We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rev. Christopher Scuderi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rev. Christopher, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

Craziest story. Hmmm, where to even begin?! As a professional non-denominational Minister, one of the many wonderful things I get to do is create and perform bespoke wedding ceremonies – and I perform A LOT of weddings. My wife and I decided long ago that we would pick “the moment” from each wedding – these are funny, off-the-cuff happenings, serious, deeply impactful pivotal points or thoroughly interesting and completely random occurrences.

Here is a brief sampling from just a few of those “moments”:
It was a destination wedding ceremony for a couple that flew into Utah from sunny Florida. Their ceremony was held at an elite resort and they were dressed to the nines, very prim and proper with the groom in full tux with tails and a top hat and the bride in an elegant gown, full neck and arms covered in lace and white satin gloves as well. The only guests in attendance, the photographer and my wife, also served as their witnesses. Everything was rather formal and quite traditional….until…the bride was having difficulty getting the ring to slide onto the groom’s finger, so she bent down, stuck his finger in her mouth, and shall we say, “moistened” it enough for the ring to glide on easier. The witnesses were rather surprised, to say the least as this was entirely unexpected from such a seemingly demure couple.

Of course, any time little ones are participating, you never quite know just what might happen….so expect anything! One such occurrence involved two little flower girls, if memory serves, they were only 3 and 5 years of age. It was finally their turn to proceed down the aisle, dropping flower petals along the way, when by pure accident one of them stepped on the other’s foot. This “vicious attack” prompted an immediate and clearly heard throughout the entire hall, retaliatory slap across the face of the offender…to which said offender then ran away screaming as she left. If ever there was a “slap heard around the world”, this was definitely it!

Another time, involved a very young ring bearer. Any time there is a little one to carry the rings, I often suggest that decoy rings be placed on the pillow/in the box instead of the actual rings…just in case. On this occasion, the couple and I had that conversation and it was agreed that decoys would be on the pillow and the Best Man would simply already have the rings in his pocket. All was going beautifully, smoothly in fact…and then it happened. I called for the rings, and the little boy gets prompted by his grandmother to come forward with the pillow and rings. Everyone is thinking this is super cute, especially the couple as the little one is their 3 year old son. He reaches the base of the steps to the stage, the bride looks at the pillow, looks at me, looks at the pillow, looks at me again and then says “My ring is gone. His is there, but not mine!” And then I see the realization come across her face, that even though it was agreed that decoys would be placed, it was the bride’s mother that insisted the real rings be placed on the pillow, and did so without anyone knowing. What I have not told you yet is the fact that just before the ceremony began, that little boy was seen all over the grounds, playing cowboy and swinging the pillow by its ribbon strings like a lasso, on the grass, in the grove of trees and over by the stream that ran throughout the property. You guessed it! We had to stop the ceremony, everyone on their hands and knees searching the lawn, people checking anywhere and everywhere the boy had been seen. We did have to continue on with the ceremony, though luckily the bride’s wedding ring was finally found shortly thereafter. Whew! What excitement!

There are many, many more “moments”; I could share, and I think it is safe to say, there really is never a dull moment!

Rev. Christopher, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a full-time, professional non-denominational Minister providing a wide variety of rites of passage and other services – religious, not religious at all or perhaps uniquely spiritual. Long before I became a Minister, I served the LGBTQ+ community in a number of capacities, thus giving me a much more expansive understanding of inclusivity, which then led me to broadening my own rather limited understanding, at the time, of other people, their cultures and the joys and struggles they experience. I have since brought that knowledge with me into every facet of my Ministry. When I perform a wedding ceremony or conduct a funeral service, if the family speaks a language other than English, I will make the effort to learn and at least speak a phrase or two in their native language – even if it is something as simple as “congratulations!” or “blessings be with you.” It is truly wonderful to see their faces light up, to know that they have been “seen” and their humanity recognized by, in my humble opinion, a very simple act of kindness.

While I am an actual full-time, full-service Minister, it is rather apparent that I am highly sought after and most widely recognized for my creation and performance of wedding ceremonies – from quick, scripted template elopement type ceremonies to the genuinely bespoke, fully customized ceremonies, and everything in between. I travel wherever I am called to serve and travel all throughout Utah, its surrounding states and have even gone out of the country for destination weddings.

An area I both specialize in and am known for is not only the way I create custom written ceremonies or services, but also the way with which I deliver them. I often get “downloads”, tapping into and allowing myself to be guided through whatever messages are most appropriate for the circumstance. With funerals, I have been asked how long I had known the deceased, or they stated that I must have been a close family member or friend to have captured their essence so completely; to which they were simultaneously equally amazed and flabbergasted to learn that I had never even met their friend or loved one. Similarly with weddings, I seem to know the right things to say, at the right time, that truly speak to the hearts of the couple as well as their families and friends. I listen to their desires and tap into the unspoken wishes for the vision they hold for their special day, bringing it forward into the light in a way that they might never have imagined were possible. It’s a gift, one of my many “superpowers” and one that I am rather happy I possess.

