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Jeddah Vailakis, Elegant & Heartfelt Ceremonies
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5.0
(220)
Serving the NY Metro Area
About This Vendor
Congratulations on your decision to marry! Your wedding day will be one of the most significant and joyous days of your life and the journey leading up to it is filled with excitement as well as challenges. It would be my honor to guide you through this inner journey - the journey of the heart so
Details
Ceremony Types
Civil Union, Interfaith Ceremony, Non-Religious Ceremony, Religious Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
Buddhist, Christian, Catholic, Interfaith, Jewish, Muslim
Wedding Activities
Wedding
Awards and Affiliations
Jeddah Vailakis, Elegant & Heartfelt Ceremonies Reviews
Share your thoughts with other couples
Jeddah was amazing and I would highly recommend her for any wedding! She took the time to get to know us as a couple and wrote a beautiful ceremony that captures so many special details about us as a couple. Thank you Jeddah!
Jeddah officiated our wedding beautifully. We wanted a non-religious yet spiritual ceremony that focused on our love and our story. Jeddah helped us effortlessly put together a great ceremony with meaningful readings that we had the opportunit...
y to pick ourselves. She provided the perfect balance between seriousness and humor, which was important to us.
Her attention to detail, dedication to her promises, and ability to truly understand what each couple wants in a ceremony easily makes her one of the most wonderful officiants.
Finding an officiant was initially an uncertain task for my wife and I, as neither of us were living in New York, though we married in Brooklyn however we planned everything from Texas. We came across Jeddah after spending months online trying to find the right officiant. From our initial conversation on FaceTime we knew that she was “the one” for us. We immediately felt at ease with her preparation, warm demeanor and stellar track record. She explained her process clearly and took the time to connect with us. In the months leading up to our wedding, Jeddah made herself available countless times and was always there to answer any questions or ease any stress. Initially, we did not know what we wanted our ceremony to look like but, we knew we wanted it to be a representation of the both of us. Jeddah was so patient with us. She never rushed us or pushed us to do anything we didn’t feel comfortable with. If we changed our mind about something she was supportive and encouraging. Her advice and words truly helped my wife and I through the entire wedding process not just the ceremony. She guided us so gently and with so much love. Her questionnaire was thoughtful and made creating our ceremony easy. It also allowed for my wife and I to slow down and connect with each other before the wedding. After going through the process with Jeddah, we were both excited about the ceremony itself, and on the day of our wedding, that’s when Jeddah really shines. By getting to know us as a couple and knowing what we were looking for, she delivered a ceremony that was beyond our wildest expectations. It was heartwarming, funny, and it felt like she’d known us for years.
Jeddah was heaven sent for us! Honestly, if you’re looking for an officiant, please choose Jeddah. You will not regret it, and your ceremony will be something that you and your spouse can look back on fondly for years to come. We cannot thank her enough for the beautiful moments she created for us. With gratitude -MM
From our initial conversation on the phone with Jeddah we knew she was who we wanted to marry us. Her words were so thoughtful, she asked us questions to get our minds thinking about the special times over our years together which allowed us to...
re-visit special moments in our relationship. Meeting her in NYC was a helpful step to really know we were making the right choice - she was so warm and connected with us instantly. She was very thorough & explained her process to us upfront so we knew what to expect throughout the entire planning process. Her follow-up questionnaire was very detailed which helped form our ceremony & allowed us a great timeline to write our vows which meant a lot to us. Jeddah's personality was contagious, she had everyone in the room filled with tears & laughter connecting with our family & friends. Our guests still commented on how beautiful the ceremony was. We are so grateful to have found her and have had her as part of our most special day.
Where do I begin? Jeddah was referred to us by our wedding venue and the minute Jeddah and I connected over a phone call, I could just tell her heart was so sincere and that she truly loved what she does. We worked long-distance with Jeddah t...
o create our unique and beautifully personalized wedding ceremony which we will never forget. She helped Andrew and I feel truly special and on such a big day and that was such a blessing.
You WANT Jeddah on your team for whatever your big-day looks like, she is a truly inspirational, caring, kind, and beautiful person, inside and out!
We were very particular about the feelings we wanted our ceremony evoke - we wanted it to be heartfelt and touching, not too heavy but not necessarily lighthearted or funny. We wanted it to feel meaningful for all of our guests. We found all of...
this with Jeddah.
She has such a beautiful and light spirit and was able to pull out of us all of the detail she needed to build an extremely beautiful ceremony incorporating our words with specific readings and stories we wanted to include but importantly with the setting and landscape of rolling hills and quiet, gentle breezes.
We had just enough interaction that didn't feel like "work" and we had fun answering her questionnaire. It was just an absolute delight having her near. Strongly recommend.
We are so happy that we chose Jeddah to officiate our marriage. Planning a wedding can be an intimidating experience, and her experience and warmth helped us to feel confident about our ceremony. She also gave us excellent advice for other aspe...
cts of the event, and helped us stay centered on the day of the wedding. As for the ceremony itself, we were so moved by Jeddah’s words. She used our stories in a way that illuminated our relationship not only to our guests, but to us. We were hoping for a ceremony that expressed the joy and seriousness of the occasion, and Jeddah did just that. She even managed the noise of an interrupting train with humor and grace! We strongly recommend her to those looking for an officiant who will truly get to know you as a couple and craft a ceremony that is beautiful, meaningful, and personal. Thank you, Jeddah!
Had an incredible experience with Jeddah. She put so much effort into our ceremony. She was so eloquent and did such a beautiful job portraying our vision on our wedding day.
Jeddah Jeddah Jeddah. She herself was a blessing to have at our wedding to deliver our ceremony. From the first time we met her before she even begun speaking about the wedding I knew she was the one simply from her demeanor and the calming au...
ra she has around her. She instantaneously makes you feel comfortable and confident in her. She provided a questionnaire to my then fiancé and I and captured all that explained our love our beliefs and totally and truly embodied who we were from our individual thoughts and from the perspective of the relationship. She truly put a spin on our wedding that is unforgettable. On our wedding day things were calm and then started to ramp up and my anxiety was creeping in but when Jeddah walked into our bridal suite and hugged me it was like magic and my jitters disappeared and I knew with her and my husband standing at the alter waiting for me, I was going to be just fine. Our guests loved her just as much as we did. I would love to get married over and over to see what she can deliver next. If looking for an officiant I without a doubt would recommended using Jeddah you will not be disappointed.
Jeddah Jeddah Jeddah. She herself was a blessing to have at our wedding to deliver our ceremony. Front the first time we met her before she even begun speaking about the wedding I knew she was the one simply from her demeanor and the calming a...
ura she has around her. She instantaneously makes you feel comfortable and confident in her. She provided a questionnaire to my then fiancé and I and captured all that explained our love our beliefs and totally and truly embodied who we were from our individual thoughts and from the perspective of the relationship. She truly put a spin on our wedding that is unforgettable. One my wedding day things were calm and then started to ramp up and my anxiety was creeping in but when Jeddah walked into our bridal suite and hugged me it was like magic and my jitters disappeared and I knew with her and my husband standing at the alter waiting for me, I was going to be just fine. Our guests loved her just as much as we did. I would love to get married over and over to see what she can deliver next. If looking for an officiant I without a doubt would recommended using Jeddah you will not be disappointed.
I’m sitting here on our second anniversary looking at pics and thinking about Jeddah. She was the most wonderful officiant we could have ever asked for or imagined. Jeddah has this magnetic draw to her, I don’t know how to explain it. We went t...
o a destination wedding a month ago, and at their very own wedding all they kept asking about was our “incredible officiant”. Wherever Jeddah is these days we hope all is well and hope we can cross paths again one day.
