Kohenet Annie Matan

Annie officiated over the best wedding ceremony I've ever seen. She deftly wove together three different religious traditions and made everyone in attendance (including the children) feel part of a beautiful and ancient tradition. Five stars isn't enough. Annie is like no other.

My daughter and son-in-law wanted, rather than an entirely secular wedding, a meaningful ceremony that would incorporate both their families' religious background and traditions: Jewish on my side, Indigenous and Christian European on her father's side, and Muslim on her fiancé's side. I met Kohenet Annie Matan simply by going online to see which Jewish religious oficiants performed inter-faith marriages, and am very happy to have found Kohenet Annie Matan. On their zoom meetings, she clicked immediately with Tamar and Ali, and her sensitive, knowledgeable weaving of the ceremony, including her talks with the affable and learned Imam, resulted in a lovely, natural, warm balance between Jewish and Muslim traditions,-complemented by the words of an Urban Elder woman. Kohenet Matan's singing of the _Sheva Berakhot_ and other parts of the Jewish aspect of the ceremony, under the huppah, was also beautiful in and of itself. She hadn't planned to stay after the ceremony for the evening of music, dance and food from the many cultures of the newlyweds' families and friends, but we persuaded her to stay , now as our so-very-welcome guest and friend.

I recently had the honour and pleasure of working with Annie at my daughters' wedding, which was an Interfaith ceremony. Annie was simply marvellous with her presentation and description to all those that gathered wrt to a Jewish ceremony. The real sense of inclusion and understanding was experienced by all who attended including the families of both sides. We were all so grateful with the warmth and execution of the ceremony and would highly recommend Annie for anyone looking for a similar experience and officiate. Many thanks Annie for your efforts to get to know the bride and groom and a wonderful and haimish ceremony.

My wife Miriam and I were recently married by Annie in Toronto and we could not be more pleased. The ceremony she created for us was beautiful, meaningful, and perfectly in line with the vision we had for the day. As an interfaith couple, we wanted a Jewish ceremony that respected tradition while also making those who might not have been familiar with the rituals feel welcomed. Annie had great suggestions for us and also welcomed our thoughts and requests. The wedding was an important moment of bonding for our families and has certainly set a wonderful tone for the beginning of our married life. Annie was able to accomplish this through her thoughtful consultations with us as well as her natural ability to put people at ease and communicate to a diverse group. We got so many compliments and comments from attendees about how much they enjoyed the ceremony, how welcomed they felt, and how different and special the day was compared to other weddings they had attended. We certainly felt that our ceremony reflected us as a couple and clearly communicated that to our community. Highly recommend!