Raves and Gratitudes...
Click these links to read a full list of my reviews on Wedding Wire and The Knot
WEDDING OF OUR DREAMS!
"Hiring Rev. Sandra was by far the best decision my husband and I made throughout our wedding planning process! The ceremony was very important to us and we had a specific vision for how we wanted it to be - meaningful but still succinct, spiritual without being overly religious, humorous but still keeping with the gravity of the moment, and most of all thoughtful and personal to who we are as a couple. Rev. Sandra checked all of those boxes, and then some! She took the time to really get to know us over lengthy (and fun!) zoom calls and ended up writing us the ceremony we always wanted.
She effortlessly got to the core of who we are, both individually and to each other, and turned that into a ceremony that really spoke to us and all our guests. There wasn't a dry eye in the house! Her delivery and presence were impeccable, and it was a true joy to stand up there and be married by her. We absolutely adore her."
– CB + EK
"Sandra is nothing short of extraordinary. Her eloquence, powerful presence, and dedication to our ceremony were more than we could have imagined. She customized our ceremony to our specific wants and needs while adding a plethora of thoughtful and unique touches that only someone with years of experience could offer. Sandra was also extremely easy to work with; fun and celebratory every step of the way.
Sandra truly has a way of calming and perfecting even the most chaotic moments. We are so thankful to have had Sandra officiate at our wedding, she was adored by all of our guests and as the officiant, she made our celebration an outstanding and elegant event. She truly is a step above the rest and we could not have chosen better."
– JM + CM
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Courtesy Sarah Smith Photography
"I cannot say enough about how happy we were to have Sandra Bargman officiate our wedding.
From the first meeting, Sandra's warmth and genuine love for her profession was evident.
She took the time to get to really get to know us and understand our relationship. Then, she crafted a beautiful ceremony that was exactly what we were looking for from Day 1.
We received compliments from many of our guests saying it was one of the most inspiring wedding ceremonies they had been to.
If you are looking for someone who will sit down with you and make the effort to understand who you are and what you want your wedding to represent, look no further than Reverend Sandra."
– Ursula and Bruce A.
"We are so happy we selected Reverend Sandra Bargman to officiate our wedding. She created and confidently performed a very personal, loving and beautiful ceremony.
After several phone conversations and emails earlier in the year we met with Sandra and two other potential Ministers in March when we made a planning trip to New York City in advance of our June wedding.
We felt a special bond with Sandra. While this was clearly the most important and most personal of all the wedding decisions we had to make we felt confident enough to make the decision on the spot and asked Sandra to officiate our wedding ceremony. We absolutely made the right decision.
During that March meeting Sandra asked questions and listened carefully to all we had to say about ourselves, our 26 year relationship, our families and our hopes and plans for our wedding. Later when she wrote the words she would be speaking at the ceremony she incorporated all the pertinent and personal details we shared with her at that March meeting. The ceremony was wonderfully personalized and we had a beautiful wedding.
While the venue was very special to us and the view spectacular it is the loving, personal and beautiful ceremony that we will always remember. Sandra deserves all the credit for having created the feeling of love that surrounded all who witnessed the ceremony. Our memories of our wedding will forever we wrapped in that feeling. Sandra we love you and we are so very thankful."
– B.F and J.W.
Courtesy Michael Simon Photography
Courtesy Anna Naphtali Photography
"Sandra performed our wedding ceremony at Haig Point on Daufuskie Island in April.
Our wedding day was PERFECT, in no small part because of the ceremony that she put together. She was everything that we wished for and so much more!
Sandra takes the time to genuinely hear your love story and expertly weaves it into the perfect, heartfelt, emotional ceremony! You know from the moment that you meet with her that she feels true joy in hearing about your love.... and that joy is felt by all as she officiates your ceremony.
She has an amazing energy and our wedding was truly an event that we (or any of our guests) will never forget!
Thank you, Sandra! We love you!"
– Misty and Drew
"Living in Columbus, Ohio, we decided in April that we were going to get married on a trip to New York City in June.
With only three weeks left before the wedding date, we still had not identified an officiant. The death of a dear friend led to our serendipitous introduction to Rev. Sandra, and we were instantly sure that she was our gal.
