Ceremonies of the Heart - Rev. Deb Viola

Rabbi Sara and Rev. Deb officiated our wedding 1/27/24. I am Jewish and my husband is Christian and Without a doubt the best part of our wedding was our interfaith Ceremony! They truly made it so special and everyone was talking about how incredible the ceremony was and that they’ve never seen anything so personal and beautiful. There was no dry eye in the house! They were both extremely communicative and made our day so special and perfect. Highly recommend using both Rabbi Sara and Rev. Deb!

Rev Deb and Rabbi Sara, I am the mother of the groom and I wanted to share how beautiful the ceremony that you both officiated was for Pauline and Justin. My husband and I are an interfaith couple as well and we have never attended such an incredibly personalized, equitably intertwined fun, memorable and touching ceremony as the one you both conducted. Every person who spoke with us after the ceremony commented how melodically and seamlessly the ceremony flowed. We loved your levity, the significance of what you shared and how you made their story shine through for all who attended. Our deepest appreciation for making the ceremony so special and their wedding day so wondrous.

We worked with Rev. Deb and Rabbi Sara for our interdenominational wedding in September 2023 and I genuinely cannot recommend them more. Every single guest has told us it was the best ceremony they have ever been to. From our very first meeting they were warm, comforting, kind, and put us at such ease. They were extremely responsive and worked with us to tailor a ceremony that was absolutely perfect for us. Every guest felt included and honored. It truly was so beautiful. They also made the marriage license process absolutely seamless. Overall, our expectations were far surpassed and we could not be more grateful!

We cannot say enough about how happy we are with how our Wedding Ceremony turned out! We had originally planned to have someone we personally know officiate the wedding, and Rev. Deb was going to come separately to hold a small, private ceremony to legally marry us. Our original officiant got sick about three days before the wedding and had to back out. We called Rev. Deb to see if she was available to step in for the ceremony itself. Not only was she available and happy to step in, but she quickly put together a gorgeous speech which she reviewed with us AND incorporated some of our original officiant's messages so it still felt as personal as it was going to. Rev. Deb made us feel very comfortable on the day of our Wedding as well. She is so sweet and speaks from the heart! As a gay couple, we were also beyond thrilled to find an officiant that is so inclusive and who embraced our marriage. You will not be disappointed with Rev. Deb/Ceremonies of the Heart!!

I found Deb here on The Knot. After our first conversation I knew that she was a perfect fit for our ceremony. Deb was always available via email, and completely guided us on getting our license, etc. She made a process that we knew nothing about seamless and stress-free for us. Besides that, her talent and professionalism is immeasurable - we received compliments all night and following our wedding day about how beautiful our ceremony was. Deb worked closely with us to make sure the ceremony felt completely authentically "us", and it was clear that whatever direction we wanted to take the ceremony in she would have made it happen. Our ceremony could not have been more beautiful. Hopefully I will never be getting married again (lol), but if I did, I would call Deb!

Rev Deb made our day flawless. She met via zoom twice . Once to get to know us. She listed to our story how we met and had suggestions for our ceremony which was on the beach. The second time was after she sent us the entire ceremony for us to look over and make any changes She was amazing. Hope she will still be available to do our renewal vows

We had the most beautiful ceremony at sunset harbour!! We are so happy with how special it was. We got tons of compliments about how beautiful and personal our ceremony was which was exactly how we envisioned it!!! Highly recommend:)

Rev. Deb was fantastic and made our wedding ceremony even better than we could have imagined. She was thoughtful and thorough with drafting up the ceremony and delivered the readings perfectly. We would definitely recommend to anyone looking to create a heartfelt and special ceremony.

Would highly recommend to anyone! We wanted a non-religious ceremony that felt very personal and unique to us, and Deb really went above and beyond to help us create this, she was a pleasure to work with. The ceremony was perfect and we were so happy with the whole experience.

If you want everyone to be talking about how beautiful and amazing your ceremony was for years after… then book Rev Deb asap! Easily the best vendor we had at the wedding. You would think she knew us for decades by how personalized the ceremony was. She also added little details that nobody had ever seen before and guaranteed to either put the crowd in tears or sheer laughter. Thanks again Rev Deb! You set the tone for what was the best night of our lives!!

All I can say is… Wow! Look no further. From the moment we reached out to Deb her communication was so efficient. She always answered us back right away and was a pleasure communicating with. We originally met on zoom and she took the time to talk with us and get to know us. You can tell she really loves what she does. The ceremony that she delivered was everything I dreamed of. Deb did the perfect job at telling our love story. I had so many guests coming up to me saying it was the best ceremony they ever been to.

