Cantor Erik Contzius

se couples navigate the joy and stress that comes along with an upcoming wedding. On our wedding day, we had the most beautiful and perfectly "us" ceremony all because of Cantor Erik. Our wedding guests could not stop raving about what an incredible job he did. He is personable, kind, and guaranteed to set the perfect tone to your wedding.

we provided Erik, he told charming, witty and funny stories about our relationship which our friends and family absolutely loved. In addition to Cantor Erik doing a wonderful job the day of the wedding, he also spent countless hours speaking with us in the months leading up to the wedding to make sure we were prepared. We look forward to keeping in touch with him as he is a wonderful person to speak with and be around. We highly recommend his services!

o work with any couple however they may need to make your wedding, your own day, not somebody else's. Any couple would be extremely lucky to have him as their Cantor at their wedding.

ding. Our Jewish and Catholic relatives both said it was the most meaningful ceremony they’ve ever witnessed. Can’t recommend enough!!

erent faiths, and Cantor Contzius was graciously accepting, inclusive, and dedicated to honoring both of our traditions. Even though he hadn’t known my husband until we started wedding planning, Cantor Contzius took his time getting to know him during our planning and pre-marital counseling meetings so that we both felt comfortable, and the ceremony beautifully reflected both of our personalities and values to a T. We had many guests comment on how wonderful he was! He always knows how to blend humor with sentiment, and really helped to make our wedding day special.

ooking for someone to perform an interfaith ceremony (I'm Jewish, my husband is not), while including some Jewish traditions throughout and he delivered!!! It was the perfect balance. He also really engaged the guests and incorporated them into the ceremony itself. We had met with him a few times leading up to the wedding for some premarital counseling to best understand each other, communication and things we can do/continue to do to ensure a long happy life together. These meetings were so insightful and helpful for both my husband and I. By meeting with Cantor C, he got to know us better to make the ceremony even more personal. Everyone thought we had known him for years!! We also had a beautiful Ketubah signing prior to the public ceremony, which was such a special service. We had both of our parents and witnesses with us for an intimate signing and meaningful moments. We cannot say enough about how great Cantor Contzius is. We are so grateful to have had him for our wedding day and would do it all over again if we could!

He taught us about all the traditions and was completely open minded to what we wanted. He was always there to answer our questions and actually married us twice, due to covid. He had great recommendations for our Ketubah and I was so pleased with how it came out. Erik really did a great job sharing our love story during the ceremony. People told us that they felt included and people said it was the best wedding ceremony they attended. Erik had the perfect balance of tradition, humor and love. I look forward to continuing our relationship with Cantor Erik as we’ve gotten to know each other well through the past couple years. I highly recommend Erik!

gs were personal, and genuinely helped us grow as a couple. We (finally!!) had our wedding on 7/31/21 and we have heard nothing but rave reviews from our guests about the ceremony - it was funny, touching, personal, the right amount of 'religious' that we were both happy with - an energy and love in the air that Cantor Erik helped bring to life.

iated a small legal ceremony for us in August 2020 since our big wedding had to be delayed (COVID), and did not charge us anything extra for this! He also officiated our larger wedding ceremony in June 2021, and both ceremonies were incredible. Cantor Contzius created 2 ceremonies that felt authentic to who my husband and I are as a couple (not cookie cutter!). His guidance through the whole process was invaluable. We enjoyed our pre-martial counseling and found it to be very helpful. All of our guests raved about how enjoyable the ceremonies were. He was extremely organized and stuck to the time limit, but managed to include so many wonderful quotes, stories, prayers, etc. within a 30 minute timeframe. Cantor Contzius is the best, and we really think of him as our friend after going through this process together. I would recommend his services 1,000%+++!! I almost wish we could have a third ceremony so that we would have an excuse to keep meeting with him!

nths leading up to our big day, which allowed us to really get to know one another. He helped us pick out a ketubah and ensured the Hebrew translation was consistent with the English lettering. Cantor C conducted a beautiful ceremony for us with great care, humor and wit. He incorporated both Jewish and non-Jewish traditions during the ceremony, and keeps a very open mind to different beliefs. We highly recommend Cantor C!

