About this vendor
Rev. Cory Newell and Associates is Virginia's #1 Wedding pastor because they share your love story in such a way that LOVE is dripping from everyone listening! Rev. Cory is a pastor who provides wedding officiant services based out of Portsmouth, VA, just a 30-minute drive from Virginia Beach. This pastor has married over 6500 couples from all backgrounds and walks of life throughout Virginia and North Carolina. He is also licensed to officiate ceremonies in Florida.
Rev. Cory Newell delights in incorporating his energetic, fun spirit into wedding ceremonies. He aims to make each service memorable by focusing on each couple's one-of-a-kind love story. Since 2008, this officiant has been dedicated to creating unique experiences for once-in-a-lifetime occasions.
Rev. Cory Newell specializes in romantic, heartfelt ceremonies that truly reflect each to-be-wed's relationship. This officiant is happy to oversee a variety of weddings, including religious, civil, interfaith, same sex, and more. To honor love and commitment after the big day, Cory can arrange vow renewals. In addition to ceremony services, he is also available for premarital counseling sessions.
Details
Business Attributes
- LGBTQ+-owned Business
- Native American-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
- Christian
- Interfaith
- Secular
- Spiritual
Wedding Activities
- Premarital Counseling
- Wedding
- Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
8-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2023.2022.2021.+5 more.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Hall of Fame
Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.0180 reviews
Review photos
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Dr. Patsy Branch (formerly Watson) of Rev. Cory Newell and Associates officiated our wedding on 10/28/23. She did an absolutely beautiful job officiating our ceremony and we receiv...
ed so many compliments from our guests about her lovely words. There were not many dry eyes in the room. She did a great job making the ceremony feel personal to us and she was also so much fun! It was truly a pleasure to work with her.
We worked through Cory to hire Chuck Daniel as our officiant and he made the experience quick and easy! Our ceremony was not particularly complicated but Chuck met with us as neede...
d beforehand to nail down details, arrived nice and early the day of, and our ceremony went off without a hitch!
Reverend Cory did and excellent job. The communication leading up to the wedding was great and the service was very nice. I was a wedding photographer for years and can say without...
hesitation he's one of the best. And he completed all of the paperwork afterwards very promptly. Class A++
Reverend Cory & Chaplain Will were amazing to work with in preparation for our October 2022 wedding. Their dashboard was easy to work with and communicate with the team. Chaplain ...
Will was very kind and a pleasure to work with. He created a unique, heartfelt ceremony specific to my husband and I; he also coordinated very well with our day-of coordinator which helped the day go perfectly.
Pastor Corey was excellent couldn't ask for a better pastor for our wedding!
From the start of planning all the way to after the wedding, Cory was PERFECT. He really took the time to get to know my husband and I as a couple and took a genuine interest in ou...
r story. He made our ceremony so exciting, funny, and interactive. After the ceremony, all of our guests commented on how much they loved our officiant. The prices of his services are more than reasonable and we are more than glad that we chose him for our special day. Book him for your wedding!!!! You won’t regret it!
Rev. Cory Newell made our wedding day extraordinary. His word choice, tone, and blessings made us laugh and brought us to tears with joy. We could not have asked for a more wonderf...
ul officiant. Our friends and family continued to talk about his ceremony and professionalism for weeks after our wedding.
Pastor Cory was so good to work with--high energy and fun, but also reverent to the occasion. We wanted a "little religious, little bit of fun" ceremony--nothing stuffy. He deliver...
ed! We appreciated his way to connect with us and with our guests in a memorable and meaningful way. He's top notch!
To say Pastor Cory did an amazing job would be an understatement. He blew us away and our guests were floored at how amazing the ceremony was. He took the time to hear our story an...
d to know us before the wedding. During the ceremony he was so lively and brought our love story to life which made us have a sense of relief and relaxation at the altar. He has a passion for what he does and it shines through with every word! I would recommend Cory without hesitation!!!
