Dr. Elizabeth-Anne Stewart
Reviews for Dr. Elizabeth-Anne Stewart
GUEST
Dr. Elizabeth-Anne Stewart was very professional and dependable. She was so gracious with any request my husband and I had. Not only was she warm and inviting, she was very respectful of our ceremony requests. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a wedding officiate.
Another great thing was that Dr. Stewart arrived early to the venue which was so thoughtful of her to make sure she was on time, which to a nervous bride put me at ease. Also, she was great with giving suggestions of readings and vows which is always a plus. Dr. Stewart also promptly emailed us a copy of our wedding certificate and the tracking number for the mailing to the Cook County records office.
She was wonderful! I can't say enough about how much I appreciated her being our weddings officiate and making our special day possible!
Vendor response to review
Thanks, Liz -- You were easy to work with and it was truly a joyful celebration! I'm so glad to have been a part of it!
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
GUEST
Dr Stewart spared no efforts to personalize our ceremony, and she performed it wonderfully. She truly made it special.
Vendor response to review
Your wedding was beautiful! I so enjoyed helping you create the perfect ceremony and then enjoying the experience with you! Blessings to you, Bobby and family!
GUEST
GUEST
Elizabeth officiated our wedding this past weekend. Her message was genuine, meaningful, and memorable. She was an excellent communicator and took her time to get to know us as a couple. She made sure we approved of her script on the ceremony prior to the event. I could not be happier with her officiating. Everyone of my guest commented to me about how great she was and remarked about her meaningful and heart felt message. I felt like I found a diamond in the rough with Elizabeth.
Vendor response to review
Thanks, Carla -- It was a beautiful occasion and Master Barrett was delightful -- so glad he led the Lighting of the Unity Candle. Quite a feat for a six year old to suggest this and to carry out his duties so perfectly!
GUEST
Elizabeth was highly professional and extremely accommodating. She was easy to get a hold of and made planning a semi-long distance wedding a piece of cake! She communicated well and, I must say, her English accent was a heartfelt bonus as well!
Vendor response to review
Thank you, Nate! I loved working with you and Rica. We planned so carefully and yet it was the unscheduled "happenings" that really made your wedding unique! What a delightful ceremony! I'm so glad to have been a part of it! Many blessings to you and your family!
GUEST
We were very pleased to have Elizabeth as our wedding officiant...give her a call!!! :-)
GUEST
Dr. Elizabeth Stewart did an amazing wedding service.thank you so much for making it so special for us! Well recocommended!
GUEST
Dr. Elizabeth-Anne Stewart did an amazing job as the officiant at our wedding! She was very warm, caring, professional, and most of all knew exactly how to provide us with our specific requests. She created a beautiful ceremony for us and I would recommend her to any of my friends or family planning a wedding! Couldn't thank her enough! She's amazing!
GUEST
We really enjoyed working with Elizabeth on planning our ceremony. She was totally flexible with the style we wanted for the wedding service and offered many useful suggestions on elements to include. The service went exactly as we planned it and it couldn't have been more perfect.
GUEST
We knew immediately after meeting Elizabeth that she would be the perfect Officiant for our special day.
Our guests thought they were attending a 50th birthday party, and we needed someone creative and open to our exciting "suprise wedding" plan. Elizabeth was creative in tailoring the combination party. In fact, she named it "The Great Surprise."
Elizabeth gave us great ideas for the birthday party/wedding. Her professionalism and responsiveness were second to none. She is non judgmental, blended in well with our guests, and has an easy going nature. We would highly recommend her to anyone.
Elizabeth, thank you for making our celebrations perfect. Everyone at the party thought it was tastefully done and that you were terrific!
GUEST
After our initial phone call with Elizabeth, my wife and I immediately knew that she was the right choice to be our officiant. Elizabeth has a warm personality, performed her officiant duties with great professionalism, and truly cared about helping to make our wedding day perfect. For example, she paid special attention to achieving the right level of religious references during the ceremony that satisfied both us and our families (which have different religious backgrounds). That was an important consideration for us, and she got it just right. Her obvious experience and warm, kind demeanour helped to make the preparations much more enjoyable. In particular, she worked well with our wedding planner to settle logistical and other event considerations without getting my wife and I involved in the small details. Overall, we could not have been happier with her involvement in our wedding celebrations, and would recommend her highly.
GUEST
Elizabeth was wonderful! She set us both at ease, was professional but personal. Thank you so much!
GUEST
Dr. Elizabeth-Anne Stewart was assigned to us through the Odyssey when we planned our wedding there. We really lucked out! Throughout the whole process she was so careful to really understand our relationship style, what our values are, and the type of wedding/ceremony we were looking for. She did a great job crafting a personal ceremony that truly captured our relationship and the sentiment we wanted to get across.
