About this vendor
I am Andrea Purtell and I am a full time professional Wedding Officiant. I am certified to legally perform weddings in the state of New Jersey and New York and PA. Since 2010 I have had the honor to officiate over 1000 weddings.
I love my work and take great pride in providing my couples with a quality service. I have received over 400, 5 star reviews on Wedding Wire and many more here on The Knot as well as FaceBook, Google, Square, etc..
I am located at the fabulous Jersey Shore and travel throughout NJ. I provide religious, non-denominational, spiritual, non-religious and interfaith, personalized wedding officiant services and am honored to work with couples of all faiths, traditions and lifestyles. LGBTQ Welcomed
All ceremonies can be personalized to your wishes. Some couples like to include wording about how they met and what lead them to this special day. They may want to include acknowledgment of children they bring to the marriage or loved ones who have passed.
I am happy to incorporate any religious customs or traditions such as breaking the glass, jumping the broom, handfasting, etc..
You may also like to include a unity element such as, unity sand, candle, glass, wine, love letter, love knot, cross, rose etc...
I have a selection of ceremony packages for you to choose from. They range in length and price so there is something for everyone. Please check out my website to see a full description of my packages and prices. I also have some sample ceremonies there for you to see!
Please contact me for more information or to schedule a Video Chat, In-person or phone conference.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Peace, Love and Be Married,
Andrea Purtell, Your Local Jersey Shore Wedding Officiant
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/weddingofficiant
Details
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
- Baha'i Faith
- Buddhist
- Christian
- Catholic
- Mormon
- Orthodox
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
- Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
3-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2023.2022.2021.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.045 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 8
Andrea is the perfect choice for wedding officiant. Long before we stood with her at the beach for our elopement, she was so helpful with providing us all the information we needed...
to correctly file for our license and make sure everything was in place from that side of things. Beyond all of that, she was so easy to work with in terms of curating the wording for our vows to be exactly what we needed. She offers different vow templates but also allows you to adjust things to your liking. Lastly she was so familiar with the area we were getting married (asbury park beach) and was able to give us advice on where to hold the ceremony as well as permit information and all of those details. She has done this for a long time and knows all the ins and outs of the process. The expertise you get for the fee she charges is incredible value. The ceremony itself went great. She did everything according to what we had discussed and what we expected. Would 100% recommend her for any type of wedding. Thank you Andrea!
Andrea is amazing! She and her website walk you through the whole process. You can pick a ceremony that's already written, or you can create your own using all different options sh...
e provides on her website. We chose to create our own, with an extensive amount of options for each part of the ceremony. She's a real pro and has something on her website for every kind of couple. Andrea is also very thorough, communicative, and sends reminders when needed. I would recommend her to everyone who needs an officiant!
Andrea did an amazing job officiating our wedding! She was easy to work with and provided really great suggestions throughout the planning process. Our ceremony was exactly what we...
wanted it to be!
Andrea is a fantastic officiant! She was an absolute joy to work with and fully customized the most beautiful ceremony. She even helped file our paperwork! Andrea is a wonderful ch...
oice for an officiant and we highly recommend her!
Working with Andrea at This Joyous Occasion was so great! She was so organized and prepared and professional. She was so nice and caring and made planning our wedding ceremony a br...
eeze! We got so many compliments on how great Andrea did for our ceremony. In addition, she was so helpful in reviewing with us everything we needed to do to get our marriage license filed. We can't thank Andrea enough for everything!
Andrea was so amazing to work with throughout our wedding planning process. We planned a destination wedding, and she was able to accommodate us by meeting through video, phone and...
discussing our ceremony via email as well. She is quick to respond and very flexible, which is important for any outdoor weddings. Our ceremony was beautifully written and perfectly delivered. If we had a do over, we would absolutely hire Andrea again.
Andrea was just the best. It was a chaotic time with only 3 weeks to put the service together. I literarily pulled her name off the Vital Statistic website of my town and knew im...
mediately she was the right person. She answered all e-mails, explained the process and made amazingly touching suggestions that personalized our service. She was a true find of divine intervention. Thank you Andrea.
We were thrilled with our experience with Andrea! She was so helpful, very communicative, and made the overall experience of planning our ceremony a breeze. We would absolutely rec...
ommend Andrea and For This Joyous Occassion!
Andrea was a fantastic officiant and helped make our wedding ceremony perfect. She worked with us to construct our custom ceremony package and to get our marriage forms submitted w...
ith the municipality following the ceremony. We highly recommend Andrea for your wedding ceremony!
