Ancient Wisdom, Modern Sensibilities
Brent Spodek
RABBI
Typically responds within 24h
AWARD WINNER (5X)
Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek is a Hudson-Valley baed marriage officiant specializing in emotionally intelligtent communications.
Rabbi Brent is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring rabbis in America, and in his work with soon-to-be-wed couples, he is committed to helping couples work together as a team through the inevitable challenges of life. You can read more about him here: https://www.rabbibrentspodek.net/about
Rabbi Brent works with couples to make sure that thier ceremony reflects their personal needs and that their ketubah, or marriage contract, reflects the actual promises they are making to each other. Marriage is about much more than monogamy - its about communication and connection, even in hard times.
Its not 1952 amymore - plenty of people live with their partners without being married and are quite happy. So why are you getting married?
Rabbi Brent works with couples who are interested in doing the soul-work of articulating the specific, individual promises they want to make before entering this next chapter of their lives. You can see more about his approach here: https://www.rabbibrentspodek.net/weddings-anniversaries
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Details
Ceremony Types
Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Elopement
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Second Wedding
Vow Renewal Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
Jewish
Conservative
Reform
Wedding Activities
After The Wedding
Newlywed Life
Premarital Counseling
Wedding
Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
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Meet the team
Brent Spodek
Rabbi
Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek has been recognized by the Jewish Forward as one of the most inspiring rabbis in America, by Hudson Valley Magazine as a Person to Watch and by Newsweek as "a rabbi to watch." He is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute and a Fellow of the Schusterman Foundation.
Rabbi Brent works extensively with couples preparing for marriage, serves as a member of the faculty at Pardes North America and has been the rabbi at Beacon Hebrew Alliance since 2010. Prior to that, he served as the Rabbi in Residence at American Jewish World Service and was the Marshall T. Meyer Fellow at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York.
Rabbi Brent holds rabbinic ordination and a master's degree in philosophy from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was the first recipient of the Neubauer Fellowship. Prior to entering the rabbinate, he attended Wesleyan University and worked as a daily journalist in Durham, NC. He lives in Beacon with his wife Alison, a professor of environmental chemistry at Vassar College, and their two children.
Reviews
5.0
out of 5.034 reviews
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Review Summary
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Rabbi Brent receives overwhelmingly positive reviews from couples who found his premarital counseling invaluable in strengthening their relationships and preparing them for marriage. Multiple reviewers highlight Rabbi Brent's ability to create a personal and meaningful wedding ceremony, incorporating their values and traditions seamlessly. His warmth, guidance, and ability to make the ceremony both welcoming and inclusive left a lasting impression on guests, with many expressing high praise for his services. The personalized Ketubah texts and insightful conversations contribute to the exceptional experience he offers, making Rabbi Brent highly recommended for couples seeking a special and thoughtful wedding ceremony.Review photos
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Elise P
5.0
1/14/2025
We were recommended Rabbi Brent by friends who were doing premarital counseling with him after seeing him officiate their friends' wedding. I hadn't even thought about premarital counseling, but it turned out to be such an important and meaningful experience for us. Rabbi Brent facilitated us having big conversations about our relationship, helping us to instill the practice going forward and build and maintain a strong foundation for our family. Every session that we had with him, he provided thoughtful, helpful guidance, along with useful literature on relevant topics.
By the time we were planning the nuts and bolts of the ceremony, we had spent so much time in deep conversation with Rabbi Brent that we had grown incredibly comfortable with him. He helped us write a beautiful custom text for our ketubah, which makes the act of signing it feel much more intimate and personal.
He made the ceremony easy and comfortable, and brought a lot of love to the event. And he was the hit of the night. We've received more praise for his performance than for any other aspect of our--in my biased opinion--perfect wedding. We cannot recommend using Rabbi Brent more strongly!
Peter H
5.0
11/18/2024
Rabbi Brent was was recommended to us by a friend who saw him officiate a wedding. Leading up to the ceremony, we had several sessions with him that helped us grow closer as a couple, and on the big day he did an an amazing job making it special. We received many comments after the ceremony that he was an excellent officiant.
Any questions?
