Boulder Colorado Wedding Officiant & Ceremonialist

I am Jen, an award winning Ceremony Leader, Celebrant, Wedding Officiant, and Irreverent Reverend.  I am a life-long student of ceremony, living outside of Boulder, Colorado.  I am bi-coastal (born and raised in NY) multi-cultural (1st generation USAmerican, Argentine mom, German dad) bilingual (Spanish, with a dash of Italian, French and German) and my DNA tells the story that I am a European ancestors mutt.  It’s fitting, as I often feel a bit like a stray dog.

I have facilitated ceremony of all kinds for the past 20 years, and happily, I am at home doing this kind of work. (Even stray dogs can find a home.)  I am dedicated to creating custom ceremonies: I want to connect authentically with an individual, couple or family, and craft something special & unique.  I care deeply for my fellow humans, and pride myself on creating exceptional experiences for everyone I work with.  I want to create a ceremonial space where you can shine, where you can be your best self, the humble hero-ine of your own story.

I love spinning a good yarn, and my writing skills are not too shabby. That said, my aspiration as an officiant / ceremonialist is not simply to write a good ceremony, but to deliver a real and true (non-stuffy, relevant, and energizing) Ceremony, capital C. I want the ceremonies to feel transcendent, not just well written.

“I will tell you something about stories… They aren’t just entertainment. Don’t be fooled. They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death. You don’t have anything if you don’t have the stories.” -Leslie Marmon Silko

I honor all traditions, though I must admit I am not too fond of pushing my beliefs on another, or being pushed upon. I follow my own path. My best guide is the natural world: the earth, the stars, the sun, the moon and their rhythms are what most inform how I live. I believe in the simple things: beauty, kindness, forgiveness, acceptance and love. I believe-ish in more things than I believe in. One of the most important things in life to me is to live my values.  That means, firstly, knowing what my values are, and secondly, walking my talk, and thirdly, being kind to myself when I fail (which happens, um, daily.) I think that the universe is far too large and mysterious and unknowable to take myself too seriously, so I am a big fan of humor too.  I’m quite pragmatic and grounded.  I do this work not because it is “the right way” or “the truth,” I do it because it brings beauty and joy and meaning and connection to myself and the people I work with.

Knee-deep in the cosmic overwhelm, I’m stricken
by the ricochet wonder of it all: the plain

everythingness of everything, in cahoots
with the everythingness of everything else.

-Diane Ackerman

Upon completion of a two year program, I was ordained in 2012 as a non-denominational “Minister of Walking Prayer” from the Center for Sacred Studies. I am also a Certified Life Cycle Celebrant, with a focus on funerals, memorials and end of life celebrations, with the Celebrant Institute & Foundation. I have been fortunate enough to work with, collaborate with, and learn from amazing ceremonialists all over the world.  I never want to stop studying ceremony, its artistry, and its profound impact on how we birth, how we die, and how we live all the moments in between.  “Wedding Officiant” sometimes seems like too limiting a title, and it’s also title a proudly claim.

In addition to facilitating ceremonies, I have also created a line of wedding ceremony scripts and vow writing templates with a rock star colleague of mine.  So…if I can’t be there for your ceremony, you still have access to beautiful, mindful ceremonies and guidelines where the work has been done for you.

Take a look at my thoughts on wedding ceremonies, funerals and other ceremonies, and please do get in touch if you would like to learn more.

“The whole world is, to me, very much “alive” – all the little growing things, even the rocks. I can’t look at a swell bit of grass and earth, for instance, without feeling the essential life – the things going on – within them. The same goes for a mountain, or a bit of the ocean, or a magnificent piece of old wood.”
-Ansel Adams