Steve & Hayley, 6/9/17
Jeddah did such a beautiful job officiating our ceremony and she was such a joy to work with! She really took the time to get to know my Wife and me, and her words were so specialized and personal. She also has a very kind way about her which m...
akes her very endearing in both a one on one conversation and while officiating the ceremony. Our guests all raved about the ceremony and I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. Jeddah really made our big day extra special!
Thank you so much - you were wonderful to work with and your speech was perfect. We're so happy that you were up there with us, you made us both feel so comfortable. You made the process so easy for us, and we appreciate everything you worked t...
hrough with us.
Jeddah delivered our dream ceremony! We had the most amazing experience with her from start to finish. She put in so much time and effort to get to know us and our relationship, and she made our vision of a simple heartfelt ceremony come to lif...
e!
I am a wedding photographer and I met Jeddah at a client's wedding at Foxfire Mountain House, where we would be getting married a month later. My husband and I had decided to do a self-uniting, after we found out our original officiant was preg...
nant and due too close to our wedding to attend. As soon as I met Jeddah, I knew we needed to restrategize and hire her as our celebrant.
Jeddah's energy is incredible, and exactly the kind of soothing calm and groundedness I wanted around us on our big day. I was SO delighted when she shared that she was free and willing to work with us.
We spent a few Skype and email sessions sharing our story with Jeddah and filling out separate questionnaires that revealed a bit about us as a couple and about our attitudes toward marriage. Although she'd never met Sean and had only met me briefly, Jeddah felt like a natural part of our ceremony and so beautifully incorporated what she'd learned about us to make the ceremony feel deeply personal and true to us.
We had so many guests comment on her beautiful ceremony, and how it was one of the most beautiful and authentic that they had ever witnessed. I hope to always know Jeddah and to see our paths cross again and again throughout our lives.
We organised our wedding from another country and had to make all the choices over the phone and internet. Choosing an officiant was especially difficult as we felt this would be the heart and soul of our wedding. We interviewed several officia...
nts and Jeddah was the obvious choice after our first conversation. For the first time in weeks, we felt as if we were actually getting married and not just planning an event :)
During this phone call, we were excited and emotional and felt very lucky. Jeddah gave us homework and we took our time and went over the amazing materials she sent us. During the next call, Jeddah spent a lot of time trying to understand what the wedding means for us and how to tailor a ceremony that would be ours and not just her show.
Jeddah arrived at the location and immediately everything went smoothly. Her experience shows!
She has a way of making everything move along in the right direction while remaining pleasant and full of humour.
And finally, the ceremony itself was magic!
Jeddah has a magnetic personality and the final product was absolutely fabulous. She guided us skilfully through the ceremony and by the end there was not a dry eye in the room.
We feel we were lucky to "stumble" upon Jeddah randomly through the internet and we hope this review will convince you to take Jeddah as your officiant and make your ceremony beautiful, emotional and most important, something that really tells the story of you.
From the moment we spoke with Jeddah, we knew we were the lucky ones in finding her. She just has this calming energy that immediately envelopes you, even via a Skype introduction phone call. My now husband and I were most looking forward to ex...
changing our own vows. There is something just so special about sharing such an intimate part of yourselves with your most trusted friends and family. As excited as we were, we were terrified! Terrified we would be a puddle of emotions, unable to focus in on the moment, or one spouse's vows would far exceed the other's. Jeddah took care of ALL of that...and then some. Even let us know how to tweak our vows to mimic more of the other one's flow (because we didn't want to hear the other's until the day of!).
We had multiple Skype conversations over the 6 or so months leading up to the day. Talked about our concerns, or whatever evolved from there. It's so easy speaking to her. She has this total 'fairy godmother-esque' vibe. We got our 'homework' - an email consisting of a myriad of intimate couple questions to further let her in on your relationship. That's the greatest part about her. She takes the time to get to know you so she can create a ceremony specifically tailored to the two of you.
On the day of the wedding I actually got emotional when she greeted us at the venue. During that time it was feeling overwhelmingly chaotic...and when I saw her I immediately knew I could decompress with her one hug.
Everyone guest at the reception mentioned how beautiful the ceremony was and that it was their favorite part! We couldn't be more pleased with Jeddah. If you want an unforgettable event...look no further!
Jeddah worked with us in a very creative and personal manner. She was an integral part of making our ceremony uniquely our own, which will give us a lifetime of special memories. So many of our guests mentioned that they wished Jeddah had marri...
ed them since she crafted such a moving ceremony! Some even thought she was a longtime friend since her words were so touching and personal. And one special moment was when she spoke a few words in Greek to honor my Greek relatives in attendance! We highly recommend Jeddah as a caring and supportive officiant for anyone’s wedding!
Working with Jeddah was a terrific experience. From our first meeting with her, we felt that she understood what we were looking for, and this carried through until the end. She was very helpful in guiding us through the process from start to f...
inish, offering helpful advice and council along the way. During our event, Jeddah really helped make it a very special day through carefully chosen words that really helped set the tone and let us soak it all in. We are very grateful to have found Jeddah and to have had the opportunity to work with her. We would recommend her without hesitation.
M & S
Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us in order to write a beautiful ceremony that really spoke to us, made us laugh and brought all of our loved ones together. We were so happy with how it all turned out, and all of our guest...
s could tell how happy we were.
As you know, the ceremony was the one part I had nerves about before the big day, and writing my vows in particular, but you made the process so smooth and fun, and helped us remember what it was all about as we went along.. our love and starting our new lives together. I will never forget you asking us to look up into the trees before pronouncing us husband and wife, among many other memorable and special moments that helped us be present.
Working with you was truly a gift, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your hard work in making our dream ceremony come true!
Working with Jeddah was the most wonderful experience. We knew that our ceremony would not be traditional, but after getting to know us and learning our story, Jeddah created a beautiful, personalized ceremony that made us laugh and cry and be...
gin the happiest celebration of our lives. Many of our guests said it was the most memorable ceremony they had seen. Not only were her words thoughtful and meaningful to us, she also helped us be present on our big day. We can't recommend her enough!
Our experience with Jeddah performing our magical fairy tale ceremony in the Pine grove of Roxbury barn NY.
Her wisdom...grace..sensitivity and love was felt by all ..
we are so deeply greatful
A ten star experience
Jeddah was fantastic and we would give her more than 5 stars if we could! Working with her leading up to the wedding was great and she provided us tons of resources and options for me and my husband to go through to help us customize our ceremo...
ny. She helped us create a wedding that truly captured our personalities and the joy of our relationship. When I told her about how I was nervous standing in front of everyone she really helped to calm my nerves and made sure there were tissues nearby during the ceremony! We had numerous people tell us during the reception that the wedding ceremony was one of the best, if not the best, one they ever attended since it was so heartfelt and personal. Thank you again Jeddah!
Jeddah was great! We appreciated her thoroughness in preparing readings based off our responses to her questionnaire. Our ceremony was great as a result.
Jeddah Vailakis is absolutely incredible. She put together the perfect ceremony for us. Jackie and I weren't 100% sure what we wanted in our ceremony. We joked that we wanted it to be 15 seconds... you do, I do, we do... let's start cocktail...
hour. Jeddah was so kind and patient, she said that it's tough being the center of attention but it's your wedding and helped us figure out the ceremony that we always wanted but just didn't know how to express it. We didn't make it easy on her... we want it to be fun but not funny, serious but not too serious, heartfelt but we don't want everybody crying, I think I said we want it "special" (most people can't take direction like "make it special" or "make it perfect" and pull it off... Jeddah did).
Jeddah was able to take all of that and turn it into the perfect 20 minute ceremony that everyone at the wedding raved about... I'm so glad she talked us out of the 15 second version.
Jeddah was incredible! My family and friends just adored her, and she was excellent in creating a fabulous ceremony that was SO US! We laughed, cried, and were blown away by how personal and fabulous it was. We couldn't recommend her more!
Rick & I could not have chosen a better person to guide our ceremony on our special day. She was always accessible to us in times of need and made us feel like a million bucks! My family and friends are still raving about her and the beautiful ...
ceremony.
