About this vendor
Deciding on the person you want to be your voice as you recite your vows and promises to each other will be one of the most serious choices you will make about your wedding celebration. You will want someone who will take the time to learn about you as a couple and vision of the day, encouraging and accepting input from you. One who is caring and professional and who will be sensitive to your wishes as well as having the ability and experience to speak eloquently on your behalf. One who will be a calming presence on you wedding day as you recite your vows and promises to each other as you join your lives together.
With a calling and passion for what I do, I welcome the opportunity of getting to know you, to assisting you in creating your customized ceremony, to participating in one of life’s time honored traditions and to sharing in your joyous celebration whether it be marriage, commitment ceremony or vow renewal.
For me, the wedding ceremony is all about celebrating your relationship! I tell my couples that there is a reason that they are getting married in front of family and friends, instead of just taking care of the legalities at the County Clerk’s office. You want to celebrate your relationship in front of the people who matter most to you. And that’s exactly what we will do together! With a fun, personal, meaningful, and non-traditional ceremony that fits you and your relationship, truly celebrating who you are together.
Whether you are non-religious, spiritual, inter-faith, a touch religious (or need a touch or a slight feel to satisfy a family member), or somewhere in between – and no matter what else it is that makes you who you are together – I am committed to creating a personalized wedding that incorporates your beliefs and values, celebrates who you are as a couple, and includes components and traditions that represent you best.
I want to be part of your special day. As a priest, wedding officiant and celebrant, I will design, create, and perform a unique ceremony just for you, as it will be about you. Your ceremony can be simple, traditional, contemporary, or as elaborate and eclectic as you desire. Regardless of the style, it will be perfect for you. I believe your ceremony should be a personal reflection of your current relationship and of your future years together.
The process begins with an in-person meeting (or via Skype or FaceTime if you are not based in the Hudson Valley) to see if we are a good fit for each other. We will discuss what is important to you, what you want and don’t want from your ceremony, and then we’ll talk about my process and how I work, including talking about some other ideas you may not have heard about. Then, we will design a ceremony that truly reflects who you are, and your wishes for your ceremony – and that truly celebrates you in the way you deserve to be celebrated.
Details
Business Attributes
- LGBTQ+-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
- Buddhist
- Christian
- Catholic
- Mormon
- Orthodox
- Protestant
Wedding Activities
- After The Wedding
- Getting Engaged
- Premarital Counseling
- Wedding
- Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
5-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2023.2022.2021.+2 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.
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.087 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 6
Rev. Jim Rooney provided my wife and I an awesome intimate experience at our service. Due to the weather we had to change some plans last second and Rev. Jim was more than willing ...
to accommodate. He made everyone at the ceremony feel as if they were connected to us and a part of the special day. We were truly blessed by his presence, and we were lucky to have him be the one to marry us. We would highly recommend his services for anyone looking for a truly meaningful and heartfelt minister to conduct a marriage ceremony!
Rev. Jim Rooney was an amazing Officiant for our wedding back in October. His carefully crafted words during our ceremony had such personal touches. He spoke about how my husband a...
nd I got together and all the feelings that came with it. We loved how he interacted with our friends and family during the ceremony. He was nothing but professional. If you want a personal and meaningful Officiant for your wedding definitely hire Rev. Jim Rooney. We are so happy he helped us get married!
By FAR the best part of my wedding day was Rev Jim. Our ceremony was so personal, you would have thought he had known us our entire lives. The process leading up to our wedding was...
easy and enjoyable. It was important to me to have a ceremony that included aspects of faith but wasn’t too traditional and he was absolutely perfect. He was kind and considerate when navigating family dynamics. He was supportive and SO helpful to us as a couple during what can be such a stressful time. Everyone at our wedding still talks about how great our ceremony was and I would not have changed a thing. We loved working with him and I would recommend him a million times over! Genuinely there are a million things that go wrong on your wedding day, but he will not disappoint!
