Many people have asked me how I left practicing law and became a joyful Celebrant and Certified Happiness Coach. Believe it or not, maybe like you, I knew more about what I didn’t want, than I knew about what was possible in my work and life. And then something changed: A defining moment in my life took place in 1998 when I stood up during a hateful sermon and started to question the minister.
It was a difficult time for me. I was a very idealistic, lawyer with low self-esteem. For the second time in a row, I resigned from a high profile legal advocacy organization. Extremely depressed and lost, I started attending church. It seemed like a safe, friendly place. As the weeks unfolded, I became stronger and more centered. That’s why on the Sunday that the preacher started in on Romans 1:26-27, I would not passively listen to a sermon that cast lesbians and gay men out of the church. I was shocked and kept thinking, “Courage! Courage!”
I had come to realize that during those two bad job experiences, if I had had the courage to speak my conviction things might not have ended up in such a sad situation for everyone involved. In that spirit, I stood up and said, “But what did Jesus say? We call ourselves, ‘Christians.’ What did Jesus say? It was going on all around him. Homosexuality is nothing new.” The minister tried to continue his sermon but because Jesus never addressed the issue, the pastor had no answer for me and soon his sermon was over. I continued to go to that church sporadically and most church members continued to accept me, but it was never the same.
However, I made a commitment to myself to find a way to return to the peace I had found in church in the spring of 1998. I began to study many different paths. I read every book on faith and spirituality that I could get my hands on. I took courses at the Open Center and talked to experts. I essentially became my own mini-expert on peace and spirituality.
It worked in a way I could have never imagined. Two years after that shocking Sunday, I started a new position as a contract attorney. Here I learned about the Celebrant Foundation and Institute. They were introducing a new way to affirm people from every belief system. Instantly, I knew that this was the right path for me. I would have the opportunity to share the peace I had found with people in a non-judgmental, warm and engaging way.
As a Celebrant I have the opportunity to give what I had been denied. My mission is to honor and respect all beliefs and traditions – secular, spiritual, interfaith and religious. Everyone can feel safe with me. With this awareness, I decided to dedicate my professional life to helping couples who think outside of the "religion box,” experience a wedding ceremony that sounds and feels like them, affirms their union and heralds the grand adventure that lays ahead. Helping people joyfully and meaningfully celebrate their unions became extremely rewarding to me personally. I was making a difference in people’s lives.
The wedding industry began to hear about my practice and meaningful, heartfelt approach to wedding ceremonies. In 2005, I received the Modern Bride Trendsetter Award, joining luminaries -- fellow awardees like Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera and Wolfgang Puck to name a few. And so this is the story of my journey to a happy life. My couples have made me who I am today. Since that shocking Sunday, I’ve established my own spiritual group, worked with more than 700 brides and grooms, spoken in front of groups of hundreds of people and created The Tune into Happiness SystemTM. My life has changed in other ways too. And, as a Certified Happiness and Authentic Success Coach, I am able to help everyone tune into her/his own happiness.
It is a joy and an honor to help couples discern whether I am the right person to help them to celebrate this love that has so beautifully and powerfully changed their lives. If you are searching for an officiant, please click on the "Contact Kim" button throughout the site or email me at Kim@OurElegantCeremony.com or give me a call 718.753.1993 and we can schedule a no-obligation get acquainted meeting.
Please Note: If you are a Bridezilla or Groomzilla, I respectfully request that you contact another officiant. No offense but I am fairly sure that we won't get along. I am wishing you well though.
Everyone else please do schedule a no-obligation complimentary meeting. Whether we find that working together is a good fit or not, couples tell me that they enjoy the initial meeting since it is an opportunity for them to escape the stress of wedding planning and revisit the profound and joyful emotions that are leading them to the threshold of a united life!