Jeddah was extremely thoughtful and helpful in the planning and execution of our wedding ceremony.
My husband and I just got married February 2018 and Jeddah truly gave us the ceremony of our dreams. We wanted something personal, intimate, loving— about the two of us as a couple... and she did just that! Our friends and family keep raving ...
about the ceremony... and honestly, how often does that happen?! A few friends even asked us how long we’d known Jeddah as they just assumed she was a friend of the family because of the way she spoke about us. Jeddah is kind, patient and professional- and made the entire ceremony planning process so enjoyable! If you are looking for ceremony that celebrates your love story and you as a couple look no further! I’d recommend Jeddah to anyone!!!!
We had a wonderful experience working with Jeddah for our recent wedding! She was extremely thoughtful and professional, and spent the time to get to know us so that our ceremony was intimate and authentic to us and our guests. My husband and I...
had not put any thought into what we wanted/expected in our ceremony, and this is where Jeddah’s experience shines though. She provided several examples to guide us through the whole process that spanned a variety of religions and several non-religious examples, which we greatly appreciated. Somehow she was able to weave together our perfect combination of love, spirituality and humor!
From the initial moment that we were able to connect with Reverend Jeddah we knew we had found the person to officiate our wedding. She was tremendously patient throughout the planning process and makes you feel at ease especially with all th...
e chaos that comes with wedding planning. Reverend Jeddah has an eloquent and calming presence that draws you in and she was able to capture everything that we envisioned for our ceremony. She was dedicated to making our ceremony special and Jeddah delivered. When your family and friends compliment you over and over on your ceremony you know it had to be memorable. Reverend Jeddah personalize our ceremony in a way that was unique, fun and emotional; she beautifully captured our love story. I am forever grateful to Jeddah for her warmth, guidance, thoughtfulness and patience.
Jeddah Vailakis exceeded our every expectation on our wedding day! We immediately felt a connection with Jeddah when we met at Tribeca's Kitchen back in January.
When our original venue closed abruptly in, Jeddah was in touch with 3-4 venues wi...
th availability on our original date within 24 hours.We were touched and astonished by her support for us throughout the entire planning process. Warm, engaging, and a true wordsmith, Jeddah made sure that our ceremony was a reflection of our own words and emotions. Jeddah did a wonderful job orchestrating the energy of our ceremony - somber moments and memories of loved ones passed were followed by levity and words that brought smiles and laughter to our guests' faces. We would recommend Jeddah as an officiant in a heartbeat. We cannot wait to cross paths with her in the near future.
I seriously cannot say enough about Jeddah. She is one of those people that immediate makes you feel calm and safe. It’s rare to find someone that truly loves their job, but Jeddah really does. She has a glimmer in her eye when she talks abo...
ut her clients, and you can tell she finds something to love about all of them. People are still talking about our ceremony. We had a weekend wedding at a kids’ summer camp, and our ceremony was outside by the lake. We told her what our vision was, and she executed it flawlessly. It was fun and serious and romantic and perfect.
To me, the most important part of your wedding should be the ceremony itself. The party is a perk, but the ceremony is the reason for the celebration. It really set the tone for the rest of the night, and I wouldn’t have hired anyone else. Jeddah was recommended to me by my cousin, who is a wedding planner. She said that if I wasn’t getting married in a church, that there was only one officiant she would recommend, and that was Jeddah. She said there was never a dry eye in the house, and boy was she right. Some were sad tears, but most were happy tears. She helped guide us, but it was more of a gentle hand than a shove.
We owe her so much thanks for making our special day even more special.
A wonderful personalized ceremony. Jeddah was patient and acommodating. She really took the time to understand our relationship and even bring my wife and I to a deeper level of love and commitment.
Jeddah was a dream to work with for our recent NYC wedding. She truly captured the romantic and genuine tone we were striving for in our wedding ceremony, eloquently telling our love story and helping us through the wedding process. She took th...
e time to meet with my wife and I over multiple phone calls and in person meetings to understand our love - which she did an incredible job of translating to our wedding of 180 guests. I couldn't say more positive things about Jeddah and her process - would highly recommend her as an officiant and look forward to keeping in touch with her over the course of our marriage.
Jeddah was a pleasure to work with throughout our entire wedding planning (and having) experience! She was kind, had a wonderful personality, and took the time to get to know my wife and I. She was responsive to emails, provided materials that ...
helped get the most out of us and build the ceremony, and she also provided feedback on our self-written vows, which was extremely helpful. She was great just before the ceremony, helping to center us, and then she was exceptional during the ceremony. Even as a few cell phones went off, she kept her cool. She was also great after the ceremony, wrapping things up and being a professional all the way through. We would highly recommend Jeddah to any other couple looking to work with a professional, kind, caring, and all around wonderful person! She will not let you down! - Joe & Beckie
Jeddah is the best!!! She has such a warm and friendly personality that calms us down during our wedding preparation process. She went above and beyond to understand our love story and incorporate them into our wedding ceremony. She added so ma...
ny customized personal touches to our wedding ceremony and all of our guests are impressed by her and said this was the best wedding ceremony ever! I couldn't say enough thank you to Jeddah and I am so happy to have Jeddah be our officiant on our wedding day!
Stop looking for your minister, Jeddah is your one!
For any couple interested in a ceremony routed in spiritual and love, Jeddah is the perfect match. Jeddah was a dream to work with from the initial meeting to giving specific guidance on how ...
to structure the ceremony. Jeddah gave great recommendation on how to structure our wedding -- where we wanted a mix of scriptures and spirituality. Jeddah was great at providing ideas on readings as well as for our vows. All the items she shared were easy to reference and perfect to take to build the perfect ceremony for us. Additionally, Jeddah was very supportive during hectic times leading up to the wedding where she gave detailed ways to streamline the day. Jeddah was EXTREMELY calming days leading into the ceremony where I can't think of not having her by our side. I can't recommend Jeddah more and I would absolutely have her for future services (ie. spiritual counselor) . Guests continue to compliment the ceremony and were blown away at how things flowed.
I very much encourage speaking, calling Jeddah in your research as she's absolutely amazing!
Jeddah is incredible! She made our ceremony more special and personal than we could have ever imagined. We got SO many comments about how touching the ceremony was and it was all thanks to Jeddah! We highly recommend her.
What an amazing woman! Jeddah was the perfect officiant for our special day. She listened to our needs and delivered exactly what we were hoping for. People raved about how sincere and touching our ceremony was, and we couldn't agree more! Suc...
h a wonderful experience!
Jeddah performed my wedding ceremony earlier this month to absolute perfection! I was raised Roman Catholic and my now husband identifies with various religions but that really doesn't matter - all we knew going into planning is that we wanted...
a meaningful ceremony for us that wasn't too long, and Jeddah exceeded our expectations!
Not only was the ceremony extremely meaningful, she incorporated direct quotes from both the groom and I that we had no clue about. She genuinely took the time to get to know us and to ensure that she was delivering on our exact wants.
Our guests raved about her and the ceremony overall, so I know it wasn't just us who enjoyed it (even though that's really all that matters!)
Thank you , Jeddah! We will cherish for lifetimes to come!
We are so grateful we found Jeddah! What struck us about Jeddah from the moment we met was her genuine love for love. She clearly cares deeply about her work and the people she works with, and that authenticity shines through in her words. We r...
eally wanted to make our ceremony meaningful, and it was very important to us to find the right person to make that happen. From the start, Jeddah was a great listener with a true interest in our relationship, and we felt like we could trust her with our story. We are so happy with our decision; the ceremony ended up being one of the most special parts of our day for us. Our guests were also very moved, thanks to Jeddah. We thank Jeddah for being such an important part of our day, a warm and compassionate presence, and for helping us stay present to each other throughout the whole process. We will definitely be recommending Jeddah!