how to go about incorporating these elements into the ceremony in a balanced thoughtful way. Cantor Erik was the answer! From the beginning it was clear he really wanted to get to know US. Which was so special and important! I've been to other ceremonies where the officiant barely knows the couple and while still beautiful, something to me, always comes off as impersonal. You will NOT get this with Cantor Erik. We had several sessions with him leading up to our wedding. He got to know us as individuals and as a couple. He answered any and all questions and always made my husband and I feel like we were in compassionate capable hands. While my husband is not Jewish he never felt isolated. And while all the traditions are very much respected by Cantor Erik we never felt locked into anything, he was extremely flexible and brought the perfect balance of traditions and secularism to the ceremony that we wanted. Cantor Erik helped us with our Ketubah and wrote a beautiful address during our ceremony that neither my husband nor I had heard before that day and it moved us both to tears. He explained everything to our guests during the ceremony so everyone knew what was going on whether they were familiar with Jewish customs or not. He even made it possible to incorporate my sister-in-law who is a opera singer into the ceremony. They sang together beautifully! We couldn't be happier with our decision! Thank you Cantor Erik!

what was the hottest day of the year and an outdoor ceremony, Cantor Erik blew everyone away. He held one of the best wedding ceremonies that we have ever heard. We had several guests compliment us on Erik and tell us that he did an amazing job. Erik listened to everything we said and kept the ceremony under 25 minutes, wrote an amazing speech that touched on everything we could have wanted and most importantly, made 200 guest laugh and smile. We couldn't have been happier with our choice and would highly recommend Erik to anyone.

ul, loving, and professional all at once, and we couldn't have imagined it going any better. He went above and beyond, reaching out to someone we had mentioned in one of our pre-wedding phone calls, in order to get a deeper understanding of my and my wife's relationship. The ceremony is something my wife and I will never forget and cherish forever... and Cantor Erik played a major role in that. It was an absolute pleasure working with him.

ynamic, rather than just his officiating duties. We were incredibly pleased with Erik and highly recommend him for future couples looking for someone who cares deeply about making your wedding ceremony special

e nervous about hiring an officiant. I was raised in a Reform Jewish home and am still very connected to my Jewish culture and heritage. My boyfriend/now husband was raised Unitarian and is now non-practicing. We both wanted a traditionally Jewish ceremony, as that was very important to me (prayers, glass breaking, Ketubah) but also wanted it to be very much us (not mentioning God, adding elements of my husbands Irish roots). To us the ceremony was really important and we wanted someone who could reflect a sweet, traditional ceremony while also making it feel like us. And boy did he deliver. We found him through the interfaith website and as soon as we Skyped with him, we knew he was for us. He was casual and funny, but when it came to the ceremonial traditions, you could tell he really valued what he does, taking it very seriously to make sure you knew why a tradition was there, and if it was something you wanted. We also loved that he wouldn’t work with a couple without getting to know them. We met multiple times before the wedding where it didn’t feel like a business deal, but like we were making a real friend. He is super duper quick with responses and helped via email making sure the spelling on our Ketubah and program descriptions were correct. The day of, he arrived early and held a beautiful Ketubah ceremony-surrounded by just family and close friends, it was an intimate, a meaningful part of the day. Then the ceremony. We were nervous - we loved Erik but we met him on the internet, what if he didn’t live up to all the reviews? Believe us, he exceeded every expectation we had! He customized the whole program for us using elements from the love letters he had asked us to write each other. The ceremony was filled with love, humor, and culture. He sang prayers in Hebrew, he explained every tradition that we were doing so everyone-jewish and non-jewish-would understand and feel a part of it. We drank one glass of wine from my grandfathers kiddish cup, and another from a glass from my husbands grandmother from Ireland; at the end of the ceremony he even added in an Irish prayer which really resonated with those on my husbands side. Everyone felt included, everyone felt welcomed. And most of all, the ceremony didn’t feel like just another ceremony - it felt 100% us which is more than we could have ever asked for (we asked if we could read a poem to one another, and he was all on board!). I cannot think of one guest who hasn’t told us how much they loved our Cantor and the whole ceremony - “He was amazing, where did you find him?” “I want to recommend him for my daughter/son/sister/brothers wedding” “That was one of the best ceremonies - he was fantastic! And it felt just like you two.” My more religious parents who were cautious of who was officiating absolutely loved him and haven’t stopped raving. My grandfather said he absolutely loved taking to the Cantor, thought he was excellent. My husbands non-Jewish family absolutely loved him as well. The compliments can go on and on. But most importantly we 110% loved Cantor Erik. He made our wedding ceremony perfect. We hope to keep in touch with him throughout the years. He made everyone feel like one big family that day - and isn’t that what you want at a wedding? Look no further, hire Erik.

