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Roxanne Pandolfi
For all current testimonials and reviews, please visit my profile onon Wedding Wire and The Knot...
The idea of finding and choosing a ceremony leader for our wedding was particularly overwhelming. Mary was recommended by a friend, and we were immediately impressed by her enthusiasm, spirit, and willingness to be helpful and share her knowledge, even before we met and decided to work together. Working with her to write the ceremony was the perfect way to transform all of our stress into confidence–she asked us to answer interesting, thoughtful questions about ourselves and our relationship, listened to and understood what we wanted in a ceremony, filled in the blanks in our limited vision with her expertise, and was fun and easy to get along with. Not only was she clearly experienced with ceremonies of all kinds, but she was also truly appreciative of our story and our relationship and excited about our marriage. She taught us about the traditional framework of ceremonies and then helped us integrate our stories and our personalities into a unique and special ceremony.
The final product was beautiful and touching—so much more wonderful than we ever could have imagined. She helped us put into words why we love each other and why we wanted to get married. All of her work, preparation, and wisdom allowed us to really enjoy the moment. Many people told us that they had never seen a ceremony like ours. It was unique—it was about us—the way a wedding ceremony really should be.
Hannah Warren and Mipam Thurman
Storrs, Connecticut
August, 2009
My husband and I were both raised Catholic but in recent years have
not been satisfied with our parishes. I began to look for Justices of
the Peace and had a few names that friends had used in the past, all
great but nothing even close to Mary.
We met with Mary to see what she had to offer and get to know her. She
sat and spoke with us for about two hours. My husband who is extremely
skeptical left our meeting and was like “I really like her” which was
awesome to hear.
Following our meeting we completed wedding surveys and Mary was not only very detailed with our ceremony but checked in with me on other aspects of the wedding as well. She wanted to know our vendors, etc., and she did contact each of them. Also, I found her to be so helpful whenever I had a question- she was efficient, thorough, and always responded back within a less than 24 hour period.
The first draft we received of our ceremony, both Scott and I were blown away! I of course cried and he was so touched. Mary had jotted down notes from our first meeting, even without a commitment or contract from us, gathered information from our surveys and really took the time to get to know us. She took what we envisioned and created something so much more. In fact, if I could go back to my wedding day- it wouldn’t have been the reception, or the after party; it would have been our ceremony. We got married on the water in Guilford due to our love of boating and the water. Mary infused every aspect of us and our passions into our ceremony; from my blue theme, to my favors, to readings about the water, and she included ALL of our family members and friends. It is so hard to put into words how incredibly happy we were.
I can tell you Mary is someone who once she enters into your life you never want her to leave- she is PHENOMENAL!!!
Heather Quagliaro Gish
Guilford, Connecticut
August 2009
Alison Wynn
Dear Mary,
Thank you so much for everything. We loved our ceremony and received
many compliments on all aspects of it! The wedding was perfect.
Sachem and Russell
Beacon, New York
July 2009
Mary,
From the two of us… The ceremony was more beautiful than we ever imagined
it. Tiki desired perfection and you delivered it and then some.
The experience was truly outstanding from start to finish… thanks
for providing a world class intimate ceremony overflowing with love. The
intermingling of our words reverberates, still. Impeccable showmanship.
Thank you, Thank you, and Thank you.
Bridgett and Tiki Mervin-Owens
Mystic, Connecticut
July, 2009
We can not thank you enough for making our ceremony the most amazing experience of our lives. We treasure everything you did to make it so personal and emotional for everyone. I do not think there was a dry eye in the audience. Everyone simply loved you with overwhelming praise and they all said it was the best ceremony they had ever attended. So from the bottom of our hearts thanks a thousand times for your irreplaceable contributions.
All of our love and kind regards,
Brandi and Kristy
Stow, MA
July, 2009
Again, many thanks for coming to marry us and stepping into our lives.
It was quite an honor to
meet with you and spend our day with you. You are truly a beautiful person
inside and out and we hope to share many more days in the future!
Allen
Allen Sullivan and Jeffrey Cattorini
Lenox, Massachusetts
June 2009
I cannot tell you what an honor it was for me/us to participate in such
an intimate and beautiful event for and with Jeffrey and Allen. I enjoyed
the ceremony, you, your personal gifts to them and the most wonderful
and important work you do. Your presence was so genuine and both calming
and steadfast; you were the perfect minister for such a beautiful,
intimate and important event. As a photographer who has witnessed
many ceremonies, I was most impressed that during Jeffrey and Allen’s
vows and their kiss you made the moment, and thus the photos, all about
them! It was a beautiful gesture coming from a beautiful soul. And
for me to be such an important part of Jeffrey and Allen’s wedding
day was yet more evidence of blessings in abundance; I lack adequate
words to describe my gratitude about the experience.
