Meet Mary Jane and Allen Guerra | Wedding Officiants and Ceremony Designers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mary Jane and Allen Guerra and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mary Jane and Allen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Our business started with our own wedding, back in 2016. We met and decided to get married the same year, a whirlwind decision that marked our lives in such a positive way. We talked about dates and decided we wanted to be husband and wife by the holidays, so we set the date for November 2016. We chose to have a very intimate wedding with our families and closest friends present, so the ceremony part had to be decided. We both have different belief systems, but we still wanted a hint of spirituality to celebrate our love with our families. A dear friend of ours is a notary, so we asked her to officiate our wedding and we wrote the ceremony for her. The wedding had mentions of our children and family members to make them feel included. We wrote and read our own vows, which made our ceremony more emotional. That was only the beginning… Then came 2018 when one of our daughters was getting married. She had seen how our wedding ceremony was written and she wanted that same feeling of intimacy and warmth, so she asked us to write her ceremony and Allen to officiate it. Allen became a notary to make everything legal, and Maddie and Daniel’s ceremony was written based on their own love story. Family members and guests shared with us how beautiful their ceremony turned out. And a couple of weeks later, From Engaged To Married was born, to serve those couples who want a wedding ceremony that has a modern feel and that celebrates their love in a unique and memorable way.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a husband and wife team of bilingual wedding officiants that started our business, From Engaged To Married, based on a personal need. Five years ago when we decided to get married, all we wanted was a short and sweet ceremony that reflected not only our love and our beliefs, but to make our family included and united. So we wrote it ourselves, pouring our heart and souls into it. And that’s how we design and write each and every one of our clients’ ceremonies, which results in unique, memorable and romantic moments. The real a-ha moment came right after writing and officiating our daughter’s wedding. Allen felt so excited and happy, he decided to create From Engaged To Married. In a year, the company started growing, and Mary Jane decided to make it her full-time job. Right as business was picking up, the pandemic hit. Couples were scrambling to figure out what to do with their wedding dates. We worked with our clients, re-scheduling their dates, and fortunately, did not lose one couple. There were lots of minimonies and backyard weddings, all intimate ceremonies to celebrate their love. All their ceremonies were written and officiated with the same dedication as if it was going to take place in front of 500 guests. Love was certainly not canceled!
As small business owners, we have been through a learning curve. It’s been an amazing journey that we are happy we have walked through as a married couple. We both have strengths that complement one another. Allen is the romantic storyteller, while Mary contributes with editing and detail-oriented organizational skills. We have most recently been awarded Best of The Knot 2022 and Couples’ Choice Award 2022 in the Officiants category, and we’d like to thank each and every single one of the couples we were honored to serve during 2021.
We would love everyone to know we strive to make their wedding day special. We celebrate all types of ceremonies, from religious to non-denominational, we celebrate weddings in English, Spanish, or both. We are proud allies of the LGBTQ+ community in Florida. Your wedding ceremony is the first event to start a wonderful day, let From Engaged To Married take care of it from the moment you walk down the aisle, til your first kiss.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We live in Dania Beach, which is the the oldest city in Broward County, founded in 1904. It has such a quaint feel in some areas, while in others you can find places with a more modern feel like Dania Pointe, with restaurants where we like to have breakfast on the weekend like Too Jays. Dania Beach offers a peaceful place to meditate and exercise, and if you’re into fishing, the Pier offers a nice space to try and catch dinner. From Engaged To Married is a proud member of the Dania Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First, we want to recognize our families. They are our pillars and support, without their love and constant cheering we wouldn’t be able to be here today. Our parents modeled for us an example of dedication and high working ethics which today is a model in our own business practices. We want to pass down those examples to our own children and grandchildren: life is not only made of success and monetary compensations, but of the service and care you provide to those surrounding you. Second, to all those couples who believed in us and trusted their ceremonies in our hands. We understand our services are intangible because we have to write each of our ceremonies with the love stories of our clients and that is a huge leap of faith. To those 103 couples who we served throughout 2022 and to the hundreds we served from 2018 when we started From Engaged To Married: THANK YOU for your support and belief in us. It was our honor to be in front of you taking that big step in your lives.

Website: https://www.fromengagedtomarried.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromengagedtomarried/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/fromengagedtomarried/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fromengagedtomarried/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqbCcqR6o1KqeMqjV0B5Q_g

Image Credits
Lenisse Komatsu Photography Israel Goldberg