Santa Cruz Officiant

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One of a kind wedding ceremonies for couples who want to joyfully and powerfully transition into the next phase of their lives.

I create one of a kind wedding ceremonies for couples who want to feel deeply witnessed, abundantly blessed, and outrageously celebrated on the their wedding day. Nowadays, when over 30% of the population identifies as nonreligious, couples don't know where to go to get a ceremony that both honors their beliefs, and gives them the rite of passage, sacred ceremony, and ‘transcendent transition’ they're longing for. Within the trillion dollar global wedding industrial complex, much of the focus can get placed on fads and must haves. However, my mission as a ceremony leader is to facilitate pure hearted presence, connection, gratitude, wonder, belonging, and a deep inner homecoming. Margot Adler wrote, “Rituals have the power to reset the terms of our universe until we find ourselves suddenly and truly at home.” I know this to be true. Over the last 9 years I've created a "rite-of-package" that walks couples, step by exquisite step, across the threshold of marriage in a way that is initiatory and intentional. And one thing I know for sure is this: the extent to which a couple shows up for this process, is the extent to which their ceremony can be transcendent, transformative, and even life changing. In the words John O’Donohue, “If we approach our decisive thresholds with reverence and attention, the crossing will bring us more than we could have ever hoped for.”

“Our ceremony was purely and honestly of another universe. I'm still in awe of how beautiful that experience was. Naomi really helped us cross the threshold of marriage, and we are forever grateful for everything she's done for us.” -Shane, Carmel Valley Ranch

A renaissance and a rebrand.

Increasingly couples are skipping the ceremony and going straight for the party. It's become the new norm. I get this all the time: “We want something quick and painless.” The ceremony bar is so, so low. It's as if couples want fast-food, drive-through ceremonies. Diet soda ceremonies. Ceremony-lite ceremonies. They dismiss the ceremony as a prelude to the party. They don't know the difference between a just “get it over with,” entirely meh ceremony, and a magical, wondrous, impactful and enlivening one. And I get it... People have lost interest after attending one too many wedding ceremonies that were long, unrelatable, and boring as hell. (If I'm being honest, this trend also reflects our cultural obsession with things that can be staged, Pinned and Instagrammed - versus the unquantifiable but deeply felt emotional heart of the wedding.) The truth is, wedding ceremonies lost their luster and need some serious rebranding! Because when you leave a ceremony you should feel energized, uplifted, and generally more intimate with life. Despite what we’ve come to expect, ceremonies can be interactive, expansive, powerful and renewing for all. So let's see if we can salvage the baby (even if we dump out the bathwater), and let the beauty, power and magic of ceremony back into our lives again.

"Across cultures and over millennia, the tradition of ceremony to mark and anchor thresholds and initiations has been deeply integrated into healthy human life. In the modern era, ceremony has been stripped of its meaning and transformative power, and instead has mostly devolved into impersonal, watered down, formulaic conventions. It is up to us to listen to the deepest parts of ourselves, to find our voice, and to reclaim ceremony as a gateway into meaningful relationships with ourselves and each other, and with the more-than-human world." -The Verdant Collective

“Having Naomi officiate our wedding was the best decision my husband and I made. The ceremony was everything I’d hoped for, and more than I could have imagined. It felt like a ritual, rite of passage, and sacred ceremony... exactly what I wanted, and somehow beyond what I thought it could be. It was the most special moment of my life.” -Michelle, Hollins House

Wedding ceremonies that are you-nique and not ubiquitous.

It brings me so much joy to meet with couples, hear about what brings them alive, understand their vision and values, and create a unique wedding ceremony just for them. There’s no one-size fits all marriage, so there needn’t be a one-size-fits-all ceremony, and honestly, I’m not a one-size-fits-all wedding officiant! I am also not a hands-of-marriage, unity candle, sand ceremony, wine box, First Corinthians wedding officiant. There are much richer, more creative and more interesting ways to curate a marriage ceremony than inserting a bunch of cliche, over done readings and rituals! So let’s roll up our sleeves, put our imaginations together, and co-create a ceremony that’s cosmic but not religious, ceremonial but not stiff, spiritual but not stuffy, secular but still sacred, whimsical yet timeless, expectation-defying and entirely magical!

“Two years later, if we had to do our wedding all over again and had little money or had to choose between fancy food or venue you are the one thing I would choose every time! Your ceremony was just that - a real ceremony that was so deep and put this great love and intention into the world. I’m forever grateful and feel the impact on our everyday lives. We love you Naomi! You are so special to us!” — Angelina and Hoyt, Roaring Camp Railroads

Creatively reimagined, deliciously refreshing, entirely magical, life-affirming.

Wedding ceremonies can be emotionally corrective, initiatory, healing and holistic. Wedding ceremonies can have grace, gravitas, goofiness and grit. They can be wildly creative and so much damn fun! I once told a couples’ love story in the form of a narrative focused role playing video game (the bride designed them for a living) with point systems, up-leveling, and bride and groom avatars, and for another couple based on The Wizard of Oz because of the winding road they needed to traverse to learn some important lessons about the nature of home. I’ve greeted geographically rich, culturally diverse guests in 10 languages, helped couples honor deceased loved ones, including pets, in unique and meaningful ways, and break the cycle of generational trauma so that they didn’t need to carry it forward with them into their future. I have officiated mixed faith ceremonies, cultural fusion/hybrid ceremonies, inter-spiritual ceremonies, Jew-ish wedding ceremonies, neo-pagan and earth honoring ceremonies, LGBTQIA+ ceremonies, bilingual ceremonies, and blended family ceremonies. My point: the sky is the limit when it comes to having a rich, rewarding, nuanced, dynamic and life-giving wedding ceremony!

“The only cure I know is a good ceremony.” -Leslie Marmon Silko

“Without innovation, traditions die.” -Pedro Reyes

“Miraculously you achieved the seemingly impossible task of putting together a ceremony that was spiritual, solemn, light-hearted, funny, warm, and SO customized to reflect our unique interests and personalities. You made the ceremony everything we’d hoped for and more, and we just can’t thank you enough.” -Michelle, Nestldown

Banner images by Vanessa Lain, De Joy Photography, Neil Simmons, Cindy Maiyer, and Lia Cecaci.