After the ceremony, I got so many compliments on how well written, personal, and professionally delivered the whole ceremony was. She even weaved volleyball analogies into it since that's how we met. Plus, she has a fantastic british accent that's just fun to listen to :)
I highly recommend Dr. Stewart to anyone looking for an officiant regardless of the type of wedding your going for - she's truly great!
GUEST
Elizabeth provided a truly beautiful and meaningful ceremony at our wedding! She gathers much information about you as a couple and then builds the ceremony around your history. The language she uses is elegant, and she strives to deliver an unforgettable moment in your lives. Our ceremony was everything I hoped it would be! She is truly an amazing woman who listens to what YOU want on your big day and then executes with brilliance. I highly recommend her! My husband and I both received many wonderful compliments regarding the ceremony and our vows. :)
GUEST
Choosing Dr. Stewart to be our officiant is one of the best decisions we made for our wedding.
Dr. Stewart was an amazing officiant, and I highly recommend her to anyone wanting to get married. She is a brilliant woman who went out of her way to make our vows personal and special. She took the time to get to know us, so she could shape her ceremony to our relationship and our style. She was extremely helpful when we were stumped about what to write. She also had excellent suggestions about things we could do at the ceremony to make it more personal.
She also helped us compromise when it came to the ceremony--my new husband and I have very different spiritual beliefs, and she composed a ceremony that both of us were comfortable and extremely happy with.
Her prices are super reasonable. She is accommodating and flexible about scheduling pre-wedding consultations. And, to top it all off, she has the most beautiful European accent.
You really don't need to look any further. :)
GUEST
Dr. Stewart performed a wonderful ceremony on our behalf. It was magical and heartfelt; a magic that distilled and expressed the essence of daily experience and desire rather than a formal religious structure.
Her understanding of our relationship came through in her presentation showing the fruits of all the hard work she did with us in the preceding months to understand what we wanted. It was beyond our expectation and we think she helped set us up for a long and happy married life.
Many of our guests were enthralled. They said they had never been to a wedding like it; they felt included, as though the ceremony spoke to their needs and desires as well as ours. Thus together we were able to foster a sense of community, a fulfillment of our deepest wish.
About Dr. Elizabeth-Anne Stewart
BRITISH PROFESSIONALISM & CREATIVE MINISTRY
Meet me on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLHJ4QHkBRU
If you dream of a Wedding or Commitment Ceremony that is designed especially for you and your partner, then I may be the Officiant for you. Licensed to perform Weddings and Civil Unions in the State of Illinois, I not only perform religious ceremonies but also ones that are spiritual without being overtly religious and ones that could be described as completely "secular." Although I myself come from a Christian background, I am comfortable working with couples from all faith traditions as well as those who have left their traditions of origin or who have never had a tradition. Well-versed in the kinds of readings and ritual actions which will make your ceremony unique, I will personalize your ceremony so that it reflects your beliefs, values and culture. At all times, I will be sensitive to your needs and concerns.
With a Ph.D. in Theology and a Doctor of Ministry degree, I have an extensive repertoire to draw on, especially as I have taught ritual at the college level (DePaul University, Columbia College etc.). I am a seasoned public speaker/ preacher and have presented workshops, retreats and seminars locally, nationally and internationally. My approach is warm, inclusive, personal and engaging, regardless of audience; as a Wedding Officiant, I use every day language and concepts that touch the heart. My goal is to make you and your guests feel at ease, regardless of the setting you choose. Venues have included the Odyssey Cruise Ship, the Mystic Blue Cruise Ship, The Spirit of Chicago Cruise Ship, Rockefeller Chapel, Indiana Dunes State Park,The Madison Centre for Spirituality and the Arts, The Art Institute of Chicago, TangoChicago, Maggiano's, Public Hotel, Uncommon Ground, private residences throughout Chicagoland, the Yale University Club, NY....
Together we will create YOUR ceremony; instead of having a stranger presiding over your most important day, you will have a friend and coach to be there in a supportive role. A Board Certified Life Coach, I am also available for pre-Wedding and pre-Civil Union relationship coaching. A member of Spiritual Directors International, I have offered spiritually-based counseling since 1989 and have trained others in the sacred art of listening. You can learn more about my Life Coaching practice by visiting www.embracingpossibility.com
Pricing for 2013: Wedding Officiating packages/ Commitment Ceremony packages begin at $225 for a standard ceremony (religious or spiritual or secular) and $325 for a personalized ceremony which includes multiple drafts of the ceremony, input from the couple, and a one hour meeting or phone conversation. Should you wish to be more involved in the planning process, or to schedule pre-Marriage/ pre-Civil Union relationship coaching, I would be more than happy to meet with you. Weddings/ rehearsals involving travel time beyond Chicago may incur additional fees, depending on the location and distance from the city. Fees for 2014 will be $275 for a Standard Ceremony and $375 for a personalized ceremony.
