Norfolk Officiants + Premarital Counseling

Reverend Gary Shapiro | Reverend Joy Weddings

Serving Vermont and surrounding areas within 200mi

VT, NH, MA, CT, NY, ME, NC , SC, TN

Travel area: No travel restrictions See details

4.8

Praised by couples for:

Officiant

Great Planner

Seasoned Professional

We found Reverend Gary here on theknot.com and couldn’t be happier that we did! He was very easy to work with, kind, and helpful to us throughout the process of planning our wedding ceremony. He was our wedding officiant at our late November wedding on a sunny warm afternoon under a Magnolia Tree and it was a beautiful ceremony. Thank you !

Lisa B.

5.0

Reverend Shapiro crafted our ceremony to make our wedding day absolutely PERFECT!!! From the very first time we spoke, I knew we had been connected with the perfect match for us! Reverend Shapiro brought so much experience to the table and made planning the ceremony not only an easy, but an enjoyable process. This certainly could have been a stressful item on the docket of planning a wedding, but with Reverend Shapiro it was a breeze! He was so responsive, all of our e-mails were answered almost immediately! The questionnaire tool used to draft the ceremony shows how Reverend Shapiro is a consummate professional in his field, between that and our conversations the ceremony was perfect on the first draft! The planning was so efficient and largely effortless on our part, Reverend Shapiro did all the work! The ceremony was beautiful! Thoughtfully tailored to who we are as people and as a couple. It was filled with wonderful advice, thoughtful reflections on our relationship, and included all of our loved ones in a group vow, it was absolutely 10/10, we couldn't recommend Reverend Shapiro any higher! He brings a genuine warmth that welcomes all into your wedding day. Thank you so much for making our special day absolutely perfect and for taking such great care of us! Zack and Sarah

Sarah S.

5.0

Celebrate Your Love, Your Way — With Reverend Joy Whether you're exchanging vows in the rolling hills of New England or the vibrant heart of North Carolina, Reverend Joy Weddings is here to help you craft a wedding ceremony that is heartfelt, meaningful, and uniquely yours. Reverend Gary Shapiro — affectionately known as Reverend Joy — is a seasoned, nondenominational interfaith minister who delights in celebrating love in all its forms. Based in Windsor, Vermont, from May to October and in Asheville, North Carolina, from November to April, Reverend Joy brings deep presence, warmth, and professionalism to every ceremony he officiates. With a true gift for storytelling and connection, Reverend Joy will help you create a celebration that reflects your values, beliefs, and love story. His calm and grounded approach allows you to let go of stress and fully enjoy your big day — present, joyful, and surrounded by those you love most. 💍 Services Offered Reverend Joy honors the authentic connection between you and your partner, guiding your ceremony with spiritual, emotional, and practical insight. He officiates a wide variety of weddings and celebrations, including: Non-religious and interfaith ceremonies Civil unions and vow renewals Pre-marital counseling LGBTQ+ inclusive ceremonies Multicultural and multilingual weddings He warmly welcomes and supports all spiritual paths and traditions, including Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Pagan, Buddhist, Humanist, and more. ✨ Reverend Joy is also bilingual in English and Spanish — and can lead your ceremony in either language, or both. Rev. Gary has encountered a wide variety of faiths, spiritual teachings, and life experiences, which serve to inform his work as a wedding officiant. His work over the years has focused on conflict resolution, community development, citizen empowerment, peacebuilding, and much more. He was ordained as an interspiritual minister by the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in 2011. Reverend Joy Weddings is passionate about truly getting to know each couple in order to create the most authentic and personalized ceremony possible. This is achieved through an in-depth questionnaire and ongoing conversations throughout the process. Rev. Gary welcomes the additions of any traditions or rituals that couples wish to include in their ceremony, and can assist with writing vows if necessary. He can provide pre-and post-wedding counseling and can also perform ceremonies in Spanish if required. Reverend Joy Weddings is a wedding officiant service based in Windsor, VT.

Speaks English

Just me

Details

Ceremony Types

Civil Union

Commitment Ceremony

Elopement

Interfaith Ceremony

Non-Religious Ceremony

Religious Ceremony

Second Wedding

Vow Renewal Ceremony

Planning

Se Habla Español

Religious Affiliations

Buddhist

Christian

Catholic

Protestant

Quaker

Interfaith

Jewish

Conservative

Orthodox

Pagan

Secular

Spiritual

Unitarian

Wiccan

Wedding Activities

After The Wedding

Newlywed Life

Getting Engaged

Premarital Counseling

Wedding

Ceremony

Any questions?

Meet the team

Rev. Gary Shapiro

Officiant

Rev. Gary Shapiro is an ordained and non-denominational interfaith and interspiritual minister. His professional life before he became a reverend was in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

4.8

out of 5.0

9 reviews

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Review Summary

This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.

The officiant was professional, warm, and easy to work with, guiding couples through a smooth, low-stress planning process. He was highly responsive, tailored ceremonies to each couple’s story, and balanced heartfelt and humorous moments. Guests praised the meaningful, well-delivered programs and highly recommended him for Vermont weddings.

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Alison L

Highlighted review.

