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Wedding Officiant -Debbi Ballard

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Home » Interfaith wedding » Page 2

Mickey and Jennifer’s Jewish Chinese Wedding Ceremony in Key West, Florida

December 1, 2009 by Debbi Ballard Leave a Comment

On Sunday, November 8th, I had the honor of performing Mickey & Jennifer’s wedding, at The Hemingway House, in Key West, Florida.

Jennifer & Mickey's Jewish Chinese wedding location at Hemingway House in Key West
Jennifer & Mickey’s Interfaith wedding location at Hemingway House in Key West
Chuppah at The Hemingway House, Mickey & Jennifer's Interfaith wedding
Chuppah at The Hemingway House, Mickey & Jennifer’s Interfaith wedding

Mickey and Jennifer are the sweetest couple, incredibly kind, loving, and so wonderful to work with!  Mickey is Jewish, and Jennifer is Chinese, and together we created a beautifully blended ceremony, including a chuppah, breaking of the glass, and ending in a beautiful Chinese Tea Ceremony, where both Mickey and Jennifer honored their parents.

Tea Cups for Chinese Tea Ceremony
Tea Cups for Chinese Tea Ceremony
Mickey and Jennifer honor Jennifer's parents in the Chinese Tea Ceremony
Mickey and Jennifer honor Jennifer’s parents in the Chinese Tea Ceremony

Mickey and Jennifer’s families were wonderful, and so much fun to celebrate with!  (Especially Mickey’s sister!)

I co-officiated the ceremony with Pastor Dave from The Hemingway House, and the setting, the food, and the whole party experience was incredible!

Best of luck to you, Mickey and Jennifer!  Wishing you all the love in the world!

MickeyJennifer, beautiful Chinese bride

B’Shalom!

debbisig

Filed Under: Debbi's Deep Thoughts and Musings, Jewish, Interfaith, LGBTQ Weddings Tagged With: Chinese Tea Ceremony, Chinese wedding, Intercultural, Interfaith, Interfaith wedding, Tea Ceremony, wedding

A Beautiful Day for a Sister’s Interfaith Wedding!

May 12, 2009 by Debbi Ballard Leave a Comment

So, no sooner did I finish Jared’s Bar Mitzvah, that it was time to prepare for the exciting upcoming week!

First stop:  Greenville, NC, where I had the pleasure and privilege of officiating the Interfaith wedding for Leigh and Matthew.  Leigh is Meridith’s sister, whose wedding ceremony I officiated back in December of 2007.  The family has become very special to me over the last couple of years, so it was really  even more of an honor for me to do Leigh’s wedding.  Shortly after Meridith hired me for her Interfaith wedding ceremony, they found out her Mom had brain cancer, and she was going in for immediate surgery.  Joann recovered from surgery, and happily was able to celebrate her daughter’s wedding, and I admired her so much for her incredible strength.  She was a beautiful woman, and I was so happy she could celebrate that joyous time.

A year ago, Elliot emailed me to let me know that his second daughter, Leigh, was getting married, and asked me if I could also co-officiate with Matthew’s childhood Minister, Lisa.  I was thrilled, and together, Lisa and I created a perfect Interfaith wedding ceremony – a blend of both Leigh & Matt’s backgrounds and faiths.

But sadly, by November, Joann had passed away.  Elliot assured me that Joann had been able to help Leigh make all of her plans, and though she wouldn’t be able to celebrate Leigh’s most special day, she did everything she could to make sure it had just the right touches, and that – it did.

Leigh made a beautiful bride, and Meridith was a magnificent matron of honor.  Matthew is the most adorable young man, who also works for Elliot, and adores Leigh with all of his heart and soul.  It was sad to be without Joann, but I couldn’t be happier that the family is doing well, and enjoying all of the simchas that life brings.  Meridith and Kevin are proud parents to baby Rose, and Leigh and Matt are starting their lives together, and hopefully, they will also soon be blessed with children.

I feel so honored to be such a special part of this family, and I hope we continue to remain special to each other.  Leigh & Matt, I wish you all the blessings life holds, and may your lives together be blessed with joy, health, and abundance.

B’Shalom

Want to create your own “dream come true wedding”? Contact Cantor Debbi today to see how you can co-create the event of your dreams.

PS: And don’t forget to stop by our sample ceremonies page to see what your ceremony might look like!

 

Filed Under: Debbi's Deep Thoughts and Musings, Jewish, Interfaith, LGBTQ Weddings, Weddings Tagged With: co-officiant, Interfaith wedding, Interfaith wedding officiant, Jewish, minister

Jess and Pete’s Wedding Part I – How I Became Their Interfaith Wedding Officiant ….

