Personalized Weddings Reflecting Your Personalities, Beliefs and Cultures
This is such an important day in your life. Before you get caught up in all the busy-ness of booking locations, caterers, floral arrangements, photographers, etc., think about what this day says about who you are as a couple and what you want to communicate to your family and friends. At the core of it all, is a love that you will want to share simply and honestly to the people closest to you. A ceremony that is personal and meaningful to you and your guests will be remembered long after the flowers have died and the champagne has been consumed.
How can we make your wedding ceremony a reflection of who you are as individuals and as a couple? You may have poetry, music or other creative pieces that you wish to bring into the ceremony.
What family or cultural traditions could we weave into your ceremony? I've done services: weaving Jewish and Native American traditions together; in which the Chinese parents performed the Chinese rice wine drinking ceremony with the bride; where the groom composed and played a song to his bride, and she wrote and read her vows to him. What are the traditions and beliefs you want reflected in your ceremony?
Are there issues as a couple that you would like help with? Are there family dynamics that I should be aware of? Often difficult family dynamics can be averted when considered ahead of time.
I love to work with couples young and older, who are approaching this very important day and turning point in their relationship. As well as preparing a unique, personal ceremony, I offer counseling dealing with a variety of subjects, particularly chosen by you to address your needs. Three sessions and a rehearsal are usually part of the wedding package. This includes recommended reading. Additional counseling for couples or individuals is available at a reduced rate.
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Comments from Happy Couples (and a Mom).
Dear Barbara,
It has been an incredible journey to this day, and we are very appreciative of your guidance and support throughout the planning process. Your spirit, energy, kindness and consideration over the last 6 months has ensured we stay focused on what is most important: our love for each other and those close to us. Hope you have a fantastic summer of bringing other couples together -- you do it so well!
Much love and thanks,
E. & T.
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Barbara is a warm, compassionate and caring woman. The personal touches and professional insight she offered made our wedding ceremony a truly beautiful and warm passage into a new life together. Her genuine persona complemented the ceremony and set the tone for a memory that will last our lives together. I highly recommend Barbara, as she is a genuine person.
J. & C.
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Barb,
Thank you again for everything you have done for T. and I. You have such a gift, and it's incredible that T. and I stumbled upon you. We truly hope to not lose touch with you and we both feel strongly that we would be blessed to have you in our lives going forward as both a friend and a professional counselor. I just can't imagine that there are many newlyweds or couples as lucky as we are to have met someone like you.
So enough gush :-) .
We love you,
E. and T.
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Dear Barbara,
How fortunate we are to have met you. You're an amazing woman - full of light and love. We couldn't be more pleased than to have you share in making our wedding day so special. Many people have commented on what a "neat" minister you were - couldn't agree more!
Thank you so much for all your kindness towards G., H. (their daughter) and myself.
Love, H. and G.
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Dear Barbara,
Thanks for being such an integral part of our marriage. Thanks for being flexible and developing our ceremony to our liking and thanks for coming up Whistler Mountain on such a blustery day! Thanks for the pre-wedding discussions which helped us to address/become aware of many things about each other and our relationship. Thanks for having fun with us and our family and friends. It was a great celebratory week - glad you were a part of it!
Lots of Love,
T. and S.
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Dear Barbara,
Words cannot express how grateful we are to have met you. You helped us create a truly magical day that exceeded all of our expectations. Thank you so much for your warmth, generosity and guidance.
With love,
M. and T.
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Dear Barbara,
I want to thank-you for being so much help to J. and I. You have really opened our eyes to many of the possibilities that life with each other can bring. We both recognize strengths and weaknesses in ourselves and each other, and with a lot of love, patience, effort, and understanding we will overcome any obstacles of life. Thanks again for helping our dreams come true.
B.
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Dear Barbara,
I just wanted to thank you again for performing such a wonderful wedding ceremony for A. and K. I was touched by your words and have reflected on them often since then. I too, am struck by the ability of my daughter and son-in-law (what a wonderful word is that!) to bring together so many people and elements of different races, cultures and generations. Their relationship is truly blessed. So thank you for making their service such a truly personal one and one that celebrated in such a meaningful way, the union of these two fine young people.
Sincerely,
M. R. (bride's mother, cross-cultural marriage)
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Dear Barbara,
Our sincerest thanks for all the wisdom, insight and humor you provided during the entire wedding process. You helped create a most memorable ceremony and we will cherish it always. We will certainly be in touch if we find ourselves in need of a little spiritual uplifting (or, perhaps, blessings for babies!)
Lovingly,
A. and K.
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Dear Barbara,
We can't thak you enough for perfoming such a beautiful and thoughtful ceremony for us. Many people have told us now meaningful the ceremony was and have asked us to forward them copies.
All our love,
A. & K.
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Barbara,
We wish to thank you for a ceremony that was both very personal and
meaningful. It touched not only us but all of our guests. Thank you
for an unforgettable day.
W. and N.
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Hi Barbara,
It was a lovely day and we couldn't be happier! Thank you for doing such a wonderful job with the ceremony. We've really enjoyed working with you! We've received a few batches of candid pictures from friends. I'm attaching a few including one that shows you mopping my tears. :-)
Thanks again for everything!
H. and J.
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Barbara Gilday officiated our wedding. She is incredibly gifted. She assisted us in creating a beautiful ceremony out of a very raw collection of barely formed ideas. She generously gave us multiple sessions, including seeing our daughter/stepdaughter alone, in preparing for the day. During the proceedings she was relaxed, warm, happy, funny, appropriate, and very organized. The ceremony was everything we’d hoped for, and more.
Our friends and family have continued to rave about it. One of the most pleasing and satisfying responses from several friends has been “Where did you find that woman? She was wonderful!”
J. and M.
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