sure. He is very knowledgeable about Jewish law and custom and is an excellent teacher. He prepared my 3 children for Bar and Bat Mitzvah when he was our synagogue's Cantor and the services were beautiful and meaningful.

ul and welcome. We was professional, communicative and had a nice defined process so we knew what to do every step of the way. He worked with us to create the ceremony we wanted and felt comfortable with, even as an inter-faith couple. Day-of he was helpful, resourceful and great at lightening the mood. He delivered a ceremony that was heartful and personal. Everyone was commenting to us afterwards on how great it was. I could not recommend him enough.

day of our wedding. Our ceremony was truly perfect for us, and so many of our guests told us how much they loved it -- thoughtful, personal, and really reflective of us as people. We also did a ketubah signing, which was incredible and a memory of our wedding that I will never forget. Thank you for an amazing experience leading up to and on the day of our wedding!!

d by all our guest. It was a surprise wedding! Our guests were invited to our yearly 4th of July party and this year it had a twist. Bruce proposed, I said yes and then within the hour Erik changed into his robe, my florist Rubrums went back to the shop for the bouquets of flowers and Bruce and I changed to formal wear. Through the rain, thunder and lighting (I wouldn’t have expected anything less than dramatic) Cantor Erik kept the crowd under control and focused through the ceremony. He didn’t miss a beat. We loved it and him! We definitely recommend him! He is the best! Maria & Bruce

ter was a diligent Hebrew school student with a beautiful voice. My son, due to a language-based learning disability, did not attend Hebrew school. Cantor Contzius promised he would make it work and he certainly did. My daughter chanted in Hebrew, my son chanted in English and the service was truly magical -- not a dry eye in the house. What I love about Cantor Contzius as a professional and a person is that he takes a genuine, personal interest in everything he does. He makes you and your family feel special. He pushes to make what ever he is doing, the best it can be. He listens, he counsels, he cares. And of course, he has a voice that just cannot be matched. My family and I feel fortunate that we have Cantor Contzius in our lives and that he was there for our most important lifecycle event.

zens of guests complement me afterwards about our officiant - Jews and non-Jews, young and old, EVERYONE seemed to love him, everyone felt included and touched by our ceremony. And most of all, my husband and I couldn't have asked for a better person to usher us into our marriage. From our very first meeting with him, Cantor Erik put us at ease and helped us think about how to build the foundation for a healthy marriage. He had such a great balance of humor and seriousness, helping us recognize the gravity of the wedding but also putting us at ease and helping us keep perspective amidst all the craziness of wedding planning. He worked with us to craft the ceremony that would be most meaningful for us, explaining the history behind various traditions and rituals and helping us determine what we did and didn't want to include. He was always responsive throughout the months leading up to the wedding when we had questions about our ketubah, program, etc. We looked forward to all our pre-wedding meetings with him, and grew as a couple in the process. The wedding day itself - WOW. We laughed. We cried. We couldn't have been happier. Cantor Erik created a very special atmosphere for the ketubah signing, which created such a happy and peaceful tone for the whole wedding. For the ceremony, he started off with a very personalized message about our relationship - he got to the heart of who we were and why we worked so well together. He explained each of the traditions as he did them in a way that made everyone feel included. It was a truly special, uplifting, and unique ceremony. All in all, we couldn't recommend Cantor Erik more highly!