Rev. Jim Rooney officiated our March 2025 wedding. He put our minds at ease from our very first meeting with him at his beautiful home in Beacon (I highly recommend visiting if you...
have the opportunity.) He truly took the time to get to know us on a personal level and we loved all of our time with him. Multiple people came up to us after the ceremony to tell us that they loved it. We love Jim and highly recommend him!
I had the great pleasure of having Rev. Jim Rooney officiate my wedding! My husband, Matthew, and I had a short engagement of only 4 months, and finding Jim at the early stages was...
a godsend. Jim was a delight to work with at every step, despite the quicker-than-usual process. He welcomed us into his home and spent time to get to know us and our backgrounds to best create a ceremony that fit us as a couple. His methods are truly the best! In the beginning of our ceremony, he initiated a 3 minute "mingle period" so that both sides of our guests were able to introduce themselves and meet new faces. It was so comforting to watch our families mingle while Matt and I had a small moment to ourselves before the nerves set in! Jim was gentle and understanding at every step, and is a wise man with a rich history and witty stories! We are grateful for his help in making our wedding unforgettable.
We were lucky enough to work with Rev. Jim Rooney for our wedding. From our first call with Jim it was easy to see that he is passionate about what he does and takes a unique appro...
ach to each wedding. He is completely flexible in making your wedding ceremony a reflection of the couple and was very collaborative in suggesting readings and traditions to incorporate. We were excited about seeing how it all turned out, but our expectations were exceeded on the big day! Jim brought such warmth and connection to our ceremony, our guests were raving about him all night saying it was the best wedding ceremony they've ever seen. If you're looking to put a special touch on your big day, I would highly recommend hiring Rev. Jim!
Working with Jim was amazing! He was super responsive during all of the planning and made our wedding ceremony so unique and personal! Jim made planning the ceremony easy and fun. ...
All the guests raved about Jim and the ceremony the whole night! Jim made our ceremony more special than we could’ve imagined!
My husband and I got married May 25, 2024 at The Garrison. Reverend Jim Rooney came highly recommended from our wedding coordinator and I can understand why. He took great care i...
n getting to know my husband and I, our story and has an impeccable memory. He was everything we wanted in an officiant and more. Our ceremony was so special, intimate and tailored to us as a couple. I can honestly say our ceremony was one of the favorite parts of our wedding. Rev. Rooney made the ceremony so easy for us to get through, providing any reading and our vows printed out. I highly recommend doing “the mingling.” It gave my husband and I a second to really take in each other and the moment, and provided a more causal intimate feeling. So many of our guests complimented the ceremony and Rev. Rooney, swooning that it was so unique and special, they have never been to a wedding like ours. Our guests felt like they were a part of our ceremony. I would recommend Reverend Jim Rooney as an officiant over and over again. Thank you for making our day so special!
Jim Rooney was the best! He did so much to customize our wedding ceremony and make our wedding special. We loved every minute. Everyone has been sharing that they loved the ceremon...
y and how meaningful and personal it was. Our parents especially loved the ceremony. Hearing our love story told by Jim Rooney was really special--it's clear that Jim loves love. He knows how to ask the right questions to understand us as a couple and how to take our responses to craft a beautiful love story.
Rob and I acquired the services of Rev. Jim Rooney for our very small, intimate wedding in April. Rev. Jim took the time to co-ordinate with our busy schedules to "facetime" with ...
us and plan what Rob and I hoped would be a ceremony to simply reflect our views on what our marriage would mean to both of us. Rev. Jim's "pre-wedding assignment" was enlightening for Rob and myself. Through self-examination, we discovered how much in love we are and how devoted we are to one another. This made our ceremony on our wedding day, very emotional. Rev. Jim delivered with seriousness and humor exactly where needed. It was personalized and unique. It was the right touch on Rev. Jim's part to have included the passing of our wedding bands among all, family and friends before Rob and I exchanged them. Each person gave a brief blessing or message before passing it on to the next. We didn't expect this, but I'm so glad he did it! What a precious memory I will treasure! Rob and I received many compliments on our wedding ceremony from everyone. It was everything I had hoped for. Thank you Rev. Jim!!!
