Reverend Samora -Common Ground Ceremonies

life. On our wedding day, she expressed such calmness and confidence. She was all smiles and helped us to feel relaxed and ready to go. She made the ceremony perfect for us. There wasn't a dry eye among all our guests! Highly recommend her.

dible source of calm both leading up to our wedding and on our big day. The script she wrote for our ceremony was so beautiful and really embodied who we are as a couple. We cannot recommend Reverend Samora enough!!

hat we wanted out of our ceremony. She ensured our ceremony was brief, but long enough to truly impact our guests with her script she formatted just for us. If you are looking for a professional, flexible, and charismatic officiant than you must book Reverend Samora Smith.

s so thorough and made the process a breeze. She communicated with us via phone, email, and in person to get to know us, our style of ceremony, what’s important to us and so on. She made sure to include every detail into our ceremony that we discussed. Reading the words prior to the big day didn’t do it justice. When hearing Rev Samora deliver those words, we were in tears and many of our guests were as well. In fact our family and friends raved about her for several days after the wedding. We couldn’t have asked for a better officiant. Thank you Rev Samora for all that you did and making our wedding day very special!

was the most touching and memorable ceremony they had ever experienced--and the most tears they had ever seen guests shed--and inquired about how long we knew Revered Samora. For the record, we only met in person one time before our ceremony--that tells you how incredible she is. After one meeting and completing the questionnaire, Reverend Samora flawlessly captured our story and our love and delivered her words in a way that made it clear that she is completely invested in every couple. Prior to our wedding I called her to walk me through the ceremony one more time since I was nervous and anxious about how it would go and she was so sincere, professional, and calm that it immediately erased any doubts I had. I cannot imagine that there is any other officiant who could have made our day as touching as it was. Reverend Samora, there is no way we could ever repay you--thank you so very much!!

truly tailored the ceremony to fit our story and personalities. When we first met with Rev Samora she had told us that oftentimes guests will ask her how she knows the couple ... she wasn't kidding! After our ceremony, people were wondering how she knew us and we loved that even though we had only known Rev Samora because we chose to work with her as an officiant, she really "got" who we are as a couple and the guests could feel that. We also loved Rev. Samora's disposition. She's calm without being too casual; serious without being stiff. It unexpectedly started to rain moments before our ceremony was about to begin and she was happy to have the ceremony outside just as we had originally planned and didn't complain at all. She was truly supportive of our wishes and we really appreciated her can-do attitude. If you're looking for an officiant with a warm, loving vibe who will make your ceremony personal and meaningful, Rev Samora is the perfect choice! 5 stars all the way :)

from our guests on the ceremony and vows she put together. HIGHLY recommend her!

elements. I have to say the ceremony was the most daunting for me to plan during the wedding process. We had this ambiguous idea of how we wanted the ceremony to be like and it was Rev. Samora who helped draw out those thoughts to turn them into a ceremony that was such a beautiful moment for us. It truly reflected who we are as a couple. We had so many friends and family come up to us during the wedding to say just how touched they were by the ceremony. Rev. Samora - thank you for creating such a special moment for us!!

on the officiating to be right because it was going to be such a big part of our memories. Samora met with us, listened to us, asked the right questions, and created the perfect ceremony. What an amazing woman! I would recommend her to my closest friends and family!

read her profile and found some of her work via YouTube. We emailed her and we set up a date to meet her before making our decision. I guess we were looking for a certain vibe that we can only feel out once we met personally. On our meeting with Rev. Samora we immediately felt at ease and comfortable. She was very welcoming, professional and sweet. She answered all of our questions and she also gave us her personal suggestions as well. Shortly after our meeting she emailed us a questionnaire for both of us to fill out. This was more like a guide for her to help share our love story... ..Fast forward to our wedding day!. Wow is all I can say! Rev. Samora performed the most beautiful and sweetest ceremony. She delivered our love story so romantically. She even incorporated the wine ceremony that we wanted and that added a nice touch. Many of our guest commented on her work afterward and they kept raving about how beautiful and personal the ceremony was. Thank you so much Reverend Samora for such a memorable wedding. We are so glad we chose you to marry us on the best day of our lives! ~Sheila & Melinda

d Reverend Samora to perform the ceremony on our special day. We were very impressed with the draft script we were sent and have to say that our day would not have been as amazing as it was without Reverend Samora! The ceremony itself was very personal, Reverend Samora reading with real emotion and feeling. I would highly recommend Common Ground Ceremonies and Reverend Samora when looking for an officiant, such a lovely, compassionate person. Thank you for such a beautiful smooth ceremony!