Ronni L
5.0
11/07/2024
We truly don’t even know where to begin with Rabbi Brent. Hiring him for our wedding and pre-marrital counseling was perhaps one of the best decisions we made for our big day. We were a bit skeptical in the beginning, but as soon as we had our first meeting with Rabbi Brent, we knew we made the right decision. He went from being a complete stranger to us, to feeling like a true friend by the time of our wedding, and we couldn’t have imagined our wedding day without him. Though my husband and I didn’t necessarily uncover new truths about each other through the counseling, the meetings with Rabbi Brent helped reinforce the principles and values that we need to make our relationship successful and gave us a new perspective on marriage. The best part by far was writing our own Ketubah. This was incredibly special, and something we’ll cherish forever. Rabbi Brent is super kind, personable and really really funny, which really makes it very easy to open up to him. He did a fantastic job at our ceremony, bringing the perfect blend of Judaism and our own love story, which made the wedding feel very personal. Our family members loved him. We’d highly highly recommend Rabbi Brent’s services if you want a personalized and special wedding ceremony as well as introspective and meaningful pre-marital counseling.
Anna Y
5.0
11/07/2024
Rabbi Brent was amazing to work with. We came to him, a non-jewish couple that grew up exposed to many religious backgrounds, because when we met him we felt incredibly comfortable and were excited to see his enthusiasm for our marriage. We particularly enjoyed the "pre-marital" counseling, where we met with Rabbi Brent about every 2 weeks for the ~4 months leading up to the wedding. He posed many questions to topics we didn't even realize had not been addressed in the time of our 5 year relationship. Rabbi Brent was a pleasure to work with, and we highly recommend him to any couple looking for insightful and rewarding discussions before getting married.
Added bonus, he was a hit with all of our family and friends during the ceremony. We continue to get feedback about how beautifully he spoke and how thoughtful his speech was.
Tess S
5.0
10/22/2024
We had an incredibly positive experience with Rabbi Brent from the very first call. His warm, positive energy immediately drew us in, and we knew we were in good hands. Over the course of several months, through our meetings with him, Rabbi Brent really got to know us as a couple, which made the entire experience feel personal and meaningful. The pre-wedding meetings were invaluable in preparing us for marriage, helping us tackle important and sometimes difficult conversations, ensuring we were aligned or could communicate effectively through any differences.
On the day of our wedding, Rabbi Brent led a beautiful and meaningful ketubah signing ceremony just before the main ceremony, which provided a grounding moment amidst all the excitement. Our wedding ceremony itself ended up being our favorite part of the entire day. Thanks to all the work we did leading up to it, we felt calm, confident, and completely focused on each other.
We cannot recommend working with Rabbi Brent enough!
Kaylee Q
5.0
10/21/2024
We knew the moment we had our first introductory meeting with Rabbi Brent that we had made a great decision. Rabbi Brent served not only as an officiant for our wedding, but as a guiding light through the entire process. As an interfaith couple, we were unsure what our ceremony would look like and wanted to ensure both families felt represented. Rabbi Brent went above and beyond to do so, researching and performing a traditional Irish hand binding ceremony and reading. In addition to officiating a beautiful ceremony, our work with Rabbi Brent went so far beyond that. During our weekly sessions and conversations at home, my now husband and I learned invaluable tools about communication, conflict resolution, the importance of “checking in” and connection. Our sessions never felt like therapy, rather speaking with a trusting, wise and knowledgeable friend with no judgement. We took so much away from our time and experience working with Rabbi Brent and know that the lessons we’ve learned will help us through life’s challenging seasons. We also take comfort in knowing our relationship and journey with Rabbi Brent did not end on our wedding day and that he is someone we can always turn to for guidance and life milestones. You will not regret working with Rabbi Brent, it was the easier vendor decision to make.
Matthew G
5.0
10/18/2024
We had such a wonderful experience working with Rabbi Brent. I can’t recommend him enough.
With Rabbi Brent, you’re not hiring someone to perform a wedding ceremony, you’re hiring a premarital counselor who happens to be conducting the ceremony after you’ve finished working with him. If that feels right to you, look no further.
For the first several sessions, Rabbi Brent gave us questions to ask each other and guide us through important conversations. Many of them we had touched on in the past, but it was helpful to really make sure we were on the same page.
As we discussed our conversations with him, he was completely non judgmental about all sorts of things you might be nervous to tell a rabbi.
Ultimately he guided us through writing our own Ketubah, which was so much more personal than a standard issue document.