Rev. Rooney officiated our wedding last month and we cannot overstate how incredible the ceremony and overall experience was. Jim took time to really learn about us both as individ...
uals and our story as a couple. The service was amazing, and all of our guests came up to us afterwards and said it was the best ceremony they had ever seen. Our parents were thrilled to be part of the celebration, and I know they (and we) will fondly look back on the entire ceremony in the years to come. Rev Rooney is an incredible individual and we consider ourselves very lucky to not only have met him but to have him as an integral part of our wedding day. I am excited to involve Rev. Rooney in future celebratory events in our lives.
Jim made our wedding day absolutely stellar! Our family and friends loved the mingling moment and it totally set the tone for the rest of the evening. Everybody said that they love...
d our ceremony and that it was unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. Jim asked us questions about our relationship and made it comfortable, as we spoke in front of our guests. Our ceremony was heartfelt, humorous, and so special. Thank you Jim from the bottom of our hearts!
We got so many compliments on Rev. Rooney! We were on the fence about doing the mingling, but Rev. Rooney encouraged it and it worked out amazing. A nice and much needed break duri...
ng the ceremony. 10/10 would recommend.
Jim is the best and was the highlight of our wedding day! Throughout the entire process, he was a pleasure to work with and made us feel at ease from day one. We wanted a ceremony ...
that was unique and tailored to us, and that is exactly what he delivered! People were laughing and crying happy tears throughout our entire ceremony, and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect officiant. All of our guests kept coming up to us throughout the night to compliment us on our ceremony and how amazing Jim was. Thank you Jim! :)
Jim is the absolute best of the BEST!!!! There is a reason why every single one of his reviews raves about him and his services - he is simply unmatched in the industry. We are luc...
ky enough to know Jim; he is a very dear family friend. I have always known that I wanted Jim to officiant my wedding someday, and it was everything I dreamed it to be and more!! His wedding ceremonies are like fingerprints - each unique to the couple he marries. He learns your love story, and he incorporates it into your ceremony in the most beautiful and intimate way. There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience - during the reception, so many guests came up to me and told me it was the most beautiful ceremony they had ever witnessed. In the moment when it was all happening, I knew it was something special. We also absolutely recommend doing the mingling at the beginning of the ceremony - totally relaxed us and it was a fun way for our guests to connect and get to know one another. Thank you, Jim, for making our day so magical and special - it was truly an honor to be one of your couples, and we will be forever grateful for everything you’ve done for us!!!
It’s been a couple months since our wedding, and our guests still talk about how special & note-worthy our ceremony was because of Jim. He made that 30 minutes feel like we had kno...
wn him our whole relationship. He made it feel unique, perfectly tailored to us, & gave it that funny charm that keeps ceremony’s exciting and sweet. We couldn’t recommend him enough.
We could not thank Jim enough for giving us the ceremony of our dreams. It was laid back, creative, beautiful and funny all at the same time. Our guests are still talking about it,...
especially the mingle (highly recommend!). We only met Jim through FaceTime during our meetings, since we were not local to the area, but we instantly felt connected with Jim and it was like we've known him for years. The decision to have him officiate our wedding was a no brainer.
Reverend Jim is truly the best we could have asked for! Our wedding was in New Rochelle close to where I grew up, but I planned it from where I live now in Milwaukee. Rev Jim was s...