Highly professional, easy to work with and great speaker!

Deb was great everything was customizable and what we wanted. We had our mothers come up with us and bless the rings. Everyone loved it and our moms loved being included. We highly recommend using Deb! Thank you for making our day so special.

Reverend Deb is the best. She officiated our wedding in October and we couldn't have been happier with how the ceremony went. She worked with us in advance and tailored the ceremony to exactly what we were looking for. Rev Deb was so kind and easy to work with. I would recommend her to anyone.

Rev. Deb is so sweet and professional! We had gotten married in the church on our original wedding day with only 50 people and for our 1 year anniversary (postponed reception) we wanted to renew our vows so all our guests could have the chance to see a ceremony. It turned out perfect! The process was easy and the script was thoughtful and tailored to our needs. You will be in great hands with Deb!

Rev Deb was wonderful to work with! She is so warm and welcoming. She wrote a wonderful ceremony for our wedding that was so personal to us. We received many compliments from our guests! She stuck with us through our two wedding postponements without issue and we were so grateful to have her! We highly recommend this kind, flexible, and professional officiant.

Rev. Deb Viola is a great communicator. She personalized our ceremony to ensure that our special moments were shared with our guest. I would highly recommend Rev. Deb Viola to officiate your wedding ceremony.

I found Rev Deb through April Gismondi and she is an absolute gem. Deb has amazing pre-written ceremonies that are absolutely beautiful, we chose one and our family felt like it was written just for us! We also chose 2 readings from her website, which has a lot of great choices. We were getting so many compliments throughout the day on how great our officiant was, considering we had never met her in person before...COVID times.... She maintained safe COVID protocol which is a huge plus! Deb also gave us a binder with a copy of our ceremony in it as a keepsake, which is super sweet. I would recommend her completely!!! Made our day amazing!!

My wife and I were actually referred to Rev Deb by another officiant who felt she would be the perfect fit for us. We are so grateful. Rev Deb is responsive, professional, and knowledgeable. She interwove aspects of both of our faiths to create a beautiful, unique, and meaningful experience. Our guests have passed along many compliments on the ceremony. Booking Rev Deb was an easy decision for us. We couldn't recommend her enough!

Deb Viola was wonderful!! She made scheduling our ceremony a breeze and stress free. Deb also took the time to make sure that everything was the way that we wanted it for our special day.

Rev. Deb was wonderful to work with. She interviewed us to get our story and an idea of what we were looking for in our ceremony. A few months before the wedding, she sent us a rough draft of our ceremony in which we were able to review and make changes if we wanted. Her ceremony was beautiful, with touches of humor and sentiments and she listened to what we wanted and did not want included. She was on time, professional, and took care of everything promptly. Since we did a first look, we were able to sign our marriage license before the ceremony. She sent everything in for us and we received our marriage certificate a few weeks later.

Rev Deb was recommended by Officiant April Gismondi. We had our first meeting with Deb at her office & I instantly felt a connection with her! She did an amazing job capturing our story during the ceremony. I’ve heard so many compliments from guests on how well she did. Would definitely recommend her!

Reverend Deb and Ceremonies of the Heart were a key partner in our wedding in November 2019. Our ceremony was very important to us. Some of our family members wished that we had our ceremony in a Catholic church and for various reasons, my husband and I decided it against it. But, we did want to preserve some religious elements into our ceremony along with elements that were “us” – funny, poignant and sentimental. Reverend Deb met with us prior to the wedding to get to know us and our story and created a beautiful ceremony that struck a balance for everything we were trying to achieve. We’ve received a lot of responses from our family and our guests that the ceremony was so beautiful, personal and unique. We could not be happier. I would highly recommend working with Reverend Deb and Ceremonies of the Heart for any couple looking for an officiant for their upcoming nuptials.

When it came time to looking for officiants for our wedding, which was October 5th 2019, my husband and I said that this was the most important part of wedding planning for us. I am Jewish and my husband is Lutheran. We wanted to involve both religions and also included Rabbi Sara (please see her page for review, she was also spectacular). Rev Deb was beyond personable, warm, friendly, professional, I could go on! Every single person at our wedding came up to us after to tell us that it was the most funny, warm-hearted, meaningful ceremony they had ever been to! Rabbi Sara and Rev Deb wrote the most beautiful ceremony that truly reflected the love that we share for each other and for our families and friends. It was also important for us to almost educate our guests as some were not Jewish and some were not Christian, so we were able to make everyone feel welcomed and comfortable. Rabbi Sara and Rev Deb involved traditions from both religions so seamlessly. I would recommend them to anyone!! The whole planning process with Rev Deb was easy and, again, she was so professional and organized. Would recommend her to anyone who wants a perfect ceremony, because we will cherish ours for the rest of our lives!!