We wanted a very simple ceremony and Sandra worked seamlessly with us to craft it. She was supportive and flexible and put us at ease throughout the planning.
The actual wedding took place in a restaurant, next to our dinner table where we were hosting five very surprised guests (not to mention the rest of the diners)! It was perfect and Sandra was absolutely wonderful! Thank you Rev. Sandra!! You’re the best!"
– Lynda and Steve
Courtesy Marco Quezada Photography
"Sandra's brilliant ability to craft a ceremony, and to make it uniquely ours, totally blew us away.
From the first moment we met with Sandra, her calm and positive nature
instilled in us a feeling of safety. She really listened to our story, and incorporated small, very meaningful details into the ceremony. She struck a perfect balance of grandeur, touching sentiment, and a sense of playfulness.
We feel so blessed to have had Sandra officiate our wedding ceremony.
Her centered elegance, and easy eloquence elevated our wedding ceremony to an extraordinary one-of-a-kind experience."
– D.K. and P.S.
"My husband and I planned a pretty unusual wedding and were looking for a Reverend to marry us who would work with our ideas on how to design the ceremony.
Sandra really took the time to understand us, our story, our special circumstances and our vision for the wedding. We wanted the ceremony to not be religious, but telling our story and sharing what a deep connection and special bond we have with each other.
Sandra put together a wonderful story bringing us and our guests through a lot of emotions…from happiness, excitement, laughter…to also a little sadness which is part of our lives. She captured those feeling so beautifully in her own, but also in our words.
We were truly blessed to have met her, we are still having goosebumps thinking about this wonderful moment who has changed our lives forever."
– Irina and Chris, NYC
"I've seen a number of counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists and Sandra is the most compassionate and caring counselor I've ever had. She combines great insight and perception, with deep feelings, enabling me to make enormous, positive changes."
– Sandra M.
Courtesy David Perlman Photography
"When we met Sandra we were at a point in our wedding planning where we were just trying to get another thing checked off our to do list. After our initial meeting where we sat at a coffee shop in NYC with Sandra it felt more like new friends getting to know each other. We ended up meeting a few weeks later for dinner and cocktails and we continued to get to know each other. She took our stories of how we met, and and who we are and masterfully developed a custom ceremony for us with patience and grace.
The ceremony that she created for us captured her performance background while enveloping our guests in a heartfelt procession that fit who we are and gave a platform for the love we have for each other to shine through, making no mistake that it was OUR wedding and that this ceremony was truly ours. Thank you Sandra for your professionalism and grace as you helped us cross into our new life together."
– Peter and Michelle
"Jeff and I are very grateful to you for a job really well done. It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy!
Martina and I are very lucky to have been brought together by you, we knew you were special the moment we met you."
– Jeff and Martina G.
Courtesy Michael Simon Photography
"My (now) husband and I were having a very hard time finding the right person to marry us; no one seemed to be the right fit, and the ceremony was the absolute most important part of the wedding for us, so this was very troubling. Through some recommendations online we finally found Sandra and met for coffee; within 10 minutes of our meeting, we knew she was perfect! She's an incredible listener; she's very spiritual and super open. We booked her on the spot and never regretted our decision.
My husband and I are both writers, and so we wanted to be very involved in the ceremony construction. We had no idea where to start though--until Sandra sent us an incredible questionnaire with deep, thoughtful, detailed questions that really helped us to think through our past, present, and future together. From our answers, Sandra crafted an incredibly personal ceremony and sent it back to us with plenty of time for us to add, cut, make suggestions etc. She is EXCELLENT with feedback (so many people aren't!) and really wants to work WITH you to create the perfect ceremony. We sent the draft back and forth several times, and yet she never seemed inconvenienced or annoyed to be working 'overtime.' She seemed just as excited about our union as we were! This is clearly not just a 'job' for Sandra. She really cares; she even wrote a poem herself based on our relationship and all of the details we'd told her about our lives together!"
"She also bridged our interests in Quechuan mythology, Spanish culture, and mountains with our traditional Christian backgrounds in a way that sensitively weaved old and new, sacred and profane. She had wonderful comic timing and incredible ideas for how to incorporate our parents.
The rehearsal day was very stressful for many reasons, but as soon as Sandra got there, I felt like we were in perfect hands. She was early; she helped organize everyone; and she asked all the right questions.
