Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rev. Judith Guasch, M.Div.. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rev. Judith, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

Growing up, both of my parents worked. In fact, my father worked two jobs. He was a full-time Chevrolet salesman, and on his day off which was Friday, he worked for a butcher at the farmers market. We had a tough time making ends meet at times, and the second job allowed him to purchase a lot of our meats at a discounted price. My mom worked Mon-Fri 9-5 at the same Chevrolet dealership. My dad always said “When you do something, do it right, or don’t do it at all.” He would go on to explain that the only thing you really have in life is your reputation. If you do something poorly, that will be your reputation. But if you do something right, or excel at what you do, that also will be your reputation. I never remember either of my parents just sitting around. When dad was off, he would work in the yard, or on the house, which they built when I was a baby. When mom was off, she and I would craft, bake, and do things around the house. Saturday morning was always the day we cleaned the house from top to bottom. There was routine, and we did things right.

As an adult, those work ethics carried over into my life. Post HS, I did some junior college, and then went into the Air Force. I build not only a solid work reputation, but because of my position, I knew the different unit commanders and higher ups. When I had to transfer units, I was allowed to select my new unit, and I chose one that had not had an administrative person in several years, and consequently, was really screwed up. Because of my reputation, the commanders had started a pool on how long it would take me to get the new unit in order. It was because of my solid work ethic that they had no doubt I could get it done, and the only question which remained was “how long it would take?” (I found out who had the lowest time, and made it happen.)

Post military, I was on Office Manager in a hospital satellite center, and had the same reputation. When I went to Seminary to complete my Masters Degree, I excelled there as well. Even in the toughest courses like Greek and Hebrew, I pushed through, not jut to pass, but to do well.

I pastored a church, and worked as a chaplain in both a nursing home, and in Hospice, all with the same enthusiasm for ministry to individuals, to assure them that no matter their circumstances, their dignity was important. When I was leaving Hospice, I was president of our local ministerium of pastors, and they encouraged me (because of my reputation), to go into weddings full time. Many of their churches had restrictions about marrying non-members, which they were often requested to do, and they were in need of someone of credibility to refer couples to.

I have now been Officiating weddings and elopements full-time 16 years. I have stayed in touch with many couples over the years, and some have become like family. Why? Because when it came to this milestone day in their lives, I did my job, and I did it right. I I treat every couple as if they were a member of my family, and co-create with them a personalized ceremony which is meaningful to both them as well as their guests.

But Officiating a wedding is so much more than that, which is why you should never ask your cousin, college roommate or uncle to do it. Officiating a wedding is about coordinating with every player that day from the couple, to the venue personnel, to the photographer and music personnel. There are processionals to organize, flowers to make sure are pinned on (you’d be surprised how often someone takes a box of boutonnieres to the men’s dressing area, and they all stare at it dumbfounded.) There are music queues to be sure are understood, nervous brides to calm, and sometimes microphone equipment failures, which means amping up MY voice so cousin Nelly in the back row can still hear the ceremony. There are a myriad of things which can go wrong at and during a wedding ceremony, however a good professional knows how to make things run seamlessly. Once, when the best man got drunk BEFORE the wedding, he didn’t show up. But guess what? He had the rings. I married that couple with my and my husband’s wedding rings. Thanks to that incident, I now carry spare rings in my emergency kit.

But more importantly, there is LEGAL paperwork after the ceremony to be filed with the courts. I was once called at 9 p.m. to come to a local venue to marry a couple who had a college roommate do their wedding. He was now on a plane back home, and they found he had never touched the Marriage License. Because of my stellar reputation of doing things right, their photographer called me to come help. I have done over 1,000 weddings now, and have only every had two issues with a license, both of which were the fault of the court clerks. I just had to re-do the paperwork once they corrected their mistakes.

I’ve taught my children the same thing in life…. if you’re going to do something, do it right, or don’t do it at all. It’s a lesson I learned well, and has served me well throughout my life.
Thanks pop and mom!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am seminary trained, as well as experienced in the field of ministry. As a chaplain, I served people of all walks and faiths of life. The only cookie-cutter ceremonies I have are my quick elopements, everything else is custom written for the couple. Sounds easy, but writing a proper wedding ceremony that includes all the legal elements, has a sensible flow to it and is engaging is no simple task. I write ceremonies WITH my couples so that the ceremony is an enjoyable starting point of their entire day. When a wedding ceremony is enjoyable and meaningful for everyone, the party after, just seems to be amped up.

Weddings are a major milestone in someone’s life, and bringing meaning to their ceremony, whether it’s just them and me for an elopement, or a big wedding with 200 guests. It’s important that they and their beliefs are represented in a way that is authentic to everyone. But more importantly, it’s the only legal part of the day, and couples want someone who’s not going to screw that up. I once had a couple tell me that they needed to get a copy of their marriage certificate from the courthouse around their 20th anniversary, only to find out that the person who married them never filed it, and now that person had died. They had to get married – legally – all over again.

My couples want someone who is well rounded and can bring their love story and personalities to life during the ceremony, coordinate with other professionals, deliver a well-spoken ceremony, and properly file all the legal paperwork afterward.

Me? I’m married to my best friend for 34 years. We have two adult children and one grandchild. I’ve got a quirky sense of humor, and love to be creative. I love to quilt, and sometimes knit, as well as other crafts. In the warmer months, I love to tend my container garden of herbs and flowers. I’m also a mom to one long-haired miniature dachshund names Schnitzel, because what better name for a weiner dog?

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience is something you get when the going gets tough, whether you want it or not. August of 2021, my husband collapsed on a Thursday, and was hospitalized. I had a wedding on Saturday, and made sure I had everything I needed in my car when I want to the hospital Saturday morning. About 10 a.m., the doctors told us that my husband had stomach cancer. When the doctors left the room, we started to digest what we had been told.

My wedding was in the early afternoon, and I knew that I couldn’t let this affect my work, even though I was a mess.
I called my daughter and son-in-law, and they drove me to the wedding, and then took my right back to the hospital. I was too shaken to drive, but I did my job, and I did it right. My couple I don’t think to this very day, even know what happened that morning.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Network, network, network. Most couples set their date, then book a venue. Sometimes, they want a particular venue, and the date is flexible, but the venue is almost always first. I like to keep in touch with venue owners, managers. We moved about five years ago, and I barely experienced a hiccup because I had established a good name for myself in this business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.CeremoniesbyJudith.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/rev.judithguasch
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rev.JudithLGuasch

Image Credits
Not credit, but a note, the last photo of the older couple is my parents, which I talked about in the main portion. They just celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary in September 2023.