We had the best experience with Pastor Cory! From our first visit with him, we knew we found the perfect person to officiate our wedding. He immediately made us feel comfortable w...
ith him as well as the whole process. We love his sense of humor and the fact that he is open-minded and inclusive. Where we would get hung up on our ceremony vision, he would offer suggestions that we just loved. Our family is still raving about our ceremony and how they too felt included. We highly recommend Pastor Cory to help you with your ceremony. You won't regret it!
Pastor Cory was an absolute blessing! Our guests raved over our ceremony. He delivered a ceremony that perfectly captured our love story that had our guests laughing and also teari...
ng up with words of love. Highly recommend for a memorable and thoughtful ceremony!
Pastor Cory was so amazing and so professional. He was so genuine and so kind to myself and my now wife. We were denied by others due to being same sex, however, Pastor Cory did no...
t. He apologized for them and told me it would be an honor to marry my wife and I. During the ceremony, he made everything so comfortable. Laughs, and smiles! No awkward moments. He is quick to respond and was very prepared for our ceremony. 2 thumbs up.
My husband and I just got married yesterday by the wonderful Chuck Daniels! He was super friendly, relaxed, and overall a pleasure to work with. He helped both my husband and I rel...
ax during the ceremony so we weren't so tense. He gave a great ceremony that we both will remember for a lifetime. It was great working with him and with Cory. I couldn't be any happier with the services! If you're searching for officiants definitely look no further because Cory, Chuck, and his whole team are amazing and they definitely won't disappoint! Thank you Cory & Chuck, everything was perfect!
P.S I really appreciated the text from Cory and Chuck the day after our ceremony! They definitely love and care about what they do! ♡
Reverend Charles was phenomenal and exactly what we were looking for! He kept it light and fun! We highly recommend him for your ceremony!!
Cory was our officiant at our wedding that had been postponed due to Covid. He kept in touch with us throughout our (very long) engagement and was always professional and responsiv...
e. Cory has a unique style and made the ceremony fun, heartfelt and memorable. Several of our guests came up to us telling us they loved the ceremony asking about who the officiant was! Highly recommend Cory!! Thank you for a beautiful ceremony!!
Pastor Corey made sure that our wedding ceremony went smooth, he was flexible and accommodating. Originally, we were not planning on having a rehearsal but the week of the wedding ...
we realized we really needed one. Pastor Corey was able to make it happen. The ceremony was amazing, and everyone commented out how they loved his level of enthusiasm. He's married 100's of people but he still brings the energy that yours is just as special as the first. Would highly recommend!
I knew from the first time I witnessed Rev Cory marry a couple at a wedding I attended that I couldn’t imagine hiring anyone else. The story he is able to tell through his words an...
d enthusiasm is unbelievable.
Pastor Cory was awesome!! He made our day very special. The ceremony was romantic and funny. Couldn't have asked for a better person to share our day. You are the best Pastor C...
ory!! :)
Cory is a wonderful person who remembers everything you say and really puts his heart into his ceremonies. All of our guests loved him as well! They couldn’t get over how great (an...
d funny) our ceremony was. He really captures you as a couple and provided the best ceremony we could have ever had!
Pastor Cory legally married my husband and I at the very beginning of the pandemic last year with the 10 person limit. We had various movements and frustrations, but Pastor Cory ma...
de sure to make every change along the way with us! We pushed the wedding ceremony and reception as originally planned back an entire year...with yet again another push back due to continued restrictions...but once again Pastor Cory worked with us and was FINALLY able to remarry us with all of our family and friends this past weekend! He was fun, energetic, spirited, but most importantly understanding and thoughtful through it all!! He helped turn the bad situation of the pandemic into two beautiful ceremonies!!! You are now part of our family, Pastor Cory!!! Xoxo!!
Rev Cory did an amazing Job at our wedding. Words can not express how our day turned out because of the kind words and humor of our wedding! Most importantly our wedding was very u...
nique to us and he made sure he incorporated every part of us! Thank you so much for making our wedding an absolute memory we will never forget!!! “We will chat soon”
Cory was amazing! We are so happy with how everything went. Cory is incredibly professional, kind, caring, and detail oriented. He will make sure you have the ceremony that YOU wan...
t, which is so important! Cory walked us through every single step of the way. We felt so comfortable and relaxed with him. If I could give 5++ stars, I would!!