Words cannot describe how thankful we are that we found Jeddah! She was the missing link to our blended American Greek wedding and worked above and beyond to create a ceremony that was intimate and personal for me and my husband. Her guida...
nce, spirituality and customization gave us a ceremony beyond our greatest expectations! She challenged us to think about our marriage, what it meant to us, and the reasons why we chose one another as life partners. I can recommend Jeddah without any hesitation. You'll be 200% satisfied with Jeddah as your officiant. She will always have a special place in our hearts.
Jeddah is amazing! She is the warmest person you will ever meet and exudes so much positive energy and love, it was such an honor to share our lives with Jeddah. From the moment we first talked to and met Jeddah, you could tell that she is not ...
only knowledgeable but truly loves what she does. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Jeddah was especially helpful to both my husband and I in completing our vows and easing our nerves. The questionnaire she asked us to complete really enabled us to reflect on our relationship in a multifaceted way and truly helped us prepare emotionally and mentally for our wedding day. The ceremony she crafted was absolutely perfect - heartfelt, authentic, warm, engaging, and truly gave our guests an insight into our lives, our love and why we were getting married. It set the tone for our entire wedding night and so many of our guests commented on how wonderful the ceremony was, even other vendors! We cannot recommend or thank Jeddah enough!
Where can I even start? Jeddah has now married my husband and I, as well as my sister and brother in law. She is part of our family, and an integral part of why our ceremony was so beautiful. We wanted to have a non-religious ceremony that even...
religious friends and family could enjoy, and she did exactly that. Jeddah captured the essence of my relationship with my husband, and expressed it beautifully to our guests. She was helpful with reading and ritual selections, and was there every step of the way. We 110% recommend using Jeddah to officiate your ceremony.
My wife and I loved working with Jeddah. She is sweet, caring, and very thoughtful. She made our ceremony very heartfelt and pleasant. She surprised us with the depth of her knowledge of cultural nuances, something that was a very nice addition...
to our ceremony.
Jeddah was a dream to work with. Shs helped us to create the most beautiful ceremony that we will remember so fondly for the rest of our lives.
I must admit, I had put all of my time and attention into finding a venue, photographer, DJ, the perfect dress, hair and makeup artist etc., and had given very little thought about who would officiate our wedding (embarrassing but true!).
Less...
than six weeks before our wedding I was scrambling to find someone. I thank my lucky stars that I came across Jeddah's name and that she was available! We had phone calls with a few different officiants but as soon as I spoke with Jeddah I knew it was she was who I wanted to marry us.
When we met her person, it only affirmed my initial feeling. She exudes warmth and love, and has a great sense of humor as well! From that meeting forward my priorities shifted. After speaking at length with her and answering questions from an absolutely brilliant questionnaire she created, both my husband and I were able to articulate with what was most important to us on our wedding day. She really listened to what we wanted and created a beautiful ceremony that was far beyond our expectations.
Our guests were also truly moved by how heartfelt and genuine our ceremony was. I've lost count of how many of them have told me how beautiful and enjoyable it was. They were clearly enamored with her as well!
We can not recommend Jeddah highly enough. The amount of care and attention she will put into your ceremony is beyond what you can even imagine! She's absolutely wonderful and a joy to work with!
In closing I'd like to share the email I sent to Jeddah a few days after our wedding:
Dear Jeddah,
Thank you so much for making our wedding ceremony so very special! Our guests made a point to tell us just how much they enjoyed, and were truly moved by our Ceremony. How heartfelt and genuine it was. And how wonderful you were! We are so grateful to you for putting so much care and attention in preparing for, and helping us to prepare for it. The whole experience was really special for us.
You brought such a beautiful combination of warmth, tenderness, humor, and intimacy to it that was truly magical!
We are so happy that we found you and can't recommend you enough! I will send pictures of the ceremony when we get them.
Sending a big hug and much love,
Emily and William
Jeddah was such a delight to work with. She had a process for helping us create the perfect ceremony and from the very start we felt that we were in good hands. In the end we had a beautiful ceremony that fit our personal style. We were able to...
express our love and commitment and feel the support from our friends and family in our small ceremony. Jeddah's steady guidance was the scaffold for building our perfect ceremony and her presence as our officiant was impeccable and poised. We can't express enough how much our appreciation!
My wife Maria and I both felt that Jeddah was one of the highlights of our wedding, and we could not have picked a better person to marry us. Her genuine passion for her work came shining through from the first day we spoke to her about our wed...
ding plans. Her warmth and generosity, combined with her deep experience was just what we needed as she coached us through the process of creating our ceremony and writing our vows.
It began with a very well thought-out questionnaire she asked us to complete for her that allowed her to get to know us as people, and as a couple, while at the same pushing us to think deeply about why we were getting married, and what we wanted the ceremony to REALLY be about. She also helped us figure out logistics and practical items we might not have ever even thought about (example: make sure you take 10-15 minutes alone with your partner in a private space immediately following the ceremony before getting swept up in the larger group celebration so you can really absorb the profoundness of having just gotten married!)
Best of all, Jeddah was clearly speaking from her own heart, and very much channeling ours, as she conducted the ceremony, moving both of us and our family and friends to tears at numerous points during the ceremony.
Thank you Jeddah for making this day truly special for us!
Jeddah was the highlight of our wedding and turned out to be the most important part of our whole day! She took the time weeks before the ceremony guiding us on an internal journey in the way of thoughtfully crafting a questionnaire that allow...
ed us to take a journey neither of us could have imagined. Her warmth and presence was like nothing I have ever experienced. She had complete control of the mood and the flow- remembering everything we previously discussed- even invoking references to our love story, carefully weaving it info her minister's address. What a total gift she is! If you get the chance to find her available for your wedding- don't hesitate! Highly recommend.
Jeddah was our amazing officiant for our wedding. My wife is Catholic and I am Jewish. While we did not want a religious ceremony, we did want someone who could capture the spirituality of such a momentous event, as well as highlight the impo...
rtant cultural aspects.
Jeddah was extremely easy to work with, accommodating our busy lifestyles, coming all the way down to NYC to meet with us in person, as well as numerous e-mails and phone calls.
Jeddah was clear and up front about her entire process, and delivered in spades. She worked with us to help craft a ceremony that we wanted to share with friends and family, creating a day we will never forget!
Jaddah played a huge part in making my our day so special. From the Skypes beforehand (we're from Australia) to the many emails re our plans, to finally meeting this lovely lady outside The Dakota building, Jeddah delighted is with her humour, ...
softness, helpfulness and kindness. She was serious and light at all the right times and put a great deal of thought and energy into our ceremony. She's beautifully presented too, a really classy lady and I can't recommend her highly enough.
Jeddah, where can I begin to describe the care and thought that she put into our ceremony. Her process for crafting a once in a lifetime event from the very beginning has been an absolute pleasure. She immediately made my wife and I feel comfor...
table and confident to where we were able to open up and share personal and intimate details of our relationship in order to forge such a personal and memorable experience. She continued to work with us up until the very minute we were hand in hand exchanging vows. She was open to our wishes and offered suggestions based off our personal interests and taste making sure to always keep our dream experience as the end result. Jeddah has a very warm, open, and nurturing personality, she not only was our officiant, but easily she became just an important and personal part of our small ceremony as our other wedding guests. I will always have a special place in my heart for Jeddah, and I would happily recommend her to anyone looking for a personal and genuine once in a lifetime experience.
