Rabbi Susan Shamash

We had the opportunity to meet with and get to know Rabbi Susan in 2022 while we prepared for our wedding. It was very important to both the bride and groom to have a jewish’ish wedding. However during our time with Rabbi Susan we moved more towards a Jewish wedding, rather than ish. She’s not just a wedding officiant, as you get the opportunity to spend time with her during her “sessions” leading up to the wedding.

Rabbi Susan’s sessions were fabulous. It gave my husband and I an opportunity to get to know more about each other. She asked how our relatives relationships were, how our parents parents came to Canada and what their marriage traditions were etc. It was unexpected and wonderful. We also got to learn about Rabbi Susan herself, which was so special for us to have someone we knew marry us.

She wrote her “script” for our wedding and gave us the opportunity to edit and review. Her ceremony was unlike anything us, our family, or guests ever experienced. For months people have been telling us how amazing Rabbi Susan’s ceremony was.

We also had the opportunity to have her do our ketubah signing 2 days early with just our family and wedding party (winter wedding made the timing too tight for night of signing) Which was so special and intimate and just for us.

We love Rabbi Susan and would highly recommend her. Having her officiate your wedding will be the best and easiest decision you’ll make for your wedding.

Thank you again with Love Eryne & Matt

As a Jewish person marrying an other-than-Jewish partner, it was important to honour both of our families and backgrounds for a wedding with meaning and to set us up for a loving marriage to come. We had only heard good things about Rabbi Shamash and when we first met, she had as many questions for us as we did for her to ensure it was the right fit. The preparatory meetings were not simply to learn who stands where or who says what during the wedding, but to learn about us as a couple and what it means to be married. She was always responsive to our many questions in leading up to the ceremony and we had the opportunity to meet the other couples she had married.

On the big day, Rabbi Shamash made every bit of the ceremony feel special for us, our families and our guests. It did not end there as in her words, she is our "Rabbi for life" and we look forward to continue learning from her and navigating our lives as a married couple. Thank you, Rabbi Shamash, for making this simcha so very special!

Wow. I can't even begin to describe how the decision to work with Rabbi Susan changed the trajectory of our special day for the better. Not only is the service she provides unique in the local area, and that alone is reason enough to work with her, but in marrying us and becoming our Rabbi, she has left a permanent, beautiful mark on the lives of me and my husband, and both our families.

Her care and attention to detail is unparalleled, and I can't even begin to imagine the work she put in behind the scenes to create such a personalised, meaningful service which was tailored to our interfaith traditions, and values as a couple. It was perfectly-pitched, explaining any Jewish traditions, and translating all Hebrew elements in a way that was accessible yet unobtrusive.

She truly went above and beyond, recommending us chuppah vendors and even tutorials on making our own when we couldn't find one available, and accompanying me to the mikvah - which was an incredibly meaningful experience.

Having her at the helm of our wedding meant the day was more meaningful than any of us could have hoped for. We couldn't have imagined the day without her; she was integral part of our experience of getting married - from well-before the wedding itself, and I'm certain, ongoing into the future.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to her - you will not be disappointed if you do.

We got to know Rabbi Susan well, not just over one year but two, as our wedding was postponed due to Covid. She worked with us collaboratively to craft a beautiful ceremony which we ended up having with only family present. Beyond the ceremony itself, we can't stress enough how valuable her one-on-one sessions were leading up to the wedding. We suspect a lot of couples get married without deliberating on the fundamental values that sustain a marriage - through our sessions she helped us articulate these values which was reflected in our ketubah and ceremony. We are so grateful to have had Rabbi Susan to lead us through this transformative time in our lives. As she says, we will always have her as our Rabbi, which means the world to us.

Coming from a mixed faith background, I knew that I wanted a Jewish wedding but that the Rabbi from my synagogue would not agree to marry us. I found Rabbi Susan through WeddingWire and she had great reviews so I reached out to her. The reviews were spot on...from our first email interactions to our lessons with her and then all the way through the ceremony, Rabbi Susan was so great to work with. She took the time to get to know us in the months leading up to the wedding and introduced/explained the significance of the various aspects of the Jewish ceremony. She also gave us an opportunity to reflect on what brought us together and gave us space to envision our future together. When it came time for the ceremony, we felt completely comfortable having her marry us because it felt like she knew just how to make the ceremony about us. I would highly recommend hiring Rabbi Susan if you want to have a meaningful Jewish wedding ceremony full of simcha!

Rabbi Susan Shamash made our wedding experience truly wonderful from start to finish. We didn't know what to expect when we first met with her, but it turned out that we were in great hands and were guided through the whole process to ensure that everything went smoothly on the day of our wedding. Her ceremony was beautiful and so many of our guests commented about it to us afterward, telling us that she did a remarkable job in bringing together our two different backgrounds and explaining the various parts of the ceremony that some of our guests were not familiar with. I would not hesitate to recommend Rabbi Susan to any couple who is looking to get married in a meaningful ceremony and work with her beforehand to solidify and strengthen your relationship with your partner.

Rabbi Susan was great to work with! :) We come from two different backgrounds and wanted to have an “interfaith” Jewish wedding. We found Rabbi Susan on wedding wire and we really recommend having her as a Rabbi at your wedding! Rabbi Susan listened to everything we wanted and created the ceremony of our dreams!! Our family and friends loved the ceremony!! 10/10

Rabbi Susan was a fantastic spiritual advisor, educator, and officiant for our wedding. From our first meeting, Rabbi Susan made significant efforts to get to know my husband and I, learn about our values and help us find was to integrate those values into our wedding ceremony. As an interfaith couple, we wanted to incorporate some non-traditional, but purposeful elements into our wedding and Rabbi Susan worked with us to make it happen. Throughout our ceremony, she spoke to our guests about our values and purpose behind our decision to have a wedding and taught them about the Jewish principles that we are bringing into our relationship. I highly recommend Rabbi Susan as a wedding officiant and spiritual advisor. She brought so much joy to our celebration and we are so grateful for her guidance!

From the moment we met Susan, we knew it was a match! As an interfaith couple we were worried about making sure that both of us and our families were comfortable with everything. Right away, Susan did everything to make both of us feel comfortable and to include elements that were meaningful to both of us, Jewish and personal. She is exceptionally knowledgeable in all aspects of the Jewish wedding ceremony and I learned so much about different components that I did not know before which we included in our own ceremony. She booked multiple sessions with us before our wedding to get to know us and we were able to do some personal work with one another that helped us to prepare our speeches to one another. Susan is very organized which made the process of putting together our ceremony quite easy. In addition, she is very kind, compassionate and wanted to make sure that we were happy and not stressed leading up to our day. This made everything so much easier for us. She is a wonderful person with a great heart who we really enjoyed working with.

Rabbi Susan officiated our wedding. She was amazing and adapted her process to fit mine and my husbands busy schedule and specific needs. It was a great experience, I would highly recommend her