A little bit about me…
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Preparing for your wedding and your marriage is such an exciting time in your lives. I thoroughly enjoy helping couples create their personal wedding ceremony and tell their love story. I would be absolutely honoured to celebrate with you on your Special Day, so thank you for considering me to be your wedding officiant.
My Background:
I was born in Powell River, BC, but I grew up in northern and southern Ontario. I completed an Honours BA at Carleton University in Political Science and English Literature. I played varsity hockey during my time at Carleton, where I became involved in Athletes in Action, a Christian sports organization committed to helping people maximize their potential. After graduating from Carleton, I joined the staff of Athletes in Action, working with university and professional athletes in Canada and abroad. During this time, I completed my Master’s Degree in Faith and Culture, at Wheaton College in Chicago. In 2008 my wife and I entered pastoral ministry at Sequoia Community Church in Ottawa, where I currently serve as Lead Pastor.
My Family:
I am married to my best friend Vanessa, and I have two amazing adult children
My life Experiences:
I am passionate about helping people maximize their potential so that they can live a vibrant, fulfilling life and leave a legacy that makes a positive impact on our world.
My Interests and Passions:
Top of the list is time with my family and friends.
I enjoy an expresso, a good book, and a warm fireplace.
I enjoy running, hiking and Spartan Racing and have had the privilege of qualifying for several World Championships. I find obstacle course racing a great metaphor for life.
I also have various creative projects going on around the house, and I even finish most of them!
CHECK OUT RYAN IN ACTION
Why Choose Enduring Promises?
What couples are saying
We were so thankful to have had Ryan as our officiant for our wedding. He gave us a beautiful ceremony that was meaningful to us as a couple, lovely for our guests to enjoy and ultimately a service that was honouring to those we love. We wholeheartedly recommend Ryan for his kind heart, his listening spirit and his beautiful gift to speak words of life and love.
Sarah & Matt
Thank you so much for all you did to make our wedding ceremony so special. We appreciate you and it is so good to know a warm and considerate person like you.
Kerry & Reno
My husband and I had the pleasure of meeting with and selecting Ryan Dawson as our officiant for our wedding.
Ryan was amazing and made the whole experience thoroughly enjoyable. From our first meeting with Ryan, we felt he was the perfect fit for the style of ceremony we were looking for. Ryan has an easygoing personality and made us feel comfortable from the beginning. Ryan was very attentive to how we wanted our ceremony to be and we never felt as though he tried to alter that vision.
The whole process when creating our ceremony was stress free and enjoyable. Ryan was committed to helping us make the ceremony everything we wanted it to be and also attended our rehearsal which made our ceremony flow perfectly on our wedding day. The online console was easy to use and offered many fantastic suggestions which we chose from when creating our ceremony. We liked that there were both religious and contemporary components to pick and choose from and the pure variety made the ceremony original and different from other weddings I have attended.
Overall, Enduring Promises was completely reliable and they were on top of everything throughout the whole process. I never had any anxiety about this portion of our day and was confident that our ceremony would be one that went smoothly and started off our marriage with the feeling we wanted. I would recommend Enduring Promises (and especially Ryan) to anyone who is looking to create a ceremony that is unique and tailored to each couple. My husband and I couldn't be happier and don't have a single complaint or suggestion as to how we could have made our ceremony any better then it was. :) A huge thank you to Ryan and Enduring Promises! What a fantastic concept and we are thrilled we went with you!
Cheryl and Marc
We want to let you know how deeply thankful we are for everything you have done for us leading up to our magical day. Ryan you are a lovely man and we feel so blessed to have had you there with us. It was so much more than what we could have ever imagined, we felt like you were part of our family and you have the kindest, most sincere eyes. I truly felt like you were a part of my family. Watching you speak with my family while we were taking photos and how gentle a feeling you brought to our day was something I will never forget and cherish endlessly. We will honour our vows to one another & work through our challenges together lovingly throughout our years, always remembering that our bond of friendship is the most important. You taught us this Ryan even in the short period of time we've spent together. Thank you for being so much more than just an officiant ....with much love and appreciation,
Hannah and Francois, and our children, Isaac, Willow and Jakey
Ryan, thank you so much for helping make our dream wedding happen. Your flexibility and advice made pulling off this surprise seamless and stress-free. We appreciate it!
Stephanie and Jeff
We had the best experience with our officiant Ryan from Enduring Promises! He was so calm, collected and kind. Ryan took all of the stress of the ceremony right out of our hands! When we had to last minute postpone our wedding, Ryan was so generous and understanding, as well as accommodating. We would 1000% highly recommend Ryan Dawson, and Enduring Promises
Kylie & Mark
Ryan, thank you so much for everything you did in the leading up to our wedding and for making our wedding day absolutely perfect! As captured in the image attached, you made me laugh and relax just a bit despite my nerves. You are amazing at what you do and we couldn't have found a better officiant! I can't tell you how many people came up to us and complimented the job you did and your mannerisms. Also, thank you for sending me that photo you took. It was the first one we got and it was perfect! Thank you again!"
Krista & Andrew
Ryan Dawson at Enduring Promises officiated our wedding in April of this year and we cannot say enough good things about him. Not to mention the online ceremony building tool that Enduring Promises offers is so easy to use; putting together our ceremony exactly how we wanted it was a breeze. Ryan was so patient with us and kind to us while we navigated the planning process, he listened to all our questions/concerned and gave his honest opinions on how we could have the best ceremony possible within our vision. Ryan is so personable and warm, and we loved our ceremony. We had so many compliments from our family members and guests on the wonderful job he did, we can't thank him enough!!! If we could give more than 5 stars, we would. Thank you Ryan! <3
Mindy & Jesse
Ryan was an amazing officiant! He met with us ahead of time and answered all of our questions! He has a very calm, and kind demeanor and is very detail oriented. It rained on our wedding day and he was able to pivot to make the ceremony seamless and our vows dry! Thank you so much, Ryan! I would highly recommend him for your big day!
Sarah & Cody