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
I can’t say enough amazing things about Gail! We could not recommend her highly enough. She made the entire process from beginning to end feel extremely personalized and special. Gail was so wonderful and flexible, even with our wedding, which was on a rather unique date. She even took a very long train ride from New York to Philadelphia just to be there for our ceremony. We also had many non-Jewish friends and family members, and Gail explained every aspect of the Jewish wedding and customs so that everyone would understand. Gail embraced every aspect of our wedding and went above and beyond to make our ceremony so special and unique by including details about our families and loved ones such as discussing wedding gifts from family members and also embracing traditions with family heirlooms from loved ones who passed. We love Gail and anyone would be so lucky to have her as their rabbi on their wedding day!
Erika
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.
Rabbi Gail Nalven officiated for us. She was perfect. Neither of us remember much of the ceremony—it was such an emotional blur. But the vibe was perfect. She totally got us…The simple words of the ceremony that our officiant Gail used felt really powerful. We were both crying and trembling. I guess everyone says this, but it felt like the most beautiful ceremony ever to take place. –as seen in Vogue
Jacob and Benji
The Grooms Wore Thom Browne for Their Wedding at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden | Vogue