9/11/2025

Gary was absolutely amazing as our officiant. From the start, he took the time to really get to know us. we had a long, thoughtful interview over the phone, and he made sure every ...

part of the ceremony reflected our story. On the wedding day, he delivered his words so brilliantly that he had the entire room laughing one moment and tearing up the next. It felt personal, heartfelt, and perfectly us. We couldn’t have asked for a better person to lead our ceremony, and we’re so grateful we found him. -Justin and Alison

Lisa B

12/04/2025

We found Reverend Gary here on theknot.com and couldn’t be happier that we did! He was very easy to work with, kind, and helpful to us throughout the process of planning our weddin...

g ceremony. He was our wedding officiant at our late November wedding on a sunny warm afternoon under a Magnolia Tree and it was a beautiful ceremony. Thank you !

Any questions?

Sarah S

11/18/2025

Reverend Shapiro crafted our ceremony to make our wedding day absolutely PERFECT!!! From the very first time we spoke, I knew we had been connected with the perfect match for us! ...

Reverend Shapiro brought so much experience to the table and made planning the ceremony not only an easy, but an enjoyable process. This certainly could have been a stressful item on the docket of planning a wedding, but with Reverend Shapiro it was a breeze! He was so responsive, all of our e-mails were answered almost immediately! The questionnaire tool used to draft the ceremony shows how Reverend Shapiro is a consummate professional in his field, between that and our conversations the ceremony was perfect on the first draft! The planning was so efficient and largely effortless on our part, Reverend Shapiro did all the work! The ceremony was beautiful! Thoughtfully tailored to who we are as people and as a couple. It was filled with wonderful advice, thoughtful reflections on our relationship, and included all of our loved ones in a group vow, it was absolutely 10/10, we couldn't recommend Reverend Shapiro any higher! He brings a genuine warmth that welcomes all into your wedding day. Thank you so much for making our special day absolutely perfect and for taking such great care of us! Zack and Sarah

Holly M

10/22/2025

Reverend Gary officiated our wedding in Sept 2025 and did a great job!! He had us fill out an extensive questionnaire and we had a few phone calls with him before the wedding. He t...

ook his time getting to know us and making the ceremony authentic to us, which we appreciated. Part of why we picked him is because we wanted a more spiritual ceremony and he definitely delivered on that. While he was pretty quick with email responses (~1-2 day response time) he could work on his organization/remembering his scheduled phone calls :) Every phone call we had scheduled with him it took me a bit to reach him and he was not prepared. Once we got him on the phone the calls went well but something to keep in mind if you're a very OCD/anxious bride or groom.

Caroline H

12/01/2024

Reverend Gary played a very important role in our wedding. Since our families do not speak the same language, we wanted a bilingual ceremony and Gary was able to officiate in both ...

Spanish and English, which helped make our guests feel included. He also worked with us to make an incredibly personalized ceremony, incorporating in rituals that reflected our relationship and included our family members. In the lead-up to the wedding, he was a bit disorganized and misremembered the times of our phone check-ins a few times. We had also invited him and his partner to join our dinner but he did not let us know until right before the wedding that he would could not join, which impacted our catering cost and seating chart. Overall, working with Gary was a grounding experience and helped us contemplate our marriage and what it means to us at a time when all of the details of wedding planning was becoming stressful and distracting.

Michael R

7/06/2024

We were in great hands with Gary as the officiant for our wedding. He was a consummate professional throughout the entire process. During our phone calls leading up to the event,...

Gary really listened to our story and weaved that into the ceremony beautifully. He was also very flexible with our "spiritual, but non-denominational" approach and delivered a very meaningful program. The Irish Blessing was a particularly great fit for what we were looking for. Afterwards, we received a lot of compliments from our guests about the thoughtful words that Gary used to describe our journey and relationship together. Just before the event, Gary did a great job of putting our minds at ease by helping us do a quick review of our vows, and gave us plenty of time to review the ceremony script so we knew exactly what to expect. Would highly recommend booking him for a wedding ceremony in the Vermont area!

Ben M

8/31/2023

Reverend Shapiro is an amazing wedding officiant! He takes the time to meet with you and create the ceremony perfect for your wedding day. He really cares about your love story and...

what you value in one another and presents it perfectly at the ceremony. We couldn't be happier with how it went. Guests commented that it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies they have been to. He is genuine and will craft a ceremony that you will always cherish. 10/10

Megan L

7/16/2023

Working with Reverend Shapiro was fantastic and a pleasure. Rev. Shapiro is responsive, caring, and kind. After a few phone calls where he asked about the details of our relationsh...

ip and tried to learn more about us as a couple, he sent a draft of the ceremony to review and it felt that he truly represented our relationship in a meaningful way. Our guests loved the ceremony and a major part was Rev. Shapiro in his delivery and tone. We are very happy that we chose Rev. Shapiro to officiate our special day.

Claire E

1/15/2023

Reverend Gary was an integral part of the best day of our lives. He took the time to meet with my husband and I virtually multiple times before the wedding to get to know us. He wr...

ote a meaningful ceremony that perfectly matched the non-denominational ceremony we had envisioned. He was kind, professional, and easy to work with.

Service area & Contact info

Travel area: No travel restrictions

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(802) 229-1165

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Reverend Gary Shapiro | Reverend Joy Weddings

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