We finished the process itching to keep Rabbi Brent in our lives, and I’m looking forward to the day we have him over for a drink.
Jonathan G
5.0
9/26/2024
Rabbi Brent is one of those "one in a million" type of a people. He is kind, thoughtful, and deeply caring. He guided us tremendously throughout the experience and increase the strength of our relationship. All of our guests commented on how amazing he is. We are lucky to have met him and have had him as a part of this process. He is an incredible human and would recommend him to anyone.
Sydney A
5.0
9/25/2024
We were incredibly fortunate to have Rabbi Brent officiate our wedding ceremony. From the moment we met, Rabbi Brent exuded warmth and kindness , making us feel at ease through our 12 sessions we met with him leading up to our Wedding day. During the ceremony it was evident that Rabbi Brent really knew us and created an atmosphere of comfort and inclusivity for everyone present. Majority of our guests commented on how much they loved Rabbi Brent for this reason! One of the most meaningful moments was the signing of the Ketubah. Rabbi Brent made this tradition incredibly meaningful, explaining its significance in a way that resonated deeply with us and our guests. Rabbi Brent’s ability to blend personal and traditional elements truly made our ceremony and wedding unique and special. We are so grateful. We couldn’t have asked for a better officiant to lead us into this new chapter of our lives! Absolutely book him to lead yours!
Schuyler Q
5.0
5/13/2024
Rabbi Brent's counciling and ceremony were so perfect for us! He made all of the traditions feel so contemporary and approachable and were appreciated by both our jewish and non jewish guests alike! One of the most meaningful parts of the wedding for us and our families was our ketubah signing- it was a brief moment to get centered and mentally grounded for all of the madness to come at the ceremony. He was very flexible with our ever changing schedules and just did such a wonderful job from start to finish!
Maeve G
5.0
3/31/2024
Rabbi Brent was a delight to work with. He creates an environment that allows a new type of communication that pushed our comfort zones and made us all the more thrilled to be planning our lives together. It can be hard to know if a service like this is worth it, but it was our favorite part of the wedding planning process and, we expect, the most rewarding. Rabbi Brent brings a personal perspective and wisdom that we find ourselves revisiting in the early days of our marriage- it was a gift to work with him in laying the foundation for a long future - thank you Rabbi Brent!
Perri S
5.0
11/25/2023
When thinking about the countless decisions we made for our wedding, I don’t think any were more impactful than our decision to work with Rabbi Brent. Not only did working with him lead to an amazing wedding day, but our many meetings together before the ceremony helped prepare us for the lifetime of marriage ahead of us. These interactions were so personal and instructive with how to approach the milestone of marriage, and working with him to discuss the true challenges and joys of this commitment provided us with an honest, sincere understanding of what is to come. Working with him to craft our own custom Ketubah text was such a meaningful and special experience and we are so glad that we will have this text to guide us throughout our marriage. We also can’t speak highly enough about how wonderful a job Rabbi Brent did on our wedding day. Our immediate family all recount our ketubah signing as their favorite part of the day, and we could not have imagined a more beautiful or meaningful chuppah ceremony. We’ve received feedback from numerous guests, both Jewish and not, about how great Rabbi Brent was and how the ceremony was both personal and accessible.
When you work with Rabbi Brent, you become a member of his congregation - this means you are privy to his wisdom, his kindness, and his generosity as he works personally with you as a couple to plan a memorable wedding ceremony and a meaningful life ahead. We are SO glad we chose to work with Rabbi Brent and would do it over again in a heartbeat.
Kayla R
5.0
11/05/2023
At first, we were hesitant to work with a Rabbi we did not have a prior relationship with or one that we weren’t going to meet until the day of the wedding – Rabbi Brent easily put all of these concerns to rest. Rabbi Brent was incredible to work with from day 1. Through our time with him, he encouraged us to ask each other thought provoking questions about the lives we want to lead. The conversations were intriguing and deep without ever getting uncomfortable. Dually, these conversations helped us let Rabbi Brent into our lives and familiarize himself with our relationship so much so that on the day of the wedding when we finally met, it was like being reunited with an old friend. Rabbi Brent was truly a pleasure to work with and I would highly recommend hiring him for your occasion.
