Chaplain Mitzi Officiant

01/06/2025

2024 was a year of wonderful new beginnings, and I already see many more on the horizon as I look into 2025. I’m thinking of myself more and more as a Marriage Midwife. My job as a Marriage Midwife is to guide and support you as you bring your love and commitment to one another into the world in a new, deeper way - not only spiritually, psychologically, physically, and energetically - but now legally, too! And let me tell you that on the way to your wedding, and certainly after your actual wedding day, you’ll continue to find out more about what love is, about who you are, and what you’re made of. You’ll keep learning about what and where your healthy boundaries are, and you’ll discover why cooperation, compromise, and compassion are so important, not only for a healthy marriage, but also, for a healthy world! I’m so fortunate to get to know each and every one of my couples, and I can hardly wait to get to know you on your way to your wedding!!

01/01/2025

May this new year be for all of us the dawn of new possibilities, new dreams, new hopes. Whatever was wonderful in 2024, expand on that. Whatever no longer serves you, let it go. Life is to be lived in the moment, one moment at a time. Embrace all that’s good, release all the rest! I, for one, am really looking forward to 2025!!! #

12/13/2024

I always make sure that couples whose wedding ceremonies I officiate are ok with me posting photos of their big day on social media, as this is such a powerful way to help awesome folks like them find me as well. This couple, Denise and Eric, was very clear that they didn’t want their faces seen; it had to do with work contracts. These pics, however, met with their approval. And I took them, while their “real photographer”, , was also busy doing her thing!! Every picture shot that day captured the pure joy and romance of their elopement, and it was so easy, because this couple is so in love!! Denise and Eric wanted to be legally married here in SoCal before they had their destination wedding ceremony in Cabo San Lucas later that week. I was delighted that they chose me to help them become legally married; they had been spiritually married to one another for 10 years!! An elopement ceremony can be as meaningful and emotionally fulfilling as a larger ceremony. I love elopement ceremonies, and I know that couples feel this. Another couple who recently eloped said this: “It was a beautiful service on the beach, and Mitzi was encouraging of where we chose to get married that felt right to us, and made our elopement very special. It had a lot of meaning and felt full with just the two of us.”. I am so honored and happy to be able to do this sacred work!!

12/07/2024

I want to devote this post to one of my favorite photographers. Robyn Richardson, LOVES being outdoors!!! She and I have worked together on several wedding ceremonies over the past couple of years, and she is just fabulous when she’s out in nature!! She’s not afraid to get her feet wet, literally, and she will do all it takes to get the most incredible poses out of her couples. Every photographer has his/her niche and strengths and preferences about where they love being, and the environments they love shooting in. Robyn is a photographer that loves being outdoors, and her creativity shines through in all she does. I’m so honored and happy to work with her to make a couple’s wedding day as fun and natural as it can possibly be!

12/05/2024

“My husband and I loved Mitzi, she met our expectations and then some, she did all our Mexican traditions like the pro that she is. We definitely would recommend her!” I loved getting to know this warm, loving couple, Stephanie and Antonio, learning about wedding traditions that are meaningful to them, and incorporating them into their wedding ceremony! They were so much fun to get to know; Stephanie’s energy is boundless, and Antonio seemed to be the perfect calm and grounding presence for her. Stephanie and Antonio, I wish you all the best in the future; you two are each other’s best cheerleaders, and it was so much fun for me watching you have so much fun together!!

11/25/2024

One of the best parts of being a Wedding Officiant is not only learning about all the wonderful wedding rituals that people have evolved over the centuries, but also, combining them!! For this wedding between Allie, a Jewish bride, and Alec, her Norwegian-American groom, they both Tied the Knot, aka, did a Handfasting ritual, and then, they Broke The Glass. The crazy part was that they stepped on the glass while their hands were tied together! That means, they had to really cooperate and work together as a team so that neither one fell down! And isn’t that what marriage is all about? Collaboration, cooperation, and lifting each other up. If you want to explore how you can combine traditions and rituals from both of your legacies, let’s talk!

11/15/2024

The Wedding MBA just gets better and better! I’m not just learning and growing as a wedding officiant, but as importantly, as a person! Making new friends and deepening lasting relationships is what it’s all about! By the way…this isn’t just about business, it’s about life! Now, back home in Los Angeles, I get to absorb everything I’ve learned this time around and put it to good use! And that means serving couples on one of the most special and consequential days of their life with as much honour and integrity as possible! Couples, we learn to do what we do for you!!!

