Testimonials & Kind Words

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

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

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!

Emily & Sean

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!

Josselyn & Evan

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!

Hether & Mike

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.

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!

Maggie G.

We just want to say how lucky we were to have you officiate our wedding. We really enjoy our meeting with you to plan the ceremony.

We and our guests were so touched by your prayers and reflections. The wedding was such a meaningful and special day for Alex and me and our family.

Thank you again, Xiexie ( Chinese),

Sincerely,

Alex and Shanshan R.

In planning our wedding, we wanted invite the sense specialness and continuity with Jewish history that comes with following tradition, but also to remain true to our values as a progressive couple from different faith traditions. Rabbi Nalven gets this. She helped us have a ceremony that was not just refreshingly egalitarian, welcoming and accessible to our many non-Jewish friends and family, and unmistakably Jewish, it was right for us. Thank you!

Daniel G.

Rabbi Gail Nalven was a pure joy to work with and made our special day even better with her combination of humor and respect during our ceremony.

Stu & Michelle

As my son Adam’s wedding approached, I suggested to him and his fiancé, Lauren, to contact Rabbi Gail Nalven to perform the ceremony. I had known Gail for many years and felt this would be the perfect match. As this was to be an interfaith marriage, they needed someone who would be sensitive to the feelings of both families. Rabbi Gail did that with such caring and love. She met with the groom and bride-to be (online) and was able to incorporate some traditions to the ceremony in a very tasteful way. It was a beautiful start to their marriage, and our family and friends are still telling us how much they enjoyed the ceremony and how beautiful it was. Gail, we thank you for everything!

Amy & Mark

Rabbi Nalven was supportive, knowledgeable and helpful in all ways. We felt fortunate to have found her.

Linda G., mother of the groom