Rev. Deb was absolutely amazing! From the moment we met with Rev Deb, she was kind and warm- walking us through our entire ceremony. She made sure we it was centered around us and exactly what we wanted! Immediately following our ceremony the compliments started rolling in, everyone was raving about how personalized and fun the ceremony was. My Uncle said it felt as if he went on the journey of our relationship during the ceremony. My father in law, who really wanted a religious wedding..was in tears! Choosing Rev Deb was the easiest decision of our entire wedding!

Rev Debra Viola was amazing! From our first e-mail encounters to our big day all experiences with Rev Debra Viola were seamless! She is professional, knowledgeable, and makes the ceremony process very easy. She had so many ideas we have never seen or heard about at weddings and trust me we have been to a lot of weddings! Our guests were blown away by the ceremony and many of them said it was the best wedding ceremony they have ever experienced. My husband and I highly recommend Rev Debra for all types of wedding ceremonies!

When me and my fiancé met with rev Deb we booked her on the spot because of how fast we connected with her .. she was so easy to talk to and super Sweet! We just had our wedding this past weekend and it Was Amazing... everyone raved about the ceremony and how beautiful everything was especially her speech & readings. Book rev Deb now !!!

My husband and I couldn’t be happier with our decision to hire Rev. Deb to officiate our wedding. Our ceremony was perfect!! Rev. Deb was so down to earth and understanding with the type of ceremony we had. She made us feel at ease as well as our families. She is extremely knowledgeable and was able to answer any questions we had before our wedding. Rev. Deb always made herself available to any questions and concerns that we had. Hands down…. we would recommend her a million times over!!! REV. DEB IS THE BEST 😊

She did an amazing job. We wanted a quick ceremony and she was able to give us that. She made the ceremony entertaining. She was very easy to communicate with, too. I am so glad I used her!

Reverend Deb was amazing, thoughtful and made our ceremony special! I would recommend her to anyone!

If you are looking for someone to perform your wedding Rev Deb is it!! She made everything so simple and easy. People at my wedding keep telling me that they were shocked we didn’t know each other prior to the wedding because of how personable she made it. It also made my grandmother very happy to have that Catholic flair which is exactly what I was hoping for!! So once again thank you so much Rev Deb, we really appreciated it and thought everything turned out great!!

Rabbi Sara & Rev Deb were wonderful and made it possible for Adam and I to have an amazing and unforgettable wedding. Everything was beautiful, the guests were happy and we were beyond pleased. Also, I wanted to say a personal thank you for the unexpected pieces, and making my Dad's memorial so lovely and appropriate. We appreciate your patience and understanding. We feel so fortunate to have been able to celebrate our day in such a beautiful space, we had perfect weather, and so many of our friends and family members commented on what a beautiful and personal ceremony you both provided. Everything was so wonderful, and we couldn’t ask for more ❤️ Nicki & Adam

Reverend Deb is a phenomenal Officiant. Even when we first met her, she made us feel at home. It was easy to talk to her and tell her about ourselves. She also answered our questions and emailed back very quickly. The day of, she went over the details and made us feel stress-free. The ceremony was beautiful and she has a way for words that you just have to hear for yourself. Also she printed out the whole ceremony and put it in a binder for us as a keepsake. I highly recommend Reverend Deb.

Rev. Deb made the most important part of the wedding absolutely perfect. Our ceremony was absolutely beautiful and just what we wanted. She let us have complete say in how we wanted it to go, but gave us enough guidance so that we weren't overwhelmed by it all. She was quick to answer me anytime I had a question and made this process totally stress free. I am still getting compliments on how nice our ceremony was. Thank you so much for a perfect wedding!

We loved Rev Deb! We wanted a short and sweet ceremony and she made sure to give that. Thank you Rev Deb!

Rev. Deb was amazing. She made our ceremony just how we wanted it and I couldn't have asked for anything else. She was so nice and easy to work with. I highly recommend using her for your ceremony!

