Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:
A rabbi and a priest walk into an interfaith wedding...
and the ceremony is meaningful, moving, and leaves the wedding guests laughing out loud and crying happy tears.
Sometimes, for interfaith couples who choose this option, Rabbi Shonfeld co-officiates with a reverend, priest or other clergy member. This combination is great for couples looking to incorporate different faith traditions, and often is of particular comfort to a couple’s parents and older relatives who may remember their own religious wedding ceremonies of decades ago.
Rabbi Sara Shonfeld has officiated many of the weddings I’ve photographed; when I see that she’s the officiant, I instantly feel happy for the couple.
From the Ketubah signing, to the ceremony itself (which includes storytelling, traditional and modern prayers, endearing jokes, and audience participation: “Mazel Tov!”) Rabbi Shonfeld always knocks it out of the park. Her energy is kind and enthusiastic, her voice is soothing and her accent lovely, and I often get the sense that she knows each of her couples personally–no two of her ceremonies feel exactly alike.
Ketubah signing with Rabbi Sara Shonfeld and a young interfaith couple at Crescent Beach Club in Long Island NY.
I’m an atheist, and some of the couples I’ve photographed who worked with Rabbi Shonfeld are: secular, or secular with religious parents, an interfaith couple, or active in their chosen religion.
Rabbi Shonfeld is very inclusive: for the duration of the ceremony, she unites everyone (despite differences in religion or belief) in their shared love for the couple, and invokes the highest joy and wishes for their future.
Even as a secular person, on more than one occasion, hearing Rabbi Shonfeld speak has brought a tear to my eye behind the camera.
I highly, highly recommend her to any couple, and especially to interfaith couples.