uper flexible with Zoom/Skype video chat meetings because of this, and I even had the opportunity to visit him for an in-person meeting at his home when I was in town at the Beacon Hermitage. I must say this is a beautiful, stunning, and artsy property if you get the chance to visit! We worked with Rev Jim for a couple of years leading up to the wedding where he provided us a questionnaire for my husband and I to fill out separately with some personal questions about our relationship so he could learn more about us as a couple. I highly recommend taking this seriously as he was able to truly personalize and incorporate our love into the ceremony this way! Rev Jim also provided a document listing the different types of ceremonies to select what suits us best. We aren’t the most religious, but wanted a little mention of god’s blessing to appease our family, and he nailed that. He was also very accommodating with having a couple of family members conduct a reading, as well as allow time for my step-sister (who is a musical theatre professional) to sing at the beginning of our ceremony. We also decided for our unity ceremony to do the handfasting which truly “tied the knot”! During our reception, we received so many compliments from our guests on his ceremony, and even had some friends ask if they can use him for their wedding! He was so positively impactful and is someone to remember forever as such a big part of our special day! Check out his Instagram (@revjimrooney) to get a glimpse of what he does! You won’t be disappointed!! Thank you for all the hard work and dedication!!!
We are so happy Rev. Jim Rooney officiated our wedding ceremony! He crafted the most beautiful personalized ceremony. Jim invited us to his beautiful home in Beacon a few weeks bef...
ore our wedding to plan out the logistics of the ceremony. We included some unique elements such as the wine box ceremony and mingling time, which was so special to us. Jim also did a great job of integrating my Catholic traditions. He kept the ceremony short and sweet per our request. So many of our guests have commented on how beautiful our ceremony was. Jim perfectly highlighted our relationship journey and made our ceremony very personal. He even captured some behind-the-scenes footage of our day and shared photos and videos with us after. Thank you, Jim!
We loved our experience working with Jim. From taking our personal story into account to craft the ceremony and suggesting lovely additions like a “mingle” and handfasting, we can’...
t say more good things about Jim. All our friends and family raves about it being the best ceremony they’ve attended, as it was very authentically us. We’d also highly recommend the mingle, my dad commented that it was a great pressure reliever right after walking me down the aisle, and added a great “community” feel to our wedding. Jim also went above and beyond post wedding day - he sent us some great shots of our reception and also went down to town hall himself when they misplaced our license.
We could not be happier with our wedding ceremony thanks for Rev. Jim Rooney. He was so friendly and easy to work with. We had a few facetime calls before the wedding and filled ou...
t couple questionnaires separately. He used the information from the questionnaires and our calls to really personalize our wedding ceremony. Many of our guests approached us after the ceremony and said how enjoyable Rev. Jim Rooney was and how much they loved the ceremony. He really did an amazing job and made our ceremony so memorable. Thank you so much Rev. Rooney!!
Our wedding ceremony was so unique and perfect all because of Rev. Jim Rooney. He spent so much time getting to know us as a couple and as individuals, and used that information t...
o create such a beautiful ceremony. Our guests started raving about our ceremony during the reception, and have not stopped talking about it since. We feel so grateful to have found Jim to perform our ceremony!
The wedding ceremony you conducted was beautiful and made unique and perfect for all of us by the relationship you developed with Talia and Ryan.
I hope you received the glow of ...
our guests first hand. I was surprised (and wanted to share) that almost all our guests commented particularly on the ceremony and mentioned that you and Rabbi Steve Meltz taught and encouraged thoughts that expanded how they view marriage. That's quite a journey to take 200 people in 30 minutes.
Thank you for taking the time to meet and guide Talia and Ryan as they begin their married life together.
Jim Rooney was everything we could have asked for in an officiant. Professional, prompt and deeply personal. From our first virtual meeting, we could tell Jim cares deeply about th...
e marriage process. He wanted to make sure he understood the intricacies and nuances of our love story. Without ruining anything, please trust in Jim’s recommendations for your ceremony. He is a master of his craft and we couldn’t see the bigger picture at times. He is outstanding and we couldn’t recommend him more highly. Our guests were thoroughly enthusiastic about how great the ceremony was as well.
We used Rev Jim for our wedding at Tappan Hill Mansion on October 29, 2021 and we are SO blessed we found him!! He was amazing from the very first time we met him in his. beautiful...
home.. We felt like he really cared about getting to know us, hear about our story and use what we shared to really make our ceremony special. 2 months later and our guests are still raving about how our ceremony was conducted and loved his style. HIGHLY recommend!!
