Rev. Jude Smith - Interfaith Minister

Jude has our eternal gratitude! She was such an instrumental part of our wedding; her spirit and exuberance added so much to the ceremony and, I think, really helped connect everyone with us. It was everything I could've hoped for, and more! She created an absolutely standout ceremony that we'll always remember. And our guests sang her praises as well! Definitely work with Jude if you can, she'll make your wedding so incredibly special.

Rev. Jude Smith was AMAZING. Her voice is so soft calm and smoothing making for an amazing intimate wedding ceremony. She is very knowledgeable in many religions as she married my husband who is Jewish and I am Methodist. She put a little spin on everything to make it all flow. She tailors the ceremony to be what you want and makes it flow so beautifully. Everyone was raving after my ceremony how amazing she did and how beautiful it flowed. You did an amazing job Jude!

Jude was absolutely wonderful and captured our day to be shared with all our family and friends.

I couldn’t be happier with Jude being our officiant! She is kind, patient and extremely comfortable to talk to. I suffer with anxiety so we wanted to make sure I was absolutely comfortable with the officiant we picked. From our first conversation, I knew we chose perfectly! Our ceremony turned out wonderful thanks to her! She understood exactly what we wanted for our special day and took the proper time to go over exactly how everything was going to proceed. Everyone I know that had spoken with her expressed to me how friendly and personable she is! We all loved her! If anyone is thinking about hiring an outstanding officiant, then Jude is it! ❤️

We had Jude be our Officiant for our wedding back in Oct. 2023. She was fantastic and worked with our limited schedule. Originally our planned Officiant canceled on us 2 Months prior to our wedding. My Wife and I were in a panic to find a new Officiant that would truly get to know us and make the ceremony personal and breathtaking. Jude did not disappoint, after our many meetings, she really got to know both of us and used that knowledge to create the most perfect ceremony. If you need an Officiant, we would highly recommend Jude.

Jude is an amazing Minister! We interviewed 4 different ministers before deciding on Jude and I felt like we made a really great decision. Prior to the ceremony, Jude spent hours (over multiple days) with my wife and I getting to know each other. She really wanted to cater the ceremony for us and it was clear shes done many variations and was highly accommodating. We did not get a chance to meet her until the ceremony but the moment we all met, it felt very natural and like seeing an old friend. Jude's style is certain for those people who want more than just someone to carry out the nys requirements for marriage. Our long discussions lead to many good discussions that helped my wife and I connect before the wedding. It also help us slow down (as much as we could). If you want a closer connection with the person who marries you, consider Jude above all else.

Rev. Jude was a pleasure to work with. She is extremely passionate about her work and takes the time to meet with each couple to get to know them better. One thing we really liked was she shared her officiants speech with us prior to the ceremony day. The ceremony went by so fast, that I was happy we had heard it ahead of time.

We were married in September by Rev. Jude and we are so lucky to have found her. Our whole family told us right away how beautiful our ceremony was and were amazed by Jude’s beautiful words and demeanor. Working with Jude is a no-brainer, she made sure our ceremony reflected us as a couple, tailored to our specific vision, and counseled us through the whole process. Some of my favorite memories from our wedding experience, are from the conversations and sessions with Jude, as building the ceremony and the selection of poetry/vows are so sentimental and personal. And Jude has a lovely and kind personality and really got to know us during this time. Jude is also so organized and professional we did not need to have a rehearsal. I was so nervous about having everything ready or forgetting something, and Jude helped so much. The ceremony was a worry that she completely lifted off my shoulders. She has so much experience in the planning process she had us consider things that are noticeably overlooked at other ceremonies we’ve been to. If you’re looking for someone who will help you put together a ceremony that will give everyone butterflies and beautiful memories look no further!

We echo the reviews of many couples, Jude is an excellent officiant. Jude was extremely experienced and detail-oriented, walking us through each and every step of the ceremony. She dedicates her time to meeting with couples multiple times to ensure everyone feels comfortable on the special day. The ceremony, of course, was the most important piece to us and we are forever grateful to Jude for her part in it.

We loved working with Jude to plan our ceremony. She took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple, she provided us with many useful resources, and she gave us her expert advice to help us create a ceremony that really represented us. The result felt magical & transformational. Most importantly, she helped us remain present and focused on one another, as well as created a sense of community among our family and friends. We are so happy we chose Jude to guide us into this next chapter of our lives. We couldn’t have done it without her!