Jeddah was the best decision we could have ever made as our officiant. She created the perfect mix of a spiritual, yet non-religious ceremony that truly felt like us. She took the time to talk to us on the phone and meet with us at a coffee s...
hop to get to know us and really tailor the ceremony to us. She asked us about words and ideas that we feel comfortable and connect with, and gave us some "homework" to write out answers to questions, which further helped her get to know us and for us to communicate special ideas to her. She used some quotes from us in our ceremony, and offered a document of blessings and readings that we could have her say. They ranged from religious/cultural to spiritual and non-religious. Our guests commented on how beautiful the entire half hour ceremony was and how they really felt engaged in everything she and we said. Jeddah also gently helped me to overcome my fear of reading my own vows, and I can't tell you how thankful I am to her for that because it helped to really make the ceremony special and heart-felt.
I don't have enough time or space to express the gratitude I have for Jeddah being involved in our wedding.
As a couple coming to New York from Melbourne, Australia, you can imagine the questions and the unknowns of organising one of the bigg...
est days of your life without actually being in the city you're doing it in.
Jeddah was instrumental in allowing us to feel comfortable, supported and absolutely at ease with our ceremony. She is one of the rare individuals in the world of officiating celebrations where she will take the time to get to know you as a couple, ask questions that will help you reflect on the big day and isn't content with just sitting back and turning up.
Through our multiple Skype calls, our in person meeting and of course the actual ceremony itself, Jeddah was so amazing in her ability to make us feel happy and excited about the nuptials and also allowing us to take time to reflect on what it was all about.
She is incredibly thoughtful; very passionate about love and the romance of how people find each other and she's humorous to boot. She's a gorgeous human being inside and out and I'm honoured that she agreed to
help celebrate our big day.
The best way I can describe our experience with Jeddah is that she is the person you would want to invite to your wedding anyway, even if she wasn't officiating the ceremony. It just happens to be that if she does marry you both, you're even luckier for it.
We had the pleasure of being married by Jeddah. We come from different cultures and religions and Jeddah went above and beyond to make sure she made everyone felt comfortable while portraying our story. Her energy is so amazing, calm, loving an...
d peaceful. In addition to our guests she made us feel so comfortable as well. She helped guide us through the process leading up the ceremony so we were prepared and knew what to expect and she took the time to get to know us individually and as a couple. Even our guest mentioned what a great job she did and what a beautiful ceremony we had. I cannot express our gratitude enough, Jeddah made the most important day of our lives all the more beautiful. I read through many reviews and went thru many officiants before we decided to go with Jeddah and it was a great decision, if your trying to decide go with her you will be happy you did, we are! Thank you Jeddah!
We felt an immediate connection with Rev. Jeddah from the moment we met her. Her genuine enthusiasm and passion for love and life, as well as her personalized approach to creating meaningful ceremonies was clearly evident from the moment we ema...
iled an inquiry to her, all the way through the end of our ceremony. She guided us lovingly through the entire process, and had such a calming effect on everyone the day of. She was able to create a perfect ceremony that displayed all of our emotions and who we truly are as a couple. There were moments where we all teared up (including Jeddah!). Our friends and family are still raving about how lovely, intimate and personal our ceremony was, and we owe it all to her!
Jeddah, words cannot express our eternal gratitude for making our wedding the most incredible day of our lives! We will forever hold a place in our hearts for you and are so lucky we were able to cross paths with a person who has so much positive light and love to give!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful talents with us, Jeddah--not just at our wedding two Saturdays ago, but over the course of the entire planning process. From the moment our ceremony ended and up through today, everyone, including our entire...
family, has raved to us about it, echoing our own thoughts. It was everything we wanted it to be--thoughtful, balanced in its incorporation of both Jewish and Greek traditions, fun, and deeply loving--and so much more. With the advent of modern technology, we've listened to the entire ceremony twice already on long post-wedding car rides, and the tears--like the romantic pitter-patter of rain that blessed our union--come flooding back every time.
We are so grateful we found you, Jeddah; our wedding would not have been the perfect evening it was without you. From our first meeting at Le Pain Quotidien in February to our surreal evening in front of the pergola at Wave Hill in October, you were a joy to work with and added incredible meaning not just to our wedding, but to our lives and our connection.
Jeddah is someone we could connect with and immediately felt she was both sincere and positive. Jeddah officiated our wedding in a way that allowed it to be very personal to us as individuals and also enjoyable for our guests. We had many many ...
comments from friends and family about how wonderful our ceremony and Jeddah was. Guests appreciated her calming and joyful demeanor and many thought she was a personal friend of ours. We liked how she put many of our own words into the ceremony. She is very organized and helped us structure our ceremony as well and remember any details we had not thought of. She provided us with many resources to look through when searching for poetry, vows, and blessings. We felt she was able to make or ceremony memorable and assisted us to feel present and enjoy the moments of our wedding.
We are so happy that we chose Jeddah to conduct our wedding ceremony! The ceremony was lovely. The time that Jeddah took to to connect with us and get to know us long before the ceremony was reflected in what she chose to say on the day of our ...
wedding, so that her words were a perfect reflection of our feelings about marriage and towards each other and our guests. My parents said it was the best ceremony they'd ever been to (and they've been to MANY weddings). My brother said that anyone who thinks marriage is just a piece of paper never saw a ceremony like ours. Jeddah created an exquisite experience for us and our guests, and we cannot thank her enough.
We can't thank Jeddah enough for making our wedding ceremony truly special and memorable for everybody involved. Jeddah took the time to connect with us as people and learn about our relationship - where we have been and where we want to go. Sh...
e structured a beautiful ceremony. There wasn't a dry eye in attendance during our joyous celebration. Quite a few guests complimented us on the ceremony. We highly recommend Jeddah - she is a wonderful person who will work hard to make the wedding of your dreams a reality.
Jeddah helped make our wedding an unforgettable event. My wife and I come from different religious and spiritual backgrounds, and Jeddah worked with us to understand where we were coming from and what kind of ceremony we wanted. She got to know...
us both, and used that information to craft a unique and intimate ceremony, incorporating anecdotes and other special considerations from our relationship. She brought a warm glow to the wedding day, and was a very calming presence throughout the entire process. I cannot imagine how our wedding day and ceremony could have turned out any better, in no small part due to Jeddah. I couldn’t not recommend her any more highly. You’ll be in good hands.
Jeddah- We cannot thank you enough for the incredibly thoughtful, warm, lovely and personal ceremony we had. You really brought out everything in us that we wanted to be shared and your words and energy was so beautiful and sentimental. People ...
couldn't stop talking about how incredible you were. We couldn't have been more thrilled with how everything went and we have you to thank for that. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making our day so magical. We love you lots.
-Ben & Kim Guzman
Rev. Jeddah officiated at our wedding one week ago, and it was more perfect than I could have imagined. We had spent many months planning an interfaith Hindu-Jewish ceremony which contained a lot of ritual details. On the day of, not only were...
these complicated rituals smooth and perfect, but the emotional tenor of the ceremony itself was one of the most serene, profound, grounded, and joyful moments of my life. It was more perfect than I could have ever imagined. Throughout the planning process Jeddah was amazing and always available. On the day of her presence was one that transcended the frenzy, and created a feeling of amazement, calm and joy. We are so grateful, and highly recommend her!
I don't have enough good things to say about Jeddah. From the very first phone conversation/consultation to the day of our ceremony, Jeddah was exactly what we needed and were looking for. We had met with another officiant prior to finding her,...
and did not feel that it was right for us at all, and it was the complete opposite when we met Jeddah. She not only took the time to get to know us as individuals and on a very deep personal level (with her very reflective and introspective questionnaire, which I recommend for all couples on their way to getting married to complete) and made us feel valued and respected. She was such a calming presence both before and during the ceremony, and made us feel very comfortable and at ease. We also greatly appreciated the fact that she respected our wishes as far as what we did and did not wish to include in our ceremony (religious references, etc.) The ceremony felt like it was exactly tailored to us, and perfectly set the stage and tone for the rest of the evening, which was the best night of our lives in every respect. Jeddah was instrumental in reminding us of the true purpose and reason for us being there, and the significance of the ceremony, and she orchestrated everything most beautifully. We couldn't have asked for a lovelier ceremony or officiant! She also made some very good suggestions as to ways in which I could enhance my vows, which in the end made them even better and stronger than the original version. This truly made me feel that Jeddah was invested in and cared about us, which was so deeply appreciated and made all the difference. We would recommend her to any couple embarking on this journey in a heartbeat!!