We had an exceptionally great experience with Rev. Jim. we met with him in person at his beautiful home and also over Zoom (we had a couple extra years to get to know each other th...
anks to Covid). He put in the effort to know and understand us so that our ceremony would be very personal. He offered about a million different options for how it would go - from religious thematics, to wine ceremonies, to varying options for the ring exchange, etc. We were able to fully customize the ceremony - even selecting what he wore! Our favorite part though is that he is a warm and loving individual who was able to center us and ground us even when that craziness of the wedding planning/postponing really kept us on our toes. He is a genuine soul whose perspective on life and love was a welcome reminder of why we were there in the first place. He made our day very special, and we would recommend him without reservation.
We loved working with Reverend Rooney for our interfaith Catholic Jewish ceremony! He really personalized our ceremony and made us feel incredibly special. He wanted to ensure the...
ceremony was inclusive to both faiths and focus on what makes the two religions similar rather than compartmentalizing the rituals. We really loved how it all came together and are so glad we went with Reverend Rooney! He gave such a beautiful speech about us as a couple after several zoom calls and worksheets getting to know us, which made it romantic and emotional, which is exactly what I had hoped for. We also had unexpected rain and Reverend stuck it out and continued on beautifully. He also has SUCH a great accent! Can’t recommend enough.
I found Jim and his high ratings on wedding wire and the knot. After talking to Jim in our first conversation I realized how seriously he takes the role of officiating weddings. Ji...
m is the type of officiant who takes great pride in his work and truly cares about creating a memorable moment for the couples he marries. Jim shared our love story with such passion and detail our guests were left in awe. Jim made my husband and I feel so calm and confident in front of our large 200 person wedding. If your looking for someone to provide a sentimental, beautiful and personable ceremony at your wedding Jim is the person to hire!!! Our guests can truly not stop talking about how beautiful the ceremony was.
Thank you for everything Jim! We are forever grateful for you and your beautiful words!
Reverend Jim Rooney made our day so special. He worked so well with our rabbi for our interfaith ceremony that one of our guests said they should do a podcast together! He took the...
time to get to know us and really personalize our ceremony. Highest recommendation from us!
Working with Rev. Jim was a great experience. He cares about your love story, wants to know all about you, and also shares his journey in life. His journey, personality and warmth ...
solidified wanting to be married by such a wonderful human. Our guests were raving about how awesome our ceremony was thanks to Rev. Jim. We are so thankful to him for truly helping to make our day unforgettable, making our guests laugh, and sharing our love story with family and friends. We are forever grateful to you Rev. Jim.
If you are looking for a person-centered experience for your wedding or elopement, look no further than Jim! As with many COVID couples, we went through two cancelled wedding dates...
and countless stress, but working with Jim made things so much easier. We felt immediately comfortable with him and had several FaceTime sessions throughout 2020 to discuss our ceremony and wishes. Jim really takes the time to get to know his couples and create a totally individualized ceremony that feels fun and natural. We could not have asked for a better officiant and cannot praise him enough!
Every single review you read here is true. Jim is incredible. My husband and I used him to officiate our wedding this past weekend (11/21/20). We wanted someone that would put t...
ogether a ceremony that felt like us, and boy did he deliver. We laughed. We cried. It was so personal, and he was able to tell our story in a way that really engaged our guests as well. He even did a wonderful job working with my parents who are deaf and the interpreter we hired and incorporating them into the ceremony. We were able to select our readings and rows and ring exchanges. All of our guests including the many that participated virtually commented specifically about how great he was, and that they wanted to do their own weddings over again with him. I cannot say enough about him. He went above and beyond to make our day perfect and special.