April 27, 2009 by Debbi Ballard Leave a Comment

Saturday afternoon, I had the pleasure of performing the Interfaith wedding ceremony for Jess and Pete, an incredibly beautiful couple, both inside and out!  But it almost didn’t happen, and here’s why ….

interfaith wedding ceremony
Photo by Shardayyy Photography on Unsplash

Jess contacted me in the fall of last year, and we spoke for almost an hour about what she wanted for her wedding, and how I could help.  It seemed from the first minute we spoke on the phone, that we were both speaking the same language – everything I told her about my Interfaith wedding ceremonies was exactly what she wanted.  And she sounded like the perfect client for me – she was so bright and enthusiastic, very family oriented, and just wanted a warm, personalized, and meaningful ceremony.  It was the perfect match!  UNTIL ….

I asked her what date she was planning on getting married, and when I checked my calendar, it seemed that I had a tentative booking with another bride who I also had really liked on the phone, who I was scheduled to meet with a few days later.  I called her immediately to confirm, and see if she was still planning on meeting, and she was – and I told Jess I might not be able to do her wedding.  I was SO sad.

So,  few days later, I met with my other bride and her fiance.  We had coffee at Starbucks, and from the very beginning I could tell the fiance was very uncomfortable.  He didn’t want to answer any questions, and this couple couldn’t have appeared to be farther apart – in every possible way.  I was completely uneasy, and even stopped the dialogue a few times to ask if there was something I was asking that was making him uncomfortable, and he just wouldn’t budge.  Even the bride was getting uncomfortable because of his actions, and I was getting really bizarre vibes the whole situation.

I told them that in order for me to put my personal signature on an Interfaith wedding, I must feel comfortable with my clients, and vice-versa.  That in order for me to create a personalized, meaningful wedding ceremony, both parties must feel like they could share their lives with me, so I could get to know them and talk about what makes them so special.  I explained that unless I felt a strong connection between my couples and myself, I just couldn’t do the best job possible, and if I can’t do my best job, I can’t do their Interfaith wedding.  He told me that he wasn’t comfortable sharing anything, at all, and so I was faced with a choice.  I mean absolutely no disrespect to either this bride or groom – it was a simple decision, and one that I feel I made out of integrity and dedication to honoring the joy that comes from my experiences with my clients.

I immediately got on the phone, in the parking lot at Starbucks after that meeting, and called Jess!  If she would still have me, I would love to be her officiant!  We were both so happy when she said she had been waiting to hear from me and was hoping it had worked out that way!  YAY!

So, the next week, I spoke to Jess’s Mom and Dad, who are the most warm and beautiful couple.  We made our arrangements, and the rest was up to Jess, Pete, and me, to create a beautiful Interfaith wedding ceremony together.  I’m so incredibly happy we all made that choice, so please read on in part II, about the day of Pete and Jess’s magnificent wedding ceremony.  Some things just have a way of being what they were meant to be …

Want to create your own “dream come true wedding”? Contact Cantor Debbi today to see how you can co-create the event of your dreams.

PS: And don’t forget to stop by our sample ceremonies page to see what your ceremony might look like!

Filed Under: Weddings Tagged With: beshert, bride, groom, interfaith officiant, Interfaith wedding, wedding officiant

Check out my latest Guest Blog post!

March 16, 2009 by Debbi Ballard 2 Comments

I got a DM on Twitter a couple of weeks ago from Liuba, at surviveweddingseason.com, asking me if I’d be interested in writing some tips for her website, and I’m super excited to say that my blog entry was published today!

Please head on over – not just to see my post, but to check out all the great information Liuba provides on her blog.  It is actually written to appeal to the guests of the wedding, which is a pretty unique perspective –

So, if you like what I wrote – please drop me a note – and Liuba, as well.  Or, if you like Liuba’s site – let her know that too.  I love supporting my peers through social media!

Thanks, Liuba!  Stay tuned for “What to expect at a Jewish Wedding”…soon to follow!

signature

Filed Under: Weddings Tagged With: Interfaith wedding, Jewish wedding, wedding, wedding guest, wedding survival, wedding tips

My Puerto Rico Adventure – Eden and Ed’s Jewish Interfaith Destination Wedding Ceremony

March 3, 2009 by Debbi Ballard Leave a Comment

Another Interfaith Destination Wedding, this time a perfectly blended, earthy, universalist-style destination wedding ceremony in Puerto Rico, has come and gone, and this one went WAY too fast! I know I say this all of the time, but I am just so fortunate in that every one of my wedding couples is amazing – but truly, Eden and Eduardo were such an amazing Interfaith couple in so many ways.  It was such a great experience getting to know them, and to be such a special part of their most special day.

Eden and Ed live in Washington, DC, and they were referred to me by Rabbi Lev at www.interfaithfamily.com.  As soon as Eden contacted me, we both knew right away we were going to be the most perfect match, and we definitely had that assumption right on all counts!  Eden has one of those personalities that just comes right through the phone and you imagine that girl in junior high school who was just bursting with enthusiasm sitting next to you with a GREAT BIG SMILE on her face, and energy that would last for days.