After meeting Jeddah in person, my then-fiance and I immediately knew she was the right person to officiate our wedding, and looking back it was absolutely the right decision. I cannot imagine anyone else standing up with us to join us in marri...
age. Jeddah created a beautiful ceremony for my husband and I, which was true to us as individuals and a couple in every way. Every aspect was customized to us - we felt she really put in a lot of time and consideration into crafting the ceremony based on our stories and backgrounds. Our ceremony was not specific to any religion, but we still wanted it to have a spiritual and reverent feel, and she delivered exactly that. Literally all our guests commented on how very special and unique it was, and almost everyone admitted to shedding one or a few tears, which I consider a success! In addition to delivering a wonderful ceremony, I have to say that Jeddah herself has a lovely, calming presence, which was just what I needed on our wedding day! I would highly highly recommend her to anyone who is searching for an officiant for their wedding.
Jeddah was amazing throughout our entire planning process: she took the time to talk to us on the phone, meet with us in person for over an hour to get to know us, had us fill out an in-detail questionnaire which we discussed 2 weeks before the...
wedding at length, and coordinate the processional and recessional. The time we spent with her really translated into a deep, moving, very personalized and heartwarming ceremony. She drew such lovely anecdotes from our love story. All of our guests raved about the ceremony! Jeddah really listened to our wishes and tailored the tone and event accordingly.
Additionally, she was great with our families and soothing everyone who was antsy prior to the ceremony: she really has the golden people touch.
Highly recommend having Jefdah perform your ceremony.
Jeddah was absolutely wonderful!
She made a true effort to understand what we wanted for our ceremony and guide us along the way. She was supportive, interested in learning about our story and made sure we both experienced exactly what we wante...
d during our ceremony. She's the best!
Jeddah was absolutely wonderful. We had a perfect experience with her from our first meeting, where we connected deeply almost immediately, all the way through the end of our ceremony. We couldn’t have imagined a more lovely and open-hearted in...
dividual to lead us through our big day. She was instrumental in helping us prepare physically and emotionally, and she led the service with a beautifully graceful presence that perfectly encapsulated our love for one another. She was a big hit with our family and friends too, many of whom commented that it was the best ceremony they’d attended. Overall, she was a joy to work with and gave us the ceremony we dreamed of. We can’t recommend her enough.
-Caroline and Andrew
Jeddah was fantastic. She is very enjoyable to work with. She helped keep everyone calm day of and did a great job orchestrating the whole event. Many guests commented after that they were very impressed by the ceremony. I'd definitely recommen...
d Jeddah for any future wedding ceremonies.
Reverend Jeddah was there with us the entire way guiding us through the last weeks before our nuptials asking the thoughful questions that should be asked as well as bringing a warmth and compassion to her efforts on the BIG day. Neither an imp...
romptu windstorm nor a family's expectations could dent Jeddah's enthusiasm or care taken with every word, every action, every important moment . . . she is forever imprinted upon this day of days for us - thank you Jeddah from Michelle and Kai-Uwe
Jeddah was a wonderful officiant. She was a beautiful calming energy for the best day of our life. She fitted in perfectly with our family and friends. We loved her being with us.
She had a great feeling of spirit and love that was just what...
we wanted.
We couldn't have asked for a more perfect officiant.
Jeddah came to our rescue! With only a couple of weeks of advance notice Jeddah helped us put together an amazing ceremony. She was careful, considerate, and above all very well received by our guests and family. It hasn’t been my experience...
at a wedding for people to comment extensively on the ceremony, but we had multiple people tell us what a wonderful ceremony it was. Jeddah met with us personally and walked us through the process, helped us with key decisions, and made everything easy. She was flexible and accommodating and understanding of the stresses of putting together a wedding. We highly recommend her.
My wife and I come from different religious backgrounds and one of our biggest challenges/concerns was how the ceremony would celebrate both of our heritages. I'm Greek Orthodox and my wife is Jewish and we found Jeddah after reading someone's...
announcement in the times and were very excited from the start. We met with Jeddah and felt comfortable immediately and were so happy with the result. Jeddah created a ceremony that recognized both of our background and spoke to the similarities between them but also didn't make it overbearing in the connection between to two religions Jeddah did a great job of listening to what we wanted but also created her own ceremony which we still hear about to a year later. We can't say enough and would recommend her to anyone looking for an officiant that can create a religious connection without being to religious.
We are so grateful that we found Jeddah to celebrate our wedding. From the very first time we met her in person, we felt that she emanated warmth and empathy and knew that we wanted those qualities to resonate in our ceremony. Jeddah was so tho...
ughtful in her approach in getting to know us, and made sure to dig deep into our relationship and push us to do the same. We found her to be responsive, flexible, caring, generous, and calming. The latter quality is certainly something that is imperative on your wedding day, as emotions run high and lots of nervous energy and excitement builds!
Jeddah really went above and beyond when she graciously agreed to speak with one of our sick family members who otherwise wouldn't have been able to be involved in the process. We found this to be such a testament to her character and her willingness to make a connection with her couples.
In the end, Jeddah performed the most beautiful ceremony for us at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, weaving family traditions and nods to our heritage with hand picked readings and her own thoughtful kind words. Overall, it was a moment in time that we'll treasure forever and we can't thank Jeddah enough for orchestrating and sharing in it with us.
Reverend Jeddah officiated at my daughter's wedding last weekend. I will admit that I know her personally, but had never attended a wedding at which she officiated.
I will also say that I am an extremely critical person. I have attended man...
y weddings and I can still remember several where, had I been the bride, I would have stopped the officiant. Others were not cringe-worthy, but still not great.
I imagined the ceremony would be nice, but I never thought the ceremony could be as wonderful as it turned out to be. There is not a moment I would have changed.
Everything Jeddah said was lovely, appropriate and uplifting. What was particularly surprising was what I think she was able to evoke from the wedding couple. Their vows and comments were so touching. I learned new things about each of them and their relationship, and I was so impressed with them both. Although they are both highly intelligent and articulate people, I have to believe that her counseling led to this truly fantastic outcome.
Jeddah herself is so sweet, with a gentle spirit. Her manner is so positive and encouraging. She's easy to listen to and creates such a loving environment for the special day.
I don't give away compliments, but I cannot recommend an officiant any more highly than Jeddah. She is a treasure.
Jeddah was a pleasure to work with from start to finish: warm, interested in getting to know us, and a knowledgeable adviser in helping us to think through the elements we wanted to be included in our ceremony. On the day of the wedding she als...
o proved a great support, checking in with us both and putting us -- as well as our families and the rest of the wedding party -- at ease. Ultimately, Jeddah designed a ceremony that felt both meaningful and particular to us, and it really set the tone for a joyful rest of the night. Afterward, we heard from many guests who said it was one of the most beautiful and intimate ceremonies they'd ever been part of.
We were so fortunate to find Jeddah to perform our ceremony! We live in Seattle and decided to have our very small ceremony in NY, which made it necessary to plan long distance, quickly and to a great extent, trust our instincts. From start to ...
finish, Jeddah was outstanding! She knew exactly how best to communicate to get to know us, be efficient and glean the important information to allow her to create a wonderful ceremony.
Her questionnaire was well thought out and she had GREAT ideas to weave in our beliefs and incorporate our family presence in, though they were not in attendance.
If you are lucky enough to have Jeddah be your officiant; CONGRATULATIONS!!
