Valley wed vendor spotlight: Grace Ceremonies

"Rev. Hannah Grace offers custom ceremonies individually designed for you, weaving together all the elements that are most important to each of you.  Your wedding ceremony can incorporate your backgrounds and heritage, your beliefs and faith traditions, your family and friends, the journey that brought you together and, of course, the deep love you share. 
 
Couples can choose from four different packages; Premarital Conversation sessions are also available."

How did you come to do what you do?

I heard a calling. Literally!
 
It was the fall of 2009, while I was meditating on the topic of my soul’s purpose.  I heard a voice whisper straight into my heart, “Your purpose is to be a minister.”
 
(I gave a 20-minute talk about it at the church where I heard my calling, which you can listen to on my website.)
 
It was so huge and so unexpected, though, that it took a month or two before I told anyone.   When I said it out loud - I’m supposed to be a minister - suddenly it all clicked.  It all made sense.  It was like letting out a breath I’d been holding my whole life.  It felt like I’d finally come home.
 
I attended an Interfaith seminary in New York City and was ordained as an Interfaith Minister in 2012, the same year I launched my business, Grace Ceremonies.  As an officiant, I get to be part of nurturing people’s connection to each other, their families and communities, to the sacred and to themselves, all through performing ritual and ceremony.
 
I say almost every day that I have the Best. Job. Ever.  I feel so grateful that I received a calling to this work. It's hard to imagine something more fulfilling than sharing these extraordinary moments and milestones with people. HG

​What is your favorite part of your job?

Would you believe me if I said I love pretty much everything about my job?  Because I do!
 
I love meeting new people and making connections with them, hearing their stories and feeling inspired about ways to share that within their ceremony… 
 
I love the creative process of research, writing and making revisions.  Sometimes I sit down at my desk and feel the entire ceremony just flow through me onto the page.  It’s an awesome feeling!
 
I especially love officiating ceremonies.  Even after all these years, I have never had the same experience twice.  Each person, couple and occasion is entirely new and sharing it with them never ceases to be an amazing honor.
 
And, I have to add that I love getting such stellar feedback from my clients.  I have 63 WeddingWire reviews that make me incredibly proud and humbled.  Whenever I receive a thank you card, my heart just wants to burst.  Just now I got a text from a couple I married on Saturday saying, “You are wonderful!”
 
I feel really lucky. HG

What makes you stand out as a wedding vendor?

I think my calling to this work is pretty exceptional.   I am a minister who officiates weddings, although I suppose technically I am a “wedding vendor.” 
 
I feel like I’m truly doing my ministry as an officiant.  I’m serving people (the word minister actually means to serve) by offering something deeply heartfelt, beautiful and meaningful to their lives and families. 
 
My work is part of who I am, and I will be doing this work for the rest of my life. HG

What is your favorite part of the wedding planning process? Or, more specifically, what is  your favorite part about the big day of the wedding?

I love standing together with a couple on their wedding day and seeing them go from nervousness and excitement as the ceremony begins, to settling into the experience and beginning to really hear the words and feel the emotions of the moment.
 
My most important job as a minister and officiant is to help people be present – with themselves and with each other – so they actually get to “be there” and enjoy what they’ve been planning for and looking forward to all those months. HG

What’s your favorite advice to give to clients for their wedding day?

I tell every couple that I want them be present on their wedding day.  I help not only by being calm, relaxed and peaceful myself but also by offering tips like remembering to breathe (so simple yet so often forgotten!), making eye contact, slowing down (everything from the processional to reading their vows to their kiss), and even things like feeling their heels sink into the ground, their shoulders drop, their neck soften… 
 
Those concrete tips really help. HG

What are you most excited about for this season? (other than Valley Wed, of course).

I am really excited about the diversity of ceremonies I have this year. 
 
I am officiating a Nepalese Hindu wedding with marriage rituals from that culture, and several other Interfaith weddings including Jewish and Christian elements. 
 
I get to marry high school sweethearts and people who have been together over a dozen years, and I also got to create a ten-year anniversary vow renewal ceremony. 
 
I get to travel to mountaintops, parks, castles and villas, backyards, and barns, of course! 
 
Like I said, it really is the best job ever. HG
​