Mary Coburn, Wedding Celebrant

I cannot say enough good things about Mary Coburn. This day in age where anyone can get ordained, it has become popular to have a friend or relative officiate your ceremony. Some people feel it's odd to have someone marry you that doesn't know you that well. Though I understand their thought process, the other side of that coin is that the person marrying you needs to be able to speak well and thoughtfully to a crowd. The great thing about Mary is that not only is she great at leading a crowd, but you meet her and you feel like you HAVE known her for years. I mean that in all sincerity. She has this special way about her, and you know that she truly finds joy in being your celebrant. She listended so intently and excitedly to our stories, and it just turned into a conversation among friends. She wrote us the most beautiful, and thoughtful ceremony. The most compliments I got from guests was about her and what an amazing ceremony it was. She is extremely helpful and supportive throughout the process, and always responds quickly. Hire Mary; you will be so happy you did.

Mary Coburn made planning our wedding a unique and personally exploratory experience. From the first phone interview to the last meeting, Mary made us feel comfortable and that she was genuinely interested in our story. Mary loves what she does and it shows through every detail she puts into a ceremony. She acted the narrator to the story of "us," always keeping us at the forefront of the conversation. The best part about her methodology is that she involves the community of people you have asked to gather with you on your wedding day. In the end, your guests feel more a part of your story - and life - than they did before. We couldn't be happier with the creation and delivery of our ceremony - compliments are still flowing in from our guests!

We HIGHLY RECOMMEND Mary Coburn to anyone who is looking for a professional officiant who can provide a totally unique, extremely personalized ceremony. My husband is Jewish and I am Catholic so doing the traditional church wedding was not going to work for us. We chose instead to do an outdoor ceremony that, while it touched on our religious backgrounds, focused on who we were as individuals and as a couple. Mary was able to write THE PERFECT ceremony for us. We also threw in the challenge of asking her to make the ceremony humorous AND we asked her to include six of our family and friends as participants in the ceremony. She never flinched. She took on each challenge with a positive attitude and she delivered on every request! Having Mary as our officiant actually provided us with a lot of comfort because we knew instantly upon meeting her that she was going to insist on perfection as much as we wanted perfection. We basically put the responsibility of making the ceremony perfect into Mary's hands and we never once worried about how it would turn out. The compliments from our guests started pouring in immediately after the ceremony ended. Our guests LOVED it. Many people said they had never been to such a great wedding (ceremony). They loved how it was different - relaxed, fun, and personalized.Mary could easily disappear into the night after the ceremony, but she doesn't! When we returned from our honeymoon, we discovered that Mary was going to over-deliver by sending us a commemorative copy of our ceremony which was unexpected, but so beautiful!Our advice - if you want a ceremony that is totally "you" - ask Mary Coburn to be your officiant. You will NOT be disappointed.

We cannot praise Mary's qualities as a wedding officiant or as a person highly enough. From the beginning we found Mary to be warm, intelligent, calm and extremely capable. During our engagement we were very impressed with the quality and the process of her writing. If Mary had written the whole ceremony without our input (as many other officiants do) it probably would have been adequate but Mary took the extra time to ask about our tastes and expectations to ensure that the ceremony was exactly what we wanted. She asked us to respond to a questionnaire that she constructed and she deftly wove our personal stories and narrative into the ceremony. It was so perfect that many of our guests were moved to compliment her in person or through us. Such was the quality of the the ceremony and her excellent delivery that even some of our most skeptical, and traditional, family members were singing her praises. This cannot be overstated - some of these skeptics considered it unseemly to be married outside the church but based on their gushing compliments afterword I really think they will use our ceremony as their benchmark of quality.We mention that Mary has many admirable qualities as a wordsmith, a professional, a master of ceremonies but the quality we most valued was her dedication and persistence to make our day exactly what we wanted. Our vision of our perfect (outdoor garden) ceremony was nearly compromised by the arrival of Hurricane Irene. We had many stressful days leading up to the reception and ceremony as almost all of our plans were changed. Mary was determined not "to make the best of it" but make it the best, regardless of circumstances. She went above and beyond - she mobilized our caterer and other vendors to ensure that we were able to use our limited covered outdoor space and have our garden wedding. It was absolutely perfect. On the day of our wedding we really needed someone to step up because there were so many changes. We told Mary what we wanted and she would not be deterred. From the start, we knew Mary would do a great job as our officiant and she only exceeded our expectations. We could not imagine having any other officiant share the day with us.