Let us first just say that Jeddah was simply amazing to work with. From our initial meeting through the day of the wedding, Jeddah was patient, kind, understanding, thoughtful and professional. Her ability to field our many questions and conce...
rns not only put our minds at ease, but made us so excited for our wedding day. Jeddah provided us with heartfelt advice, extensive experience, and a meticulously crafted questionnaire which absolutely brought our ceremony to the next level, and incorporated so many wonderful ideas and concepts that, without her guidance, we would never have thought to include in our ceremony. Our wedding was absolutely perfect, we were able to focus on each other and our loved ones, be present in the moment, and take in this once in a lifetime experience. Jeddah constantly went the extra mile to make sure that we had everything we could need or want, from making the trip to meet with us in person, to always being available via phone for any questions or advice. We could not have imagined a more beautiful ceremony, it was everything we wanted and so much more. We have received so many compliments from all of our friends and family regarding how beautiful our ceremony (and our officiant!) was. We are so happy that we were able to have the honor of Jeddah officiating our wedding. Jeddah helped us create the wedding of our dreams.
Reverand Jeddah worked with us to create a personal and meaningful ceremony. Her guidance, presence, and soothing energy all worked well to bring us to the mindset we wanted to be in when we said our vows. She certainly has a gift, and we were ...
so grateful to be blessed by it.
For years before our wedding, my now-husband and I were certain that a family friend would be the one to marry us. After lots of back-and-forth, we found he couldn't due to our venue. It was like the one certainty since before the beginning w...
as taken away from us! After some panic and research, I found Jeddah on WeddingWire. All of her reviews mentioned her warm personality, and they were not wrong! Even through e-mail, she helped calm us down and met with us a few times via Skype and face-to-face.
Her extremely thorough questionnaire really help us shape our interfaith, not-too-religious ceremony, and forced us to have some conversations that, even after eight years, we hadn't really had. Through it all, Jeddah respectfully helped shepherd us through the most personal and important part of the wedding: the actual marriage.
To preface this review I'd to say that I am not one to particularly feel comfortable with being the center of attention (neither is my husband.)
There are so many moving parts in planning a wedding. From your overall wedding theme to the tini...
est detail of what type of napkins match your table linens. You'll meet with many different types of people in the wedding industry who you hire to create the best day of your life. Both my husband and I were looking for an officiant who was both spiritual and down to earth and who wouldn't pressure us with religion one way or another. We met with Jeddah one evening and instantly felt her warmth and connected with her. There aren't too many people who have a calming affect in New York City and amongst the hustle and bustle of the city, Jeddah did just that. We knew we found our officiant. Some may say it was that she wanted to make a good first impression but she was just as warm and genuine from our first conversation up to the moment we devoted ourselves to one another in front of our loved ones. She shared with us some words of wisdom from her experiences and helped us focus on the big beautiful picture when details of our wedding blurred our vision with frustration and headaches. She made a great effort to get to know our personalities and spiritualities as individuals and as a couple. She used that knowledge to weave a beautiful ceremony that represented us and our views on life and love for each other better than we could have imagined. As I mentioned before, we don't like being the center of attention and Jeddah ensured us that whilst up there she will help us to remain in the present and any nerves of being the center will just melt away. The ceremony was everything we had hoped for and with Jeddah's eloquence, grace and beauty that radiates from the inside out everyone should be as lucky. Thank you Jeddah!
If your children choose Jeddah to marry them, trust them and be proud. They have chosen wisely. Genuine and heartfelt, Jeddah made own son and daughter-in-law’s wedding feel intimate. The service was personal, not preachy, filled with love,...
laughter and spontaneity. With all the planning and logistics that go into weddings these days, she is the reminder that the reason you are there IS for the ceremony. We feel privileged that Jeddah wed our children. Of course this day will be joyous and memorable to you, but with Jeddah, her inner calm, spirit and exceptional delivery will make your ceremony memorable to everyone. Congratulations on finding her!
We were delighted to find Jeddah about 4 weeks before our wedding, when our family friend who was a minister was torn about whether she could still manage to perform our ceremony due to a family crisis. We encouraged this family friend to put h...
er worries aside and that we would find another option. At the very least, we thought it could be a good opportunity to meet someone new, and then we could just settle for a very simple and short ceremony. After visiting Jeddah's website, reading so many positive reviews, and feeling that her approach to weddings seemed very much in line with what we were hoping to convey, we started to get excited that perhaps we wouldn't have to settle for just a bare bones ceremony. As it turned out, she was more than willing to fit us in, despite her busy September schedule. Once we spoke on the phone and met her in person, our hopes were confirmed that she would be able to bring our wedding together with what was, for us, the missing element: the spiritual and romantic connection that needs to be given its due space before the party begins.
Because she has already officiated so many weddings, Jeddah has a tried-and-true method, a sensible and confident approach--and wholeheartedly approaches each wedding with a fresh and open mind. This grounded us, helped us pull everything together, and opened our wisdom to bring out the best of what we wanted to share with our friends and family on our wedding day: our faith in the traditional meditation practice of Falun Dafa and its guiding principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance; our love for our friends and family; and our respect to the universe for bringing us together to share the journey of life together. We received so many compliments that our ceremony was magical. And we ourselves will never forget it. Thank you Jeddah!!!
September 2015
You will not regret choosing Jeddah as your officiant. She is so warm, kind and has a very calm and loving disposition. She made our wedding day and ceremony so memorable for us as well as our almost 300 guests. She somehow made the room feel s...
o intimate and full of love! Choosing her will be the best decision you make for your wedding!
We've repeatedly heard from guests that the ceremony was the best part of the day--and we can hardly take any credit! Jeddah provided us with lengthy questionnaires that she drew from for the ceremony. Not only did it allow for Jeddah to accura...
tely comment on our love but we both felt that the questionnaires helped US realize how amazing our relationship is. Jeddah created a Jewish/Greek Orthodox ceremony for us in which we partook in traditions of both religions (chuppah, the crowning ceremony, wine blessing, breaking the glass, etc) without feeling disingenuous. She also recommended a beautiful quote about family that stole the show. She showed up right on time & with a completely calming energy. I would recommend her to anyone--especially interfaith couples!
When my husband and I were searching for an officiant who could create a personal, moving, inspiring, meaningful and warm ceremony - we knew it wouldn't be easy, but we weren't willing to compromise. Then add the fact that we wanted a non-relig...
ious ceremony that still drew from Jewish tradition, honored our commitment to animal advocacy, our fascination with science, and our humanist and existential connection to the world and universe, and we worried it would simply be impossible.
Through a recommendation we met Jeddah Vailakis. We had several meetings and she took the time to genuinely get to know us on a very deep level, rather quickly. She was professional, elegant, punctual, patient and highly organized. It was nothing short of astonishing. We were so carefully considered, so thoroughly accommodated and respected, and we felt the process was a delight rather than a burden.
I had several people approach me after the ceremony and tell me that it was the most beautiful, thought-provoking, and emotional wedding they had ever attended. There was not a dry eye in the room.
We are beyond thankful for Jeddah. We are inspired by here, and now we hope to call her a friend.
I highly recommend Jeddah ! She co-officiated my wedding in July and was spectacular. She put a lot of time and effort into getting to know my husband and me and created a very personal ceremony. We are still getting rave reviews!
Jeddah is amazing. We don’t have enough kind words for her and all she did for us. She was with us every step of the way in preparing for our wedding and came to know us very well through our ongoing conversations and her questionnaire. She was...
a guide when we needed insight while still being completely flexible to our needs and wants.
On our wedding day I became increasingly nervous on the drive over to our venue. I was a giant ball of anxiety waiting there, but once Jeddah came to speak with me, all that melted away.
What she crafted for us was incredibly beautiful and better than anything we had dreamed of. She was able to emphasize both the sanctity and the joyfulness of the occasion, and, best of all, she was able to pause time briefly in order to draw us into the moment, and I know we will carry that feeling within us for the rest of our lives.