Rev deb was absolutely amazing! My husband and I are not religious and she was able to cater the ceremony to our needs. She gave us a list of great questions to answer and used this material for our ceremony. She also allowed us to choose different ceremonies ( ie: sand ceremony, tie the knot ceremony , etc) as well as choose different passages. She made the ceremony intimate and really captured the essence of our relationship. I am so happy with her services and would strongly recommend her for anyone's wedding.

Look no further! There are not enough stars to properly rate Rev Debra Viola. Rev Deb married us in March and she is fabulous, special and unique. We had the most wonderful experience planning our ceremony with her. She cared deeply about making sure that she genuinely got to know us as a couple preparing for marriage. We had attended a wedding about two years ago and Rev Deb was the officiant (this was before we were even thinking of marriage). As soon as we got engaged, there was only one person who we wanted to officiate and that was Rev Deb. "Ceremonies of the Heart" perfectly describes the beautiful service which Rev Deb creates. She drafted our ceremony and we then worked closely with her to tailor it exactly for us. She was extremely attentive to every detail and timing of the ceremony. To a person, our guests exclaimed about our ceremony and Rev Deb. It was personal, spiritual, loving and warm with a sprinkling of humor! We would not have changed a single thing. The ceremony perfectly reflected us a couple. We could not be happier and now have an everlasting memory. Rev Deb is extraordinary.

Our experience with Reverend Deb was amazing! We live out of state but we're getting married on Long Island on June 3, 2018. It was very easy to stay in contact with Reverend Deb via phone and email. Our ceremony was perfect and we are so happy we decided on Reverend Deb as our officiant. Everyone at our wedding continued to tell us throughout the night just how beautiful our ceremony was! We are so happy we decided on Reverend Deb to be our officiant. We will recommend her services to anyone looking in the future! Thank you for making our day so special!

We had our wedding May 27th 2018 and are still hearing great things about our ceremony! She made it personal so much so that people felt like they really knew how we fell in love and why we are together. The happy tears fell, some giggles, so much joy. She made us feel special and loved. We can’t say enough great things about Tev Deb!

What’s not to love about Rev Deb? She is as genuine as they come and really put my wife and I at ease, both before and during the ceremony. She offered a number of thoughtful suggestions and was extremely responsively throughout the drafting process. The ceremony itself went off without a hitch and Deb’s execution was flawless. Thank you so much for being part of our special day!

The minute i had my first chat with this gifted individual, i felt a connection. You see, Rev Debra Viola is not just any officiant - she has a heart of gold, she actually really wants to know you and your spouse to be. She is curious to learn what makes your connection special or unique. She literally brings your love to life in front of your guests. Every one of our guests told us they abdolutely adored Debra and found the ceremony tasteful, moving, mesningful and so personalized. It was a pleasure to hear. For a couple in total confusion amidst the high emotions of the day, Debra was the ROCK - reassuring, calming, so experienced and competent. We knew this pilot would land our plane not only safely but elegantly!!! Call Debra!! You can thank me later!!!

Rev Deb was fabulous!! Our guest can not stop talking about how beautiful our ceremony was and neither can my wife and I. I would do it all again just so we can have Rev Deb again. Thank you Rev Deb for making our special day even more amazing. These truly are "Ceremonies from the Heart"

5 stars isn't good enough for Rev Deb! She is absolutely amazing! From the moment we first met I knew she was the perfect person to marry my husband and I. She set up an appointment with us a few months before our wedding. During this appointment she asked us lots of questions about how we met and basically our story. She followed up with us before our wedding with a draft of the ceremony. I couldn't believe she had an entire story written about our whole history from the time we met up until our wedding day. It was not only spot on it was loving and actually had a good amount of humor in it. We added a sand ceremony to the ceremony and she came up last minute with an additional reading that was just beautiful for that part. Our guests were blown away and complimenting us all night that Rev Deb's ceremony was so personalized and how much they enjoyed it. We had met with more then one officiant before we decided who to use. And one of the gentlemen actually had a prewritten generic wedding ceremony that we were suppose to choose from. No thank you!! This was our wedding, one of the most important days in our lives. Rev Deb certainly honored us by making our ceremony one of a kind and she's just such a sweet and wonderful women to work with. We can not thank you enough for truly making our wedding the best day ever! Thanks Rev Deb. -Laurie & Cliff

My husband and I really liked Rev. Deb from the moment we met her. She is very personable and easy to talk to. She made the process easy and I liked how easy it was to communicate with her by email. We were very happy with how she conducted our ceremony at the beach. She even brought her own portable microphone! We would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for someone who is easy to communicate with and a fantastic officiant!

