I am an Interfaith Minister, licensed to perform weddings, which I consider to be one of the highest forms of sacred play! Sometimes the couples I work with are from different faith traditions and want to find common spiritual ground to celebrate this most joyous of life's passages. Other times, couples are simply looking for a unique, creative way to express their love for and commitment to one another; they want someone to partner with them in creating a very personal and meaningful ceremony with little of the language, music, or visual symbols of a "traditional" wedding.

I'm delighted to work with same-sex couples who want to sacralize their bond in a special way as well. In all instances, we work together to craft a simple and beautiful ceremony which blends your vision and my expertise.

As a nationally certified Life and Relationship Coach with a Master's degree in Spiritual Psychology, I also work with couples who want to create a strong foundation for their marriage through pre-marital coaching.

TYPES OF CEREMONIES

When you decide to create your own wedding ceremony, the world's traditions are your playing field. Certainly, you can opt for a creative blend of the religions of your respective families. You may even want to have more than one officiate present to represent different faith traditions. I have co-officiated with Rabbis, Buddhist Priests, and Christian Ministers, sometimes even with 2 others!

Or, you can opt for a contemporary ceremony which is completely original, drawing on elements and rituals from multiple traditions, including Native American, Celtic, Sufism, Islam, Earth-Centered Spirituality, Hinduism, Egyptian, to name a few.

You're invited to bring all your ideas to our first session and we'll also draw from the resources I've compiled over the years. If you're undecided about the location for your ceremony, I have lots of suggestions in the New York metro area as well. This is your ceremony and it will be as elaborate or simple as you want it to be.

RELATIONSHIP COACHING
Consider, for a moment, some recent, sobering facts about marriage and divorce:

The marriage rate is decreasing, and is at its lowest in 30 years. While the exact divorce rate is a matter of debate, experts agree that somewhere between40 and 60% of all marriages will end in divorce, and that for every marriage there is about one divorce. The percentage of young adults who say that having a good marriage is extremely important to them is increasing (94% in one study). 43% of first marriages end within 15 years. 39% of remarriages end within 10 years. More than 85% of all adults marry at least once.

I'd say the verdict is in: it's time to do a serious re-assessment of the way we approach relationships and marriage in this day and age. I don't believe there is such a thing as a "perfect marriage", yet it seems that we all continue to strive to first meet the "perfect" partner, then count on them to make us complete throughout our shared lifetimes.

I can tell you from direct experience – 25+ years in a dynamic, constantly growth-producing marriage – that there are no simple formulas or easy tricks. But I do know as I look around that there is so much more we could be doing to pro-actively prepare ourselves for the most enlightened, successful relationships possible, and once in them, to continually deepen and expand ourselves, our partners, and that mysterious third entity, the partnership itself.

Among other cities, Spirited Weddings With Rev. Deborah Roth, M.A. may serve the following New York City NY areas: New York, New York City, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Flushing, Jamaica, Bronx, Staten Island, Yonkers, White Plains, Long Island City, Far Rockaway, Astoria, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Bayside, Chestnut Ridge, East Elmhurst, Kew Gardens, Pleasantville, Queens Village, Boulevard, Croton on Hudson, Douglaston, Eastchester, Elmhurst, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Little Neck, Ozone Park, Ridgewood