You will notice a common thread throughout all of Mary's reviews... When you're looking for someone to unite two loving souls together on one of the most important days of your life, you want to know that this person is going to be more than you could have ever expected. That your wedding will stand out from all the rest... Not because of the location, the venue or the dollar amount you spent on dinner and top shelf open bar service, but because of the message and spirit your ceremony had that resonated with each and every guest at your wedding. You do your research, read the reviews and make a few phone calls just to feel like you did your due diligence. Well, I'm here to save you time and lead you to the best decision you could ever make for a wedding you've always dreamed of...From the moment I picked up the phone and heard her calm voice on the other line I knew right at that moment, she was the one! She encouraged me to look around to see if someone else might be a better fit, but I wanted to say, "No, let's get started!!" Mary was extremely thorough, thoughtful, and to be quite honest timely. There's plenty to worry about leading up to the day of the wedding and she reassured us that she was prepared to tell our love story. The compliments from our guests flowed all night and days following the wedding. "This is the absolute best wedding I've ever been to... Mary's words really spoke to me". Our intimate and personal ceremony gave our guests from all over the country a chance to get to know us better and bring us all closer together. Mary I can't thank you enough for all you've done for us. Love you!!

Mary was one of the best decisions that we made for our wedding day. From her true thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and loving ceremony that she wrote, everything was perfect. We would highly recommend her to any couple looking to be married by a true wedding celebrant!

Mary creating a ceremony that fit my husband and I just perfectly! She got to know us and assisted us each step of the way. Our ceremony was thoughtfully planned and more than we could have hoped for! Thank you, Mary!

Mary was fantastic. We loved the ceremony she wrote for us. It was so personal and meaningful. Many of our guests commented that it was the best wedding ceremony they had ever been to. Mary had been recommended to us when we were deciding upon an officiant. She was a little pricier than others around, but we figured we would meet with her and a couple others before deciding what who we wanted to go with. After our first meeting my husband and I were not even to the car before we had decided that Mary would marry us. There was no pressure from Mary. It was clear that she loved what she did and was good at it. Our hopes for our ceremony were only exceeded. The ceremony captured the essence of us. Mary had fabulous suggestions for ceremony music, when we asked for her advice, as well as lengthy and diverse lists of vows, poetry, prose, and readings. She was always quick to respond to any questions I had. Having a background in theater, Mary was also attentive to how the ceremony looked. She really directed the rehearsal and made sure everyone knew where and how to stand, how to move, etc. so that everything would look great for the pictures, and so all guests would have a clear line of sight. For the majority of the ceremony, Mary stood to my right as we faced the guests. I appreciated how she thought of all these little details. If you are planning a wedding, the best decision you could make would be to book Mary Coburn to perform your ceremony. She is a wonderful woman, and fantastic at what she does. She is warm-hearted and conveys such a feeling of love. She is the type of person you feel blessed to know.

Mary worked with us from the moment we first spoke. She not only helped us craft the perfect ceremony, but she added the perfect touches that made it personal and special! She has perfect input and ideas, (we certainly asked her for as much help as we could!) for before, during AND after the wedding. She became a part of our wedding, and our day would not have been nearly as wonderful if Mary wasn't standing there next to us!