We had Rev Deb marry me and my now husband a few weeks ago, she married my sister and her husband in sept 2010, I couldn't imagine having anyone else perform my ceremony , she was a pleasure to work with since day 1, she is personable and professional. I would highly recommend Rev Deb

Rev Deb is the best! She is warm and easy to talk to. Our wedding ceremony was so special thanks to her planning. She put us at ease during this stressful time with her reassurance and expertise. She made it a point to make the ceremony reflect us and gave us several options and ideas for the how the ceremony could go. She also has a beautiful speaking voice. Many guests commented on what a wonderful job she did.

Rev Deb made our wedding day so special and we cannot thank her enough. From the moment we met her, we instantly felt comfortable with her. My husband is Irish and Catholic and I am Jewish (neither religious) and we knew we wanted a short ceremony that incorporated just a touch of each of our backgrounds. She helped us incorporate the breaking of the glass, an Irish blessing, and a quick prayer. She also wrote a special passage honoring my father who passed and her words were just perfect. I can't recommend Rev Deb enough for a special and unique ceremony.

Rev Deb was fantastic! My husband and I live in DC but got married on Long Island. With us being remote, Rev Deb was so flexible in meeting with us and incredible accommodating to our busy schedules. Rev Deb provided us multiple ceremony scripts to review, which was great! Gave us the perfect ceremony that captured us as a couple! Rev Deb answered all questions with a prompt and thoughtful response. Rev Deb is professional, on time, responsive, and genuinely a very nice person and great to work with. We would recommend Rev Deb to anyone getting married! Thanks again Rev Deb!

Rev Deb was the first and last officiant my husband and I met with. We knew right away that she was PERFECT for us. She is so kind, understanding and personalizes every single ceremony. As much as I had a blast at my reception, my ceremony was truly the best. All of my guests raved about how perfect it was. My husband and I really aren't too mushy, we are more of the goof ball types and Rev Deb was right on board with that. She cracked jokes and let us create our ceremony with her so we could really feel like it was OURS, and not just the typical wedding. While my husband and I aren't very religious, our families are, and different ones at that. Rev Deb kept the peace and made both of our families happy, while also not bringing religion too much into it to keep my husband and I happy. Seriously the best officiant I have EVER had the privilege of meeting or seen at any wedding. I'm so thankful we found her.

Rev Deb married my husband and I recently (May 2017) and we have to say she is AMAZING! She is so sweet and wrote the most beautiful and personalized ceremony for us. She did a wonderful job performing the ceremony, so many of our guests have mentioned to us how well they thought she did. We couldn't have been happier, highly recommend her!

Rev Deb caught our attention at the only bridal show we attended in preparation for our wedding! We knew she was the one from that moment! Very easy to communicate with and very friendly! We met with her to discuss the wedding and she was so attentive and wanted as much information about us as we could give in order to get to know us on a personal level so she could deliver the best ceremony possible. At the end of this meeting she hugged us each goodbye which was a wonderful touch that made us even more confident! The wedding day was such a blur but standing there in front of Deb as she performed our ceremony was wonderful! We could tell just how attentive she was at our meeting by how detailed and perfect her material was! She incorporates our story about how we met and she had our guests chuckling several times throughout! We have had a handful of guests tell us how great she was, how there was no dull moment of dread as in some ceremonies they have attended and how she really made it personal! I can not wait to view the video(her son in law was our cinematographer btw!) so we can really watch it from a guests perspective! Hands down Deb is awesome and we would absolutely recommend her for anyone looking for a personalized ceremony!!

Reverend Deb is amazing. She truly has a gift. She listens intently to your love story and will deliver the most personalized ceremony you could ever imagine! My guests were so impressed with our ceremony. It was so thoughtful, as if she's known us for years. There wasn't a dry eye in the house and it was truly my favorite part of the evening. Reverend Deb is a beautiful person inside and out. I highly recommend her services!

Rev Deb was the absolute best! I cannot say enough to recommend her to be the one to make your special moment memorable!! My husband and I wanted a small short ceremony & she made it as beautiful as possible! Afterwards, all of our guests came over to us to say how beautiful the ceremony was & that Rev Deb was so nice and personable. During the ceremony we were both nervous as nervous can be! She helped us feel more comfortable and tied our love together with her beautiful words!