Andrea was a reliable and professional choice for our wedding officiant, hitting all the marks we were looking for. She was organized and punctual, contributing to a Joyous atmosph...
ere that everyone appreciated. What set her apart were the extra steps she took to make sure our ceremony was tailored to us. From in-person meetups and offering a rehearsal to arriving an extra hour early day-of, Andrea left no stone unturned in her preparations. She provided us with a variety of ceremony templates, including custom options, and had us fill out a questionnaire to personalize her speech with anecdotes from our relationship. Furthermore, her expertise extended to the marriage license and certificate process, offering us invaluable guidance and facilitating most of the process. If you’re looking for an officiant who is not only reliable but also goes the extra mile, Andrea is highly recommended. A truly well-done job!
Andrea was truly such an amazing officiant to work with, I HIGHLY recommend her! My husband and I loved making our ceremony our own through the prompts we had and Andrea's suggesti...
ons when we wanted small changes! She made our rehearsal and wedding day low-stress, being very personable with our wedding party and having genuine interest. On top of that, she is extremely professional and clearly knows how to have a ceremony go smoothly! We had about 200 guests for our ceremony and we heard multiple people tell us our ceremony was "perfect". The fact that we as the couple felt it was perfect AND our guests thought the same truly speaks volumes. I'm so so glad we worked together!
Andrea was such a pleasure to work with! She was so sweet and patient and she made sure that every detail of our wedding ceremony was perfect. She allowed us to edit the wording of...
the ceremony and even included our daughter in our vows! She made our day stress-free and so much fun!
Andrea was so professional and helpful through the whole process! She has information on her website to make the ceremony writing very easy and she is there to assist with any info...
rm needed on applying for and receiving the marriage certificate! She is also very accommodating with adding aspects of different cultures and religions. We had a Greek Orthodox and Catholic mix. She did a wonderful job!
We hired Andrea from For This Joyous Occasion to officiate our wedding and we are so, so glad we did! From start to finish, Andrea was so professional, knowledgeable and helpful. I...
have a very religious family and was having a hard time getting people comfortable with the fact I wasn't getting married in a church. Using Andrea's Build-A-Ceremony option, I was able to customize a ceremony that felt true to my husband and I while still having a ceremony that would make my family happy. At the end, I received so many compliments from my family and others, saying that the ceremony was beautiful and so perfect for us. We couldn't have had this same experience without Andrea and her incredible assistance. I would recommend For This Joyous Occasion to anyone in need of an officiant for their special day!
Andrea married my mother and her huaband and when I heard what a great experience it was I knew who to book. From beginning to end everything was so easy to customize and make our ...
own and also just fill in everything in between. Everyone raved how lovely it was and I could not have been happier with everything.
Andrea is so thoughtful and was very considerate of our suggestions for our ceremony. We loved her delivery and her caring personality. The planning process was very easy, and she ...
is extremely organized. Thank you!
Andrea officiated our wedding at the Breakers on the Ocean and it was the most beautiful ceremony and perfect in every way. She is very professional, spoke clearly and arrived earl...
y to go through the details prior to the start of the ceremony. She offered a completely customized ceremony option that we took full advantage of and I am still receiving amazing feedback from my guests of how special the ceremony was. I would highly recommend Andrea as your officiant!
Andrea was such a pleasure to work with. She was extremely professional and kind. She guided us with exactly what we needed to do and when it needed to be completed. Andrea arrive...
d early and spoke with us before the ceremony too. Her build your own ceremony option is amazing and we were able to create the exact ceremony we wanted. Andrea had great and helpful suggestions to maximize our experience and put us at ease with the entire process. We highly recommend her services as an officiant!! Thank you for helping create the most magical day!!
Andrea is SO nice and made our day so effortlessly special and perfect. She made the entire process from beginning to end very easy. She is professional and prompt with corresponde...
nce. We cannot recommend her enough. Thank you for making our day perfect!
Our guest were raving about our ceremony. With Andrea's build your own ceremony you really got to pick word for word making the day feel extra special. Andrea came an hour early an...
d gave us and the bridal party a run down which I really appreciated. She calmed my nerves and when it was time to walk down the isle my nerves disappears. I HIGHLY recommend her!
I found Andrea's websites from Google searching for someone to perform our ceremony for a small local wedding. Her website is welcoming, very informative, and without meeting her, ...
you can tell that she is professional and passionate in what she does. It was also refreshing to see someone with the same values as us on marriage equality. I instantly felt a trust here, and knew that she'd be the person doing our ceremony.