Everyone we talk with mentions what a magical day our wedding was and that our incredible ceremony really set the tone for the rest of the celebration—and we have Jeddah to thank for that.
Words cannot convey our affection and gratitude to Jeddah for making our son and his wife’s Protestant/Jewish interfaith wedding ceremony a dream come true. Everything from her words, to her voice, to her sweet, inspiring spirit – and her seem...
less interaction with the cantor – were perfect. Everyone commented on how special the service was. We are beyond happy.
Jeddah took time in advance to know the couple well enough to include personal details about them in the service. It felt like it was about them and not boiler plate. Really lovely.
My husband and I could not be happier having selected Jeddah as our wedding officiant on June 6th. She was so thoughtful, giving, warm and all other measures were just spot-on. Jeddah's process goes far beyond the transaction at hand and really...
transforms and prepares you for the big day in all the ways we could have hoped. My husband and I walked down the aisle feeling so secure and steady, and we owe a lot of that to Jeddah. We can't thank her enough!
Reverend Jeddah was terrific first in helping prepare for our wedding ceremony, and then even more so when she 'Officiated' our wedding.
When Jeddah first met with my wife and me to discuss the wedding ceremony, she gave a general overview ...
of the ceremony, asked us to both pick readings to include in the wedding, discussed personal information she wanted to us supply about our relationship with each other, and then explained/illustrated how she would incorporate our thoughts into the wedding itself. We had several months to prepare this, which helped me put into words a bit more clearly how I feel about my wife. The three of us reviewed these notes together a few weeks before the wedding.
On our wedding day, Jeddah was there early which gave her chance to talk with each of us separately - was quite calming.
As for the ceremony itself, Reverend Jeddah made sure whatever we requested was part of the ritual: from the readings we requested to the Sand Unity Ritual, to how we exchanged rings. And Jeddah also incorporated our thoughts about each other into the ceremony, all of which helped us feel the wedding was intimate, personal and (based on other folks' comments for several weeks now) helped show the love and respect we have for each other and for our families and friends. A heartfelt ceremony to kickoff a loving lifetime commitment.
Jeddah made our ceremony everything that we wanted and so much more! My fiance and I felt nervous about choosing an officiant, and how the ceremony would go, because our families are very religious (Catholic) and we are not religious at all. W...
e wanted to be sure to respect our families and to have them feel that our ceremony was "real," and while we also wanted a meaningful, sincere ceremony, we wanted to be true to our secular natures.
The ceremony that Jeddah performed for us was absolutely beautiful and meaningful, and it brought everyone there together. Our families all loved it (including my extremely Catholic uncle), and hearing how much they loved it made us feel so good. So many people- including even the videographer- were crying happy tears! On top of the wonderful, sincere ceremony, Jeddah also took so much time with us throughout the process to get to know us, and to make everything so personal and comforting to us.
We feel grateful to Jeddah from the bottom of our hearts for such an amazing ceremony that truly reflected us. We were so happy and relieved that it brought everyone together the way that it did, and that it expressed our love so personally and completely.
We used Jeddah for our Feb 21st wedding and cannot say enough how happy we are with her.
We are very spiritual but not religious and wanted to find an officiant that reflected this. We absolutely found this in Jeddah. She seemed to just know e...
xactly what we needed and wanted and really listened to us. She really catered to us individually and as a couple and made sure to make us both feel equally comfortable.
Everything about the process of working with her was great. She is kind, patient, understanding and has an aura of calmness and love about her that proved essential on our big day. The questionnaire she had us fill out was a great opportunity to reflect on our relationship and life together as a couple.
Jeddah showed up on time to our venue IN A SNOWSTORM and really helped to make sure everything went off without a hitch, which was especially important because our "coordinator" was not very helpful. Her calming energy and guidance really helped to sooth our nerves and the ceremony was absolutely beautiful!
Jeddah made our ceremony so special, spoke eloquently and was not one of those ministers that feels like they need to preach and put their 2 cents into it. Jeddah's only agenda was making sure we were happy, that she spoke about what we wanted and agreed on and made our ceremony all about us and our loved ones.
Our families and friends were extremely impressed with her and a few even asked me for her contact information so they could look into having her officiate their weddings. I cannot even begin to express how wonderful it was to have Jeddah there to officiate our wedding. We are so very blessed, honored and grateful to have had such an amazing person marry us and the memories she gave us and our loved ones will be cherished forever. I highly recommend hiring Jeddah, you will not be disappointed. Thank you so much Jeddah!!
Words cannot express our enormous gratitude for such a wonderful Wedding Ceremony Jeddah was the leader of!
We feel deeply touched, everything was truly magical, more beautiful than we could have ever imagined.
She created such wonderful ener...
gy, joy & an amazing atmosphere for our biggest moment. Her words were very beautiful & personal, she was kind and warm.
We also have heard from many of our family & friends how amazing the ceremony made them feel and how touched they were. Most of them experienced that kind of spiritual/ interfaith ceremony for the first time... Everyone loved being there!
There could not have been a better person to conduct the most special and important Ceremony of our lives.
Jeddah is a sweet, loving, thoughtful person and any couple would be lucky to have her officiate their wedding. I couldn't have found a better officiant and I will forever be grateful for her.
Jeddah has a very warm and welcoming presence and we connected with her right away. She did a fantastic job officiating our interfaith wedding. She shared ideas of how we could incorporate both Jewish and Christian elements into our ceremony,...
and really took the time to get to know us and our story.
Our wedding was very intimate with only our parents, siblings, and their spouses, and Jeddah made everyone very comfortable and led them through each of their small speaking roles. Everyone commented on how wonderful the service was and how Jeddah really captured the moment. Thank you, Jeddah!
Jeddah is amazing. From the moment I met her I knew it would be a great fit. She has the most powerful yet soft energy. We were so pleased with how personal and heartfelt our ceremony was…Jeddah was a huge part of that. I am still receiving pra...
ise about Jeddah and our ceremony. Her questionaire is very thorough and you learn a lot about yourself. I would recommend working with Jeddah.
Lindsay and I recently got married in Hudson, NY. It was such a perfect day in large part due to Jeddah. People are still complimenting us on how special the ceremony was. Jeddah so gracefully reflected our style and captured all of the love an...
d excitement of the day. It would not have been the same without her.
Jeddah, thank you so much for your guidance and all of the thought and love you put into our marriage ceremony. Anyone would be absolutely lucky to have you!
Best always - Lindsay & Cassia
We approached Jeddah to officiate our wedding, and she was so wonderful through the entire process. We are Australians who traveled to NY to be married and she went above and beyond to guide us not only through the process of being married but ...
also gave additional assistance in helping us organise the day from afar, relieving so much stress from the process.
We were not able to visit Central Park before the day and Jeddah recommended locations for a ceremony based on our brief, and gave additional assistance ad advice on the process of getting married in the US and NY.
The ceremony itself was a dream due to Jeddah's exceptional approach to personalising the ceremony, using words and quotes we had provided in individually completes questionnaires and making sure the tone was just right to reflect our wishes but also the beliefs of our parents.
We can't recommend Jeddah highly enough and are thrilled she was part of the most special day in our lives.
Contact Info for Jeddah Vailakis, Elegant & Heartfelt Ceremonies
Serving the NY Metro Area, New York, NY | Serving the NY Metro Area(917) 319-9303
Meet the Team
Jeddah Vailakis
Owner
Hello and congratulations! Thank you so much for finding me! What an exciting time in your lives! I am a New York City and Hudson Valley wedding officiant ordained in 2002 and registered in the state of New York. I have been featured twice in Martha Stewart Weddings offering expert advise on the ceremony process and am the recipient of The Knot Best of Weddings every year since 2011 and Wedding Wire Couples Choice Awards since 2012 representing the top 5% of couples choice awards in New York. I would love to speak with you! Please fill out the contact form from my website link. Thank you!