If you're looking for a wedding officiant who will make your special day unforgettable, look no further than Rev. Jude Smith. We had the absolute pleasure of working with Jude leading up to our wedding, and we couldn't be more grateful for her incredible talent, dedication, and attention to detail. From the very beginning, Jude made us feel incredibly connected, and her guidance and support helped us to truly quantify our love for each other. She took the time to get to know us on a personal level, and her ability to craft a ceremony that perfectly captured our love story was truly remarkable. On the day of the wedding, Jude delivered a beautiful and heartfelt ceremony that had us and our guests in tears. Her ability to weave in personal touches and meaningful anecdotes made the experience incredibly special, and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect ceremony. But it wasn't just the ceremony that impressed us - it was also the care and attention that Jude put into every aspect of the process. From the initial consultations to the final preparations, she went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect, and her warmth and positivity made the entire experience a joy. Overall, we cannot recommend Jude Smith highly enough. Her talent, dedication, and ability to make you feel truly connected are unparalleled, and we are so grateful to have had her as our wedding officiant. If you're looking for someone who will make your special day unforgettable, look no further than Rev. Jude Smith!

Rev. Jude Smith was so great, we had a connection right away. She understood exactly what we wanted. She personalized and organized our ceremony without batting an eye. I would highly recommend Rev. Smith. She also predicted we would have great weather on April 1st. We had a beautiful wedding day and Rev. Smith was a big part of that. We appreciate her. Simply Awesome!!!

Jude did an amazing job as our officiant. Her process is amazing and she works hard to get to know the couples she is working with. She was very attentive to exactly the type of ceremony we were looking for. Overall, you will have a great experience and wedding ceremony if you choose her!

The minute we spoke with Jude, we knew immediately we wanted her to officiate our wedding. She has such a warming and calming personality, she made our special day truly exceptional. During our virtual meetings she discussed all the details of our ceremony, made sure all our questions were answered, she gave great suggestions. She is truly an amazing, extremally kind, very knowledgeable person, she knew exactly how to make our wedding ceremony beautiful and unforgettable.

My wife Ali and I had a terrific experience with Reverend Jude! Ali and I moved things along pretty quickly, where we booked Jude even before we got engaged. Jude accommodated our tight timeline and gave us the structure, compassion, and attention we needed to feel excited and present during our wedding as opposed to weepy messes :). Throughout our process with Jude, she asked us to explore what made our relationship and each other special and we're so happy she did, because she gave us insights about each other we still talk about today. We had such a special day, and Jude was a really big part of that.

Reverend Jude was first our wedding officiant…she offers such genuine, personalized, heartfelt ceremonies. We loved her so much that we asked her to bless our first daughter. That day was so magical, organized, and just beautiful! Four years later, when it was time for our second daughter to be blessed, there was none better to ask than Jude! We were honored to recently have her bless our second daughter. Again, Jude delivered with such a special, unique, touching ceremony! She is an excellent communicator, professional…yet feels so connected, like family. She is one of a kind!!

Jude was truly outstanding and the best minister we could have asked for. Not only did Jude truly take the time to get to know each of us for who we are, she used all she learned about us over the course of a year to create a ceremony that touched not only our hearts but the hearts of all our family members and friends. She created a magical and warm presence and allowed my husband and I to feel as though it was only the two of us in that very intimate and beautiful moment. Jude always allowed us to full heartedly be US which created a ceremony fit for exactly what we envisioned. She is truly remarkable and would make any wedding a truly magical experience.

My wife and I have been together for thirty years and wanted our marriage to reflect the relationship we have developed. The minister was, for us, the most important decision we had to make, and we chose carefully. Finding Rev. Jude was a blessing in so many ways. Her expansive compassion and love offered us peace of mind that she was the right minister for our situation. Her long-term experience and her spiritual consciousness helped her to tune in to us, our wishes, and needs. We worked together to create our unique wedding. She made suggestions that we hadn’t considered and our wedding day turned out to be the most perfect day – beyond what we had initially imagined. Thank you, Rev. Jude!

Jude Smith officiated our wedding May 14th 2022 at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel. From the beginning since we booked with her, she was so communicative with our responses, met our needs of what we wanted at our wedding ceremony, and was very knowledgeable. Guests were telling us after the ceremony how beautiful it was and what a great job she did! We are so happy with how wonderful and special our ceremony was thanks to Jude.

After 2 LONG years of covid craziness and wedding pushbacks Jude feels more like family than a hired vendor! Hah she is incredibly professional and an true master of her craft. My wife and I can’t sing her praises enough! She so masterfully wove a ceremony for us that nailed our every desire & dream of what our ceremony would be like. She helped us both with stage fright nerves & she has the voice of an angel! We truly can’t express how grateful we are to Jude!