e received Samora’s contact as a recommendation from an awesome wedding coordinator friend. Samora accepted and was EXTREMELY professional! She first sent us questions to get to know us, and even helped to plan a few things we didn’t initially think of. She was very pleasant and kept a smile on her face. Samora’s kind and caring personality was also conveyed during the ceremony. It felt like she’d known us both for years! She spoke elegantly, and it was apparent that she had much experience. I highly doubt anyone could have done a better job than Rev. Samora! The absolute best!

e would be incredibly lucky to have Reverend Samora as their wedding officiant. We highly recommend her!

nformation about us and the vows were well said/very personal!

families. I loved every part of it. She's incredible to work with and I can't recommend her highly enough!

he room, etc. she just ran with it and made it all work. We'd both highly recommend working with her on your special day.

provided suggestions, there were appropriate and practical tips offered which helped in our decision making process and most importantly, she demonstrated a willingness to tailor the event to suit our needs. We certainly would recommend her as an Officiating Minister for a wedding.

a pleasure to work with.

Everything was above and beyond. People loved the ceremony as much as we did.

She also was very open to our ideas and incorporated them into our ceremony. She even traveled to the location that we picked in the snow and bared the cold snowy weather with us for the ceremony. I highly recommend her to everyone!!! She is awesome!!

a beautiful ceremony for you that speaks to what you and your partner cherish in your relationship. She is an expert at navigating the stresses of the day including backup rain plans. We have no reservations in thinking that she would be wonderful working with a wedding of any size. Our guests were tearing up as they told us how beautiful the ceremony was. We wrote our own vows and Rev. Samora helped us feel prepared to say them with her writing process. With all of the stresses of the wedding planning, we have to say that working with Rev. Samora grounded us. Working on our ceremony brought us back to the real reasons why we were looking forward to our wedding day and marriage- beyond the details of color schemes and linens. We highly recommend working with her!

f a favor and book her for your wedding!

hotographer for us. We wanted our service to be simple and a day to remember and Samora helped us achieve that. Upon our return to the UK our friends and family couldn't believe we had actually married in Central Park.

room and we instantly knew she was the one to preform our ceremony. The day of our wedding, she ensured everything went smoothly and couldn't have done a better job delivering sincerity, warmth and humor (when our vowels called for it). Our guests loved her as much as we did. I cant recommend her enough and will forever be great full for finding her!

crafted everything from scratch. She captured the important nuances of our story (and our story is complex, but she did it beautifully!). She was able to bring our families and cultures together, and her words spoke directly to us but also to our very diverse group of guests. It was personal to us (e.g. she remembered that I liked the poet Rumi and she added a beautiful verse from his work) and yet timeless. We had countless friends and family members commend the ceremony and say it's the best officiating they've heard. Above all, we couldn't say enough about how kind and patient and calm she is, just the right type of person to trust on such a big day.

s website. I wanted an outdoor wedding and Rev Samora was a God sent angel who helped me plan my wedding ceremony exactly how I wanted it and even better. She was the perfect fit who spoke such beautiful words and helped create the ceremony of my dreams. She referred the most amazing videographer and photographer who captured the best parts of our wedding ceremony which I will cherish for years to come. Thank you Samora for making one of the happiest days of our lives even more memorable.

- this was the most important part to our entire Wedding, and Rev Samora was able to do just that for us! Samora worked with us to make the ceremony plan from scratch - loved how easy she was to talk to, her voice is so peaceful and loved the way she spoke, but most of all I loved how we were able to tailor the ceremony to exactly fit our needs. She also had great suggestions, using her years of expertise, and everything went off without a hitch. After the wedding, everyones comments on how much fun they had, how good the food was etc. It's rare anyone comments on the ceremony - but we got tons of compliments on how great it was! You could feel like the love. For anyone looking to do a totally custom ceremony, Rev Samora will make it work for you! We were able to combine everything I wanted : traditional vows, Jewish prayers, wine & breaking the glass, a "Catholic" reading that was a bit more unique, and unity candle. The ceremony was truly lovely and I would recommend Rev Samora in a heart beat! She was easy to work with, responsive, and very flexible.

