About 2000 Lovingly Officiated Weddings by Judie L. Guild. NY Registration #77862. JudieGuild@outlook.com.
Outdoor Weddings
Fun destination wedding ceremony at NYC’s High Line
R+B travelled from Canada with friends for a planned elopement on NYC’s High Line. Joining them were other tourists and a few local NY-ers. As lots and lots of folks watched and cheered, they exchanged vows and rings. Then, in a twist as fun and retro as the yellow balloons, another New Yorker who had […]
MoreA private ceremony in a public park
Before officiating this NYC wedding by the Angel of Waters’ Fountain, I noticed about four couples in their wedding finest and another four couples enjoying their “e-sessions” or engagement photo session. Since this couple was a bit wary of marrying among the crowds, we moved to a quieter spot in the shadow that nonetheless affords […]
MoreAn engineer and music teacher get married on the High Line
This couple is a lovely pair –inside and outside. I love how comfortable they look! I am still dazzled by the exquisite simplicity of their clothes, especially A’s dress. I think it was some sort of woven fabric–almost like a sweater. It fit her like a glove. Separately, they sent a few reflections about what […]
MoreHernshead Ceremony (Central Park wedding minister)
I am delighted to present another ceremony on a rock in Central Park… This view is more familiar to my couples: J + M are standing on the huge rock by the Ladies Pavilion overlooking the Lake. Pretty.
MoreOctober Spotlight: High school sweethearts get married in NYC
Who does not like the movie Juno? Only the most cynical. Not this couple. They realized the true meaning of “to elope” –to “run away”– when they married. They returned home to announce their marriage to family and friends at an “engagement party.” From the Bride and Groom: Just wanted to say one more big […]
MoreAfter Irene delayed plans, a lovely couple finally gets married in NYC
I just want to express how grateful and happy we are that you and Liam were part of one of the most special days in our lives. It was a real pleasure to meet you and work with you through the whole process. Thank you for all your patience with us. It was incredible experience. […]
MoreAn almost Autumn wedding in New York
Wagner’s Cove belongs to weddings in the Fall. Perhaps because couples who marry in the Fall tend to prefer rustic colors. Perhaps because Wagner’s Cove offers a bit of shelter. Perhaps because when the leaves do change color, Wagner’s Cove is especially pretty. For whatever reason, I tend to marry lots of couples in the […]
MoreCouple weds in North Forest Park
I married another local couple in my neighborhood recently. When couples come to me, it really is a sign that they want something a bit sweeter than the NYC Clerk’s office and nonetheless relaxed and low-key. After all, the ceremony is a gateway to official recognition of a marriage. It is a joyful and serious […]
MoreA light-hearted marriage ceremony
The setting? A semi-private alcove on a Brooklyn pier near the luxury rentals at 184 Kent Avenue and East River State Park in Williamsburg. The ceremony? “We want a 5-10 minute ceremony,” the bride wrote me. That’s rather short, I reflected privately, even for a wedding officiant used to couples requesting short ceremonies. To make […]
MoreUrban marriage ceremony in a country setting: Garden of Union in Brooklyn
Like any grouping in New York, we are a cluster of different personalities from many different places. Kate’s family is from Virgina, and Mark grew up in Rochester (NY), although his father is from Georgia. Kate and Mark nonetheless managed to find each other at work about three years ago. They then proceeded to encounter […]
MoreAstoria Park wedding
An excerpt from their ceremony: As many here know, Miranda and Jonathan met through friends at a football game back in 2001. Immediately, they both realized their bond held much promise for future romance and adventures. But school and work intervened and complicated their lives. Still, they reconnected the following year. Watching movies, such as […]
MoreIntercultural, Multifaith, or Interfaith Wedding Ceremony Minister
I marry many intercultural couples, such as B+D. Some are actually very interfaith or multifaith and incorporate a passage and rite from their respective traditions. In such cases, I use a spiritually non-denominational ceremony with the traditions most cherished by the couple incorporated. Others appreciate the rich cultural histories of their families, but prefer to […]
More“We gather here to celebrate love and life…”
No one ought to be very surprised when technologically savvy and mathematically inclined individuals meet and find they have much in common. While the engineering backgrounds of Brandon and Chris differ, their similar focus on abstract structures and refined details create a thread linking them together intellectually. Chris and Brandon first met through a mutual […]
MoreTanglewood Preserve (Long Island wedding ceremony officiant)
I am in love with this secluded, suburban oasis. Technically located in Rockville (Nassau County), this space offers lots of gorgeous, very natural greenery around a small pond. My couple married there in mid-August with under a dozen of their nearest and dearest at Noon. From there, they planned a relaxed family lunch and then […]
MoreClassy at-home marriage service
I grew up in Southold, and my family moved to East Hampton for seven years, where I lived as well while attending college and graduate school in Manhattan. (Yes, the commute was brutal, but youth is the time for such commutes!) My immediately family has since re-located to upstate New York in search of cheaper […]
MoreWorldly, international couple getting married in Tryon Park
Hi Judie I just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you so very much for a lovely day. It really was perfect – we remember the ceremony as being beautiful but also we were grinning from ear to ear the whole time, which is just what we wanted – a simple, meaningful […]
MoreClouds brighten the scenery for a Wagner’s Cove ceremony
My couples have a hard time understanding why blue, sunny skies are not ideal. When it comes to weddings, if mother nature bequeaths clouds, rejoice!