Working with Reverend Jim is one of the best decisions we made during our wedding planning! From our initial meeting with Reverend Jim, we knew that we would be so fortunate to hav...
e him officiate. Throughout the whole process he was warm, kind, and patient. As COVID caused us to postpone our larger celebration and have a small elopement with our immediate family, Rev. Jim was there willing to do whatever possible to ensure that we had a special day.
Our ceremony was absolutely amazing and beyond what we had hoped. Reverend Jim really incorporated our stories and our families into the day. He has such a beautiful way with words and made our ceremony so personal. We feel so lucky that we had his guidance and cannot thank him enough for giving us such a beautiful ceremony and memories!
When your officiant delivers the most perfect ceremony and your friends in attendance are surprised to learn that you have only known your officiant for a month before your wedding...
day, you know you found the right person!
We found Jim through our photographer, who recommended him to us as put together our intimate elopement ceremony in the Hudson Valley, after our original wedding day was impacted by COVID-19. From our first call with Jim, we knew that we didn't even need to talk to anyone else, we needed Jim to do our ceremony. From our very first call, Jim really took the time to get to know us as a couple - to hear our story, what brought us together, and what marriage means to us. He was easygoing, not pushy, and I felt like he genuinely cared. We booked him shortly after our first call.
Jim made the entire process for our elopement so seamless, he even offered his beautiful garden for our ceremony, should our original site be impacted by COVID closures. As we were putting together our elopement, I was dealing with the illness of a dear loved one, who passed away the day before our ceremony. Jim wove this into our ceremony in the most touching way and made us feel cared about in a way I will never forget.
Our ceremony was incredible, Jim put together a heartwarming ceremony that incorporated our faiths in a touching way and incorporated our families who attended via Zoom due to COVID. He helped us feel together, despite being apart. Jim was also very knowledgeable on NY State marriage laws, took care of our license like a pro, and helped us make sure everything was signed and taken care of.
I feel like we got more than just an officiant experience in our time working with Jim, I feel like we found a new, dear friend in the process as well. We are SO incredibly grateful to Jim for all that he did for us on our wedding day, and in the month leading up to it. It was an honor to have him officiate our wedding, and we are so touched by his kindness and support in making our wedding day absolutely the best it could have ever been.
Rev. Jim Rooney is AMAZING! He is so kind, and so good at what he does. He was so helpful during the planning process, and the ceremony was absolutely beautiful. We received so man...
y compliments from our guests. He made our ceremony so personal - it was more than I could have asked for. I can't recommend him highly enough!
We found Rev. Jim online and after reading all of the amazing reviews we decided to reach out and schedule a Facetime with him. From that call on, we knew we were in great hands. ...
He provided us with so much material for readings and ceremony flow and it was honestly hard to choose. We ended up working with him to mix and match a few different ones to perfectly match our backgrounds.
Fast forward to the day of the wedding and he made us both feel so relaxed before the ceremony started. He had suggested that we start off by taking a minute for our guests to mingle once we were at the altar - we LOVED this and are so happy we went with his suggestion. Not only did guests say they loved it, but it also gave us a minute to take a step back and really appreciate having all of our loved ones in one place (and take a breather!)
Rev Jim was able to incorporate our story into the ceremony to personalize it, so much so that guests actually thought he was a family member (I had a ton of family from the UK & Ireland who flew over for the wedding.) . He truly blew us away and we could not have asked for anything more - thank you Rev. Jim!!
Reverend Jim Mooney is one of the most special people my husband and I have ever met. Being engaged and planning a wedding is a exciting yet stressful time, with a lot of decision-...
making. We knew we wanted to have our ceremony onsite at our beautiful venue but there was a lot to figure out! We were so fortunate to have had Jim Rooney referred to us. Having him part of this journey and our big day was a gift in every way.
From our first conversation, he made us feel comfortable and answered all of our questions. We loved visiting Beacon Hermitage and the journey he took us on in preparation for our ceremony. So many of our guests said that it was the best wedding ceremony they had ever attended, traditional yet unique to us in so many ways, and asked if Jim had known us personally beforehand! We are blessed to have started our marriage with an unforgettable and magical ceremony led by Jim.