Zac M
5.0
10/14/2023
We couldn't have asked for a better wedding officiant than Rabbi Brent. His genuine care, eloquence, and ability to tailor our ceremony to reflect our love story made our day truly magical. If you want a memorable and personal wedding experience, Rabbi Brent is the perfect choice. Our love for each other deepened through our counseling sessions with Rabbi Brent. We have found a life long friend and advocate in Rabbi Brent.
Scott M
5.0
9/10/2023
Rabbi Brent made our wedding experience so meaningful and rich with love and laughter. From the first time we met Rabbi Brent through to our wedding day he truly took an interest in our lives and relationship. His concept of "pre-marriage" counseling made our relationship stronger in the stressful months leading up to the wedding. At the end of the day we left with a lifelong friend and and mentor, would highly recommend to anyone.
Rose G
5.0
7/27/2023
Our wedding day was such a joyous occasion, and we owe a big part of that to Rabbi Brent! When we first met Rabbi Brent, we both agreed that we wanted him to officiate our wedding.
Not only did Rabbi Brent officiate our ceremony, but he also provided us with counseling sessions leading up to our wedding day. These sessions were an opportunity for us to explore our relationship further and gain insight into ourselves. Rabbi Brent guided us through each session. He provided a safe and nurturing space where we could openly discuss our hopes, dreams, and concerns. He took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple, allowing him to craft a ceremony that was personal and meaningful.
During the ceremony itself, Rabbi Brent integrated our values, beliefs, and traditions into the service, making it a true reflection of who we are. He created a welcoming and warm atmosphere during our sessions with him as well as on our wedding day. Thank you, Rabbi Brent!
Erica T
5.0
7/16/2023
Don’t even think twice about hiring rabbi Brent for your wedding. He is thoughtful, engaging, professional, and really helped us get to get deeper as a couple. He led us to a really great place and we loved working with him. The ceremony was exactly what we wanted and he really listened to us. Thank you so much for everything rabbi Brent!! Highly recommend!
Carlo B
5.0
6/28/2023
Rabbi Brent was an excellent source of insight. His guidance and process was both approachable and deeply meaningful, and and he provided wonderful tools to help us get ready for this incredible and important stage in our relationship. This work was a highlight for us in the midst of wedding planning. It was so valuable to have time to connect with each other, on what marriage means to us, and why we're doing this. We are very grateful for his humble and honest approach and will continue to recommended him to friends.
Chloe L
5.0
11/06/2022
Working with Rabbi Brent was wonderful! We both loved having so much time ahead of the wedding to meet with Brent so that he could get to know us better as a couple and so that we could work through big and small details about the future of our relationship. Brent was so kind, professional, compassionate, and thoughtful. Nothing felt cookie-cutter, everything was tailored to us and our unique experiences. It was so easy to talk with him and just as great to listen to him! So many of our guests remarked on how beautiful his words were during our ceremony -- while we were a little over-stimulated and excited while it was all happening, we have so enjoyed re-watching the video of the ceremony and loved all of the personal and touching remarks Brent made. It was the perfect way to start our marriage! Thank you, Brent!
Rachel G
5.0
10/19/2022
There's a reason Rabbi Brent has exclusively 5-star, heartfelt reviews: he is simply the best. Working with Rabbi Brent was our favorite part of the wedding process. This took us by surprise in the best way: we're an interfaith, interracial couple (Jewish, and Dominican Catholic-turned-atheist), and we didn't come in with too many needs beyond wanting a ceremony that was accessible to everyone and that felt "like us." But we got so much more than what we expected. While planning for a wedding can be a mix of happiness and excitement (as well as wedding-industrial complex hell, at times...) most of it isn't particularly "meaningful," for lack of a better term. In other words, every other vendor for a wedding is, understandably, about locking down details for the big day: flower arrangements, table settings, photos, transportation, etc. We didn't realize that Rabbi Brent would be the only part of the process that ensured we had a built-in time to explore what our marriage really means at large: we were able to really focus on us as a couple, and put the work into investigating how we want to foster a long, healthy relationship together.
