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SERVING THE LOS ANGELES, SANTA BARBARA AND NEW YORK METROPOLITAN AREAS

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SERVING THE LOS ANGELES, SANTA BARBARA AND NEW YORK METROPOLITAN AREAS

Weddings

Your needs, your story and your traditions are always at the heart of my work. I bring a commitment to careful listening to each ceremony, as well as a good eye for the use of space and an enthusiasm for creativity, research, and collaboration.

Memorials

Whether you need help creating a ceremony that celebrates the life of someone you love shortly after their death, for their burial or the scattering of their ashes, or at a later time, I am honored to be of assistance.


Babies

A baby welcoming or an adoption ceremony can be a wonderful way to share your joy, express your gratitude, and acknowledge the people you know will help to surround your child with love as he or she grows up.


Consulting

True North Ceremonies can help you design your ceremony on a consulting basis, whether or not you are looking for an officiant.

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Gretchen Henry Connelly


Welcome to True North Ceremonies.

I have been creating and leading personalized ceremonies since 2013. As a graduate of One Spirit Interfaith Seminary, I am certified to officiate non-denominational weddings, memorials, and baby welcomings. I received additional training in ceremony creation from the Celebrant Foundation and Institute, in narrative medicine practices from the Columbia University Medical Center, and in grief support from the Grief Recovery Institute.

I grew up on the east coast – New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York – and still have family in all of those places. I am the mother of three now-grown children, whom my husband and I raised in Los Angeles. Through my own family, I have gained an appreciation for acknowledging and celebrating diversity in all family ceremonies.
A life-long student of the performing and creative arts, I graduated with honors from Amherst College with a degree in Dramatic Arts. My professional background is in theater and education, both together and separately. I created educational programs for what is now the Paley Center for Media, and have worked as a classroom teacher, a dramaturg, an assistant director, an actor, a dancer, and as a dialogue coach for young actors in school theater.

These days, I divide my time between California and New York, and am available to lead ceremonies on both coasts.

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