At first, we were planning on having a micro wedding. Even being micro, the wedding planning seemed to be more about pleasing other family, and not being true to ourselves. For months, I found myself repeatedly going back to Andrea's elopement website. On it, it says, "It means it’s just about the two of you, your love and commitment to each other. It is a celebration focusing on your love." We both decided that this was the best for us, and did not want to wait any longer. We contacted Andrea, and were married in a private ceremony within a few weeks.
Throughout the marriage application process, Andrea let us know exactly what we had to do at the municipal office, and she was available for any questions we had. After our ceremony, she gave us printed instructions on how to obtain our marriage certificate. Throughout the process, she followed up with us via email. She makes it stress free.
For this Joyous Occasion is the perfect combination of professionalism and personalization. If you're looking for info, no stress, and warmth, we highly suggest looking at the website. Thank you, Andrea,for our perfect wedding ceremony!
Andrea was amazing - so easy to work with in our very last minute ceremony. Our guests commented after that you can really tell how much she enjoys what she does and gave the comm...
itment we made to each other such reverence. Couldn't be more pleased!
Robin was an amazing officiant and Andrea's readings were beautiful. We got more compliments on the ceremony than any other aspect of our wedding except the food. Reasonably priced...
and easy to communicate with.
Yesterday was our wedding day! I cannot thank Andrea enough for our most beautiful and heartfelt ceremony. She worked with us over the last year to perfect the most sincere, spirit...
ual ceremony. Words cannot describe how beautiful it was. Everyone said it was the most beautiful ceremony they’ve ever witnessed. We truly felt touched by the Divine. Andrea is so caring and thoughtful and guided us throughout . Her caring and sincerity was felt by all. Thank you so much Andrea! It truly was the most joyous occasion. I’m so honored to have met you.
Robin made our wedding that much more perfect!! Working with Andrea leading up to our ceremony was so easy and she was incredibly helpful all along the way. And their ceremony bu...
ilder was a wonderfully helpful tool! Robin performed our ceremony flawlessly (even my husband's tricky to pronounce last name!) and with incredible grace and eloquence. I would highly recommend For This Joyous Occasion Officiating Services to anybody!
Working with Andrea to create our wedding ceremony was such a treat. She provides so much guidance and supplies many ceremony wording choices that you are able to create your own p...
ersonalized ceremony. Our ceremony was simply beautiful. Highly recommend Andrea!
Andrea officiated our elopement in the middle of the Covid pandemic and thanks to her, the ceremony was fantastic! With little notice, she was able to provide an amazing service fo...
r a great price. We had lots of questions and she was super responsive and helped us every step of the way. Highly recommend!!
Andrea is one of the most wonderful people I have met in my life. She made our wedding ceremony one of the most beautiful and personal weddings I have ever been to. From the beginn...
ing of the process of the selection of verbiage to the actual day, she has been responsive, professional and fun to work with! If you need an officiant, she is your go to woman! A large portion of my husband's family has used her services for weddings and blessings. She is amazing!
Andrea was an absolute "Joy" to work with. She had to travel a bit to our location, but was prepared and even early. She was very helpful with all the questions we had. I am grat...
eful we decided to go with For this Joyous Occasion. Our special day turned out to be as magical as I've always wanted it to be. If anyone was to ask who they should get to marry them I would definately recommend Andrea. Thank you so much.
Andrea is amazing !!! From beginning to end, she was nothing but professional and sweet. We had a seaside ceremony and it was beautiful. I loved her decorations and enthusiasm. Fro...
m the moment we found her, she answered every call and every question. She even recommended our photographer. I love how she included our son in everything! Thanks Andrea😊 I DO! WE DID! ❤️
Andrea officiated us right on the beach in bay head. It was a last minute decision and she was nothing short of professional and so kind. She was so patient while we customized our...
wording in our ceremony (even added some words at the last minute). I highly recommend her services to anyone looking for an elopement or a small wedding. It was a windy day with high tide, we did a fb live and you still heard her clear. It was a perfect day and she did an amazing job. She responded very quick to emails and answered every question we had. She came early to set up her decorations that we paid extra for. highly recommend!
Andrea was referred to us and we're so glad she was! She made our daughter's naming ceremony/universal baptism so special and so easy. She has great follow up to make sure I was on...
track for the big day. Andrea had everything layed out for me to easily pick what I wanted, and it was wonderful that I had options to pick and choose and customize. I really didn't have to think about a thing because she had our full support for the ceremony, and as a new mom with a 1 year old that is priceless. We had the ceremony on the beach and it was just such a perfect beach day with the weather not too hot, the breeze just right. Thank you for everything Andrea!