Rabbi Brent is so compassionate, curious, generous, funny, and wise, and met us where we at every step of the way. There was nothing about his process that was dogmatic or exclusionary to someone who didn't grow up Jewish, but at the same time, he really knows his stuff and how to apply all his knowledge to your individual relationship. It was also fun! We looked forward to our meetings with him so much, and were constantly telling all our friends about it: each time after we met with Rabbi Brent, we'd have a date night and review a thoughtful series of questions he shared with us. Those questions are honestly something I believe every couple, regardless of religion or marital status, would be better for asking and exploring. We came to consider Rabbi Brent a dear friend and part of our community. And the day-of was just as we wanted, too: meaningful, funny, thoughtful, accessible, and felt "like us". We truly could not recommend Rabbi Brent more!
Natalie e
5.0
10/18/2022
Rabbi Brent was the single best decision we made for our wedding. We knew we wanted more than just a rabbi for hire, and struck gold with Rabbi Brent. His thoughtful process not only created a beautiful wedding ceremony, but was invaluable for us as a couple. I raved about Rabbi Brent and his process to everyone during the months we worked together, and then all of our guests raved about Rabbi Brent and his amazing ceremony to us. He is worth every penny and what you gain from his work is so powerful.
Ethan L
5.0
10/09/2022
My wife, Leah and I were looking for a rabbi to officiate our wedding at the Roundhouse in Beacon, NY. Rabbi Brent came highly recommended by the venue, and as soon as we met him for the first time we understood why.
During that first meeting, we sat on his front porch and talked about our family dynamics, our relationship to each other and to Judaism, our thoughts and feelings about marriage as an institution, and why we wanted to get married in the first place. He had a way of making us feel at ease, allowing us to open up about things that are deeply personal but really important to discuss before taking such a huge step in life together.
From that afternoon on, through dozens of conversations, he helped us understand each other on a deeper level and communicate effectively about topics that had the potential for causing tension and frustration. He always seemed to have the perfect things to say, drawing from his own writing and his favorite selections from literature (both religious and secular). The ketubah we produced with his guidance is a really special keepsake that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.
Working with Rabbi Brent was essentially like doing pre-marriage couples therapy. His process was thorough and it required a significant amount of effort, but it was hands-down the most important investment we made throughout the two years we spent planning our wedding. We formed a really special bond with Rabbi Brent and we feel so fortunate to have him as a resource in our lives, from these early months as newlyweds and beyond. We love him!!
Jordan S
5.0
10/04/2022
At first, I was pretty lukewarm on the process of holding a wedding. Me and my now wife had already gotten a marriage certificate during the pandemic two years prior, and the thought of going through the entire process and expense of putting on such a production seemed to be overkill to celebrate something that had already "happened.''
Now, however, thanks primarily to Rabbi Brent, I look back at the lead-up to our wedding and our ceremony as a truly wonderful experience that I believe will pay dividends decades into the future. Alongside helping lead a beautiful wedding, we're convinced the process materially improved the chances of us having a healthy marriage that lasts in the long run.
As we began our introductory session, very quickly my wife and I realized that we were about to undergo the furthest thing from an assembly-line process a few of my friends have been disappointed in in their experiences with religious officiants.
Rabbi Brent began by quickly leading us into conversations in and out of session with him about the shape and tenor of our lives. These sorts of discussions we had occasionally engaged with but were too polite and non-confrontational to address directly. Rabbi Brent got us talking about what matters, like the shape and tenor of the lives we hoped to live with each other, what marriage meant to both of us, the expectations we had for each other in our relationship, and what role we wanted Judaism to play in our lives.
While leading into these conversations, he also gave us the tools to address them more constructively and from a more loving posture. We would check in every few weeks, check in on what serious life topics we discussed and what fights we had. Rabbi Brent is openminded and a professional-grade listener who did a masterful job of taking us into and beyond our disagreements and transforming them into learning opportunities on how we should best engage with each other. While he has a rough schema for the types of topics he wants to get into, he is flexible and skilled enough to use the "material" our relationship raises each week to bring us to where the discussions grow most useful.
The principles and tools he introduced and demonstrated on our disagreements helped us look at problems thematically and not settle for one-off solutions. For instance, the framework he kept coming back to, the need to recall the occasionally wide distance between impact and intention, is a really helpful way of looking at relationships I expect to come back to for decades to come. These discussions culminated in an exercise to write a ketubah which was deeply meaningful to both of us.
Our relationship was between a Jew and a gentile, and Rabbi Brent handled the discussions with sensitivity and grace. He led a beautiful ceremony us three developed together that was a life highlight.