MoreMarriage Ceremony on a Boat (Chelsea Piers)
Hi Judie- We just returned from our mini-honeymoon on Cape Cod. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to speak to you after the ceremony as I got tied up with the guests. I just wanted to thank you for your beautiful ceremony- you really captured our personalities and made it fun and lighthearted. My […]
MoreA personalized ceremony at Turtle Pond
When a pharmacist and nurse meet, we ought not to be surprised if they find lots in common. Our groom and bride – a pharmacist and nurse – encountered each other through real estate. Gregg’s parents own a home across the street from Pat’s vacation home in Deposit. Luck works in mysterious ways: a devastating […]
MoreA Brooklyn Bridge wedding ceremony through the gaze of black and white photos
Judie, THANK YOU!!!! The ceremony today was excellent! everything was just as we invisioned! Thank you so much for making our special day so perfect! Thank you to liam as well for his patience and skill. We are looking forward to seeing the pictures. Thank you again! Andrew
MoreQuick Sampling of Ceremony Sites from July 2011
While waiting for my job to officially commence, I managed to sneak a few photos of *some* locations to which I’ve traveled using an “ancient” 35mm Minolta. Yes, that’s a film/analog camera. Please pardon the dusty scans. Having performed twenty-eight weddings in July and now working through my thirty-three weddings this August, I think you’ll […]
MoreEngagement Ceremony at the Reservoir
This handsome couple decided to combine their engagement photo session with an engagement ceremony. For couples who are a little shy and worry about the big day when two hundred pairs of eyes will be watching intently as they exchange vows, this is a great way to practice!
MoreTwo very cute guys and a waterfall ceremony (+Lincoln Center & Empire Hotel)
Segment from their ceremony: Caleb and Dennis, you are urban transplants. Having grown up in Michigan, you attended college at Lake Superior State University, where you met in 1987. It was a bit of a fateful meeting, as your connection became quickly apparent. You soon became the best of friends. Then this friendship transformed into […]
MoreFamily wedding
A+D committed to each other many years ago. They made it through college and countless other joys and difficulties of daily life. The graces of luck even gifted them with two beautiful daughters. And, with their family and friends finally gathered together on a not-so-hot morning, they exchanged poignant personal vows.
MoreMay their marriage “go ever ever on.”
