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 civil, pagan, metaphysical, 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.
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.
Sent on 05/04/2020
Tidal Ceremonies's reply:
My thanks for your kind words, Annalise! It was my pleasure to create a ceremony that is meaningful and memorable for you two. Bright blessings your way.
Stephanie
· Married on 04/08/2018
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
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
Sent on 04/10/2018
Tidal Ceremonies's reply:
My heartfelt thanks, Stephanie! It was such a pleasure to meet your family at your farm -- what an amazing place for your special day. And the food truck catering was an awesome idea!
Dayna L.
· Married on 10/10/2020
4.6
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
4.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
4.0
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.
Sent on 13/10/2020
Tidal Ceremonies's reply:
Thank you, Dayna. Your wedding ceremony wonderfully celebrated your marriage in the beautiful Alberta autumn. Hoping your memories are filled with moments from the day.
Brittney S.
· Married on 18/07/2020
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Amazing Officiant
Karen was an amazing Officiant and couldn't have asked for a more beautiful ceremony. If you are looking for a personal ceremony that shares your love story, she will do an amazing job. Karen was on top of everything and made the process of planning the ceremony and writing vows easier. Thanks again, Karen!
Sent on 20/07/2020
Tidal Ceremonies's reply:
What a blessing to see you married on the family farm. You created a beautiful day that your families will share and remember. Take care of each other! Thank you.
Lacey B.
· Married on 13/07/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
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!
Sent on 22/07/2019
Tidal Ceremonies's reply:
Thank you, Lacey
It was such a pleasure to support you two in this new phase of your life together. Bright blessings to you!