I could not give a stronger recommendation for choosing Rabbi Brent to accompany you and your future spouse through your marriage process. If you have questions feel free to get in touch with me via linkedin or twitter https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorschneider https://twitter.com/jordanschnyc?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor.
Noa R
5.0
9/22/2022
We couldn’t be happier to have found Rabbi Brent. Working with him for the time leading up to our wedding, instead of just hiring someone for the day of did so much for us. Rabbi Brent’s approach is different in the best way. We instantly felt comfortable with him, and looked forward to each meeting together. During this time, not only did he help us to reach a deeper understanding of one another, he also got to know us very well, as individuals and as a couple, which made our ceremony all the more special and meaningful. Our wedding guests are still commenting on how awesome our Rabbi was, and how beautifully he lead our ceremony.
My husband and I were raised with different levels of exposure/connection to our Jewish heritages, and Rabbi Brent was an informative and gentle guide through the Jewish learning areas while always being open and not overbearing, and sent us helpful material to learn from on our own. He prepared us for the inevitable ups and downs of a long lasting marriage, and our sessions even helped ground us during the exciting, but also overwhelming process of wedding planning. Our beautiful Ketubah, which is now framed in our living room, was written by us, with the guidance of Rabbi Brent, and we love that it’s so personal to us.
After this experience, we believe that this process should be a standard for all couples before getting married. We will surely recommend Rabbi Brent to any Jewish (and Jew-ISH) friends and family who decide to get married in the future.
Janelle D
5.0
8/07/2022
We loved working with Rabbi Brent! As soon we had our first conversation with him, we knew we were in good hands. Part of his process was to get to know us and prepare us for the ceremony over 10 Zoom sessions. During these sessions we had thoughtful discussions and Rabbi Brent took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple. We come from different religious backgrounds, and he helped facilitate conversations around religion, as well as emotional intelligence, our families, and our relationship. We worked together to write our ketubah and plan our ceremony. On our wedding day, our family and friends were touched by how well Rabbi Brent knew us and how personal and beautiful the ceremony was. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house! We highly recommend working with Rabbi Brent and hope our paths cross again.
Samantha V
5.0
7/19/2022
There is truly no words that can express our gratitude, appreciation, and love for Rabbi Brent. As a jewish couple, it was very important for us to have a rabbi that aligned with our jewish beliefs was important to us. But also, one that actually knew us as a couple and had a connection to our love and this commitment we were making to each other. While my husband and I did not have relationships with rabbis from growing up, we were starting from scratch. We got married in beacon (The Roundhouse) and during my husbands search for Rabbis in the area, up popped Rabbit Brent Spodek. We met with him in September 2021 in person and from there, we connected instantly. He made us feel comfortable as we shared our story, what we wanted from our wedding, and our dreams and hope for the future as a couple. Leading up to our June 2022 wedding, we spent the next 9 months meeting with Brent over ZOOM for sessions where we talked about our families, the kind of marriage we wanted for ourselves, our communication styles - essentially pre-martial counseling. While we did not anticipate this when we started our rabbi search for our wedding, this was a blessing I know my husband and I are grateful for. Through these sessions, Brent not only got to know us better - but also guide us on how to strengthen our relationship and areas in our relationship that needed support. Two months before the wedding, we talked through logictics of the ceremony and ketbuah - and Brent was incredibly helpful, organized, and knowledgeable. Then, the day of the wedding, when we had our ketubah signing, I was so emotional - in the best way possible. Feeling so grateful for the day and for Rabbi Brent being in our lives and helping us to this day. The ketubah signing and ceremony went off without a hitch. Actually, a bee landed on my hand as I was reading my vows and Rabbi gently brushed it away. He kept us calm, focused, and looking ahead. Even in the sun, while it was quite warm, the rabbi kept his cool. I know he will be a part of our lives forever and we are forever thankful to Rabbi Brent.
Melissa R
5.0
7/01/2022
When looking for a rabbi for our wedding we were very specific in our interview process. We wanted to work with someone who didn’t just show up on the day of but showed up throughout the months leading up to the wedding and after. When we met with Rabbi Brent – we knew instantly it was a perfect match. He not only made our ceremony so personable, but he made the months leading up to the wedding so joyous. He reminded us of the importance to break barriers and really develop our emotional intelligence. He helped us understand our love languages and value what we were doing well in our relationship. Our wedding ceremony was also perfect. Our friends all commented on how personable and authentic it was. Rabbi Brent is someone you will love spending time with! We cannot say enough positive things about him as a rabbi and a person! We will cherish the discussions and ceremony for the rest of our lives! We HIGHLY recommend Brent!