Reading from their wedding: “Roads Go Ever Ever On” from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea; Over snow by winter sown, And through the merry flowers of June, Over grass and over […]
MoreFrom a whimsical encounter to a wedding in the Ladies Pavilion
Quinn and Nora met in a whimsical way a few years ago in Terminal 4 at JFK airport. Nora’s beauty captured Quinn’s gaze immediately: with his heart racing, he walked over to her at a Hudson News’ store. He felt as if he had known her all his life. These words by Rumi express their […]
MoreSculpture Garden Wedding (Westchester)
From their ceremony: Kristina, Andrew “loves your passion. You are the most scrupulously honest person he has ever met. He loves your tenacity and stubbornness. He loves that you can’t watch the commercial with the shelter animals because it is too much for you to see an animal abandoned or unloved. He loves that you […]
MoreA favorite wedding ceremony on Fire Island
I ought not to have favorites, and I rarely do. The wedding yesterday, however, was as blazingly meaningful and memorable as the summer sun shining….By now, readers must know that I only become that sugary when feeling extra romantic, dreamy, and in love with my life. Back in May 2009, I married Charles and Lauren […]
MoreOn the high line tracks to matrimony
Any day I am asked to recite poetry by e. e. cummings is a glorious day! the great advantage of being alive (instead of undying) is not so much that mind no more can disprove than prove what heart may feel and soul may touch –the great(my darling)happens to be that love are in we,that […]
MoreDuring a heat wave, into the woods for the ceremony do we go
I am so glad to have met this fantastic couple who planned their NYC wedding from abroad in the U.K. Smart, relaxed, and –I know this seems commonplace, but it’s true– downright pleasant, this pair made a beautiful couple. As an added bonus, they married in the lovely Shakespeare Garden before heading to the Ramble […]
MoreA quickie in the park
A family emergency challenged J+A’s plans to wed in the Roosevelt Hotel, where I was initially going to marry them. But, in the end, the place does not matter. I don’t know any couple that ponders where they are standing (or sitting) while reciting vows to their betrothed. They came to me –North Forest Park […]
MoreNYC “City Hall” Alternative for Weddings
Thanks to Goethe, among others, we may re-think the parable of Adam and Eve. Goethe wrote: “A wife is a gift bestowed upon man to reconcile him to the loss of paradise.” Maybe the loss of innocence derives from the origins of society: when even just two come together, a few frustrations will ensue as […]
MoreSealed with a kiss after thirty years
M+T committed to one another officially thirty years after they first met abroad. When M came home from her travels, she told folks that she met “the one.” Then life interfered. The internet fostered their reunion. They planned a celebration in late May, yet life again accosted them. Fortunately, finally, nothing assailed their plans on […]
MoreFrom the New York Palace to Central Park: Classy Destination Wedding
This is the reading they selected: “I Will Be Here” by Steven Curtis Chapman: If in the morning when you wake, if the sun does not appear–I will be here. If in the dark we lose sight of love, hold my hand and have no fear–I will be here. I will be here when you […]
MoreInterfaith marriage ceremony at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
Pretty-pretty-pretty. That word resounded in my thoughts as I married this couple and now when I view their photos. I have so many couples that want a “quintessential urban wedding” that I sigh with expansive relief when a couple selects a quiet, classy, and gorgeous site for their wedding ceremony, such as the Rose Garden […]
MoreA Very Joyful, Fun Elopement in NYC
I normally find it hard to choose photos to feature. I try to balance images that I like with images I think other couples might enjoy. And I do add in a few clearly showcasing the site to give future couples ideas. But this slide-show was really difficult to put together: laughter abounds.
MoreThe Perfect NYC Elopement: Justice of the Peace style ceremony in Fort Tryon Park
I LOVE Fort Tryon Park. I love lots of places for particular kinds of weddings and elopements. But when I officiate at Tryon, I feel at home. When eloping couples request site recommendations that do not require a permit, Tryon is always on the short list of favorites. In the past, I’ve also commented about […]
MoreMarriage Ceremony at Grand Central (Bonus: wedding photos in Tudor City Gardens)
J+J are wise. They wanted a true elopement: in fact, when the bride saw someone she knew in Grand Central, she darted back up the stairs until the groom conveyed to their friend with a little white lie and the friend left. (Yes, “for real.”) Grand Central was a natural choice: they danced for the […]
MoreTying the Knot at Brookyn Bridge Park / Pier 1 on a *Hot* Day
Seriously, the temperature is so high that couples really do need to remember the sunscreen! And water. And flip flops in addition to the heels. And a handkerchief. And do consider alternatives to heavy suits for grooms. The groom featured below wanted to end the photo session with Liam because the heat was too much. […]
MoreJefferson Market Garden Ceremony
I fall a little in love with couples, such as C+P. An almost born new baby and a move abroad to London made their wedding plans extra exciting and intense. As I read the passage below by Leo Marks before they exchanged their vows, they glowed. “The life that I have is all that I […]
MoreInformal Spiritual Marriage Ceremony in the Ladies Pavilion
Here are some segments from their ceremony: I am especially proud to officiate today: D+S are equally brave individuals. I admire them; their relationship inspires both to become better people. But not only do they give the gift of love to each other: they share the best of themselves with their family, friends, and community […]
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Wedding Officiant in NYC and the Hudson Valley 