We have so many wonderful things to say about Mary!As we planned our wedding, we knew that we wanted to find an officiant who understood our vision for the ceremony…but we had a feeling it was going to be difficult to find the right match.We were referred to Mary through our wedding planner. After speaking on the phone, she offered to come to NYC to meet with us in person. We were so impressed with Mary from the moment we met her. We spent about an hour and half talking with her--sharing the story of how we met, our engagement & what we wanted the tone our wedding ceremony to be. She had wonderful suggestions & seemed to understand what we were looking for right away. Following our meeting, Mary sent us suggested poems and reading selections based on our discussion when we met with her. She also sent us a couples questionnaire which we each filled out separately, which would eventually become the foundation of our ceremony.About a month before the wedding we received a rough draft of her ceremony, we were totally blown away, we had no idea of what to expect but when we read the draft it sounded perfect. She touched on so many unique and personal aspects of our relationship and we felt it was truly an expression of our love and what we envisioned our wedding day to be all about. She clearly put a great deal of thought and care into the creation of our ceremony. We feel so fortunate to have had Mary officiate our wedding. She was an integral part of both our Rehearsal Dinner and our Wedding Day. We are so grateful to her for making our day so special…not only for us, but for our guests as well.

Mary is a gem! A genuinely warm, exceptionally organized, thoughtful professional. My husband and I are so glad we found her to officiate at our wedding last June in Brooklyn, CT. We highly recommend her. She was a source of ideas, guidance, and stability through the hectic months leading up to our wedding. Having her on our team really made a huge difference. We first met Mary several months before our wedding and right away we felt comfortable with her. She quickly grasped the goals of our ceremony and helped us to make it a reality. She took the time to get to know us and that really came through in the ceremony which was highly personalized (just the way we wanted it). In the months leading up to our wedding we corresponded many times about ceremony details and she was always very prompt, thorough, and reassuring with a can-do attitude. She is a joy to work with and there is no doubt that the peace of mind she gave us was worth every penny. Especially if you are a busy couple without a lot of time to fuss over details and yet who want a heart-felt, creative, customized wedding ceremony. She also was very flexible—accommodating a last-minute change in rehearsal time due to wet weather the day before our wedding. She also provided a lovely keepsake copy of our ceremony and large print cue cards of the readings for our parents--I could go on and on--she really thinks of every detail! Do yourself a favor and talk with her—you won’t be disappointed!

Mary was such a pleasure to work with. She made us feel extremely comfortable and helped immensely in guiding us through the process of writing our vows and deciding on the elements of our ceremony. She was extremely patient and helpful, and never made us feel stressed. She worked easily with our busy schedules and ultimately created a unique and individualized ceremony that was both personal and concise. Our guests all praised her and the ceremony and agreed that she did a wonderful job of making it uniquely ours. She really made our day special and I would highly recommend her to anyone in need of her services.

Mary officiated my wedding and was a joy to work with. Any time she contacted us she was always gentle and not overbearing. We needed some prodding along to get our vows and other things completed in time but she always nudged gently. As the bride I had to communicate with a lot of different people to get to our final day and working with Mary was ALWAYS a pleasure. Even her presence, she has a very calming and reassuring presence that could put nerves at ease that haven’t even surfaced yet. I would recommend her with no caveats for your upcoming nuptials!!

In so many ways, Mary was there for us before we even knew we needed her. Many times throughout our wedding planning process we’d say to each other “What would we have ever done without Mary”?Mary was more – so much more – than a voice declaring us husband and wife. She was our greatest ally during our planning process – lending support and wisdom through familial challenges and giving great attention to creatively honoring our love for each other.Mary’s experience and acquired knowledge about us and our families allowed us to be relaxed and focused on each other on our wedding day. We knew that as we prepared for our ceremony that day, Mary was on scene as our director, advocate and greatest fan leaving us nothing to worry about.A wedding day is a blur – this is a phenomenon that is difficult to avoid. But when Mary led us and our guests through the ceremony she had written expressly for us, it was as if all of the whirring paused to appreciate the beauty of our union. Mary’s gift for writing and oration, experience, professionalism and great love for her work make her one of the very best gifts a bride and groom can give to each other.

