Testimonials
The satisfaction of my clients is my top priority. Here is what past couples have had to say about their experiences.
Sarah and Matt
Yael was the officiant our recent wedding and could not have done a better job. We originally asked Yael to officiate for us with a roughly 8 month time frame for planning, however shortly after that we had to move up the timing to under 5 weeks. Yael didn't flinch when we informed her of the change, and started to work with us immediately.
Yael was incredibly organized and professional throughout the process, checking in with us periodically, sending us a list of questions that covered everything from what (if any) religious aspects we'd like included, to family traditions, to what we'd like her to wear. My husband and I live on the other side of the country, but between emails, phone calls and skypes, we knew that Yael was on top of it, and she really kept us on top of our ceremony responsibilities as well.
For the ceremony itself, we chose to write most of what Yael would say, but asked her to include a brief statement about us and our relationship, and she did a beautiful job. The whole ceremony could not have gone better, and having such a warm, talented person there with us kept us calm and focused on the reason we were there.
Emily and Thaddeus
We were so pleased to have found Yael. We ended up looking for an officiant late in the process, but lucked out when we met Yael. At first we were hesitant about having a "stranger" marry us, but right from the start, Yael felt more like a friend then anything else.
Yael worked with us to develop a ceremony that matched our desires, while offering just the right amount of advice and steering when needed. We were also really impressed with Yael's cheerful flexibility--even when we threw her some curveballs very late in the process.
We certainly didn't expect to hear compliments about our officiant on our wedding day, but we ended up getting more than a few--a testament to what a great job Yael did!
Highly recommend!
Allison and Jared
From the second my husband and I met Yael, we knew she would be the perfect fit for our wedding ceremony. Coming from different religious backgrounds, we wanted a more non denominational ceremony that was still special. At our first meeting, Yael asked lots of questions about our relationship, and how we felt about eachother. She was extremely warm and had a genuine interest in what we had to say. Based on the info she gathered at our meeting, as well as some follow up phone calls, Yael put together the perfect ceremony. It so personal .. And perfectly captured the love between myself and my husband. Our wedding guests also raved about what a great and well written ceremony it was. I would highly recommend Yael... She's the best!
Daniel and Naina
Of all the officiants I spoke to over the phone or got in touch with by email, I got the best vibe from Yael Maxwell. Our phone conversation went really well. so we made an appointment to meet at a local café. We are so glad we did. There was no doubt from our in-person meet-up, we wanted her to be our Wedding Officiant. Not only is Yael warm and personable, she's also very easy to talk to. She was reliable and prompt when responding to our emails. She listened to our ideas, offered suggestions and prepared a well written, interesting and personal ceremony. It was within our requested time frame. On the day of our event, she was very punctual and officiated the wedding with confidence that made us feel very comfortable and at ease. We were very pleased and would highly recommend her.
Aaron and Jaime
Yael was an absolutely fantastic officiant for us. She offered support and help with anything we could have thought of. At the same time, Yael allowed my wife and I the freedom to craft aspects of the ceremony to our particular liking if we wanted to. Couldn’t ask for anything more. Would recommend Yael to anyone looking for an officiant in NYC!
Chantal and Pascal
Yael made our dream come true. Even if we were in different countries, for the preparations, she understood what we were looking for as a ceremony. Short as we wanted but so complete with the right words, it was simply wonderful! A pure bliss filled with love. I could never thank her enough for that special day.
Elena and Dan
Yael was incredible to work with, we met with so many other officiants but they all felt odd and cheesy. Yael really took the time to learn about our story and the result was a beautiful ceremony that was crafted just for us. She really took the time to listen and to understand what we had in mind. She's also incredibly personable and kind (when we could not meet her she would Skype or FaceTime with us and she helped us with our vows). My partner and I really felt a great connection with her, she understood our vision. Our ceremony was just exactly what we had in mind, a personal and emotional celebration of our journey as a couple.
Emily and Peter
Yael was just wonderful!!! We highly, highly recommend her! She was so nice and accommodating and helpful. She made the process completely stress-free and also fun. She was so knowledgeable about the entire process and wrote a wonderful ceremony that was exactly what we envisioned. She even researched quotes, readings, and traditions for us, based on what we were interested in. We were so comfortable with her and our families were too. She's the best!
Caroline and Jason
First off, searching for an officiant was a challenge for my husband and I. We looked everywhere and interviewed many without much success. Then we found Yael! When we first spoke, Yael was very sweet, down to earth, realistic, and just amazing! She made the whole process feel not so "business-like" (which is how we felt with most officiant's) and had us at ease the entire time. She was easy to get in contact with and was also very flexible in working with our schedule. Working with Yael overall was a great experience and we are happy to have shared our day with her. I definitely recommend her. Thank you Yael!