She's so professional, kindness and make my ceremony amazing. Everything I want it she make it!!! Thanks Rev. Andrea for everything!!
Andrea was very supportive through the entire process. Her website is full of great information and helped us with forming our vows. Having to change our entire wedding last minute...
because of the coronavirus was challenging and heart wrenching and Andrea really showed compassion, kindness, and a positive attitude. Highly recommend!!!!
Andrea was fantastic; super prompt and patient with all my questions; she also had great suggestions on the ceremony and readings. On the day of the ceremony, she was prompt and a...
ccommodating; super personable and I am very happy that she was the officiant on our wedding day! I highly recommend Andrea!
Andrea was very easy to work with and did a wonderful job.
Andrea is an amazing officiant and such an easy person to work with! In all the stress of wedding planning we never had to worry about our ceremony. She has so many different choic...
es for each part of the ceremony, so it is totally personalized to you! And if you don’t want to pick each part, she has great traditional ceremonies as well! Andrea is so sweet and patient! She responded to emails very quickly and was willing to meet whenever we needed to go over anything. My guests were complimenting her and the ceremony all night! She was also very helpful in guiding us through the marriage license process, which I would’ve had no idea how to navigate without her. Definitely can’t go wrong with Andrea!
Andrea made our wedding such a memorable occasion for my husband and I as well as our guests. She helped transform our bayside service into a fairytale mixed with Disney and lord o...
f the rings readings. Andrea was a huge help from the beginning with her timely responses and recommendations In customizing our service. Having her service put me at ease on my day. Even though we didn’t meet her until the rehearsal Andrea made us feel like we have know each other for years. She even waved the rehearsal charge because she happened to be in the area. We highly recommend this professional for your event.
Our officiant was Sarah but we also worked with Andrea quite a bit. We could not have asked for a better experience. It started with the fact that they have a lot of info on thei...
r website and were very transparent with their pricing (something which we found to be rare with wedding vendors!). I appreciated that they performed a variety of different ceremonies (Christian, secular, interfaith, spiritual, etc.) and felt that they were very accepting.
During the planning process, they were very accommodating and helped us customize everything as much as we wanted. They have a lot of pre-written options to choose from for each part of the ceremony and they are open to changing things or personal additions. There were thoughtful options that accounted for family situations.
Andrea was also very well organized with clear contingencies in place. If anything were to happen to Sarah, that prevented her from performing the ceremony, or if we forgot our vows or anything like that, they had a backup plan. Sarah also helped us through a portion of our ceremony that we were supposed to have memorized that we definitely didn't get to.
Andrea was just amazing! From the time we got engaged, we knew that we didn’t want a “typical” ceremony that could be meant for anyone. We wanted something that reflected our perso...
nalities and our relationship. The thought of putting together your ceremony can be extremely daunting, but I promise it won’t be with Andrea! She makes it so simple and easy, leaving you with plenty of time and energy left for the rest of wedding planning. Andrea had multiple options to choose from and even allows you to “build your own ceremony,” which is the route we chose to go! This allowed us to tailor the ceremony to us. Andrea also gives you the option to fill out a questionnaire, we found this to be extremely fun and rewarding. It allows you to reflect on your relationship and also allows her to personalize your ceremony even more. We can’t thank Andrea enough for being such a huge part of our day!
It was very easy to work with Joyous Occasion, as they had many suggestion on their website. Loved working with Sarah - she made it super easy day of.
We just got married 8/4/17 and I cannot say enough good things about Andrea! From start to finish it was a pleasure working with her and our ceremony was absolutely beautiful. We r...
eceived so many compliments on how great and different our ceremony was. She was easy to talk to and got back to us very timely and was patience with each and every change we had to the ceremony. I highly recommend Andrea!!
We got married this past Sunday, May 8th, on Spring Lake beach. She was very wonderful during the wedding planning process, answering all of our questions and helping us in plannin...
g our custom beach wedding. Our ceremony was beautiful!! Andrea arrived early and prepared our starfish/seashell aisle, she read our blessings and vows with feeling. Everything was perfect!!!
Andrea was an absolute pleasure to work with. Very professional, easy to talk to, punctual and affordable. She made sure that our ceremony was everything we wanted and she certai...
nly delivered! We received many compliments on how she truly captured our love in her ceremony reading. She was great all around! I will definitely recommend her to anyone who needs her services.
Andrea was so friendly, professional and wonderful. Our ceremony was exactly as we wanted it and she was prepared for everything including a last minute location change due to weat...
her and slight change in ceremony wording. She even gave a veteran discount!
Contact
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