Connect
To Top

Meet Phil Gallagher of Officiant Phil Gallagher

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Phil Gallagher.

Phil, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I moved to the mountains of Colorado to co-direct a mentoring non-profit with my wife, and we originally planned on being here anywhere from three to five years. Over the years, we connected with students and parents in such a significant way that I was asked to do all sorts of things- speak at graduation, facilitate memorials, DJ dances, and of course weddings. After a while, more and more people kept contacting me and asking me to be their officiant. Before I knew it, I was performing 100 ceremonies a year and loving every minute of it. Weddings are such a special time and create a very significant memory so I put my whole heart into EVERY SINGLE ONE. I’m just amazed that great couples continue to find me and allow me to be a part of their story in such a meaningful way. And I also love that this line of work (if I can call it that) allows me to still be involved in my local community as the Executive Director of a new non-profit that my wife and I founded over four years ago. Life is good!

Has it been a smooth road?
I think everyone is waiting for life to settle down and be “normal”, but I have found that the most common mode of life is “transition.” We are not stationery beings living static stories; rather everything is dynamic… evolving and moving. In fact, I tell all of my couples that Plan A is what we plan and prepare for, but every wedding goes according to Plan B which is their story. And that is indicative of our lives. A huge hurdle for me has been that I am not a “business person.” When it came to making things official and legit, I felt pretty overwhelmed at doing so. Thank God for my wife who put up with me and also helped me SO MUCH! And now, here I am a little over eight years later with my own business… hahaha! Honestly, that is still always the hardest part for me… the business side of things- feeling like I have to market and do social media and all the admin that must be taken care of. The connecting and speaking and script work are all so much fun for me. But isn’t that every job? We all have things that hard that we must continue learning how to do so that we can succeed and excel at the stuff we find easy and life-giving. All of us need to discover that balance in our lives. It’s not about removing all the discomfort. It’s about balance. And right now, at the end of my days, being a wedding officiant gives me just the right amount of life that I need to be the best version of myself.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Officiant Phil Gallagher – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I specialize in performing carefree, intimate weddings. These range from elopements to 300-person ceremonies. What people have told me time and again is that I bring a feeling of calm and joy with me that creates a truly fun and intimate mood regardless of the ceremony size. And to be honest, I work really hard at it! I am truly proud that within minutes people feel as if they have known me forever. It isn’t easy for some people to establish such positive rapport so quickly, but it is something I am able to give people on such a wonderful day. Again, getting married is such an important day, and I am proud to stand with couples and to help them smile and cry and truly embrace the moment. I will say that I also have committed myself to being very professional and responsive, and my couples remind me every day just how important that is in our “busy” world. I return calls and respond to emails very quickly and always try to make sure I do so in a personal way to let them know it’s me and not an automatically generated response. And the same goes for my ceremony scripts- I striveto always make my ceremonies custom-tailored to the couple so that every ceremony is unique in some way. I feel the process is a creative collaboration between the couple and me… and rightfully so. A wedding should be a celebration and reflection of their love. In the end, I always enjoy the hugs and kind words following every ceremony that reaffirm I am doing what is mine to do, and I am doing it well. That is all I can ask for.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and the least?
Colorado is amazing!!! I especially love the mountains because every outdoor ceremony is an adventure… and I personally do weddings all year long outside… SUPER fun!!! What’s really great is that you can almost never point the camera in the wrong direction. The views are simply astounding! And the people who are attracted to being outdoors are always SO great to work with! Perhaps the only downside is that the weather can be pretty unpredictable. This past year, we had so much snow and lots of avalanches which made traveling pretty difficult. Again though, the people involved are so chill that we were able to work through just about anything despite whatever the weather threw at us. I originally thought I’d live in Colorado three to five years, but the mountains won me over, and my family and I are now finishing our 19th year in Breckenridge. Woo-hoo!

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Sarah Roshan Photography, Becky Young Photography, Scobey Photography, Jennifer Morgan Photography, Daylene Wilson Photography, Montana Lee Photography, Thistle & Rose Co.

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in