Jennifer G
5.0
12/03/2021
When we imagined what the process of getting married would be like, we knew that there would be many decisions to make about the wedding day. We wanted our engagement to not just be about the minutia of wedding planning, but also wanted to spend time preparing ourselves for the commitments we were about to make to each other. Rabbi Brent is more than just a wedding officiant. He gently and lovingly guided us through a process of learning about ourselves and each other. Our time meeting with him, working through a list of questions as a couple (over some wine), and writing letters to each other helped clarify why we decided to take this next step as a couple. Our letters to each other were the basis of the formal commitments we made to each other on our wedding day (in the form of a Ketubah). We are able to look at our ketubah every day and reaffirm our promises to each other. Our family and friends who attended our wedding spoke so highly of Rabbi Brent. They marveled at how beautiful the ceremony was and how well he knew us. The ceremony was deeply personal and reflected all of the work we did with Rabbi Brent. We feel so indebted to him for helping us become a stronger couple. We highly recommend him!
Jackie G
5.0
11/15/2021
Rabbi Brent met with us multiple times during our engagement as we prepared for the wedding. He is able to provide couples with meaningful advice about partnerships with a deep appreciation of religious thought balanced by an understanding of the world we live in today. He is thoughtful, extremely knowledgeable, and compassionate. He infused the harried wedding preparation with meaning and value that can often get lost in the shuffle. We are so appreciative of his guidance.
Rachel I
5.0
11/12/2021
Working with Brent isn't just about your wedding day: it's about the marriage you're creating, and the promises that each of you want and need to make to one another to build a meaningful and lifelong partnership. He guided is through a powerful and thoughtful process, which included writing our own custom marriage contract (ketubah). We LOVE this document, and read it often, because it's a beautiful reminder of why we're so great together and what we need to do to keep our marriage strong. When we navigated challenges leading up to our wedding, Brent was there to give us invaluable relationship and communication tools. And when our first year of marriage was unexpectedly filled with numerous medical scares and a global pandemic, those tools served us time and again. In all the hard of life, our marriage is what's rock solid, and we know that our choice to work with Brent helped us make that a reality. Plus, he couldn't have been better on the wedding day itself! We're so grateful to have worked with him, and truly couldn't recommend Brent more highly!!
Jon B
5.0
11/10/2021
Rabbi Brent Spodek is a natural at reading people and understanding what they need, often before they know it themselves. This unique talent not only enabled him to connect with us as a couple, but helped us connect better with each other as we were preparing to marry. His sincerity, honesty and clarity of thought during our wedding preparations helped steered us into this next phase of our lives, and his officiating set the tone we were looking for - both joyful and sacred. And, of course, both our families are big fans of his. We recommend Rabbi Spodek with full hearts.
Elyse H
5.0
11/09/2021
Rabbi Brent was a wonderful officiant. He took lots of time to get to know us and added beautiful personal touches to our ceremony. The pre-ceremony was particularly special, offering both my husband and I very meaningful words and unforgettable moments with our families and inner circle of friends. We are so thankful for the warm, memorable, and overall incredible wedding day he helped us create.
Molly G
5.0
11/05/2021
Rabbi Brent coached us through preparation for marriage — and what marriage means to us — in addition to officiating our ceremony. He is cerebral, emotionally intelligent, and easygoing. We loved our personal sessions with him and found we grew as a couple prior to our wedding due to his help and guidance. The ceremony itself was beautiful, touching, and emotional for us and our friends and family. Our guests could not stop talking about how special and moving the ceremony was, all thanks to Rabbi Brent's thoughtful and inspiring words.
Amanda A
5.0
11/04/2021
Rabbi Brent did a great job with our wedding! He took time to really get to know us and went above and beyond every step of the process. He made us feel comfortable and made every minute of the ceremony feel special! He was great with our families and was a calming presence on a hectic and exciting day! I highly recommend Rabbi Brent! You will not be disappointed.
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Brent Spodek
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