eared up when we heard her words again watching the wedding video. Highly recommend!!! You will be so happy you did! ♥️ Thank you Rev Samora!

ce, she put together a lovely ceremony for us and more than delivered on everything I asked for. A true treat to have her perform our ceremony. She will forever be in our hearts!

ing my beautiful wife slowly walking towards me and thinking, "this is it!" and then Rev. Samora started to speak beautiful, heartfelt words that put us both in tears of happiness and we felt such appreciation for each other. It was just beautiful!

emony were numerous, people "felt her love," they could tell "that she was deeply spiritual" and someone even said that it was "the most powerful service" they have witnessed. These are not common comments about a wedding officiant and these are a true testament to how special she is-- kind, caring, calm, experienced, and overall wonderful. We felt extremely lucky to have her with us on our special day.

hatted a bit and she made us feel comfortable. Conversation came easy with her because of her warm and open spirit. We asked her to work with us on the spot. In order to better know us and our history, she sent each of us a questionnaire to fill out without seeing each others answers. In a couple days, Samora sent us a beautifully written ceremony for our review. She offered to edit it but it was so beautiful and perfectly written that we left it as is. She really captured the true essence of our story, quirks and emotions. We teared when we first read it and every time we see our video. The day of our wedding, she arrived early, ready and looking professional. She delivered a beautiful ceremony that brought us and our guest to tears. Her timing was perfect, not too long, not too short. We were beyond happy with Samora and are so glad we found her. Now that all is past, we don’t know we could have had a more perfect ceremony. She definitely set the tone for our meaningful day.

o. As I was taking with her I knew she would be great and give us just what we wanted. We wanted a simple ceremony with only our family. I asked her a lot of questions about how it would work at central park and what I needed to do. She answered all of my questions and put me at ease. Through out the process, she always kept in touch, she answered any questions I had almost immediately. The wedding day was picture perfect! As the ceremony was performed, the sound of her kind and gentle voice added to the beautiful words she wrote for our ceremony and made the perfect day magical. She truly was amazing, kind, gentle and not pushy, she helped make the day absolutely perfect! She is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED- Thank you so much Reverend Samora.

of the event Samora arrived early and continued to check on me to keep me calm. She allowed our day to be special and we can't thank her enough....We would highly recommend her to anyone looking to make their wedding day as special as ours

! Reverend Samora was especially helpful with a pre-marital counseling session that we did a few months before our wedding and gave us guidance that was important and so needed during a stressful time during our engagement. The questionnaire /assignment we had to do for her really enabled us to reflect on our relationship and she was able to craft a ceremony that was so perfect, heartfelt, warm and engaging! All our guests commented on how wonderful and personal the ceremony was. The wedding day goes by so fast but of all the parts I remember it was the ceremony and all the love we felt on that day! We highly recommend! Thank you Rev. Samora for marrying us and sharing in our special day! Blessings! Lisa & Lloyd

gave us some "homework" to get to know us better and to learn about our relationship and how we met. Answering her questions was such a treat for my husband and I. We got to relive our love story, put it in writing and have someone else create a beautiful ceremony with our own words. She offered us assistance with picking our readings and with how we would like to format our ceremony. She was kind and not pushy and made everything so easy. We met with her a few weeks before our wedding - Rev. Samora wrote the most touching, loving ceremony - completely capturing our feelings for each other. Our guests gave us so many compliments and told us there was not a dry eye in the room. They even asked for her contact information! Standing in front of all of your friends and family can be intimidating and I was definitely nervous. Once I saw her and she spoke with me prior to the ceremony, all of my anxieties left. Rev. Samora has such a calming presence and a soft voice. While she was officiating our outdoor ceremony, there was a soft breeze and the sun was shining, - her words were so beautiful and I looked at my husband and thought "wow! This is exactly what I had dreamed of and more. It can't get any better than this" HIGHLY RECOMMEND - Thank you so much Reverend Samora

ec. 26, 2016 at Rockefeller Center) it was packed and I had no idea how we would have a ceremony, let alone hear each other. Rev. Samora had already scoped out the perfect spot so we met with her and headed that way. We had our own private area and had no problems with the crowd or hearing each other. We wanted a general ceremony so we did not have specific requests to be added. The ceremony she wrote was beautiful and even though it was not specifically drafted to us, it said exactly how we felt towards each other. I have been working weddings as a caterer and later as a planner (so I have seen hundreds of ceremonies) and I balled my eyes out during my own because it felt so much like us and what we wanted to say. Rev. Samora was fun to work with and she made our special day amazing! Having so much experience with weddings and working with her on my own wedding, I would recommend her to everyone getting married in NYC. She was a delight to work with and made our day seamless. Thank you for making our ceremony so memorable!