WEDDINGS / CIVIL UNIONS / COMMITMENT CEREMONIES /ANNIVERSARY PACKAGES
Please note that my fee for personalized ceremonies on board cruise ships= $325 $25 parking at Navy Pier; standard ceremonies= $225 $25 parking at Navy Pier. If other venues require valet parking or public parking, then those fees would also be additional.
$225 for a standard ceremony that can be religious, or spiritual or entirely secular. This option is for those who do not want a personalized ceremony and who would prefer not to be involved in the process of creating their own ceremony. There are several texts to choose from (e.g. a reading from the Bible or a selection from The Prophet, or a contemporary poem etc. ); you can include a ritual such as The Rose Ceremony, The Sand Ceremony, The Unity Candle or Jumping the Broom.... Though your names will be used throughout the ceremony, there will be no personal address to the couple and the Welcome, Statement of Intentions, Vows, Exchange of Rings, Final Blessing and Pronouncement will be pre-set. That being said, my style is warm and highly personal and, in fact, you will feel as though the ceremony was created with just you in mind! In no way will your ceremony feel "canned" or "cookie cutter"!
$325 for a personalized ceremony that can be religious, or spiritual or entirely secular. This option is for couples who want to be involved in the planning process so that the ceremony truly reflects your shared vision and dreams, as well as your history together. My fee includes either a one hour meeting in Chicago's South Loop or else a one hour phone conversation, plus email exchanges in response to drafts of the ceremony. You can request special mention of family members (e.g. deceased parents, children you may have, significant people in your lives.... ) My Address (mini-sermon) is based on information you provide -- details, for example, about what has brought you together and why you are choosing marriage at this time. With this package, you can write your own vows, select your own readings and basically custom-design your own ceremony, with my guidance.
FAQ for Dr. Elizabeth-Anne Stewart
Hello, I’m Dr Elizabeth-Anne Stewart, and these comments are for couples who are planning on getting married or having a Civil Union Ceremony. All in all, planning a Wedding/Civil Union is both fun and stressful and what often gets lost in the shuffle is the ceremony! How and where are you going to say the magical words, “I do” and who is going to be the officiant?
If you leave your ceremony until the last moment, chances are that there will be nothing personal about it; in fact, in all likelihood, it will be the same standard ceremony that your officiant uses over and over again. The ceremony can and should be the highlight of the Wedding/ Civil Union. Your friends and family have not shown up simply to party but to witness your public commitment to one another. Without careful planning, you could end up bored to tears, offended or so rushed that you have no recollection as to what took place.
If you want to avoid a horror story of your own, make your ceremony the heart of the occasion. Decide between yourselves what you are looking for – a traditional religious ceremony, a ceremony that is more spiritual than religious, an inter-faith service, a secular wedding. Ask yourselves whether you want your wedding to be formal or relaxed – of course, the setting will be important here. If you are getting married in a cathedral, the ceremony is going to be very different than if you are getting married on a beach in Hawaii. Consider how much of the ceremony you want to create yourselves – whether you are going to write your own vows, select your readings, incorporate rituals that are meaningful to you. Then find the right officiant. If you are lucky, you will know the person already and he or she will be able to help you create the perfect ceremony because you have a history to draw on. That failing, there may be a referral that helps – perhaps the venue co-ordinator or your wedding planner, if you have one, may have some suggestions. You can always browse through wedding sites like WeddingWire.com to see who best fits the type of ceremony you have in mind. Call several of the officiants listed; try to get a sense of their style over the phone or else meet with them in person. It is your wedding so screening potential officiants is important.
Then, working with your officiant, come up with a general plan of the ceremony. What will the Entrance Procession look like? Who is going to give away whom? Will there be any opening rituals, such as the Lighting of the Unity Candle by both sets of parents? What should your officiant mention in the Opening Comments? What Readings will be included – A scripture passage? A poem? An excerpt from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran? How personal do you want the officiant to be in the Address to you as a couple? Are you going to create your own Vows or use standard vows? What do you have in mind for the Exchange of Rings Ceremony? Are there any other rituals you wish to incorporate – a Communion Service, Handfasting, The Rose Ceremony, The Blending of Sand, Circling the Table, The Honey Ceremony…. What type of Final Blessing would be appropriate? How do you wish to be introduced to the community at the Wedding Pronouncement?
With an investment of time, care and the right officiant, you can create the wedding of your dreams. Don’t settle for anything less!
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