Rev Jim Rooney was AMAZING!! He was so professional and kind!! He was so patient with us and took the time to create a ceremony that suited us and our relationship. He made our wed...
ding day perfect! He even wore his kilt in freezing weather!!!!
We can not say enough wonderful things about Rev. Rooney. He helped to make our ceremony a beautiful and unique experience. We were able to add so many personal and special touches...
to our ceremony. Many of our guests asked how long we knew Rev. Rooney and were shocked to learn he was not an old family friend. He made all of our guests feel so welcomed and helped to calm mine and my husband's wedding day jitters.
Our wedding ceremony with Rev. Jim Rooney was everything we could have asked for and more. Jim made us feel so comfortable and we had so many guests come up to us saying how wonder...
ful the ceremony was. Jim had a way of making this special moment so personable and really engaged the guests and made all feel so welcome. We enjoyed every step of the planning process and worked with Jim to really make the ceremony our own. He is truly an amazing officiant!
Reverend Jim was the most wonderful officiant we could have asked for! We got married in August 2018 and our guests are still talking about how wonderful he was. He really cares ab...
out getting to know you as a couple and tailoring your ceremony based on you as a couple. He is not someone who just shows up that day and does a generic cookie cutter ceremony. Guests even asked how long he had known my family because there was so much personal information and stories weaved in. We started the process a year in advance and had multiple face time conversations with him, emails with us individually (not to be discussed with each other :) and we even went and met with him at his hermitage in Beacon which was such a lovely place! He has so many examples of ceremony structures, readings, poems and cultural/religious suggestions for you to review to help guide you through the process that encompass all faiths, cultures and types of couples. We are so happy we chose Reverend Jim to officiate our ceremony and would 100% recommend him for your special day!
We chose Jim to officiate our wedding September 15, 2018. From the preparation process to the day of, he was a pleasure to work with. He performed a beautiful ceremony and made it ...
intimate and funny all at once! Our guests loved it and so did we. He did a wonderful job telling our love story. Thanks Jim!
Rev. Jim Rooney made our wedding ceremony so special, the different things that he brings to the ceremony made our wedding one to remember!
Rev. Jim Rooney made our wedding vision a reality. Not only was Jim so attentive and professional but he was also the most careful person in making sure we had everything in place ...
for my big day. He was my wedding officiant, flower designer, cake designer and reception hall decorator.
My husband and I love the outdoors and when we came across Beacon Hermitage we fell in love. We were looking for a rustic and earthly themed wedding and that is exactly what we had when we booked Beacon Hermitage for our 2018 June wedding. My family and I traveled from Houston to New York for my once-in-a-lifetime experience and we could not have been more happy we did. My husband and I highly recommend Rev. Rooney's services and venue.
Rev. Jim was absolutely amazing from the moment we reached out! Prior to our wedding day we FaceTimed with Jim three times and each meeting was so comfortable. Wedding planning is ...
hard, and stressful - but whenever we spoke with Jim we felt so at ease. The first time we got to see Jim in person was on our wedding day! We both ran right over and gave him a huge hug. It felt like he had been a part of our family for our whole lives! To this day (two months after our wedding) every single one of our guests are still raving about the ceremony and how personal it was. Jim really takes the time to get to know each bride/groom and each couples love story. He truly cares about creating a beautiful ceremony and getting everyone involved. I have a huge family and all of my siblings/cousins have said they want Jim to officiate their weddings when the time comes! Thanks again, Rev. Jim. I honestly cannot find the words to express how grateful we are to have you in our lives and how appreciative we are to have met you! - Nicole & Justin
From the moment we met him, we knew Jim was the perfect officiant for our wedding. We talked for an hour over Skype, while Jim asked about us. What we loved about each other. What ...
