About Emily

I am a celebrant, specializing in weddings, commitment
ceremonies, and vow renewals.  If you are imagining a
unique, personalized ceremony for your wedding or other
occasion, I can help you create it!  As a graduate of the
Celebrant USA Foundation & Institute’s wedding certificate
program, I have been trained in the orchestration and art of
ceremony.  I have studied the wedding rites of different
faiths and cultures, enabling me to enrich your ceremony
with beautiful and meaningful flourishes.  The Institute has
taught me the importance of working collaboratively with
clients - I will guide you in choosing rituals, readings, symbols
and music that will fulfill your vision of the perfect wedding.

My experience as a Lifestyle columnist forThe Daily Star in
Oneonta has made me an expert interviewer.  The interview
makes your ceremony unique and personal!  I have also had
numerous essays and articles published in a variety of
national publications, including
The Chicago Tribune and
Chicken Soup for the Fisherman’s Soul.  I use my creative
writing ability to craft a ceremony that will convey your
journey together as a couple in the tone that you choose:
sacred and ceremonial, warm and intimate, solemn or
lighthearted.  However you envision it, I can help you make
it happen!

My book,
Dream Weaving: Using Dream Guidance to Create
Life’s Tapestry
, published in 2000, was the culmination of
many years spent studying the importance and meaning of
symbols. (Click here to learn more about my book:
Dream Weaving.) Symbols can be used in a variety of
creative ways to enhance a wedding or other type of
ceremony.  I have led workshops in dream interpretation
and Feng Shui symbolism, and I have written about the
symbolism of synchronistic events in everyday life.  All of this
experience has contributed to my intuitive ability to help you
choose just the right symbols to add depth to your
ceremony.  

Before becoming a celebrant, I had gained public speaking
experience as a lay liturgist in my church, and as a
speaker/reader of my work in coffee houses and
bookstores.  I have led writing workshops for children and
adults, and a workshop on the implementation and creation
of blessings.  An original blessing can be the finishing touch to
your unique and memorable wedding!

I love the idea of celebrancy, because it allows every couple
to have a personalized and meaningful wedding ceremony -
whether or not you belong to a church or synagogue,
whether or not your families are from the same background,
and whether it is your first marriage or your third.  The
ceremony can be performed at the venue of your choice -
inside or out.  Celebrant-led ceremonies have taken place at
beaches, parks, and woods.  For a truly unique and
meaningful ceremony, you might choose to be married on
the labyrinth at Harmony Hill Lodging and Retreat Center.  
Imagine processing around the intricate path, symbolic of
your life journey, while the story of how you met and fell in
love is shared with your family and friends.  This is just one
possibility - but wherever you choose to be married, you can
be sure that the ceremony I help you design will be warm
and personal - and one-of-a-kind!
Custom Ceremonies
I am available to perform
ceremonies in Otsego,
Delaware, Greene,
Schoharie, Chenango, and
Broome Counties.  

Contact me at:
Phone: 607-432-4625
Cell:     607-437-2015

E-mail:
customceremonies-in-the-heartland
@yahoo.com
Read my Blog:
The Wonder of Weddings