A Los Angeles Jewish Wedding Officiant Who Officiates Non-Jewish Weddings
As a Los Angeles Jewish Wedding Officiant, I officiate non-Jewish weddings and Interfaith weddings, as well as Jewish ones. I love officiating wedding ceremonies that are Interfaith and/or Multicultural as much as I do Jewish weddings. But you may ask, how can I officiate a ceremony of a faith or a culture with which I don’t have direct and personal experience? To explain the answer to this question clearly, it’s important that I provide you with some definitions of terms.
What is an Interfaith or a Multicultural Wedding Ceremony?
When I use the word Interfaith, I mean that the two marriers come from different religious or spiritual backgrounds. One partner may be Christian, while the other one is Jewish. I’ve served couples that are very diverse in their backgrounds. For example, I served a couple in which the bride was a Thai Buddhist, and her groom was a Filipino Catholic man. Another wedding that was very diverse was that of an Israeli Jewish bride, and her Mexican Catholic groom. Talk about wonderful combinations of faith and cultural traditions! Finally, I had the honor of pronouncing married a couple in which the groom was Jewish, and his bride was a Navajo woman.
I marry more than people. I help to marry cultural traditions, too. And honestly, to me, this is what makes life and love truly interesting!
How I Blend Wedding Rituals Across Cultures
I recognize the differences between an ideology and a ritual. Ideologies are “a systematic set of ideas, beliefs, and values held by a person, group, or political party that shapes how they understand and interpret the world”. Here’s what that means for me when I serve Interfaith wedding couples.
How I Decide When to Say A Prayer
As a Los Angeles Jewish Wedding Officiant, it would be inappropriate for me to say certain prayers or readings to a couple if my beliefs are fundamentally not in alignment with the words of any given, non-Jewish prayer. For example, Christian people profess Jesus to be the Messiah, and their personal Savior. Jews don’t share this belief in the same way as Christian people do. But this is what I can do. I invite anyone in the wedding party, or any guest, to offer a religion-specific prayer to the couple. Or, I would co-officiate a wedding ceremony with a Christian pastor or a Christian reverend.
How I Use Ritual in a Wedding Ceremony
Rituals are quite different from ideologies. Rituals are regularly repeated actions performed in a precise way, often for religious ceremonies, social customs, or personal routines”. What I learned from my training from the Celebrant Academy is that rituals share common themes across cultures and traditions. For example, interweaving elements of a Jewish Kiddush with a Chinese tea ceremony can be very creative and fun, because the reasons for both of these rituals is to highlight psychological and emotional truths. Chinese wedding tea ceremonies to show deep respect and gratitude to parents and elders, formally uniting the two families. The Jewish Kiddush ceremony is done to sanctify the wedding, express joy, and formalize the marriage. There’s no competition between these two rituals because they both express joy.
Let’s Talk!
If you’re looking for a Los Angeles Wedding Officiant who loves marrying rituals together as much as people, then reach out and let’s connect! I’d love to do all I can to help you have the wedding ceremony of your dreams!