We LOVE Reverend Jude! We cannot tell you how many people came up to us after our ceremony and commented on how beautiful Rev. Jude's words were. Her positivity radiated throughout the ceremony, and she was able to beautifully balance creating a ceremony that was so personal, yet could be shared by everyone. Jude was able to make sure she captured our vision for the ceremony, and brought out exactly how we felt. We cannot recommend Jude enough.

Jude was great. We booked her really late in the game and she was able to work with our tight timeline and really bring our vision to life.

You can't go wrong with Reverend Jude Smith. She is professional, thoughtful, and deeply gracious. Her words and spirit will make your ceremony a memorable one.

Jude is an absolute delight to work with! From our very first initial call, we knew we needed her to perform our wedding ceremony! She was so friendly and calming during an otherwise stressful process. At every point whenever she checked in we instantly felt calm and excited for our big day. She spends time getting to know the couple she works with, honestly we felt such a connection to her after working with her for so long! The ceremony she made for us was absolutely beautiful, all of our guests loved it. She has such a great connection with her couples and your guests will be able to feel it. Her presence and energy are exactly what we wanted for our officiant. She took the time to go through our ceremony with us and made sure that it was exactly what we wanted. She truly is an amazing individual and we are so so lucky that she was able to be our officiant! I honestly think she was beyond perfect for us and we cannot thank her enough for being a part of this journey and being there for us.

I can’t begin to express how grateful we are finding Jude to officiate our “ celebration of love”. We celebrated 41 years of marriage with a traditional hand fasting ceremony. Jude helped us create a memorable ceremony that expressed exactly the message we wanted to convey to our adult children. She took time and patience to craft the exact wording we wanted . Jude is easy to work with, personable, kind, compassionate and very professional. She has an exceptional way of asking just the right questions of the couple to help her create and convey their message through her words and is very generous with her time spent with you. Jude Makes sure you are completely happy and is very detailed oriented. I would highly recommend Jude to officiate your very special day to make it perfect in every way !

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Reverend Jude Smith. She was professional, patient and kind. We had multiple meetings prior to the ceremony and it was customized to reflect us as a couple, including our history. She provided tools to assist in writing our own vows. She delivered a flawless speech and moved everyone to tears (which is what I wanted lol). She is also certified in NYC and is able to actually marry you the day of, this was also very important to me and special. If you are unsure who to pick, I promise you. Promise. You will not regret choosing her. Thank you again Jude!!!!!!

Our daughter and son-in-law were married by Reverend Jude in 2013 at an intimate ceremony in Rhinebeck, New York. It was such a wonderful and inclusive event, blending two families of different religions and from different countries and cultures. We knew that sometime in the future we would find a reason to have her participate in a life function for our family again. When our first granddaughter was born, a naming ceremony was planned, and COVID-19 interfered...then our second daughter adopted a baby during COVID-19 as well. Finally, the time was right, and in another intimate upstate residence, 18 of our closest family joined Reverend Jude and our family to have a proper naming ceremony for 3 1/2 year old Selma and 20 month old River. 2 excited little cousins finally getting their traditional names with their closest parents, grand parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in attendance. Reverend Jude made these little girls feel so special, and the doting parents and grandparents so happy to have an officiant with an actual connection to our family. Reverend Jude made these experiences SO very wonderful, comfortable, inclusive, and relaxing for the organizer (me). Can't wait for the next event someday down the road...

Jude was a consummate professional and gave us so much confidence, from the first meeting through to our wedding day. She collaborated with us generously, and wrote a personal and meaningful secular ceremony that incorporated elements of Judaism in a beautiful way. Any couple would be so lucky to work with her!

Jude was so wonderful—she was involved with nearly every step and detail of the ceremony, leading up to the day, extremely helpful and kind, and created such a warm, loving, authentic atmosphere on the day of our wedding. Couldn't be happier. - Beatrice

Jude was amazing to work with! She took the time to get to know us both and really tailored a personalized ceremony. Our day was magical because we started with the positive and loving environment that Jude created with her ceremony. She worked with the venue and the DJ and everything went seamlessly because of her hard work. Can't thank her enough for everything!

Our wedding was every bit of magic, a big part of that is thanks to Jude and how she crafts her ceremonies for each couple. All of our friends and family raved about her and said how "so us" it was. It was such a fun process and Jude makes you feel comfortable and easy! Would recommend to any one looking for a truly unique and personalized ceremony. Thank you so very much 8.21.21 Bride

Due to the pandemic, my daughter and son-in-law not only had the great pleasure and honor of having Rev. Jude Smith preside over their wedding once, but twice! Last year's wedding was downsized to 15 guests, whereas they had a larger celebration/vow renewal just last week! The time leading up to both occasions was fraught with the usual and the unusual variety of stressors. Rev. Jude surrounded all of us with her warmth and calming presence, which helped greatly to ease the tensions and bring out the joy and excitement. Prior to the events, I know the time she spent with my daughter and her husband was helpful and supportive, as she assisted them to craft their ceremonies. She was also absolutely successful in assisting them to each interject their individual beliefs into the content of what each said during the ceremonies. I wholeheartedly recommend Rev. Jude Smith!

