All Faiths Ceremonies by Dr. Sheila Gay Gross

Thank you for a beautiful wedding ceremony that you performed on Friday for my daughter and new son-in-law. It was so touching. My husband and I were talking tonight and both of us agreed that our own ceremonies (we've been married before in a church and then together by mayor) were so impersonal compared with what you did for our daughter. Both sides of the family said again and again how beautiful the ceremony was. Many, many thanks. It brought us together as one family from many.

Dr. Sheila Gay Gross recently provided her services as an officiant at my wedding. She did an AMAZING job with our ceremony. From the moment she first left me a voicemail responding to an inquiry looking for an officiant, I could tell she was a great choice over other officiants I looked at. My finance (husband now)and I, met with Dr. Gross at her home where she welcomed us warmly and our children as well. We spent a few hours getting to know each other, and filling her in about our story as a couple. She was great at eliciting information from us to incorporate into our personalized ceremony. I felt like she was really taking the time to get to know us and allowed us to share things about each other and our future that we really wanted to include for our ceremony. In addition, she is extremely creative and suggested ways to incorporate our older daughter into the ceremony which was fantastic. Also Dr. Gross is extremely creative, she is willing to perform the ceremony to accommodate the desires and wishes of the couple. Anything we wanted to include was included. She volunteered to read a letter on behalf of my grandfather who was not able to attend the wedding due to health reasons which really meant the world to me. Her words brought tears to my eyes but also laughter to help get me through the ceremony (which I was so nervous for). I can honestly say I have never been to a ceremony that was so unique as Dr. Gross made ours, and so personalized to my husband and I. I can only imagine that each couple feels the same way about their own ceremonies!! I had so many friends and family come up to me during the reception and ask how we found Dr. Gross because she did such an amazing and beautiful ceremony!! Dr. Sheila Gay Gross made a huge impact on our special day and I cannot thank her enough for all her ideas and exceptional execution!! Working with her was a real pleasure!! I would recommend her as an officiant to other brides who want professionalism, grace, creativity, and who want to work with someone who really values the importance of the services she provides.

From the first moment I spoke with Sheila I knew she was the officiant that would marry us. A simple introductory phone conversation with Sheila made me feel warm and connected. She was kind, in tune and so attentive. Upon meeting with Sheila, I knew we had to look no further. She welcomed us into her home and spent over 2 hours getting to know us. She listened to our "love story" and took careful notes. Speaking to Sheila brought tears to our eyes. At times, her interpretation of our relationship and how she explained how she would perform our ceremony filled us with a sense of complete joy and made me, as an excited bride, cry tears of utter joy. We booked Sheila on the spot, there was no need to meet with anyone else. Throughout the planning process, Sheila was there for us every step of the way. She even recommended a musician for our wedding...which we loved and hired! She was so in tune with us and with our vision for our wedding day. Leading up to the special day, Sheila kept in constant contact with me. We spoke on the phone and communicated via email. Sheila kept me calm, and her guidance and support made me feel everything was going to turn out just perfectly! And it did!! The evening of the wedding was magical. Sheila performed what our guests said " the most beautiful ceremony they ever attended." There was not a dry eye in the room, as she thoughtfully remembered my husband's father that passed away, involved our children in a sand ceremony that celebrated their importance in our lives and helped us exchange our carefully written vows that were personal and meaningful to the both of us. Sheila brought a sense of warmth and tranquility to the room. She warmly conveyed the love my husband and I share and that feeling of love, family and togetherness lasted all night long. Sheila is an absolute blessing. She created the personal, warm and heart felt ceremony that I always dreamed of. She afforded us with beautiful memories that will last a lifetime. The magic she added to our wedding will never be forgotten.

This woman is HEAD & SHOULDERS above any performance I have seen at weddings in many a day. She is a mature, competent, well-spoken woman who spends loads of time learning about the couple and than weaves an incredible service. Folks asked me all evening about her, how they could reach her, yada yada............. You will NEVER regret using Sheila for your wedding!!

Sheila is by far a master of her domain. We personally come from two separate religions (Catholic and Jewish) and when meeting with Sheila we made it clear that we didn't want the ceremony to be about a particular 'God' but rather about us, as a couple. She did just that. Sheila engulfed our guests in a ceremony which took them through our history as a couple and incorporated bits of our personal story which really connected with each one of our guests. I can't even count the number of guests, literally probably 90%, of them who made an effort to come up to us and gush over how this was the BEST ceremony they have ever seen. Although the cost for Sheila's service was on the higher end of officiants we considered - it was absolutely worth every penny for the impact and memories that it not only left with our guests but also with my wife and I. No regrets here and have already recommended her to multiple friends getting married. Highly recommended to anyone looking to make their ceremony unforgettable.