our first, second, third date was like. How we got engaged. Some of the things that get lost along the way while wedding planning but are the most important. He took these things into consideration and really got to know us. Not because he had to, because he wanted to. So little of our conversations were business related. We were just chatting like friends. It is obvious that Jim loves his work and puts his entire heart into what he does. Our actual wedding ceremony had our family and friends both laughing and in tears. The rest of the night, everyone couldn't stop talking about special it was and how great Jim was. Prior to this, we didn't know Jim. But you would never know. He personalized our ceremony and made it fit us. He listened to our wants and followed through. He gave us his opinions and told us ways he thought our ideas could be better. All of these things made our ceremony unfortgettable and better than we imagined. Thank you so much Jim for providing a beautiful ceremony that we and our family/friends will never forget. You truly captured our love.
If you are considering Rev. Jim, don't look any further. It was one of the greatest wedding choices we made.
Jim officiated our wedding in September of this year. Our first meeting was in his home, which is absolutely beautiful and so warm and welcoming, just as he is. Jim took the time t...
o get to know us individually and as a couple, asking us detailed questions without making us feel too pressured to say the perfect thing. He is so easy to talk to and genuinely shows that he cares. My husband and I left that first meeting feeling so confident that we chose the right person to officiate our wedding. We had a wonderful second meeting with him where he gave us lots of different ceremony ideas and options which we loved. Jim ended up doing an absolutely amazing job the day of our wedding. There were laughs and tears, but most importantly, we got TONS of compliments on how much the guests felt included in the ceremony, which was something Jim encouraged us to prioritize, as a wedding involves the union of all of our family and friends too! Overall, such a wonderful experience and I would definitely recommend Jim to any couple!!!
We had such an amazing experience with Reverend Jim! He was so easy to talk to and even helped my (now) husband open up more than I've ever been able to get him to open up. The cer...
emony was incredible and we absolutely enjoyed every part of planning it with Reverend Jim.
I first met Rev. Jim at my cousin's wedding, shortly after I had started dating my future husband. I told myself that if I ever got married, I would want Rev. Jim to be the offici...
ant. Well, a little over a year later, Rev. Jim officiated at my wedding! He is so easy to talk to, so charming, and his accent doesn't hurt! My husband-to-be and I spent time with Rev. Jim at Beacon Hermitage a few days before our wedding, and it was a wonderful experience. We also went on a nice hike which was able to center us and give us time to breathe before the wedding.
The day of our wedding, Rev. Jim was phenomenal. He gets to know you in a way that makes it seem you have known each other for years, and amazes your wedding guests. He is serious when needed, but brings a lot of lightheartedness to the ceremony as well. And he is also a great photographer! He was the first to send us a bunch of photos he took of the venue and our wedding decorations before everything got started as well as photos he took during our first look. As well as the famous selfie he takes with every couple - which is one of our favorite photos! We are actually hoping to get another selfie with him in the next week as he marries another cousin of mine - which proves how much he impacts the wedding guests! We cannot recommend Rev. Jim highly enough. We feel blessed to have found him and to have had him to perform our wedding ceremony.
We are so grateful to Reverend Rooney for our amazing ceremony. From our initial meeting, he was warm, down to earth, and genuinely interested in getting to know us as a couple. I ...
am not very religious, and my now husband is somewhat religious - Rev. Rooney was able to guide us through a personalized and sentimental ceremony which was tailored for "us" as a couple. The ceremony was extremely important to us both - we feel too many people rush through their ceremony to get to the party, and half the guests aren't even paying attention - we wanted the exact opposite - a ceremony that would be memorable and romantic. Rev. Rooney did just that and more. So many of our guests told us how much they enjoyed our ceremony and how in tune everyone felt - exactly what we were going for! There is no one kinder or more genuine than Rev. Rooney - so if you are looking for a ceremony that isn't cookie cutter, he is the best of the best. He even texted me in the morning to say hello and to hope I was enjoying the day getting ready - little thoughtful touches that truly made it a wonderful experience! THANK YOU!
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Beacon Hermitage, Beacon, NY
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