I was searching for a Personalized Ceremony that was written for my husband and I. I was not looking for a standard script that our names were dropped into. Mary is a talented writer and she captured Andy and I. The ceremony is the most important part of the wedding and mine was all about Andy and I. I really could not have asked for anything more. My entire family was amazed by my ceremony and said it was the best one they have ever been to....and they were right :) If you are looking for a unique and memorable wedding then I would suggest that you have Mary as your Wedding Celebrant.

When we met with Mary for the first time we knew immediately that she would be the perfect person to officiate our wedding ceremony. She is incredibly warm and kind. She worked with us each step of the way to create a very personal and meaningful ceremony. She went above and beyond our expectations in every way! I still can't believe that we were lucky enough to find her, and I couldn't have imagined a more perfect ceremony!

Mary is absolutely amazing - she is the perfect officiant and composer of your ceremony. My husband and I wanted a ceremony that was unique to us and very personalized. Since we were not affliated with a specifc religion but both of us were incredibly spiritual, we thought we would have to settle for an ordinary justice of the peace ceremony....but then along came Mary. I searched the web to find life celebrants who would bring the spiritual side to our day - I spoke with two other celebrants who clearly had their own format and agenda which didn't align with ours. I then spoke with Mary on the phone and instantly I knew she would be different. When my husband and I met her there was an instant intimacy and comfort that we felt with her - she asked sincere questions about us and what we wanted and truly listened to our responses. The rest of the process with Mary was accomplished through emails - she was incredibly professional and timely with all responses and delivered exactly as she said she would. Her process is amazing - it is almost like a pre-marriage class in that she provides you with a questionaire to let her know about you - my husband and I couldn't get over how thought provoking this exercise was - it brought us back to our core beliefs, a greater understanding of what family means to us and a renewed intimacy of what our love was about. When my husband submitted his to her he told me he cried with the emotion brought on by exploring his innermost thoughts. We had in mind what we wanted the ceremony to be but didn't know how to put that together. From these quesitonnaires Mary began to visualize and create our ceremony. She provided us with examples of poems, poetry, readings, vows, etc for us to pick from - we picked some and magically she meshed together our story of love and the readings into a ceremony that was absolutely perfect....and about us. Her passion to make our ceremony perfect was evident from the start - there was not going to be any cookie cutter aproach from her. Prior to our wedding day she reached out and coordinated with our other vendors and my coordinator to make sure everything and everyone was in sync. On the day of the wedding she arrived on her mission! She handled every detail and the ceremony was flawless. We had our ceremony on a public beach - everyone kept moving in closer (including children) to hear what was being said. Mary had everyone's full and undivided attention...including strangers on the beach who came up to hear what was being said! One of these strangers tapped my friend on the shoulder and with a tear in her eye said that "this is the most beautiful ceremony I have ever heard" ... and it was. It was everything I dreamed of and wanted it to be. After the ceremony, everyone kept coming up to me telling me how beautiful and unique the ceremony was and asking where I had "found Mary - she's amazing"! One of my friend's macho husbands came up to me and said he actually got choked up which he admitted was not his way at all!! Bottom line, my husband and I felt that what we expressed to each other and what was said in our ceremony was going to be the most significant and meaningful part of our wedding day - it was when we were expressing our desire to be soul mates forever. Based on this we wanted our ceremony to be just that - significant and meaningful...and it was... beyond our greatest desires. Thank you Mary from the greatest depths of our hearts.

Mary is GREAT! She wrote our ceremony and really took the time to hear our story and really cared about us as individuals and couples. She was very accommodating, professional and prepared! She is also VERY creative! We would recommend her to anyone looking for a celebrant who WILL deliver! We will miss working with her, but are keeping her in mind in blessing our future baby!!! :)

Mary wrote the most amazing ceremony for us... we cannot recommend her highly enough.