The minute I called Sheila and heard her warm, friendly voice I knew she was going to marry us. She is extremely thorough and ensures that the couple feels comfortable with everything happening in the ceremony. She gave us so many options for our ceremony and we loved them all! Sheila has a special gift at commanding people's attention in a very subtle way. Our ceremony truly told our love story and was everything we wanted it to be and more. When we walked into our cocktail hour countless guests told us that was the BEST ceremony they have ever been to. "It wasn't boring," they said, "And captured both of your personalities." We are very satisfied with Sheila and will be calling her someday to perform a blessing over our first child.

Dr.Gross is really a very sweet and caring lady. She took her time to get to know both myself and my wife well ahead of time to really create a special and very memorable ceremony. Her ability to weave interfaith thoughts was beautiful. We really were happy with the outcome.

Sheila was a dream to work with. I felt an initial connection with her upon our first phone conversation. But despite that, I went against my better instincts and hired someone else. When I notified Sheila that I'd went with another officiant she was the ONLY one (of all the other officiants I had reached out to) that despite not being chosen, still took the time to write me a beautiful, heartfelt message wishing myself and soon-to-be-hubby the best of luck in this next chapter of our lives. Some of the other officiants got a bit on the rude or pushy side, or failed to say anything at all in response. Needless to say, plans fell through with that other officiant and for the best because as soon as that happened I knew it was meant to be that we pick Sheila. Since 'Day-1' Sheila has truly taken the time to get to know me on a personal level and went out of her way to understand our love story. We communicated frequently throughout email and phone in the months leading up to our wedding. She kept me up-to-date on the progress of our ceremony throughout the entire time. She is not only professional, reliable and dedicated... but she is such a lovely human being. She made our ceremony a unique and memorable experience for us and our guests. We pretty much hand-made that whole ceremony from start to finish. We worked collaboratively and fed off of one another for creative additions. She appreciated our need to be unique and to have our ceremony be as far from traditional and predictable as possible. One-on-one she shared her script with me over the phone and it helped me really paint the picture of how our day would be. I got teary eyed hearing her words. And knew that the ceremony would flow perfectly. It did. And even better than I had imagined. She improvised and really made our couple-story sparkle with bits and pieces of who we are as individuals... and most importantly who we are as a couple. Can't thank you enough, Sheila. You were a huge piece of our Big Day and I couldn't have imagined doing it without your guidance and warmth.

Sheila was an amazing officiant. From the moment I spoke to her, I knew she would be the perfect touch to my wedding. She was so personal and cared genuinely about the story behind our love. She took detailed notes and got to know the two of us as we learned about her as well. Over the many months that I spoke to her, we grew closer and closer. I had full confidence in knowing that my ceremony would be so special and perfect. She performed our ceremony beautifully and left people smiling, crying, and laughing. My guests were awed by her, telling me how amazing she was. One guest even told me that if he had a girlfriend, he might have had to call her and propose. I absolutely loved Sheila and would recommend her to anyone who wants a unique and personal ceremony.

Sheila was amazing! Even at our first meeting we were so excited, surprised and impressed at all the ideas and originality she was going to bring to our ceremony. My wife and I are not religious, but we are spiritual and Sheila understood everything we envisioned and added so many additional unique elements making our ceremony truly specialized to our relationship, even while including our friends and family. If you are looking for a completely special, memorable and beautiful ceremony to start off your lives together, Sheila is the officiant to use!

Sheila is truly blessed in her ability to officiate a wedding. In our case -- a non-denominational wedding -- Sheila had many helpful suggestions for incorporating symbolism and meaning into our ceremony in a variety of ways, and we worked together with Sheila to create a personalized ceremony unique to us. Sheila also has a natural proclivity for connecting with people and making them feel like they are part of the ceremony. We really feel she managed to engage all the ceremony attendees, and tell our story in a way that resonated with our friends and family. The ceremony was beautiful, unique and touching, and we were approached by countless people afterwards telling us how much they had enjoyed the ceremony and how beautiful it was.

Reverend Dr. Sheila Gay Gross officiated our Wedding on October 14, 2011 in Shamong, NJ. She did an amazing job. She created a beautiful ceremony that reflected our 9 year relationship. She custom designed every part of our ceremony; she incorporated wine for the winery we were married at and she included our mothers which brought tears to many guests. She had all our guest in love with the ceremony. We are still receiving compliments about Sheila! The personal touches made it seem like she has known Joe and I for years. Lots of family and friends said it was the best ceremony they had ever attended. Joe and I would highly recommend Reverend Dr. Sheila Gay Gross! She really made our day special. We love Sheila and hope she can perform a baby blessing when the time comes.

