Kathlane and Michelle exchanging rings at their elopement in Banff with Officiant Rich from Young Hip & Married

Rich Braaksma he/him

Get to know Calgary wedding officiant Rich Braaksma.

Calgary, AB

Young Hip & Married wedding officiant Rich marrying a couple

I’ve been officiating weddings for over ten years and I love it.

Each of our stories are different and have great beauty. For me, it’s a huge privilege to come alongside the story of a couple preparing to get married. This chapter of your story is a great one. It would be a joy for me to help draw out your best in creating and enjoying your wedding ceremony.

We were matched to an officiant and a photographer who made sure our wedding was exactly what we wanted! We were originally supposed to get married in April 2020, but had to postpone due to COVID.

Throughout a very difficult time for a lot of vendors and couples, Young Hip & Married remained professional and made sure we had options and eventually had our perfect wedding, exactly how we wanted it.

The patience, quick response time, options available, and overall attitude towards weddings and marriage made the experience for us super easy and fun. I’ve recommended them to everyone I know who is getting married!

—Janey & Kyle
Married by Rich, Jun 2020

Officiant Rich marrying a couple in the rain in Alberta

It all started when we hired YH&M to help us plan a simple and personalized wedding. Rich officiated our marriage on January 28th 2024 in Banff. Although we didn’t meet Rich until the ceremony, he made us feel like we were old friends – very welcoming and comfortable!

He created a beautiful memory filled with love and warmth around us, which made the wedding vibe a lot easy, resulting in an absolute beautiful ceremony. Deanna photography skills is superb.

We are so pleased to work with you and every single step of the way was seamless, smooth and stress-free. Your warm and approachable nature made the ceremony all the more special! We would recommend you guys a thousand times over.

—Kathlane & Michelle
Married by Rich, Jan 2024

100% recommend! They have all sorts of packages to suit everyone. The celebrant who they picked for us, Rich, was the nicest guy and who made us feel so comfortable. We are so happy with how everything went! Wouldn’t have changed a thing!

—Lana-J & Benjamin
Married by Rich, Dec 2019

calgary wedding ceremony with young hip and married wedding officiants, funny wedding vows

Rich's Story

I’ve been married to my junior high sweetheart for 21 years. We’ve lived and raised our two kids (now teenagers) in Calgary, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and now we’re back in Calgary.

We’re enjoying our story and all the stories that make it up.

Book with Rich

Rich – what an absolutely awesome officiant to work with – he was funny, bright and wasn’t put off when we sent him to the wrong spot on Scottsman’s Hill!

Rich is through Young Hip & Married, they were great to work with, have tons of options for officiants! They were in constant contact with us, making sure that the ceremony Rich did was exactly what we wanted.

—Lauren & Justin
Married by Rich, Aug 2017

All I wanted was a stress-free wedding, and Young Hip & Married helped us to have the most amazing, easygoing experience. Our officiant Rich was incredible – he helped personalize our ceremony and really cared about making our wedding day special. Our photographer, Deanna, was also incredible.

Thanks to their help, the process of getting everything organized was incredibly easy and fun. Would recommend to anyone looking to elope!

—Joanna & Jacob
Married by Rich, Jun 2024

Rich is an amazing speaker who brought to life the nature of our relationship through the wedding ceremony. He took the time to get to know us and what we wanted for our ceremony; from there he guided us through the details of this process. His response time to any of our questions was valued as this was an event we planned in 5 weeks.

He arrived to our wedding day dressed extremely well. The energy he brought through the planning process all the way through to the end of the ceremony balanced for both of us- and our nerves. His approach to wedding ceremony fit wonderfully for us. We are grateful to have met him for our special moment.

The Young Hip and Married team are a group of professionals who were clear and transparent about what their services are and what their contracts look like. No fine print. Super great to work with as well. Without this team we would have never met Rich- we can’t say enough great things about him.

—Stephany & Neil
Married by Rich, Sep 2023

Rich Braaksma he/him

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Rich's Story

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