The wedding day was practically perfect. As I'd hoped, the ceremony was the best part (for me, anyway). Dozens of guests rushed up to us at dinner to tell us how our ceremony was the best they'd ever been to! I couldn't believe how many people commented on the ceremony, since usually that's the 'boring' part, but SO many guests asked where we'd found Sandra and how we'd constructed such an amazing ceremony.
Anyway, if it's not obvious, we recommend her wholeheartedly! : )
Thank you, Sandra!!!"
– Love, Christen and Jason
"Reverend Sandra wrote the most inspiring, down-to-earth, and beautiful wedding ceremony.
I will never forget the intimacy she created for our ceremony, particularly her own expression of happiness when I became tearful
reciting the vows she prepared for us!
Our wedding could not have been more perfect and it was all because of Rev Sandra's preparations and service. We will forever appreciate what she gave us!"
– Elizabeth and Robert
"Thank you for your lovely service and soothing presence.
Your poetic and beautifully spoken words captured perfectly our views of relationships, love and the importance of community. It was incredibly powerful to have the ceremony, and particularly the vows we spoke to one another, resonate so deeply for us.
You are beautiful inside and out and we felt blessed to be blessed by you.
Thank you."
– S.B. and J.D.
"I always look forward to time with Sandra. Intelligent and compassionate, Sandra has helped me to work on all the 'hard stuff,' that stuff that no one wants to work on, but must, helping me with past and present issues, and to move forward."
– Christina D.
"Our wedding was truly magical all around largely due to the perfect ceremony created by Sandra. From our first meeting with her, thru the wedding,
Sandra was a delight.
She really took time to get to know us and hear us, our suggestions and requests. Taking all the info we discussed and weaving in some very lovely rituals and words of her own, made for the most perfect and appropriate, tailor-made ceremony. It was both moving and fun.
And we got great feed-back from many of our guests about Sandra and her work.
We highly recommend the Rev Sandra Bargman because she will, undoubtedly, take you on a magical, joyous journey, thru laughter and tears, as she did for us.
– Jim and Kip
"My new husband and I could not have asked for a better officiant for our wedding than Sandra. She's really wonderful at what she does and she's also just a lovely and graceful person to work with.
Sandra was the perfect person to help us design a ceremony that was truly 'us.' Neither my husband nor I have strong religious ties, but nonetheless we wanted our wedding to be meaningful and to signify what the day meant for us. We really appreciated her approach; our initial meeting was in a cozy pub, and we found that though we're both fairly introverted people, it was very easy to open up to Sandra. She followed up with a detailed questionnaire that we filled out together, which asked us about our love story and encouraged us to think deeply about the things that we love about each other. This material essentially became our wedding vows, which were just perfect - this was a great process that allowed us to come up with personalized vows that we would have struggled to write ourselves!
The ceremony included special personalized rituals that Sandra helped us come up with (a beautiful handfasting ceremony, honoring our parents with a bouquet of flowers, and toasting to loved ones who couldn't be with us). Our wedding guests were coming up to us all night telling us how beautiful and touching the ceremony was - even guests that we didn't know so well commented that we were a really lovely couple and they could tell how much we love each other. I credit Sandra for really showcasing this, because that's what it's all about after all!
Sandra is a great 'performer' in that she has a lovely voice, a calming presence, and the ability to make the crowd both laugh and cry. But I hesitate to use that word because you can tell that she is genuine and she really cares about the couples that she marries. You really can't go wrong because Sandra is all about designing a ceremony that reflects you as a couple. I'm forever grateful to her for making our day so special!"
– Kelsey and Mike
"Shawn and I had the good fortune to meet Sandra through a friend long before we ever planned to get married. After being together for 17 years, Shawn and I suddenly decided to tie the knot. To our surprise, we learned that our new, warm and funny friend, Sandra, officiates weddings!
It couldn't have been better. We, at first, fretted about where exactly we were to be married on the hotel rooftop terrace. Sandra assured us all was taken care of and we had nothing to worry about. Sandra's calming attitude and quiet confidence allowed us to relax with our guests before the ceremony.
Our ceremony and vows contained comic material that Shawn and I had written. Sandra's comedic timing was spot on. And when it was time to get serious, she easily switched gears to turn it into a moving experience. She was brilliant!"