omments - she did an amazing job. Short, sweet, and meaningful - thank you for officiating our wedding!

r and getting her guidance on writing our vows. Her approach and lovely words added such a special touch to a wonderful night, I couldn't recommend Rev. Samora more highly!

remony) against the expectations of some of our more religious family members. Rev. Samora struck the perfect balance and tone for the ceremony - everyone was happy! She also helped us organize a photographer and took care of all other logistics, allowing us to enjoy the day and each other. I was 5 months pregnant when we got married so I was especially grateful for such a seamless, stress-free experience. Rev. Samora is everything you could ask for - thoughtful, organized, flexible, and punctual. 5 stars!

inal ideas. She was very calming, warm and did a great job of letting the ceremony breathe on it's own. She was the perfect presence for our big day!

earted ceremony in Central Park. I would highly recommend Rev. Samora and Common Ground Ceremonies 100 times over!

f wedding coordinator. From our first meeting with Samora, we undoubtedly knew she was the right fit. We were easily swayed by her warm demeanor, attention to detail and genuine interest in getting to know us. Her involvement was consistent throughout the entire planning process as she not only provided us with a general framework but was also there to help us fill in the blanks each step of the way. She helped us merge our existing ideas and non-ideas (things we either overlooked or were not sure of) and was able to utilize our unique input to create and customize our ideal ceremony. She accomplished this by listening, learning our story and sharing our vision. All of this at a very affordable price, we could not have asked for more! Samora’s insight and resourcefulness came in handy as well. She is very well-versed with the NYC landscape and made several suggestions during our planning. She has great knowledge of potential ceremony locations, reception venues, hotels for out-of-town guests and even transportation. We were so pleased after surveying several locations when Samora recommended and helped us finalize the perfect spot in Central Park for our ceremony. (The Cop Cot, which we highly recommend to anyone planning a Spring/Summer wedding in the park). Samora also arranged and booked a musician to play live guitar during our ceremony. Beyond that, she even advised us to have a back-up location on stand-by just in case of bad weather. Thankfully, the day was beautiful but it was just one more thing that gave us peace of mind on our big day. The list goes on and on… She was always on time, very organized, always brought a great attitude and always had answers (or suggestions) when we had concerns. These are some of the measureable attributes, but we were more impressed with the intangibles she brought forth. The ownership and pride she took in overseeing our special ceremony is what truly set her apart from the rest. She made it so easy for us and our big day was truly AMAZING to say the least thanks to Samora. We highly recommend “Common Ground Ceremonies” to take your wedding celebration to the next level!

marriage ceremony with an air of authority through our readings (well written by her), vow and ring exchanges to the kissing of the bride that moved our families. I would definitely recommend Rev Samora to officiant for any intimate marriage ceremony in the city.

n love and our relationship. After receiving some information from us, Samora was able to craft a beautiful ceremony that went exactly as we had hoped. Samora was incredibly easy to work with and did a great job. We highly recommend her.

tive from day one to all of our questions and concerns, she did an amazing job putting us at ease so that we could have an unforgettable day. Through the process she seemed to be only interested in making sure our day was perfect. Our ceremony was AMAZING we would do it all over again!!! Thanks Rev. Samora!

are grateful and happily married!

nge a contingency for a weather event as well. She was incredibly sweet, thoughtful, and warm throughout, just the type of person you would want at such an important occasion in your life. I can't imagine the ceremony going any better - and it was all thanks to Rev. Samora!

s at ease. She was very professional and from there on walked us through every step of the way, From getting to know us through a cute activity between my wife and I, to creating the perfect ceremony for us review before finalizing it. She was very responsive through our crazy nerves and knew just what to say to assure us that everything would be perfect. On the day of the wedding she showed up on time and ready to share our beautiful day with us. Our families LOVED our ceremony, we got so many compliments on it! I couldn't of asked for a better person to marry us, we have not one complaint. Thank you Rev. Samora for everything!

it was all taken car of for us.we couldnt reccomend rev samora enough.