Joanne Bartone
Photographer for Allen Sullivan and
Jeffrey Cattorini
Lenox, Massachusetts
June 2009
I wanted to thank you for doing such a superb job of officiating our wedding. Having orchestrated it from across the country, we got very lucky in that everything (from the flowers, to the band, to the string trio, to the photographer) truly did work out perfectly. There was a lot of room for things to go wrong, but nothing did. Remarkable. And considering you came in to pinch hit at the 11th hour, we were particularly blessed with your “performance.” I can’t tell you how many people (more than a handful) came up to me after the wedding to applaud your officiating of the ceremony. All were floored by the fact that you hadn’t known us for years (many thought that somehow our original minister had made it after all!) and couldn’t believe that we’d all just met each other an hour prior to the ceremony. It was a common theme that people thought you did a better job than a priest who had known us for years – and even more so when they learned how little time we’d all actually spent together. You truly were one of the highlights from an altogether great day. Thank you so much again!
Doug and Mary
Boston, Massachusetts
May 2009
We think the best word to describe our experience with Mary is grace. From the first initial phone call to the subtle details about the ceremony, Mary worked in an effortless manner to bring our special day to fruition. Using pieces of our personal histories and selected quotes and poems that celebrated our relationship, Mary gave birth to an eloquent set of prose that gave our ceremony the power and poignancy we had hoped for. She has a natural style that lends itself to any type of ceremony. The soothing tone of her voice and the gentle pace with which she read the text allowed the words to sink deep into our spirits. As a final parting gift, Mary presented us with a soft bound transcript of the ceremony. It's presentation was thoughtful and showed her dedication to us and our day.
We found Mary
online and knew little about her, but she was the best surprise of
our wedding. Her work has given us memories for a lifetime!
Kurt Stamm and Joe Somodi
Hartford, Connecticut
April 2009
Dear Mary,
I want to thank you again for everything you did to help us in
the planning of the ceremony and the wonderful, wonderful experience on
the day. We couldn't have wished for anything more and I am so grateful
to have met you. We are so thrilled with the way everything went and can
only look back on the day with fond memories.
Thank you again for
everything.
With love, Amanda
Amanda and Greg Prophete
The Waldorf Astoria, NYC
We
live in Austin, Texas but were getting married in Western Massachusetts.
With no wedding planner, all the long-distance details became overwhelming
at times. One of the hardest things was finding a celebrant to officiate
our ceremony. We so desperately did not want a run-of-the-mill sort
of affair, and we deliberately chose every detail of the whole wedding
weekend to be a representation of who we are as a couple. For this
reason, we were incredibly skeptical about choosing a celebrant whom
we had never met in person, or with whom we had no mutual contacts.
Whatever the force was that brought us to Mary, it was clearly one
of those situations where finding her was "meant to be." From
our initial phone conversation, Mary had a calming and reassuring effect
on us. She was humble and unassuming, yet confident and knowledgeable.
This was clearly a woman who was experienced at running ceremonies without
being desensitized to the importance of each person's, couple's or family's
celebration. Mary listened to our hopes for the ceremony intently, and
where our ability to imagine it failed us, she drew out a more concrete
and definite vision of the day. Still, we could have never imagined the
amount of energy she would put towards making our vision a reality.
Mary crafted a ceremony that was perfectly organized, intelligent, symbolic, mindful, and - best of all - truly US. Not only did she dedicate weeks in advance to scripting the event precisely as it would be delivered, she gladly incorporated our feedback where sensible yet challenged it where appropriate. Throughout it all she was entirely respectful and always maintained that we were "in charge" of this day, allowing us to be as involved in the process as we wished, but never forcing additional responsibility on us where it was unwanted.
Our wedding far exceeded our expectations, and that is largely due to Mary "running the show." The rehearsal was quick yet thorough, so on the day-of everyone could relax and enjoy the moment. We received NUMEROUS compliments on what a unique and impressive ceremony it was, and that much of the praise singled out Mary specifically. She is a very special person and a talented celebrant. We cannot thank her enough.
Karey Scheyd and Irfan Hydari
Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
Dear Mary,
Our wedding was exactly what we wanted and so much more! You created
a unique and beautiful ceremony that wove our stories together perfectly
and honored our backgrounds so thoughtfully (and you were SO
much fun to work with!). Both our families appreciated
the fact that you celebrated my Greek and Troy’s Irish heritage in such
a meaningful way. It meant a great deal to us. And my parents loved that
you learned to say the final blessing in Greek!
Troy and I were
deeply moved by the special ritual you created for the blessings of the
four cardinal elements. It truly celebrated who we are and what is important
to us. It was so joyful and so much fun. Thank you so much for all the
heart and energy you put into it. I just could never have expected how
beautiful and personal it would turn out to be.
Σας ευχαριστούμε! (Thank you!)
Anna Sideris and Troy Quirk
Coventry, CT
I
met Mary for the first time while providing audio services for a wedding
service in Western MA. During our email and phone
correspondences prior to the wedding, Mary was always quick to respond
with answers to all of my questions in a very professional and caring
manner. When we finally met in person at the wedding service location
I was happy to find that she was down to earth, and very comfortable
to talk with. While she was performing the service, I was taken by the
warmth and sincerity in her voice. It sounded as though she had known
the couple for years. It was a true pleasure working with her, and I
would certainly recommend Mary to any of my friends, relatives and
clients.
Darren O'Brien
Owner, Encore Audio Services
