and low-touch ways to include your loved ones depending on their comfort level and your ceremony vision. From collective vows and readings to ring warmings and community sing-a-longs, we can discuss what fits best for your ceremony vision!
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Abso-frickin-lutely! If you’re planning an elopement ceremony with fewer than 20 guests, you do not technically need a permit to get married in an NYC park. However, we recommend you obtain one if you’d like to get married in a popular location.
If you plan on having more than 20 guests, you must file for a special event permit, which requires at least 30 days for processing and a $25 non-refundable processing fee.
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Yes, we love vow renewals! It’s so meaningful to us when couples choose to reaffirm their love and commitment to one another. ALL THE AWWS!! Our rates remain the same as our labor of love is centered on preparing and writing your ceremony.
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What may seem like a simple 20-minute ceremony includes hours of getting to know you, taking notes, thoughtfully writing and editing your ceremony, traveling to your chosen ceremony space, and communicating with vendors and/or loved ones. Not to mention accurately completing the legal bits. Before you ask us for a reduced rate, please take into consideration the loving effort our small business puts into every wedding ceremony.
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Yes, we most definitely do. We typically split the total into 2-4 payments depending on the chosen ceremony experience and your financial needs. Feel free to let us know if you’d like to split the payments further.