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Weddings

About

Tidal Ceremonies is based on Gabriola Island, British Columbia serving primarily the central Vancouver Island region, but willing to travel further.

Rev. Dr. Karen Arends is a Certified Master Life-Cycle Celebrant who earned her certification at the Celebrant Foundation and Institute, and is ordained by the Canadian International Metaphysical Ministry.

Karen has more than 25 years of experience creating personally meaningful ceremonies and passages that reflect the desires of her clients. Her wedding ceremonies range from short-and-sweet to personalized and even fully-themed ceremonies. In her ministry practice, Karen is inclusive, professional, and eclectic.

Services Offered

Tidal Ceremonies offers licensed services and support for couples writing their own vows. Karen lends her expertise to couples celebrating metaphysical, pagan, and earth-based spiritual weddings. Creating a ceremony from your answers to a questionnaire, the final script is completely approved by you.

Your experience will include personal ceremony creation, research into traditions and rituals, script consultations and edits, rehearsal, officiating, and a final keepsake document of the ceremony. Karen also provides officiating services for vow renewals, commitment ceremonies, and more.

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Frequently asked questions

What types of weddings and events do you provide services for?

Single religion
Interfaith ceremony
Vow renewal
Ceremony rehearsal

What services do you provide?

Licensed
Allow couple' own vows

What religious affiliations do you serve?

Agnostic
No denomination
Earth-based
Pagan

On average, how long are wedding ceremonies you officiate?

Less than 30 mins.

What is the starting price for your wedding services?

$350

Does starting price include the ceremony rehearsal?

No

What is the starting price for ceremony rehearsals?

$150

If you offer pre-marital counseling, what is the starting price for (per session)?

$50
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Any other questions?

Request pricing
4.9 out of 5 rating
16 reviews
  • Quality of service
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Response time
    4.9 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    4.9 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4.9 out of 5 rating
100% Recommended by couples
Meriem
Meriem E. Sent on 16/08/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Magically Unique

Thank you so much Karen.
Our wedding ceremony was magical, unique, and so enjoyable. Your questions and communication was thorough, even when you were dealing with personal family matters. Our ceremony was the highlight of the day, all of our guests were so impressed and loved every aspect of it, and most importantly my husband and myself had an amazing time. You incorporated every single aspect we requested, and went above and beyond with matching your words to the exact feeling we wanted to portray.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being such a huge part of our wedding day. We will remember you always.
Dayna
Dayna L. Sent on 13/10/2020
4.6 out of 5 rating

Beautifully Personal Ceremony

Karen writes an amazing ceremony based on your love story. It's beautiful and personal and brings a lovely touch to a wedding. I would wholly recommend her to anyone wanting a unique ceremony based entirely on your relationship.

You do, however, need to be willing to put in the work to tell that story. If you're looking for an officiant that will marry you without any effort on your part, she might not be the one for you.
Annalise
Annalise S. Sent on 05/04/2020
5 out of 5 rating

Lovely and unique ceremony

Karen is a fantastic officiant, we couldn't have asked for a better one to guide us through the process. She met and emailed with us multiple times, and was always quick to reply. We had vague ideas for a handfasting and slightly Nordic style wedding which she effortlessly wove into a full ceremony along with a family tradition and much loved reading. Our friends and family couldn't stop commenting in the receiving line how much they enjoyed the personalization. More than a few even said it was the best ceremony they had ever been to! Looking back at our photos I can easily recall all the teary heartfelt parts as well the laughs we shared. Thank you, Karen, it meant so much to us.
Lacey
Lacey B. Sent on 22/07/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Customizable perfect ceramony!

Karen was Amazing from the start, she was personable, professional and went above and beyond for us even after the wedding. My guests and I were in complete awe of her work. She made our ceremony 100% more meaningful than we expected. Thank you so much Karen!
Jimmy
Jimmy C. Sent on 05/05/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Karen is Awesome!

Happy and professional. So happy to have picked her for my wedding. Loved her energy!

Highly recommend.
Wendy
Wendy Sent on 13/07/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Family blending

Karen put together a family blending celebration for our son’s engagement. She worked with both sets of parents to create a fun and joyful announcement during a summer BBQ with family and friends. It was awesome!
Stephanie
Stephanie Sent on 04/10/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Friendly, warm and professional

Karen (Kes) is an excellent officiant. We had a lovely experience using her services for our backyard wedding. She made an in-depth inquiry into who we are as individuals and as a couple so that she could give us a ceremony that felt natural, flowing, and in alignment with what we wished to convey to our friends and family about our love story and our commitment to each other. Karen is warm, thoughtful, reliable and professional. She was easy to work with, did a great job of laying out the structure of the ceremony and then stepping back and allowing us to edit and make changes so that it was personal and the emphasis was on our voice as a couple. We were happy to work with her and would readily recommend her to anyone looking for an officiant that can deliver a unique, customized ceremony.

Photo credit: Emilie Smith Photography
M
Marla J. Sent on 20/09/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Unforgetable

Karen is amazing, from initial contact to the congratulations email after our wedding was over, it was one of the most positive experiences we've had. Karen, thank you for all your kindness and hard work to make our day memorable for the rest of ours, our family, and friends lives. We had a small intimate wedding and Karen's touch took it over the top, her spirit brings love and light to the ceremony space. I still have members talking about how wonderful, welcoming, and beautiful the ceremony was (over a month later), emphasising Karen's work. She tells YOUR story, not a copy and paste cookie cutter script. She sends a questionnaire, for the bride and groom to fill out separately and from that she generates a breathtaking tale sharing how we got to this day. Easy to work with, helpful, and very kind. There were people of my wedding party that are now talking about renewing their vows with Karen. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, Karen.
W
Wendy S. Sent on 04/06/2022
5 out of 5 rating

We would not hesitate to recommend Karen

From the start of our interaction, Karen made it all about us and what we wanted. Yet she added some valuable insights and helped us every step of the way with our vows. She took time to get to know us as a couple and so thorough which was why our wedding turned out so perfectly. Highly recommend going with Karen, such a memorable ceremony.
J
Janna H. Sent on 02/09/2021
5 out of 5 rating

Compassionate and accommodating celebrant

Karen was very accommodating to us on our big day. After a sudden loss of a family member just prior to the ceremony, Karen stepped in to help us on short notice after we re-planned our entire ceremony. Her delivery was natural with a good flow and made everyone feel welcome and involved at the ceremony. We highly recommend Karen to anyone searching for a celebrant.
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Awards

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Gabriola V0R 1X6 Nanaimo (British Columbia)

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