– George Sanders and Shawn Curran
May 14th, 2013
"Sandra is AWESOME!
Sandra provided the most unique wedding experience ever. Unlike other officiants who interview you for an hour then deliver the same standard wedding ceremony with a few sentences about the bride and groom, Sandra really got to know us.
She truly cared and asked questions about how we met, what valued about each other, what is important to us and the essence of who we are and what we wanted in a wedding ceremony.
She has amazingly creative ideas, works tirelessly to present an impressive work of art and brings tons of positive energy + calmness + can-do anything attitude.
We got tons of compliments about how special the ceremony was - even from guests whom we'd figured were too traditional to appreciate her. She really found a way to tie together elements of tradition and uniqueness. Thank you Sandra! Highly recommended!"
– Shira and Phil
"We are so lucky that we get chance to know Sandra and find her to be our officiant. We made a great decision on this.
Sandra is such a wonderful person who listens to us and cares about our feelings and our guests. All my families and friends give a lot of compliment on our ceremony. You don't know how much that we both love her.
You will never regret having Sandra as part of your wedding. Thanks so much again to you Sandra!! We wish to see you again in the near future and best luck to you and your families!
Thank you for everything! Love, Yanan."
– Yanan and Chunxiou, Jersey City, NJ
"Rev. Sandra could not have done a more perfect job. We are so incredibly lucky to have found her to not only perform our ceremony, but also help us find our own voices in the process.
Sandra is friendly, genuine, and such a calming presence. From the very first meeting we felt all the good energy that surrounds her and which she gladly shares.
Through conversations with Sandra and a fun "questions and answers" activity which my (now) husband and I completed one evening, she was able to find out who we were, what was important to us, and how to say it in an eloquent way that we could never have realized on our own.
Sandra was wonderful throughout the whole process. She was able to answer any questions or concerns we had along the way and it was such a relief knowing that the ceremony was in her hands. (One less thing to worry about on the big day!)
We never had a doubt in our minds that the ceremony would be beautiful, and once it had started it was clear to see that we were in good hands. Rev. Sandra created a ceremony that was everything we imagined it to be an more.
We are so so grateful to have found her, and you will be too :)"
– Eric and Lauren, New Leaf Cafe, Fort Tryon
"We weren't really sure what we wanted for our ceremony when we started, but we did know that we wanted Sandra to officiate. We knew we wanted something special and fun, and very unique.
Sandra listened and offered us a lot of ideas that helped to focus on what was most meaningful. Not only was the ceremony unique and fun, it was heartfelt and moving.
She also sang during our ceremony; who has a singing minister?"
– N.H. and R.D.
"Among the many beautiful gifts we received at our wedding, the greatest and most valuable gift of all was being led into our married life by the wondrous Sandra.
No one could have put together a more loving, embracing, meaningful, funny, and FUN ceremony.
And the girl can SING! A million thank you's!"
– Rob W. and Tom T.
"We definitely made the right choice when we decided to have Reverend Sandra Bargman officiate our wedding at the Crooked Lake House in Averill Park, New York. I initially thought it would be difficult to choose an officiant without meeting in person, but I was wrong. My husband and I were able to “meet” Sandra through video chat and it really felt as though we were sitting in the same room with her. We quickly became very comfortable speaking with her and greatly appreciated her genuine interest, compassion, and understanding. We could tell that she was committed to helping us make our vision for our wedding day become a reality.
Reverend Sandra had us complete a questionnaire to help guide her in the process of creating our personalized wedding ceremony. Through video chat, telephone calls, emails, and our questionnaire responses, Sandra was able to accurately envision the experience we wanted to create for ourselves and our wedding guests. I asked that she include a brief funny poem that my teenage brother, who has special needs, could read. Without me asking, Sandra came up with a unique idea for my brother to be included during our sand ceremony. It meant so much to me and it is one of my favorite memories from our wedding. We really appreciate the amount of forethought that Sandra put into planning our wedding ceremony, including her kind and thoughtful interactions with my brother.
