Jewish, Interfaith, & Same-Sex Weddings
Rabbi Gail works with Jewish, interfaith, same-sex, and secular couples to craft the perfect ceremony. She will work with you, and your family, to create a ceremony that is spiritual and respectful of all. It is your wedding! Let Rabbi Gail create the ceremony that is perfect for you!
Rabbi Gail is a certified Prepare/Enrich facilitator. This is a program that allows couples to identify their strengths and challenges, to come together for a successful marriage.
“Fantastic and Accommodating”
Rabbi Gail Nalven was a fantastic person to officiate our wedding, and we would highly recommend her! In the months before the wedding, we had several meetings to go over our preferences for our interfaith wedding, and she was thoughtful about ways to ensure both families felt comfortable and happy with the wedding ceremony. On the day of the wedding, she arrived early to sign the Ketubah and make sure the ceremony was set up correctly. The ceremony itself was perfect! It incorporated many of the Jewish traditions but also brought in neutral and English texts which were perfect for our family. It was approximately 20 minutes, which was also perfect! We were also lucky to have Patricia Rudden sing the Seven Blessings, and we highly recommend her as well! We were extremely happy with Rabbi Gail for our wedding!
Claire & Zach
“All-Around a Wonderful Addition to Our Wedding Day”
I would highly recommend Rabbi Gail Nalven! Leading up to the wedding, she was responsive and professional– she provided us with materials that guided us through her typical Jewish ceremony, but scheduled several meetings so we could adjust and personalize. She explained traditions to us that we weren’t aware of, so we could decide if we wanted to incorporate them or not. On the day of the wedding, she arrived early, so she could scope things out and make sure everything went according to plan. She put us at ease because it was clear she had everything very organized. Then the ceremony was perfect. It was just the right length (approximately 20 minutes); it incorporated the Sheva Brachot (the Seven Blessings) with very nice English interpretations that we got to pick and that seven friend/family members read to us; it included a blessing by our mothers (where our mothers wrapped us in my husband’s bar-mitzvah tallit); and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that it included beautiful singing by Rabbi Patricia Rudden. From the minute we asked Gail to officiate our wedding to the very end of the ceremony, she was responsive, flexible, thoughtful, sweet, and all-around a wonderful addition to our wedding day.
Sarah
“We Would Highly Recommend Her”
Rabbi Nalven was a refreshing and accommodating joy to work with in the process of planning our wedding. My wife and I come from two different backgrounds, and Rabbi Nalven helped us find a happy middle ground between our two traditions that simultaneously respected my wife’s (Jewish) family and heritage while not alienating my (Christian) family. She was very flexible in meeting with us in the run-up to the wedding, and honestly was just fun to get to know and talk about the ceremony with. We would highly recommend her to any other couple wishing to get married, especially interfaith couples who don’t quite know how to navigate an interfaith ceremony.
Hunter S.
Rabbi Nalven was incredible! She took the time to get to know us before our wedding, and gave us many options for how we wanted our ceremony to go. She was extremely responsive and made our day so very special! We highly recommend her for any version of a Jewish ceremony that you wish to have!
We feel so lucky to have found Rabbi Gail to officiate our wedding. She is warm, easy-going, and supportive, and worked with us to create the perfect ceremony. Because we had not maintained close relationships with our childhood rabbis, it was crucial that we find someone who incorporated love and care into our wedding ceremony. Rabbi Gail is progressive and so accommodating; we are so pleased with how things went and feel blessed to have found her!
We are so grateful for the wonderful job Rabbi Gail and Rabbi Pat did at our wedding. Rabbi Gail created a ceremony that was beautiful, humorous and inclusive. She ensured that the ceremony incorporated elements from both of our family’s traditions. We had the opportunity to personalize the ceremony in ways that were meaningful to us, but also celebrate Jewish rituals. Thank you for making our day so special!
Rabbi Nalven was a refreshing and accommodating joy to work with in the process of planning our wedding. My wife and I come from two different backgrounds, and Rabbi Nalven helped us find a happy middle ground between our two traditions that simultaneously respected my wife’s (Jewish) family and heritage while not alienating my (Christian) family. She was very flexible in meeting with us in the run-up to the wedding, and honestly was just fun to get to know and talk about the ceremony with. We would highly recommend her to any other couple wishing to get married, especially interfaith couples who don’t quite know how to navigate an interfaith ceremony.
Our experience with Gail Nalven was flawless. Gail really listened to what we wanted for our ceremony and delivered the perfect tone and sentiment…which isn’t always easy with an interfaith ceremony! Working with Gail was a pleasure; she was easy going, sent helpful reminders, and was incredibly reliable. We’d recommend her to anyone!