I am also known for being a “Wedding Whisperer”, I have a way about me that is quite calming, and I can generally put people at ease in a matter of minutes. The moniker arose from the innumerable couples, or their parents, that were in a state of full-blown anxiety attack or absolute meltdown. I’ll give you a prime example: the bride of one of my couples was in full meltdown for nearly an hour. In that time, no one would let me in to see her. Finally, after everyone that had tried to help out threw up their hands and gave up, I was allowed in to see her and had her calm and ready to walk down the aisle in a little over a minute. She was extremely grateful, so was her groom. And those that would not let me in before that, were saying “that was amazing, guess we should have let you in earlier.” Again, it’s a gift and one that I am thrilled to possess. It works quite well with babies too!

I do my level best to remain a humble man, recognizing that I am “a cut above” in many ways, while always allowing room for further expansion and flourishing growth in my journey. I am proud of everything that I have achieved thus far, and in a relatively short period of time, though I suppose what I am most proud of is the vast and ever-expanding circle of families I have served, that continue to refer my services to their friends, family, co-workers and other connections. Families that, even years later, still send me a Christmas card, or a random text shows up saying they saw me on the freeway and wanted to say “Hi!”, or they are welcoming a new addition, or just bought a home, or that a loved one has passed from this mortal coil. I am proud to have touched so many wonderful people’s lives in such a profound and truly meaningful way. Now that is a gift I am both grateful for and honored to receive.

I am “the secret sauce”. What really sets me apart is just how thoroughly detail oriented I am, and how it’s never about me, it is always about those I am providing service to, and I make every effort possible to ensure they receive a stellar experience in whatever service I provide. I do have a fun and quirky sense of humor, if you hadn’t noticed. I am very down to earth and only ever want the very best for everyone. I am a firm believer that We Are All One.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Absolutely! My ministry was actually born out of the proverbial “perfect storm” of events. In short, while recovering from the surgery for an injury sustained at work, the church I worked for decided to terminate my employment via email (ethical? no, but entirely legal in an “at will state”). Shortly before that took place, I was the primary whistleblower regarding certain financial aspects. So…recovering from surgery, out of work as well and wondering how on earth we were going to get by. Now what?

While I worked for that church, I had conducted a lay-led service, after which a good portion of the congregation told me that I had “missed my calling” and needed “to become a minister” as I had spoken more eloquently than their settled minister of many years. My answer to which was “Hell no, you can’t make me!” You never want to know how the sausage is made, and I had already seen the behind the scenes of us vs. them, the “haves” and “have nots”. All of that, and the several chats that followed it, got me thinking that maybe I should look into it, and that is precisely what I did. I received my ordination in May of 2011 and promptly created Universal Heart Ministry as a stand-alone entity, not associated nor affiliated with any religion so that I may truly fulfill my calling of providing services to anyone, anywhere, regardless of what they believe or do not believe. As a full-time community minister, I provide services and am able to travel wherever needed. Because I have chosen not to serve a church or congregation of my own, I do not require membership, tithing or pledges thus this ministry is sustained by the fees received for services rendered. Like me, Universal Heart Ministry is fully inclusive, without exception, and I am happy to provide spiritual services to all who seek them.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Without a doubt, what has most helped me to build a good reputation within my market is by far all of the many wonderful people I have had the opportunity to provide services for that have not only given me five star reviews though have also continued to refer my services to their family members, friends, co-workers and other connections. I have a number of funerals that have come from performing a wedding ceremony, weddings that came from conducting a funeral, baby blessings, pet blessings and home blessings that stemmed from either a funeral, wedding or in some cases both. Call it a real family affair, where they continue to utilize my services.

There is also the fact that I am willing to work with other professional vendors involved in the service, not only for best cohesion, but also a truly stellar experience all the way around. I take the time and make the effort to speak with those involved so that everyone knows what to expect, when and how it will take place and provide any needed cues for them to properly perform their duties as well.

No marketing or advertising campaigns are ever quite as effective as the simple word of mouth testimonial from firsthand experience. I feel truly blessed and deeply grateful for the many compliments I have received over the years in genuine appreciation of my talents, skills and abilities in the performance of the services I have provided.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://universalheartministry.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/universalheartministry
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universalheartministry
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rev-christopher-t-scuderi-4b34013a?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rev.christophert.scuderi
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/universal-heart-ministry-salt-lake-city-2
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rev..christopher