Jeddah Vailakis, Elegant & Heartfelt Ceremonies

An Incredible Wedding Ceremony

In our quest to find a sensitive, funny, well-spoken, (perhaps even cool?) officiant to marry us, my fiance and I had nearly given up.  It seemed an impossible task! Then we found Jeddah.   Jeddah is a miracle ~ a beautiful, warm, graceful woman with a wonderful sense of... Read More humour and deeply spiritual mind.  Now, there are many people out there willing to marry you, but a rare few will go to such lengths to really understand your story, your personalities, your vision for your wedding.  Jeddah went to all these lengths and more.  She was able to very skillfully weave together a ceremony that moved all of our guests, from the youngest cousin to the wisest grandparent, and everyone in between.  The ceremony was personal, cheerful, thought-provoking, and completely unique. When Jeddah speaks, she warms even the coldest hearts.  I swear i even saw tears in the eyes of the hotel staff!  Many, many guests told us it was the best ceremony they’d ever attended.   Time has passed, and long after the cake is eaten and the flowers have wilted, that incredible ceremony continues to live on as a source of joy for me and my husband.  It launched our lives together in a perfect, glorious moment... and that is truly a priceless thing.   Hire Jeddah.  After marrying the man of your dreams, it will be the best decision you make.

Dan

Reverend Jeddah lives up to all her reviews. I am the owner/director of The Upper Crust, Catering & Events in New York City. I recently married my partner of some 32 years this past June. When looking for our officiant we went to the person that so many of our clients have... Read More raved about, Reverend Jeddah. Oh my goodness...what a wonderful experience. I had heard that she was good, but, oh my! We were calmly and warmly led us through the experience of creating and celebrating our marriage. She actually married us twice, once at a small ceremony in New York City and 2 days later at the larger celebration (185 guests) at our home in Pennsylvania. We were startled that each ceremony was separately crafted. Each was heartfelt and spoke to the group assembled. I cannot tell you how many people told us it was the most beautiful and compelling wedding ceremony they had ever been to. She wound us and the attending community in spirit of love. Everyone said they saw the love and respect we shared and the love we felt for all attending. Everyone felt included in this process. And this was because of the kindness, intelligence and love that Reverend Jeddah brought to our celebration.

Beautiful Jeddah!

Oh my, were we completely certain that we had found our minister after our first meeting with Jeddah. She completely "got" us and we felt a strong connection, something that had been lacking in our meetings with many other officiants. Her words reminded us just what all of this... Read More planning was about and truly changed how we went forth from there. All 3 of us shed tears during that first meeting. We rearranged our entire timeline for the day in order to have her there with us. On the day of, she arrived early and was a source of calm for my loved ones and for Adam and I. There were tears of love and joy throughout the ceremony and much laughter. She helped us choose a beautiful water ritual, which she had actually designed herself. She was genuine, tender, poetic, calming and brought a lot of light into our lives and into our day. I truly hope our paths continue to cross and I am so glad that she was able to contribute to our day. Jeddah is a special soul who we feel very grateful to have met.

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! Such 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... Read More 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 really wanted to make our ceremony... Read More 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 guidance, spirituality and customization... Read More 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... Read More 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... Read More 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... Read More 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... Read More 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!

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... Read More 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 wedding plans. Her warmth and... Read More 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 allowed us to take a journey neither of... Read More 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 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 allowed us to take a journey neither of... Read More 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 important cultural aspects. Jeddah was... Read More 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.... Read More 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 comfortable and confident to where we... Read More 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 shop to get to know us and really... Read More 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 biggest days of your life without... Read More 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 and peaceful. In addition to our... Read More 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 emailed an inquiry to her, all the way... Read More 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,... Read More 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.