11/13/2024

Nothing like being with my peeps at the . We learn and grow so much together! Nothing like community!!

11/13/2024

Day 1 of the annual Wedding MBA was as exciting and action packed as ever! It is so wonderful meeting up with friends and colleagues, mentors and teachers and guides, and making new friends along the way! Wedding officiation is so much: it’s a learned skill AND an art form. As professional wedding officiants, we are constantly evolving and learning so that we know how to connect with you in a deeply meaningful and authentic way during one of the most important days of your life. We feel like your best friend and your long lost relative who speaks as though we’ve known you from birth! We can do this because we have the training and experience to know how to make this happen. That way, you have a wedding ceremony that’s totally meaningful to YOU!!

11/04/2024

There are all kinds of reasons that couples decide to sign their marriage license and make things official before their big celebration. Jamie and David told me that mum’s the word until October, and I said, “of course!!”. Well, last week the news came that they publicly tied the knot! But I presided over their marriage license signing in April, and it was so much fun to meet them at at the booth where they had their first date! One of the most important lessons I learned in my Chaplaincy training is the necessity of knowing when to keep information private, and to share information only if and when allowed. I’m so happy I’ve finally been allowed. So, ladies and gentlemen, meet the newly married Jamie and David!!!

10/17/2024

One of the many perks of hiring a professionally trained Wedding Officiant is that with our training and skill sets, we know what questions to ask you, such that we’re going to sound like your long-lost BFF!! It’s crazy what training and experience can do 🥰.

10/16/2024

Ok, you’re engaged, and now it’s time to plan your wedding! Your wedding day will be one of the most special days of your life, hands down. But just to be real, planning and preparing for this day can also be overwhelming, because you want everything to be perfect, and you deserve everything to be perfect!! You need to know that all your vendors have your back, will help you calm your nerves, and it’s crucial for you to know that we’re doing all we can to make sure that the vision you dream about is going to turn into a beautiful reality in real life that you’ll look back on year after year and decade after decade with joy and love. And that’s why I’m so excited to meet you at the Hyatt Regency Westlake on February 2, 2025, at the Bridal Premiere Wedding Show in Westlake Village, CA! I want to do my part as your Wedding Officiant to make your dreams and hopes for your wedding ceremony turn into reality! Let’s talk!!

10/14/2024

These two lovebirds, Beverly and Casey, have known each other for almost half their lives. They have so much respect for each other, and that is what a successful marriage is built upon- respect, trust, admiration for each other. These two will do anything to make the other feel safe, respected, and cherished. Overlooking downtown LA in their front yard, they pledged their love to one another til death do they part, may they both live to be 120!! And this being a multicultural, Interfaith wedding, we performed a Las Arras coin ceremony and the breaking of the glass. , thank you so much for referring this couple to me. I’m grateful to be one of your .

10/13/2024

I love this synagogue community!! This is my fourth High Holyday season serving the as their Cantorial Soloist, and at this point, the wonderful people here feel like part of my family. And it is an honor and delight to co-lead the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services with my friend and colleague Rabbi Lisa Bock. I learn so much from Rabbi Lisa every year about what it means to be a thoughtful, heart-centered mensch ☺️. And this year, we had the added musical bonus of having Miles Lang accompany me on many prayers and songs, and Miles and Christine Mazor offered a gorgeous instrumental version of Kol Nidrei. If you’re in Ojai, and are looking for a warm, open, welcoming congregation, this is the place to be. We also have a really engaged Torah study group. Come join us on Friday evenings and/or Saturday mornings; let’s celebrate Shabbat and the Jewish holidays and milestones together!

10/10/2024

To all my friends, family, and colleagues in Florida- if you can, please let me know that you’re ok. I’m thinking of you.

10/08/2024

It is such an honor for me to serve the as their Cantorial Soloist. One of my duties, in addition to leading the congregation in sacred song, is to educate, along with our Rabbi, Lisa Bock. I was given the honor of being asked to write a High Holyday article for the , and they in fact published my article! For anyone who wants to learn more about the energy and meaning of this season, here’s my reflection on it. There’s so much challenge in the world now, and this makes it especially incumbent upon all of us to do whatever we can to bring peace to our corner of the world, wherever we stand. May we do everything possible to make the ground that we stand on Holy ground. Shana Tova, and G’mar Tov; everyone be sealed in the Book of Life for a year of health, safety, and peace. Amen.

09/01/2024

08/31/2024