Yann and Joanna
We had a good feeling about Yael when we talked to her on the phone, and our first impression was confirmed when we met with her in person. She was open-minded and very flexible, and listened carefully to what we wanted from the ceremony. She also offered great suggestions based on her experience! We loved our wedding ceremony-- Yael made it sound like she knew us well, even though we only met once (in addition to exchanging several e-mails). In fact, a few of our guests thought that Yael was a friend of ours! We highly recommend her.
Lydia and Morris
Yael was the perfect officiant. We started the process only a few weeks before the wedding, but she was really flexible, even skyping with us from her vacation. We particularly liked how she interviewed us about our relationship so that she could give a really personal introduction to our ceremony. She helped us put together a ceremony that was so true to us. We can't recommend her enough!
Anna and Vilan
Yael delivers exactly what you want from an officiant. She has a passion for what she does and aims to deliver exactly the kind of ceremony you're looking for. She'll ask all the right questions necessary for her to understand what kind of wedding you want and will create an experience that you and your guests will walk away from smiling (some crying but it's a wedding, people cry). Thank you!
Ana and Jacob
We are so happy we chose Yael to officiate our wedding. After our meeting we left feeling really happy and convinced that she had been the right choice. She was nice and warm, we felt like we were talking to a friend. She really took the time to get to know us and learn about our story together and addressed all of our questions and concerns. She helped us craft our ceremony the way we had envisioned it and it came together perfectly. Based on what we had talked about she created a beautiful ceremony that was personal, intimate and very close to our hearts. She captured us and the love we have for each other perfectly. Our family and friends loved it, and we got so many compliments on how beautiful the ceremony was, all thanks to Yael. We highly recommend her, we are so happy we shared our day with her!
Kate and Brian
We feel so lucky to have found Yael to be our officiant and would absolutely recommend her. She played a huge part in making our day come to life. Her warm disposition, calming voice, and ability to connect with us as a couple all contributed to making our ceremony extremely special. We received several thoughtful compliments from our guests about how much they enjoyed the ceremony, and many actually thought that we had known Yael for years. Brian and I had a great first meeting with Yael; choosing to work with her was a very clear decision for us, and she was a pleasure to work with the rest of the way through. She was well organized, extremely thoughtful about the ceremony structure, responsive, and very accommodating of our requests. She was very committed to making our ceremony exactly what we wanted. Thank you again Yael for contributing to what was truly an amazing day.
Niki and Harry
My husband and I are so happy that we picked Yael to officiate our wedding! From the first phone call I knew she would be perfect. She is such a warm and genuine person and she instantly makes you feel comfortable. You can also tell she is truly passionate about officiating weddings! We booked Yael very early because we knew we would be moving out of the country before our NYC wedding and we wanted to make sure we were able to meet with our officiant before the wedding. Also, since we were getting married outside of our country of residence we needed a couple extra odds and ends and Yael was so accommodating and wonderful about everything. She met with us for coffee and did a really in depth interview about us as a couple so that she could write the perfect ceremony for us. Both my husband and I are pretty new to weddings and hadn't been to many before, so we were unsure about a lot of aspects. Yael really helped to calm some of our fears and was amazing at explaining our different options. Another great thing about Yael is that she is not only a great officiant but she is a great writer. The ceremony she wrote for us was amazing, it was full of love and perfect for our intimate and secular wedding. Yael was also very responsive to emails and questions which when it comes to wedding vendors is hard to find. We felt like we didn't have to worry about the ceremony at all...and we didn't. The ceremony was amazing and our whole family couldn't stop talking about what an amazing job Yael did. It was truly the perfect ceremony. We highly recommend her!
Rose and Frank
I truly can't say enough great things about Yael! Leading up to the wedding, I was most excited about the ceremony; the words that would be spoken, how it flowed, how it felt. This was a huge deal to my husband Frank and I. We wanted someone that could lead the service with grace and had the perfect words to say. This was Yael. First of all, Yael is a great writer. She spent over an hour via Skype (this was an out-of-state wedding for Yael) getting to know Frank and I and our relationship with each other. She asked great questions. When she sent the final ceremony draft to us, I quite literally cried - happy tears! It was beautiful and I will cherish it forever. Yael pretty much handled everything from there on out. Any last minute changes I had with the ceremony she adjusted no problem. And any questions I had she always answered in a timely manner. But most of all, Yael has a great personality - you can tell she LOVES to officiate. After the wedding I had many guests tell us how beautiful and genuine the ceremony felt - Yael helped to create that. She is truly a gem.