We knew from the moment we first spoke to her that she just fit exactly what we were looking for in a wedding officiant. She honestly felt like someone we had known for years. Every single guest in our wedding including some of our vendors asked if we personally knew the officiant since our wedding felt so tailored and personalized to us. We explained how we found her on our recommended vendors list from our venue, the FEAST at Roundhill. We explained how much work Jude put in to get to know us from having us fill out questionnaires about us individually and as a couple. We even had a getting to know each other zoom session where we discussed our hopes and dreams for the wedding. From there Jude provided us with handfuls of suggested prayers, readings, vows, etc. She even guided us in writing our own vows. From there, we had 2-3 more sessions with her as we built and then went through our entire ceremony. That is exactly how we ended up with such an intimate, personalized ceremony because of the amount of work Jude put in. Our other experience with the two other officiants we interviewed was tell me a little bit about yourselves and then we will see you the day of. No one else compares to Jude. Hire her and you will see your personalized ceremony come to life!

I cannot express how amazing Jude is. She really does go above and beyond to make your day special. We had so many curfuffles with the pandemic, the groom not completing his vows, and our difficult scheduling since we have crazy schedules. Jude alway came through, especially during tough times. Her voice is so calming, and we got so many great comments from our guests about how much they loved Jude. Her special words will stick with us forever.

Jude is incredible to work with. She is professional and genuine. We had to postpone our big wedding to next year and had a small back yard wedding this year and she made sure she checked in on us, made sure we were excited even though it wasn’t as we imagined. It was so fun creating our ceremony, which was the beyond beautiful. I will always cherish our ceremony. There was so much love and happiness within this ceremony. All of our family raved about Jude and how friendly she was along with her incredible talent of putting together such a beautiful ceremony. We can’t say enough good things about Jude!

My husband and I eloped at the top of a mountain this weekend and had the pleasure of Jude officiating our wedding for us. She woke up around 4am to drive to us for 6:30, and then hiked a 45 minute trail to the top of a mountain with us. She went above and beyond in every way. From the first interaction I had with Jude, she spent so much time getting to really know us. Our ceremony felt incredibly personal and was better than we could have dreamed. I spoke with Jude on several occasions through email, text, phone and Skype before our wedding date and spent hours getting to know one another. She genuinely cared for us and our experience and brought a beautiful energy that no one else could. I felt like I had another friend along for the wedding with Jude. She was so on point with everything we wanted to include and so detail oriented, with asking us preferences on her outfit, using nick names, etc. She really thinks of every little detail. The ceremony she continuously brought back to us and the reason we were there today. Giving us so much time to hold onto each other and really bask in the moment and really be present and have time to absorb what was happening. She really made this day so special for us. We cannot wait to renew our vows with her next year in front of our friends and family. I highly recommend Jude for anyone looking for an intimate wedding.

Jude is incredibly thoughtful and dedicated to her work, and it was a real honor to have her as our officiant. She was truly invested in our happiness and takes her role seriously, which helped us arrive at the perfect ceremony and vows. I urge you to talk to Jude, because in just a few minutes you see the depth of her thinking as well as the dedication to her role, and we’re so lucky we were able to have her bring her unwavering best on our wedding day.

Jude is fantastic. When my husband and I decided on a wedding date, I was researching officiants for our big day and came across Jude Smith on the knot. I reached out to her and we had a phone conversation that lasted about an hour and a half. We told her our story and she asked us questions about our relationship and life. We had an amazing connection and we knew she was the perfect person for us. We met with her in person and she personalized our ceremony to us, to who we are as a couple and as individuals. We are spiritual and not religious and she brought in our love for the outdoors, hobbys, our relationship and life together into the ceremony. We couldn’t be more happy, and then the pandemic hit in March. We initially scheduled a wedding for May 2020, but it got postponed to September 2020. Jude was so flexible and worked with us with all of the restrictions and regulations of the current times and assured us she will be with us every step of the way. She also reached out to me personally, knowing I was a nurse working on the frontlines during this time and checking in to see if I was ok. That’s just who she is, personable, caring and truly cares about her couples in every aspect of their lives. I would highly recommend her for future weddings, big or small.