Sandra helped us feel very comfortable and prepared for the ceremony. It is extremely helpful to know what to expect on such an important day. We received numerous compliments after the wedding about our officiant. It felt good to know that not only were we very happy with Sandra and our ceremony, but so were our guests. Input from others included that Reverend Sandra is very well-spoken, she created a very personalized and beautiful ceremony, she easily and graciously adapted to unforeseen circumstances (noisy boaters during the ceremony), and had a calming, comforting presence. Reverend Sandra exceeded our expectations and helped us create wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. We are forever grateful to her.
Thank you for everything!!
– Abby and CJ Sweatt
"We could not have been more pleased with our decision to work with Rev. Sandra for our wedding ceremony, and feel extraordinarily lucky to have found her!
Sandra is warm, friendly, and genuine, which made working with her a delight. The level of attention that Sandra gave us as a couple resulted in a perfect and deeply personal ceremony that made our wedding day extremely special.
Even though we were unsure of what we wanted to say, or how we wanted to say it, Sandra found the perfect sentiment by engaging up in thoughtful dialogue about what was most important to us as a couple.
What really made Sandra so special for us was her calming, comforting presence. We immediately felt comfortable with Sandra, allowing us to open up to her, as well as to each other. And this calming presence was huge asset when the big day arrived!!
Sandra was fantastic throughout the whole process. She made the planning of the ceremony an absolute pleasure and came through with an A+ performance at the wedding!"
– Sarah and Patrick B.
"We are so glad we found Sandra Bargman as our wedding officiant! She was wonderful and helped us design the perfect ceremony. We were nervous about finding someone who could work well with us and she did just that.
She took the time to get to know us and helped us develop a ceremony that was the perfect expression of our desire to incorporate traditional elements into a more contemporary ceremony. She was very accommodating in working over long distance with video chat and email in order to understand us and what we needed. She made us feel comfortable and never judged.
Overall, she created a ceremony that put our own thoughts, words, and feelings into an eloquent expression on which we received many compliments from our guests. She has a gift for translating feelings into words, which made the happiest day of our lives also the most meaningful."
– Jonathon and Alasen Z.
"I am very grateful for the guidance Sandra recently gave me regarding a difficult family legal matter. I was able to discuss with her in very personal terms what was troubling me and together we peeled back the layers of emotion to reveal the truth about the situation, which helped me to decide on a course of action. She brings a woman's perspective seasoned with a deep understanding of the male experience. Not to mention, a wonderful sense of humor! Who knew spiritual growth could be such fun?"
– Ray S.
"When looking for an officiant for your wedding, you want the best. The officiant is the central focus for the vast majority of a wedding ceremony, and can easily make that ceremony into the one of your dreams (or nightmares). From the moment we contacted Sandra we could tell that she really cared about making our day special, and knew exactly the kind of gravity her position holds. She ensured that we made contact with her personally and took the time to ensure that she had a perfect grasp on exactly what we were looking for. She truly dug deep into our relationship with one another, all the way back to how we met and what transpired on our first date. Sandra was very professional and very knowledgeable on a vast amount of different ceremony rituals and even provided assistance to us in writing our wedding vows to one another. I would feel comfortable recommending Sandra’s services to any of my friends or family."
– Eric and Stephanie
"Sandra delivered a great ceremony! We had heard Sandra speak at another wedding and knew that she had to be our officiant. She paid attention to detail and was always available. Sandra has a very calming presence and made us feel comfortable with the entire process. She did not just read directly from our questionnaire, she took the time to create a personalized ceremony. Sandra was able to incorporate our overall vibe and tone into a beautiful ceremony and guests raved about the ceremony. It was well written, joyous, and was spoken in a way that can captivate any audience. I highly recommend Sandra!"
"Sandra was absolutely amazing officiating our wedding. We had a bit of a late start finding an officiant and she was recommended by our venue, Crooked Lake House. She was super responsive as soon as I reached out and within a few days of our initial conversation we had an in-person meeting so we could get to know each other. I felt like she really took the time to understand what we wanted and didn’t push us one way or another regarding the ceremony. My husband and I are both pretty laid back people and we both wanted something short and sweet. We did not have anyone do any special readings nor did we want to write our own vows. Sandra wrote everything and let us make any edits or suggestions that we wanted. It was amazing how well she was able to understand us just by our first meeting and filling out her questionnaire. We had Sandra at our rehearsal as well and she really walked us thru everything we needed to know. The day of the wedding she took care of everything that involved her so I didn’t need to worry about anything. The ceremony itself was perfect! It was everything I could have ever imagined it to be. After the ceremony I had so many people approach me and tell me what a great job she did. It had just the right amount of love, romance, humor and included our family and friends which is exactly what we wanted. Thank you so much Sandra for making our wedding so special."