Michele and Justin
Yael is simply the best! As we started looking for a wedding officiant, we knew we wanted our ceremony to be extremely personal with a touch of religion, but weren't quite sure if we were going to find what we were looking for. After doing some research, we came across Yael on Wedding Wire. From the start, Yael was very responsive and flexible to meet with us in order to start the process of getting to know each other. The first time we met, we sat in a coffee shop for almost 2 hours, while she carefully took detailed notes and got to know all about us and our relationship. We knew right from the start that Yael was going to craft a personal and thoughtful ceremony, which she absolutely did. As we got closer to the wedding, we were able to see a draft of the ceremony and made any necessary changes we wanted. On the day of the wedding, Yael delivered such a beautiful and personalized ceremony that we will never forget. We appreciate the time and effort she put in into getting to know us and it truly came through in our ceremony. I would recommend Yael to anyone getting married!
Stacey and Jason
Yael served as the officiant on our wedding on 7/7/18. It was the best decision we could have made! After an exhaustive search for someone to Wed an interfaith couple we concluded that Yael was heads and tails above the other vendors. She was a true professional throughout the process, captivated the audience at the ceremony, and took the time to get to know us and our relationship. Her personal touch truly paid off as our guests repeatedly commented on how it was nice we had a "friend" serve as our officiant. You made our day incredible Yael, Thank you so much! -Stacey & Jason
Jennifer and Alexander
One of the hardest parts of planning our wedding was choosing an officiant that would fit our young, goofy yet loving personalities, and be able to blend our unique story with Jewish traditions. When we met Yael, we knew she was exactly what we were looking for. Yael does her homework. We met for dinner one night and she interviewed us for over an hour. She put together a beautiful ceremony, which explained all the Jewish traditions, included her own commentary on our love story, and she told it all in a beautiful, soothing voice that had the entire crowd both in tears and fits of laughter. Many people have remarked it was the most beautiful ceremony they ever witnessed.
Samantha and Dan
We really lucked out when we found Yael to officiate our wedding! Meeting her felt like meeting an old friend - she made the conversation flow naturally and made us feel so comfortable. She seemed genuinely excited to get to know us and our story. We knew we wanted some Jewish traditions weaved throughout the ceremony which Yael was familiar with which was a plus. Our ceremony was absolutely perfect. She kept it short and sweet just like we wanted, but didn't leave anything out! She really nailed us and our story to a T! We couldn't be happier with our choice to have Yael officiate our wedding.
Shonlyn and Elie
Yael truly went above and beyond for our ceremony. She took the time to learn our history and wove it beautifully into the ceremony. She told a story instead of just reciting a rehearsed monologue. She is so well organized with everything! Go with Yael, you will be so happy you did!
Julia and Barry
Yael was a great officiant who really took the time to get to know us in order to write a personalized ceremony. She was very responsive, on time and we got our marriage certificate back within about three weeks after the ceremony without any issues. She was also very flexible when we had a last minute time and location change for our ceremony due to rain.
Jenny and Rob
Yael was an absolute pleasure to work with from the beginning! We received praise from our friends and family and were actually asked if Yael was a friend officiating! A large reason why we chose Yael was because of her professionalism and friendliness, which she exuded even from our Skype call. There was no doubt in my mind at any point that she would deliver and was pleasantly surprised by how supportive she was throughout.
Our initial conversation was for an hour, with fun and well-thought out questions which led to a beautiful rendition of our story for the ceremony. Yael was also happy to provide ideas of how to make our ceremony our own and include cultural traditions and readings. Finally, we were also able to send in our vows (separately) to Yael for a final read through and it was comforting to receive her encouragements before the big day!
If you are looking for a stellar officiant who can set the tone to your wedding in a lovely, warm, and intimate way, choose Yael!
Kristen and Pete
Yael was the officiant for our 9/7/19 wedding and she was AMAZING! I hate to copy from another review, but someone mentioned how she “exudes kindness” and that is so spot on. She asked such thoughtful questions during our first meeting and the conversation was so easy it felt like we were just catching up with an old friend. Yael put together a beautiful ceremony, and was so open to the couple tweaks we had, it was absolutely perfect for us. We got so many compliments on the ceremony in the weeks since the wedding. A lot of guests even asked how we knew each other, the personal feel that Yael gave the ceremony had many people thinking we were good friends. We’re so happy Yael was able officiate us and could not recommend her enough!