With only two weeks to plan our pandemic elopement, my fiance and I expected to find an officiant that was just fine. We spoke with multiple that were just that: okay. However, as soon as we started our phone call with Jude we knew we had found someone special. She was the only one who actually took the time to get to know us, to ask deep questions about our relationship, our hopes and dreams, our spiritual lives, etc. that allowed her to perfectly craft a ceremony for us, not just a cookie cutter template experience. She helped us craft our personalized vows and printed them on beautiful paper for us to read from. She is so friendly, warm, experienced, and has a great sense of humor and a sense of play that put us at ease before and during the ceremony. She was such an integral part of our perfect day. Our photographer who has shot hundreds if not thousands of weddings was blown away by her too. Jude was worth every penny and then some. She made our elopement feel just as deep and memorable as a proper wedding. Five stars isn't enough for how wonderful she is!!

Jude was an awesome officiant! She was able to help us put together a custom ceremony for our elopement in less than one month, after we had issues with another officiant. She hopped on board, got to know us, and showed that she really cared. From our first phone call with Jude, we already noticed the complete difference from the person we were originally dealing with. Jude wanted to actually learn who we are, what we wanted in a ceremony, and assisted with any questions we had. We didn't have much time, but we were able to coordinate a Skype meeting with her for the following week. She went over all of the pieces of the ceremony and took our thoughts and input into consideration when creating our custom ceremony. The following week was our elopement, and she spoke with us the night before. Again, she quickly reviewed the pieces of the ceremony with us, and that helped calm us down. The morning of our elopement was a little crazy, and we had to change locations last minute, but Jude was cooperative the whole time and even arrived a little early to the new spot. She was helpful in setting up the ceremony and our rituals, and she printed each of our personal vows on nice glossy paper for us to read off of and to keep. The ceremony went smoothly, our parents loved it, and so did we! My husband and I highly recommend Rev Jude Smith! If you are looking for an officiant for your wedding or elopement, look no further! Jude is the one for you!

Simply the Best! Warm and caring and interested in every detail of what you want in a ceremony. Jude Smith made my wedding a very personal intimate and emotional day for all. I will tell anyone to use her and look nowhere else 💗💗💗

Rev. Jude is absolutely AMAZING! Not only did she create a beautiful blessing ceremony for my granddaughter - she went above and beyond to personalize it for our family. Her attention to detail and follow up communication before our special day really made our family feel very confident that she would deliver a beautiful ceremony. Her warmth, inner charm and sincerity was felt by all of our guests. Rev. Jude made us feel like her family - what more could any ask than that. Hats off to Rev. Jude Smith!!!

I don't even know where to start. Jude is unreal. She gets to know you and your fiancé on such a personal level and genuinely cares about you both. We met with her multiple times and talked with her on the phone even more often. During our ceremony we were both completely relaxed because we felt so comfortable around her. Before the ceremony she reminded us to just look at her and listen to what she was saying, so we were able to soak up the moment and feel the love we shared. We trusted her completely and she always made sure that the ceremony felt right for us. Her words touched all of our family and friends as well. There was lots of sniffling from the audience. During the reception, SO MANY people approached us to compliment the ceremony, even people who we would have thought were there mostly for the party ;) She gave us resources to help choose the elements of our ceremony and documents to help us write our ring vows and personal vows. She also gave us clear and organized checklists along the way. Despite the fact that one of our checklist items was to get our marriage license at least 3 days before our wedding... We spaced it. In MA, there is a three (business) day waiting period for wedding licenses (not counting the day you apply for one). We realized on Tuesday night... Our wedding was Saturday. We emailed Jude in a panic at midnight on Tuesday and the next morning she called the town hall in the town we were getting married and somehow arranged for one of the people working there to hand deliver our license to us on our wedding day. Oh, and Jude took time away from HER OWN vacation to do this. We could not have chosen a better, more genuine and caring officiant. We love Jude.

I am so glad we chose Jude as our officiant. She truly went above and beyond. From our first meeting, Jude was friendly and kind. She took the time to truly get to know my wife and I. She went out of her way to understand our relationship, and delivered a wonderfully sweet and personal service on our wedding day. There wasn't a dry eye in the house! I would highly recommend her to anyone.

Jude was a fantastic fit for our wedding officiant. From beginning to end she was always punctual and detail oriented. The day of was something I will never forget. I never cry...but that day I might've. ;) She was able to express our relationship in fluent poetic words and it was truly incredible. She made both my wife and I feel comfortable and calm throughout the entire process. It wasn't a boring recited ceremony like they often are. Jude gets to know you as a couple and uses that to form the most beautiful ceremony for you and your loved one. A day we shall never forget!!