Well – that’s EXACTLY what you got with Eden!  As I was writing notes about the feelings I had about her and Eduardo as we had our conversations on the phone, I kept thinking “earthy, warm, syrup-y, and sweet”.  Again – I totally had it right!

Getting to the destination wedding venue wasn’t quite as easy as forming the initial connection, but it was a fun and conversation-sparking adventure nonetheless.  They were married at The Villa Montana, in a small town, in the north-western part of Puerto Rico, called Isabela.  It was about a 2 hour car ride from the San Juan airport.  Well, I was supposed to depart Fort Lauderdale at 6 am (ick), but I just happened to check on my flight the night before, and found out that flight no longer existed.  I was sooooo upset, because they were having the rehearsal dinner that evening and wanted me there.  The flight I was booked on now left at 11 am, arriving in SJU at 3 pm.  That should have put me there for the rehearsal dinner around 5:30.  Right.

As I made my way off the plane, I went to the pickup area, expecting to be met by a driver, but nobody was waiting for me.  (what a lonely feeling!!)  I called the hotel, and she began checking, and came back and told me the driver was there – but his van had just been TOWED AWAY, and he was trying to get it back.  After about an hour or more, he finally arrived to pick me up – and we were on our way – in Friday night rush hour traffic.  UGH.

At 6:30, I finally arrived at the beautiful little Villa Montana in Isabela.  Paradise.

This place had the small, intimate feel of a guest house, but was loaded with amenities and beauty.  I was immediately greeted by many of her family members as I was rushed to the rehearsal dinner on the beach, and there was Eden, and I just fell in love with her – as I knew I would.

Eden and Ed's rehearsal dinner BBQ at Villa Montana Friday night
Eden and Ed’s rehearsal dinner BBQ at Villa Montana Friday night

That night, I got to know many of her guests, and met her family, as well as Eduardo’s.  Ed’s family is from Puerto Rico, and were the most wonderful, gracious, and appreciative family I have met in a long time.  I just knew the Jewish Interfaith wedding ceremony would be amazing.

The next morning, I was able to spend quite a bit of time with Eden and Ed’s family and friends over breakfast on the beach.  We spoke for hours about Eden and Eduardo, their personalities, experiences, and their lives.  They told me incredible stories that really helped paint a perfect picture of my newest favorite Interfaith couple, and I was able to create a perfectly blended, earthy, universalist-style destination wedding ceremony that was a perfect match for their personalities.  We even re-wrote the words to The 7 Blessings, taking the religious language down a notch, and focusing on the meaning and appreciation of life.  It was quite beautiful.

Eden and Ed, Sister Sacha and Dad at Eden and Ed's Jewish Interfaith destination wedding ceremony in Puerto Rico
Eden and Ed, Sister Sacha and Dad at Eden and Ed’s Jewish Interfaith destination wedding ceremony in Puerto Rico

Watching Eden and Ed before me, as I performed their Jewish Interfaith marriage, was the perfect culmination of the experience.  Standing before me was not only a couple in love, but two best friends, laughing, touching, giggling, beaming, and kvelling together.  Knowing their closest friends and family were behind them, being witnesses to this magical moment, you could see the joy in their faces, and their hearts, as they spoke their vows to each other.

Certainly, the destination wedding dinner party on the beach was also quite fun, and I had the most wonderful time with their friends and family.  To everyone I met at the wedding ceremony – thank you for making me feel SO comfortable, and welcomed, and thank you for helping me create another beautiful destination wedding.  Bob & Carol – thanks for the ride the next day to the airport, you are a wonderful couple!  Paula & Ira – thank you SO much for your hospitality – and Eden & Ed – Mazel Tov and Buena Suerte.  You are a beautiful couple that I will remember forever.  See you in DC in May!

Eden and Ed, married at the beach, destination wedding in Puerto Rico
Eden and Ed, married at the beach

B’Shalom,

signature Debbi Ballard, Cantor, Rabbi and wedding officiant with My Personal Cantor

 

 

Want to create your own “dream come true wedding”? Contact Cantor Debbi today to see how you can co-create the event of your dreams.

PS: And don’t forget to stop by our sample ceremonies page to see what your ceremony might look like!

Filed Under: Debbi's Deep Thoughts and Musings, Jewish, Interfaith, LGBTQ Weddings Tagged With: destination wedding, humanist wedding, Interfaith wedding, Isabela, Jewish, love, marriage, Puerto Rico, resort wedding, wedding ceremony

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~ Officiating Jewish & Interfaith Weddings, Bar & Bat Mitzvahs, Funerals, and any other Jewish Lifecycle Services in Florida, USA – Destination Weddings in North America, Mexico, Caribbean & Worldwide ~

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