our Rabbi, booked a year in advance, had double booked us, and we needed someone else to perform our wedding ceremony. Cantor Contzious had met us under the most stressful of circumstances as well, after returning from the hospital from a medical injury at 11 PM. Despite the circumstances he agreed to officiate our wedding, with only 9 working fingers. The next morning it was time to work. He expedited his usual a years worth of getting to know the bride and groom in to two hours as we prepared for our rehearsal dinner. The Cantor explained his ceremony, and then spoke to both my husband and I for some time on the phone asking pointed and directed questions to get to know us and to make our wedding ceremony as personalized as he could. He even offered to write our vows for us after I told him we had planned on doing them ourselves but after so many unexpected bumps in our plans, neither of us had been able to finish! Now what you all want to know: the ceremony. Cantor Contzius did an amazing job making the ceremony meaningful, personalized, and perfectly timed. The crowd was laughing, crying, clapping and smiling the whole time. Everyone thought we had known each other for years. The vows he had written for us had perfectly fit us and put in to words exactly how we felt and what we wanted to say. He told stories of our lives and our love as if he had been with us through it all. He made the Jewish traditions, the emotions of marriage and the love between my husband and I transcend the crowd. It was a beautiful ceremony, all thanks to Cantor Contzious. What an amazing job. Thank you thank you thank you.

gin when it came to finding a cantor and found him here on the Knot and so glad that we did!

riage (beyond just the wedding day) and invests time, care and great thoughtfulness. We completed the Prepare/Enrich "test" before even starting to talk about our ceremony and this proved to be a meaningful and impactful experience for my now husband and me. Erik helped open up important- and difficult- conversations. On our wedding day, he prepared a very wonderful speech which he delivered with warmth and enthusiasm. He showed how he really did know us as individuals and as a couple and that really meant a lot. I would recommend him to any couple looking for someone who goes beyond just officiating your wedding, for the couple who is looking for someone who cares and who really shows it.

jumped in and worked with the pastor right away. On the wedding day, the pastor got sick, but Erik came through on his own, and officiated a personal, and emotional ceremony that connected with everyone there. He did a fantastic job, and came through when we needed him most. He is highly recommended.

nable kind man! The best part about him is he’s just as much a pop culture nerd as me and my husband that’s what really made the decision to have him as our Cantor. We had an absolutely amazing ceremony! If you are still in search of an officiant I suggest you stop and choose Erik cause he is terrific!!

ter in the year, we chose to get married sooner than our selected date, but we did not want to do a generic "court-house" marriage, so we found Erik online and we could not have been happier with our experience. Erik has such an easy-going and charismatic personality and made our intimate marriage as special as possible. He met with us and walked through all of the details with us. We obtained a marriage certificate on Friday morning and he married us the next afternoon, on a Saturday, in a beautiful lounge area in his lovely home, with our 2 witnesses. Although we dressed casual, he was fully robed and prepared a full ceremony speech, a prayer, and gave us the opportunity to exchange vows. Afterwards, we celebrated in his lounge, with his awesome wife, and they offered us some champagne and good laughs! He was extremely professional, even with us being a casual marriage, so I can only imagine how great he is in a full-blown Wedding ceremony with hundreds of guests! He was even kind enough to meet me at the Court House the following Monday to turn our Marriage documents in, just to make sure everything was in order. I would recommend him 100%.

a generic fill-in-the-names ceremony. To complicate things further we’re an interfaith couple but both have a strong interest and respect for Jewish traditions. Our dreams came true when we found Cantor Erik. He went above and beyond in every way. Before the wedding he helped proof our self-written Ketubah. He helped proof our program (which included explanations of the various Jewish traditions included in the ceremony). He also met with us twice to get to know us as actual people (and not just “clients”) and provided some very genuinely useful pre-wedding advice. The day of our wedding he oversaw our civil signing as well as our Ketubah signing, providing our close family and friends thoughtful context of those proceedings. He arrived well before he needed to, which was so reassuring (looking around and seeing all your vendors arrive early lowers the blood pressure!). Then, most importantly, the ceremony: the ceremony was absolutely beautiful. My husband is a wedding photographer (doug-peterson.com) and he has seen hundreds of ceremonies, and the thing he kept saying afterward was just how *genuine* Cantor Erik’s comments and joy were, and I agree! It was neither rushed nor drawn out. It was beautiful, eloquent, and very, very personal. The time he invested to get to know us really showed, and there were few dry eyes in the audience. We will forever be grateful to Cantor Erik and simply cannot recommend him highly enough!