– Liz and Jim
"Rev Sandra came to us through a recommendation from my sister. We wanted something simple since this is a second wedding for both of us. Sandra completely surprised us by speaking our vows in Polish! Everyone at the wedding was completely surprised and very moved by this effort. Sandra was absolutely wonderful!
Sandrę poleciła moja siostra. Planowaliśmy skromna ceremonie ślubna, dla każdego z nas jest to już drugie małżeństwo. Sandra zaskoczyła nas wygłaszając przysięgę w języku polskim. Kompletnie nie spodziewaliśmy się tego. Wszyscy nasi goście byli nie tylko zaskoczeni ale rownież wzruszeni faktem iż Sandra jako anglojęzyczna osoba dołożyła starań i wysiłku aby wygłosić przysięgę w języku polskim. Sandra jest poprostu wspaniała!"
– Sylwia and Grzegorz
"David and I want to thank you for our lovely ceremony and for making our day so special.
It was just beautiful and you had so many heartfelt compliments from our family and friends. You are a wonderful and amazing person and we thank you for being a part of our special day."
– David and Michele
"Rev Sandra was fantastic!
We asked her to create a wedding ceremony for us, which she agreed to do. We really didn't do our
homework thoroughly and just assumed that she would also be the event planner and master of the ceremony, like a DJ. At every turn, she stepped forward and handled those tasks for us, making our wedding flow much more smoothly than it would have. She really rose to the occasion.
She and her husband even took the time to light all of the many candles we had on our guest tables without being asked!!
AWESOME ENERGY, ceremony and help!"
– Sarah and Leslie
"Sandra is an outstanding Minister. She officiated with great sensitivity and sharp knowledge of who we are and what we care for.
She has that rare ability to seize the moment and sublimate it. She carved that unique and precious moment into our hearts with well chosen words, stunning presence, a vibrant voice and exceptional care.
We are really happy to hold her name next to ours on our marriage certificate."
– Nidal and Timothy, NYC
"Sandra was a pleasure to work with, and we feel truly blessed to have found her to perform our ceremony. From our first meeting with Sandra we could tell that she was committed to learning about us as individuals, as well as a couple, so that we could create the ceremony of our dreams.
Our ceremony was truly a reflection of who we are and our beliefs. It was intimate, warm, and deeply moving. Our guests are still commenting on how beautiful it was!"
– Carol and Dana Ebersole-Weiss
"Sandra, thank you for making our day a special one that we will never forget. Our ceremony was exactly what we wanted and your words were personal and touching.
Our family raved about how intimate you made the ceremony! Thank you again!"
– Nancy and David A.
"Reverend Sandra Bargman performed our wedding ceremony on May 21st. Though I had never met her in person prior to our wedding day, our numerous phone conversations and email correspondences made me feel extremely comfortable with her performing our wedding ceremony. She took the time to really get to know us and the history of our relationship. She took our ideas, and our love of the beach (where spent our first date, and where my wife asked me to marry her two years later) to create a beautiful sand ceremony that included my teenage children, and made them truly feel apart of the day. She was extremely responsive and it was obvious from our first communication that she cared about creating a unique experience for us. She considered every detail, including our opinion on which robe we would like her to wear.
The day of our wedding she showed up early, walked through everything with us, and was very successful at helping us feel at ease. We had forgotten to purchase something, and she even went to the store for us so that we could great our guests. Our ceremony was “unconventional,” memorable, and heartwarming. Our family and friends truly enjoyed the day and it was a wonderful way to begin the rest of our lives together. We couldn't have asked for more."
– Mica and Lori England
© Copyright, Sandra Bargman, 2018.
"Thank you so much for our beautiful wedding ceremony. From our first meeting with you, we knew it was the perfect fit!
The amount of time and personal detail made our ceremony better than we could ever have imagined. The ceremony fit our personalities perfectly and we had so much fun throughout the process.
Thank you for your hard work - it wouldn't have been the same without you!"
– Jess and Matt C.