ust our kids and parents, and she brought just the right energy and love to make it truly special!

choice was made! In retrospect I wish we had found her first in the wedding planning process to provide us insight on all the other details because she was so knowledgeable and helpful. We really had no idea what details we wanted specifically, even after MONTHS of internet searches, and Rev. Samora helped us decide almost everything in a 30 minute phone call. Ours was a destination wedding so we never officially met Rev. Samora until our wedding day. She was great on the phone, but can that standard really hold up in person? Yes, you bet it can! She was amazing! In true wedding fashion, as I have been told, complications occur, especially in NYC with everyone from out of town. Traffic was in gridlock. Even a few subway lines shut down causing some guests and some of the wedding party to be late. We weren't going to get the wedding pictures we wanted because part of our wedding time was in traffic and the photographer had another wedding to attend. To top, we had a bridesmaid with a very unanticipated hangover. So, to say my patience was exceeded when I met Rev. Samora for the first time is a stark understatement. I still don't know how she did it, but she calmed me and took care of EVERYTHING!! She pushed back the time, she negotiated the photographer issue, and put a huge smile on everyone's faces, especially ours, that we didn't even know was possible, particularly for a person we had never met. We can't begin to thank her enough for the beautiful and heartfelt ceremony she performed for us. She took the time to learn "our story" and what was important to us to include it in the ceremony. She made it personal and nothing short of absolute perfection! So many people at our wedding commented afterwards about how delightful, welcoming, and wonderful she was! Having such a high level of professionalism and at the same time such warmth is truly a gift! A gift that we feel so fortunate to have experienced! You will not be disappointed! TOP NOTCH!

mony and exceeded all our expectations. Many guests came up to compliment her on the service. I would highly recommend her.

h she had a hectic schedule that day she kindly excused our lateness and still gave us a beautiful intimate ceremony. We are very happy and grateful that we found Rev. Sambora and would highly recommend her if you are looking for someone who fits right in like family.

fit right in and made everyone feel comfortable and relaxed. I would recommend her for anyone who wants to take the stress out of their special day, I can attest that she is one less thing you will need to worry about!

usive ceremony that honored all of our beliefs and our love. She is simply pure love and it shows in her work. Every guest felt that she was able to keep the ceremony love-filled and spiritual yet light and filled with laughter. We could not have a had a better officiant.

u to make your wedding ceremony what you want it to be. Thank you Rev. Samora for giving us a wedding ceremony we will always treasure!

the set up that we agreed on. Rev. Samora had tweaked things that we would have never thought of because we were so caught up with all of the excitement. Our ceremony was so amazingly joyful for us and our guests. Rev. Samora made everyone feel so relaxed by her beautiful caring words. Rev. Samora is worth every penny!!! We love you Samora!!!! Thank you Xoxoxoxo

ly recommend her to anyone looking for a reliable officiant for their ceremony!

did she tell our story so beautifully the whole thing was just so raw and emotional it was perfect Samora is perfect and I hope to stay friends with such a kind heart.

invaluable. Within an hour of meeting and chatting with us, Samora had found the ideal venue for us and our 40 guests. As well as helping us find a venue, Samora also helped us find and organise a wonderful photographer and beautiful flowers for the space, as well as offering guidance for how to create our wedding playlist. When it came to the ceremony itself, Samora was there early to help us get prepared (she even ran out at the last minute to get me cough drops for my bad cold!). The ceremony itself was absolutely perfect: thanks to Samora, we had a ceremony that was unique and personal to us a couple, but one that still retained references to tradition, which is exactly what we wanted. Many of our guests have said that it was one of the loveliest wedding ceremonies they have attended, thanks to the personal touch that Samora gave to it. Samora comes very highly recommended from both of us!

o us and continued to be fantastic at communicating with us. Samora put us a ease by helping us choose a great place in the park for our simple wedding,she even helped us find a guitarist! Samora was genuinely interested in our story and incorporated this into our wedding. We were so impressed at her ability to organize us from across the country! She even filed our NYC license for us and had it mailed to us here in New Mexico! We would definitely recommend Rev. Samora, great job!!! Michael & Melody.

Samora came to the rescue (she had extras). We wholeheartedly recommend her as a wedding officiant.

Samora came to the rescue (she had extras). We wholeheartedly recommend her as a wedding officiant.

r and told us that, "It was the nicest ceremony that they have ever been to" and I'd have to