Pastor Cory was wonderful to work with throughout our wedding planning process. He organized meetings where he got to know us as a couple and gave us great suggestions to make our ...
ceremony special and unique to us. He was always on time for meetings, got back to us quickly through email, and made sure to chat with us on wedding day prior to the ceremony. We had multiple compliments from our guests about Pastor Cory's enthusiasm and how well he knew my husband and I as he told our love story. Thank you Pastor Cory! We loved having you as a huge part of our special day! We can't wait to relive the day through video soon!
Rev Cory provided excellent service for us the guests were entertained while still providing us with what we wanted during the ceremony.
Rev. Cory was absolutely amazing! My husband and I were hesitant at first to have a total stranger marry us, but Rev. Cory took the time to get to know us and our story to the poi...
nt that we felt like a friend was marrying us. Our guests even said that they had never laughed and cried so much in the same 30 minute period; we're still getting compliments about the way he ran the ceremony! There was a little mix-up the day after the wedding when we realized we had been given the wrong marriage license to file - but Rev. Cory stepped up and dropped everything while he was on vacation to make sure the problem was fixed! We would give him five stars and more if we could!
Rev. Cory is amazing. We asked for an inclusive ceremony (my family is Jewish my husbands is catholic) and for it to be humorous. And boy did he deliver! The ceremony was fun, ener...
getic, inclusive, while also being thoughtful, romantic and personalized. It was everything we could have asked for and more. I never thought I’d say my favorite part of my wedding would be the ceremony, but it honestly was.
Pastor Newell was amazing for me and wife! We did a ceremony as wife and wife due to Covid! However it was so awesome and he was so amazing and very down to earth but professional!...
I’m told my wife on our honeymoon that I want to do it all over again❤️ When we renew our vows we will definitely contact Pastor Newell:
Cory was absolutely amazing! He was well organized and thoughtful throughout our whole process. He really personalized our wedding for us and got to know us. I definitely recommend...
his services.
Rev. Cory was amazing in helping my husband and I navigate getting married during the pandemic! We opted to get married privately since our wedding needed to be postponed, and Cory...
made it so easy and special. I would give more than five stars if I could! Brides, in looking for your officiant, look no further than rev. Cory!
Pastor Cory was amazing at our wedding and felt like one of the family. The way he took our love story and incorporated it with his sermon was incredible! Some family members said ...
it was something you’d hear or see in a romantic comedy movie. Pastor Cory was very easy to talk to when we spoke with him for the first time. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and work with Pastor Cory and highly recommend his services to everyone. He will not disappoint. He was the true MVP on our wedding day.
If you are looking for a personalized ceremony for your wedding, book pastor Cory! He is great and spent time getting to know my husband and I. He really does care about each of hi...
s couples. He even incorporated our favorite show into our ceremony. He was professional, timely and responsive. This was one wedding vendor we did not have to stress about.
The whole process from starting with Rev. Cory's website and forms to deciding on our officiant to the big day was seamless. Chaplain Will was amazing in including just the right ...
amount of religious notations to our ceremony while still keeping it light hearted and fun. He helped keep us relaxed during the ceremony and made it perfect!
Pastor Cory was perfect for our elopement! He was flexible, communicative, and fun. I was not familiar with the area and he offered a lot of great advice. We had a beautiful ceremo...
ny and despite horrible weather, traffic, and a slew of other events he had to do that day, he wasn’t rushed and instantly made us feel more comfortable. Couldn’t have asked for anyone better.
Rev. Cory was excellent! We met once via zoom before and messaged several times. Was always prompt to respond to questions. The ceremony felt really personal. There was some jet no...
ise and few rain drops during the ceremony but he made that feel like a blessing. He was able to put us at ease and made the wedding enjoyable! Definitely recommend to all.
Cory was AMAZING! He kept our ceremony fun and my family and friends approached me afterwards and had nothing but great things to say. Very easy to work with, very professional and...
highly recommend.
Pastor Cory was absolutely amazing! I loved how he personalized our ceremony to us and our blended family! He kept us and our guests laughing! Everyone was talking about how awesom...
e our ceremony was. He was super supportive and flexible when we had to move our first wedding date due to COVID. We definitely recommend him to make your wedding memorable!
