ABOUT
CYNTHIA
I’ve always believed that a perfect ceremony uniquely reflects the people it is honoring. No two humans are exactly alike, so why should our life’s most precious ceremonies be copied-and-pasted?
While I honor traditions, I believe that customs can be made even more beautiful by personalizing them to pay tribute to the individuals we are celebrating. And if you’re not drawn to a particular tradition, then it’s a priceless opportunity to create your own!
I became an officiant to support people who wish to celebrate life’s rites of passage with personalized, special ceremonies without strictly adhering to the doctrines of a particular faith. Whether you are dreaming of a non-religious or interfaith wedding, baby welcoming ceremony, funeral, or memorial, my intention is to create a ceremony that honors your beliefs and celebrates your individuality.
MY SERVICES
When you and I work together, we will create a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you and your guests will remember forever.
All of my ceremonies are 100% original, lovingly written by me, and based on your story. Whether it’s a wedding, the arrival of a new family member, or a celebration of life, I will work with you to design a ceremony that respects your beliefs while creating intimate connections and lasting memories.
Guests have remarked that my ceremonies made them feel as if they were magically transported onto the set of a romantic Hollywood film, complete with a musical crescendo and roaring applause.
MY PROCESS
One of the most rewarding parts of creating one-of-a-kind ceremonies is immersing myself in the love story of the couple or family. I love poring over a client’s answers to the questionnaires I’ve designed to provide insight into their relationship, surrounding myself with their music and their photos, combing through their social media for references to favorite cultural touchstones, and learning about who they are as individuals and as a couple.
By spending the time to truly know you, I am able to create a personalized script that leaves your guests and family members wondering if we’ve been friends for years!
MY GOAL
As an Ordained Minister and Ceremony Specialist, I am not restricted to serving a particular denomination or faith. This allows me to tailor your ceremony to reflect your specific values. It is my pleasure to work with you to design a celebration that is exactly the way you dreamed it could be.
For me, the most rewarding part of my work is witnessing as the way a ceremony elicits love, laughter, and delight among couples and guests. My goal is to co-create a ceremony that enchants your guests and fulfills all of your heart’s desires.
MY LOVE STORY
Like you, I cherish my personal love story! Ultimately, two of our dearest friends were dating, they set us up on a not-so-blind date, and we have been together — more madly in love with each passing year — ever since. Though that summary may sound common, there is so much to celebrate about the story of our journey toward each other. So many events and connections were magnificently orchestrated for our meeting to occur, and it all began when we were children (more than two decades before our meeting)! Best friends, cousins, and neighbors all played an intricate part in our love story that continues to be a beautiful experience for both of us.
If you are in love, then you also have a special love story!
Creating and delivering a ceremony that takes us on a journey through your love and happiness will delight your guests, while fueling your devotion and commitment as you begin the next chapter in your journey as a couple.
May I have the honor of helping you share your love story?
MY BACKGROUND
Becoming an officiant wasn’t always my intention. I never dreamed my academic and personal interests would evolve into a profession that allows me to spend my life helping people design and celebrate their most momentous occasions!
As an anthropology undergraduate, I fell in love with the rituals and traditions of various world cultures. I was fascinated by the way people practice their beliefs to connect to each other and their world. With graduate credits in English, I spent the next 14 years in higher education, directing a program for students with learning and other disabilities and teaching composition and literature to undergraduates in New York and, years later, in South Florida. This honed my ability to use words to express emotion and sentiment. Through exposure to poetry, fiction, and drama, I understood meaningful prose and effective delivery. It was in these years of teaching that I learned how to captivate an audience and maintain their interest.
My life changed dramatically when I lost my brother-in-law on September 11, 2001. Like many, I urgently sought answers to my questions about life, death, and the afterlife. Seeking personal development and growth, I enrolled at the University of Metaphysical Sciences and earned another bachelor’s and a master’s degree. After I completed my Doctorate in Divinity and Ordination, I devoted my life to helping others and creating extraordinary ceremonies that celebrate the couples and families I serve.
But everyone starts somewhere.
My very first ceremony was for a good friend. She was getting remarried, and she insisted that only I could deliver what she envisioned because it was such a delicate situation. Her first husband had passed, and she and her fiancé wanted to create a special tribute to him somehow. At the same time, she wanted me to create a ceremony that was foremost about her and her fiancé’s relationship, based on their ideas of spirituality and not with the religion they were raised. I, of course, was petrified of such a responsibility. She assured me I could do it, reminding me of my years teaching literature, and she buttered me up with every compliment she could think of.
Designing and officiating that ceremony was one of the greatest moments of my life. And so, Ceremonies with Cynthia was born.
