BreakingOpen LLC

I am a Seattle-based wedding planner who recently worked with C.B., who supported a Jewish ceremony at a destination wedding on Whidbey Island. My couple was so enthusiastic to find them and I came to share that enthusiasm very quickly. C.B. is a great communicator who brings the right amount of openness and direction to the ceremony creation process. They were receptive to the role religion and culture played in my couple's life and created a ceremony that was inclusive, accessible, and sentimental to all in attendance. In the weeks leading up to the celebration, they connected with my couple 1:1 for a grounding consultation to walk through the mechanics of the ceremony and ensure it felt like the perfect fit. On the day of the event, C.B. took their time to explain, modernize, and personalize ancient religious and cultural traditions. The ceremony was beautiful and imbued with meaning--it could not have gone more perfectly. Not to mention, C.B. was a delight to spend time with! I look forward to heartily recommending C.B. to future couples and can't wait to work with them again.

Rabbi Souther was a great officiant, from start to finish. They took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple through several meetings, which directly informed both the ceremony and their remarks. They made us feel at ease as an interfaith couple wanting a Jewish wedding (on a Saturday, no less!), and walked us and our guests through the ceremony by explaining each aspect in an accessible way. Everything day-of went smoothly, and many of our guests went out of their way to compliment Rabbi Souther. We would recommend them to any couple!

Working with Rabbi Souther was, hands down, one of the best decisions we made while preparing for our wedding celebration. In the weeks and months leading up to our wedding, pre-marital counseling sessions with Rabbi Souther offered invaluable opportunities to pause, reflect, and feel grounded in our partnership despite the flurry of wedding planning details and decisions. When we needed support in personalizing the rituals we brought into our ceremony, Rabbi Souther brainstormed with us about different options and then shared online resources we could consider as we finalized our decisions. When discussing our “day of” logistics, Rabbi Souther encouraged us to carve out time for just the two of us to be together at various points throughout the day – these little windows of one-on-one time ended up being some of our favorite memories from the celebration as a whole. When Rabbi Souther spoke at our wedding, they drew on our conversations from throughout the planning process to create a beautifully personalized ceremony. Rabbi Souther’s calming nature allowed us to actually feel present in the moment during and after our ceremony. They truly exceeded our every hope, making us and our loved ones feel comfortable, inspired, and grounded throughout the wedding rituals. Since we had an interfaith wedding, it was important to us that everyone understand what we were doing and why throughout the ceremony, and Rabbi Souther did a truly artful job of providing that context. As a professional, Rabbi Souther was extremely communicative, while also being flexible and adaptable when we needed to reschedule a meeting. As a rabbi, they provided the deeply nuanced understanding of Jewish history and traditions that helped us to make meaningful decisions about how best to incorporate Jewish ritual into our celebration. As a person, Rabbi Souther brought warmth, laughter, and openness to every interaction we had with them, and friends and family were coming up to us all day to say how much they enjoyed and appreciated the way Rabbi Souther led our ceremony. We could not recommend Rabbi Souther highly enough. We are so grateful to have worked with Rabbi Souther as we prepared for our wedding, and we look forward to continuing to stay in touch!

Working with CB was our absolute favorite aspects in all of our wedding planning. I could write novels on all of reasons why this was the case, but I'll attempt to keep it brief. CB provided such grounding in the process of marriage between my partner and I. They took the time to know us, understand us, and embrace all of that knowledge both before and during the ceremony. Our meetings with CB provided a jumping off point for deeper and more meaningful conversation between my partner and I. Together, we crafted a ceremony full of ritual, personal touches, and so much love. Every single person I talked to after our ceremony noted how touching and personal our ceremony was, and how uniquely "us" it was. Well, it would not have been "us" without CB. We often said that if nothing else would have gone right on our wedding day, that it wouldn't have mattered because we were so confident in CB and their ability to curate our ceremony.