I there are no better words, that I could think of, to describe to describe how wonderful, amazing, creative, intuitive, patient, and accommodating that Sheila is. When we met Sheila we all just clicked! She was very thorough in her questions when she met us because nether my husband (fiancé at the time) or I had any idea where to begin. She walked us through every step. She helped us out with the family politics that always go into planning a wedding. She was even there when I needed to vent! When It came down to the actual ceremony, Sheila more than delivered! She knocked it out of the park! There wasn't a dry eye in the place! She made the ceremony so customized, personal, and tailored to my husband and I and our story. I was told by sooooo many of our friends and family that my ceremony was "the best they have ever seen" I have a big family and they have been to a ton of weddings so hearing that really meant a lot. At this point I consider Sheila more then just the person who married us, I consider her my friend. So I just had to pass this info onto all of you. Fell free to get my info from Sheila if you have any questions or need a reference about her.

Sheila, Words cannot truly express the joy you brought to our wedding day. Your ceremony brought our families and friends to life. The feeling of love and happiness filled the room and transcended through to the rest of the evening, and many days to follow. You not only captured the essence of who we are as individuals, but more importantly, who we are as husband and wife. Thank you for your patience, thoughtfulness and the love you have given us. The advice you have given is invaluable. What a magical way to start "our new beginning." We are forever indebted to you. Affectionately, Marissa & CJ

I have a lot to say about Sheila, but first and foremost..there's a reason that she's in the "spotlight"! I have to admit, we weren't so sure in the beginning...she doesn't do a "traditional" ceremony and it wasn't something that we're use to. It was a little out of our comfort zone, but we went with it. But that's the point! It was such a beautiful ceremony, NOT traditional and NOT boring. I had so many compliments! It was meaningful, personal, emotional, and remember-able. She really takes the time to get to know her clients and form a ceremony around their relationship. Thank you SO much, Sheila! :)

When my wife and I first met Shelia, it quickly became apparent that we would have a wedding like no other. She took the time to get to know us and created an incredible one-of-a-kind ceremony. Every single person at our wedding told us that it was best ceremony they have ever seen.

Dr. Sheila Gay Gross did an EXCELLENT job when she performed our wedding ceremony! She has a unique way of getting the guest involved, by making them laugh and cry! She is very Professional and I would recommend her HIGHLY for gay friendly and all other weddings!!!! Jacqueline & Lettie 9-10-11

Sheila was the officiant at our wedding this past Sept in Stony Point, NY. My wife and I went back and forth regarding the use of a rabbi and priest to officiate our wedding and finally agreed upon using an interfaith minister. We truly got lucky by finding Sheila. She welcomed us into her home to discuss who we were as individuals and as a couple to get to know us, our personalities, and the true reason why we decided to get married. She was extremely attentive, asked the right questions, and pieced together all these bits into a ceremony that truly represented the union of my wife and I. Aside for being available whenever we needed her (helped write our vows, discuss ideas for our ceremony, etc.), Sheila was extremely reasonable in regards to price. Looking back on it now, I can honestly say her service to us was worth twice as much as we paid. She really got know us and create something special for our ceremony. This was not a cookie cutter presentation the other potential officiants offered which felt like a generic ceremony that was more like a madlib. I could go on and on, but at the end of the day Jess and I want to again thank you Sheila for making our day perfect! Our guests thought you were awesome. We will see you at our friend Rachel's wedding.

It didn't take us long before we realized we wanted Sheila to officiate our wedding. From the first moment we met, she made us feel comfortable, welcomed us into her home, and really took the time to listen and understand the kind of people we are. Sheila had many good ideas and suggestions, and we really felt that she was sincerely interested in making our ceremony as perfect as it can be. Many of our guests said it was the most unique and personable ceremony they ever witnessed! Thank you Sheila for being so easy to work with, and for making our day so special!

(copy of my letter) To Sheila Gay Gross, We want to thank you for helping to make Jenna and Ryan's wedding day so fantastic! You made them feel comfortable from day one and encouraged them to do it their way, helping them to incorporate beautiful traditions with new twists, testaments to special loved ones, the symbolic joining of the families of the bride and groom, and the promises that they presented to one another. Many of our guests said that they had never experienced a marriage ceremony that was so personal, warm, and spiritual. Everyone was made to feel part of that special moment when, at your lead, we all joined in to pronounce Jenna and Ryan husband and wife! Wow, what a beautiful, amazing memory that we will all cherish forever! Love, Maureen Margolin xoxoox (mother of the groom)