He was wonderful especially with just two days notice. He had a great sense of humor.
Cory made our day! He personalized our elopement and selected such wonderful scripture readings to make it a special day for us. We cannot thank him enough for his kindness, prof...
essionalism and care. He even took photos for us! He made our day absolutely what we wanted...perfect!
Pastor Cory is amazing! He was very energetic, professional, timely, and has a great sense of humor! He went above and beyond for us. Our wedding date kept changing due to covid-19...
. Last minute we decided to cancel our big wedding and just have a 10 person ceremony. Pastor Cory was more than happy to adjust the plans and was kind enough to allow us to Facebook live for our family and we are forever thankful that he made it possible for us to get married on our original date and our family could be part of it.
Pastor Cory was extremely helpful. He made everything feel natural. It was an easy process and we didn't feel awkward or stressed about this portion of our wedding. We had to chang...
e some things. He was very responsive. The coronavirus caused us to push the formal ceremony and reception back, but he still worked with us and we got married on the day we planned. I am looking forward to working with him again in the near future.
Rev. Cory is amazing! The ceremony was very personal, and all of our guests raved about it. Would recommend to anyone!
Pastor Newell was a pleasure to work with!! Impressive communication and vision!! Great personality and positive energy. I highly recommend him to officiate your ceremony!
Pastor Cory was on point! We had one Skype meeting with him prior to the wedding where we told him our story of how we met and he took down notes furiously. He asked us lots of que...
stions and he took everything we told him and incorporated it all perfectly into our ceremony, including every single detail! The ceremony was not boring, quite the opposite! He even gets the guests to participate at one point. Afterward, everyone was raving about how our ceremony was the best wedding ceremony they ever saw. Thank you so much Pastor Cory for making our ceremony so special!
Absolutely a pleasure working with Rev. Cory for our ceremony. We had a great introductory call with him where he got to know more about us and our story.
The enthusiasm he broug...
ht to our ceremony was infectious and every guest we talked to mentioned how much they loved his storytelling and passion for what he was doing. He was very animated the entire time, involved the guests, and made our ceremony more memorable than we would have ever thought it could be.
Cory is one of the most energetic, yet professional and appropriate wedding officiants I have ever experienced. He builds and extremely personalized wedding ceremony, along w/ his...
energy, he has tons of fun tools and tricks to keep your guests engaged, and he helps you with any wedding advice you need beyond just the ceremony. Having seen him once before, he was the only choice in my mind for my wedding.
Cory was great! He came from out of town to Richmond to have the service in my dream location. He always answered emails quickly and planned my whole ceremony perfectly when I did ...
not know what I really wanted. It was perfect!
Mr. Newell made the best day of my life and my wife’s even better with his words, demeanor, and professionalism. He was on time and very polite. He made sure everything was as how ...
we wanted, asking questions I never even thought to, and gave everyone a calm feeling on a day where we may have otherwise been anxious. I can’t recommend him enough!
Guests are still telling us how much they loved Pastor Cory and his message. He made our wedding experience fun and took away all of our anxiousness as we stood before our large cr...
owd. I love that he personalizes his message and was able to share our love story with guests. I would recommend him 1000x over. One of the best investments we made for our wedding!
Pastor Cory is as energetic as you may imagine him to be! He definitely knows how to get the crowd going and keeps a smile on your face (you barely even remember how nervous you ar...
e!) I appreciated his ability to communicate well in advance through the planning process, and at no point in time did I worry that my ceremony would not come together nicely. Pastor Cory is a great combination of traditional and non-traditional. He told me he usually runs a more non-traditionally religious ceremony, but he still kept the ceremony solemn at the right moments, and accommodated any traditions and bible verses that we wished to include in the ceremony. He is very personable and willing to work with you to make your ceremony perfect. I am very grateful to have had him as our celebrant for our special day!
Awesome! He did a wonderful job. He kept the ceremony light-hearted and funny, which is exactly what we asked for. He had the guests laughing multiple times. I highly recommend Rev...
. Cory Newell.
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