Brian Borgia

Brian Borgia loves weddings. Which is a good thing, because the Seaside man attends a lot of them. He’s a private non-denominational wedding officiant, not a minister. He never chased a dream of being in the wedding business. The dream seemingly chased after him.

Borgia says he was painfully shy in high school, but overcame it by investing every penny he had – about $3,000 – in a Dale Carnegie public speaking course that changed his life. He always loved to write and tell stories, and while still a student at Santa Clara University he wrote a book, Northern California’s Guide for Fun, Excitement and Romance, born out of helping friends figure out where to take their dates. He later channeled his storytelling abilities in the creative sales pitches he wrote as a hotel marketing specialist, including for the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa.

From there, Borgia and his wife, Heidi, a professional photographer, started a hotel reservation service. One day a client called him and said, “You’ve got to get me out of the dog house.” The client forgot his 25th wedding anniversary. The Borgias set a romantic scene in a hotel room with all the trappings: rose petals on the bed, Champagne, room service. It was the seed of what would go on to become a successful business called Romantic Celebrations, which started as a service to help plan proposals, honeymoons and anniversaries. Since 2006, the Borgias have helped plan nearly 400 proposals.

Today, he mostly channels his storytelling abilities by sharing couples’ love stories in the wedding and renewal ceremonies he writes for them. “Everyone has their own unique love story so it’s an honor to be able to tell it,” he says.

The Weekly caught up with Borgia in between ceremonies to find out what life is like helping couples start lives of (hopefully) wedded bliss.

Weekly: What was officiating your first ceremony like?

Borgia: Our first ceremony was at Carmel Valley Ranch. It was a wedding vow renewal, and I loved it because it was a 50th wedding anniversary. When they came through the doors, the wife had no idea. She was probably freaked out because there were two strangers in the room. I remember he cried and we shook hands afterward and he said this was only the second time in his adult life he had cried. Just to see that raw emotion and to have a front seat at this loving experience they were having with each other, I was hooked.

What about your first wedding?

It was for a friend. I was kind of nervous, but she said, “It’s just going to be my fiance and myself and one witness, we’ll do it down on the beach.” Well, more people wanted to attend, so it got switched to a winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and then they had 120 people. And it was one of those things where if it could go wrong, it did.

It turned out to be a lovely wedding. They just had their 10-year anniversary.

How do you share a couple’s love story within a ceremony?

I meet with just about every couple and we’ll talk for an hour or more. I send them a wedding questionnaire first to ask questions, just to start the process. How did you meet? How was your first date experience? I’m always fascinated when I sit down with a couple and they remember totally different things.

What was your own wedding like?

I don’t remember. I always counsel couples to live in the moment and not stress out about everything that’s going to take place. I do not remember a thing about my ceremony, and it was because I was thinking too far ahead about the reception. Maybe it was the planner inside of me that I didn’t know was there.

Another thing I tell people is to hire professionals. We had my brother-in-law be the videographer, and he did that thing when he had the camera up here it was off, and when he put the camera down, it was on – there’s no record of it.

Where is your favorite wedding spot in Monterey County?

There are lots of outdoor locations along the Big Sur coastline that are really pretty. I like something that’s really different. I’ve done a lot of beach weddings. I think I’ve done 140 different locations in the county – beaches, parks, private residences. But I really like going down to Big Sur, because it’s so peaceful.

For more wedding intel, see the Weekly’s BEST OF MONTEREY BAY® WEDDING GUIDE magazine insert