Bonnie and Tom
Yael advertises that she offers customized ceremonies, and that’s exactly what she provides. While she does share a “template” with a general format and ideas for customs and traditions that can be included in the ceremony, she will reword, adjust, alter, and mix up the ceremony so that it is perfect for the couple. Yael is also familiar with traditions and customs from various religions, so she was able to create the perfect ceremony for us: it honored my Jewish Heritage (Ketubah signing, stepping on the glass) yet didn’t feel overly religious and also included a fun twist on the traditional wine ceremony (my husband popped a bottle of champagne at the altar).
To get us started, Yael spent quite a bit of time with us on the phone to answer our initial questions. She also sent us her general template, and several lists of ideas to get us thinking (wedding traditions, readings, and more). A few weeks later, she met us in person in NYC so that she could get to know us better. We spent almost two hours enjoying a nice meal with her and talking about all things wedding. She asked us how we met, what we love about each other, and what marriage means to the two of us. She took the information from this interview and used it to write up a customized introduction for our ceremony. She sent this customized draft to us for review. We then chatted via Google Chat to discuss some minor changes that we wanted to make, which we made together via Google Docs. It came out perfect!
On the day of the wedding, Yael arrived early and gave off a calm and confident vibe. She ran our Ketubah signing with us privately, with just our closest family and friends, as we asked. She then officiated our ceremony and it was absolutely amazing. We can’t thank her enough for the wonderful job she did. During our planning process, we had also asked her if she would be willing to stay to say a short blessing before dinner, and she enthusiastically agreed. This was really important to my mom, and Yael did a beautiful job with it. We are so glad that she agreed to stay!
The ceremony really is the most important part of a wedding, and I really wanted to find the right person to officiate ours. My husband and I spoke with a few different Wedding Officiants before we finally found Yael. From the first time we spoke to her on the phone, we knew that we wanted to hire her, and we are thrilled that we did. She was easy to talk to, is extremely enthusiastic about weddings and marriages, presents herself beautifully, and has the perfect speaking voice. We highly recommend her!
Samantha and Yves
The personal ceremony you are looking for! A perfect ceremony! Yael was amazing and really gave us the unique personal ceremony we wanted. She took the time to really get to know us, and wrote a beautiful custom ceremony about us. We got so many compliments from our guests about how beautiful and touching the ceremony was, and asking how long we've known her thinking it was a longtime friend :) I also really liked that we could review it prior together, make edits and tweaks to make it really fit us. It was tender and sweet, and a little funny like us, and it was also important to us that it carried some Jewish traditions for us and our families. I highly recommend her!
Kait and Josh
Yael was everything you would ever want or need in a wedding officiant. She made everything so easy and lovely and really took the time to get to know us as a couple, which allowed her to write the most beautiful ceremony. She was always responsive and so incredibly helpful. We cannot imagine our day without her!
Miriam and Josh
Yael did such a wonderful job with our June 2019 wedding. From the start, it was clear she wanted to get to know us as a couple and make the ceremony as personal as possible. She managed to get my husband, typically a man of few words, to talk about how we met, our relationship, and the proposal and turned our conversation into a really beautiful ceremony. She included just enough of our Jewish traditions but also worked with us to make it feel updated and modern — relevant to us as a couple. I can’t imagine having had our wedding with any other officiant.
Sarah and Noah
We saw Yael officiate a friends wedding and knew we had to have her for ours! She spends so much time, thought, and effort into writing the ceremony. Everyone thought we had known her for years- which is exactly how we felt at our friends wedding. Yael has the most amazing ability to personalize ceremonies to make it feel truly unique and special. I also worked with Yael in writing vows. She spent hours with me to write the most beautiful vows ever! Could not recommend her enough. She is the best!
Deena and Chris
Yael was recommended to us by our wedding coordinator. Within the first few moments of our initial meeting, we knew she was the one. Through the process, Yael’s showing of empathy and compassion in learning our history as a couple really came through. The sincerity and professionalism in officiating our ceremony showed so much that a few of the guests believed she must be a member of one of our families. When the question arises, we will definitely not hesitate in recommending Yael for any couple’s important day.
Sam and Evan
Working with Yael for our wedding was one of the best choices. She was incredibly easy to work with and truly captured my husband and me and what our relationship means to us. I would highly recommend Yael to anyone looking for someone that is reliable, easy to work with and accommodating. She brought such care and support to being part of our ceremony and her words will be something we remember forever. If we ever renew our vows, we will be call Yael again!