Meet Mitzi
Wherever life has taken me, one thing stands out loud and clear:
I’m a people person!
And I’ve been called “ecumenically correct” since I was 9 years old. Literally! Being ecumenically correct means I have great respect for all religious and spiritual paths. I want to make sure that your values, your sensibilities, and your visions are the ones I honor and are felt by you and all your guests on your wedding day. The Couples I serve come from all walks of life: they are Jewish; Interfaith; Multicultural; Spiritual-but-not-necessarily-religious; Secular; Agnostic; Humanist; and Atheist. I believe that the world is large enough to embrace the diverse customs and rituals of all people, and that’s what I strive to do.
I have lots of experience and training. Since 2014, I’ve officiated not only weddings, but also funerals, baby naming ceremonies, and Bar, Bat, B’ Mitzvot. I also do a lot of Bar/Bat/B’Mitzvah tutoring with both kids and adults. I earned my master’s degree in Jewish studies from the Academy for Jewish Religion, CA in 2017, and I’m also a certified graduate of the Celebrant Academy, which offers 6-month Humanist-based training programs for wedding officiants and other life cycle celebrants. I keep super active in my memberships and affiliations with the International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants (IAPWO) and the Unboring!Wedding Academy. That means I’m always learning new ways of serving you better and better, all the time!!
So, when you hire me, you have an Officiant who can not only write and officiate an amazing wedding ceremony; I can sing, too! And if you’d really like, I can even write a personalized love song, based on your love story, just for you!!
Before I became a Wedding Officiant, I was a Certified and Licensed Massage Therapist. And I’m a Certified Chaplain. In that capacity, I worked in the Cedars-Sinai Hospital Spiritual Care Department, and from 2016-2020, I served as a Hospice Chaplain with Skirball Hospice and Palliative Care, all in Los Angeles, CA.
When I’m not officiating, you can find me cheering on my son who plays wide-end receiver on his high school football team; kayaking off the shores of the Channel Islands; singing and dancing my heart out in community theater; or taking long bike rides with my hubby along the SoCal beaches.
“Mitzi was an excellent communicator and responded in a prompt manner whenever we reached out to her with questions.”
She genuinely cared what our backgrounds and values were. Something I appreciated was that it was acknowledged that while my husband and I were similar in some ways in our spirituality, we have differences, and the ceremony reminded me of how they and we as individuals complement each other.
– Liz and Damon, Point Dume State Beach, CA
Mitzi’s Affiliations
Fun Facts About Mitzi
Favorite Quote: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Favorite Ice Cream: Must I choose?? Ok, I love anything Tillamook, but I especially love their Mountain Huckleberry ice cream.
Favorite Disney Movie: Well, it’s the Disney-Pixar film, Finding Nemo. I’ve probably watched it 500 times, literally.
Favorite Event Memory: Holding my two sons right after they were born.
“Guests even commented that they really liked Mitzi“
Working with Mitzi was so easy, we highly recommend her if you are in need of an officiant! She’s so professional and her communication was really good leading up to the event and the day of the wedding was perfect- just as planned! The ceremony was intimate and had a few funny moments, just as we wanted. Her questionnaire was thorough which is how she got to know us and write about us + we had a 1 hour zoom call to get aligned on the type of ceremony we wanted.
– Shaina and Brian
My Goal
When you come to me, you get very personalized service. I have a “process” for getting to know you, so that by the time we’re standing together in front of your family and friends on your wedding day and I’m sharing your love story and pronouncing you married, you’re going to feel like you’ve found your long lost auntie, or BFF, that no one has seen for years, but who speaks as though I’ve known you both since you were born.
How do I do that?
We start with a “meet and greet” either over Zoom or FaceTime, or, geography permitting, face to face at your favorite local coffee shop or hangout. I love that initial meeting to be in person whenever possible.
After our initial meeting – what one of my mentors calls a “chem check”, to make sure that we’re a great fit for one another and I’m going to be the perfect wedding officiant for you –
I email you both “The Questionnaire” that you each fill out separately from one another. With my experience and training, I’ve learned what the important questions are to ask you, so that, with your responses to these questions, I can write a ceremony that is specifically geared to your relationship. I ask you all sorts of questions about your love story – how you met, what drew you to one another, what your hopes and dreams are for your future, and so forth. When you hire me to be your wedding officiant, you do have homework!!
I also ask you questions about rituals you may want to include in your ceremony; who’s in your wedding party; your favorite songs, authors, movies, etc. Your responses are all ways that help me get to know you, what’s important to you, and how you’d like your wedding ceremony to be.
Because remember:
THIS IS THE DAY THAT’S GOING TO LAUNCH YOU INTO THE NEXT CHAPTER OF YOUR LIFE, TOGETHER, FOREVER.
My job is to create a ceremony that has the energy behind it to support you showing up in life as a married couple.