Joining Hands and Hearts: Interfaith, Intercultural Wedding Celebrations--A Practical Guide for Couples

Rating:
Summary: The answers we were looking for
Review: As a groom with many doubts heading into an interfaith marriage, it has answered so many questions and offered many possibilities that I did not even know were available to me. Neither my future wife or I are very religious to say the least, but still we needed that tradition, without the ceremony becoming stodgy or sappy. We wanted it to be personal and unique and enjoyable, but without all the usual bells and whistles. With Ms. Stefanachi's book, we found exactly what I had in mind, and avoided the cookie-cutter variety I had seen in the past. And since we need to present our ideas to our family and make them appealing, this book helped us in that regard as well. I really like the author's non-judgmental attitude. She definitely seems to have a good way of speaking to people through her words, and the ways of organizing the info. The book helped me overcome those doubts and gave me the answers we were looking for.

Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Answer for Us
Review: As a newly ordained minister and wedding officiant I must say Susanna's book is an excellent resource, well organized, and interculturally sensitive. I'm going to look into bulk ordering this book and offering it as a gift to my clients. I'm an interculturalist at heart and in spirit - it's refreshing to see someone has taken the time to research various religions, cultures, and ways of living to develop a book that offers plenty of options to personalizing interfaith and intercultural wedding ceremonies. Thank you Susanna for your efforts to collaborate with others and offer such an excellent resource to couples, wedding planners, and wedding celebrants/officiants/ministers!

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Summary: Putting all at ease!
Review: I originally bought this book to get some ideas about the ceremonies used in my fiance's culture and ended up learning about all the beautiful and unique traditions that exist out there and using them to create a very rich and textured ceremony. So now instead of pre-wedding nerves I am actually excited to get to participate in the ceremony itself!
Each religion and its ceremony is broken down into different levels of practice from very religious to mostly symbollic.
I found this book fascinating on so many levels that even were I not getting married I would appreciate it for its incredible information and authenticity.
As an author myself I am very aware of the importance of clarity and expression in one's writing and I am therefore doubly impressed by Joining Hands and Hearts' content and accessibility to its reader.
It is an absolute treasure and clearly comes from experience, heart and soul.

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Summary: Joining Hands and Hearts Creates Light Out Of Darkness..
Review: Joining Hands and Hearts is a gem. Everything you want or need to know about interfaith, intercultural and interracial unions can be found in its inspiring pages.

In Joining Hands and Hearts, Reverend Susanna Stefanachi Macomb speaks from the heart. With sensitivity, caring, and warmth she writes not only about what needs to be included in the interfaith marriage ceremonies themselves, but also about the many and sometimes complex issues surrounding one of life's major rites of passage.

The book commences with an exploration of interfaith as a vehicle for creating bridges between different traditions and beliefs. As such, it emphasizes the importance of respecting the unique characteristics of the cultures and religions of the two people about to be joined in matrimony.It then deals with the need to reflect these elements in a ceremony that will make everyone involved happy.

In planning the ceremony,remaining true to oneself while satisfying the families involved may seem a daunting task but Reverend Susanna creates light out of darkness. The interfaith celebrant, as she explains "neutralizes biases." And she believes that an interfaith ceremony is often " the only solution to the differing opinions and beliefs of the families involved."

Chapter 2 provides a questionnaire for couples, focusing on all the information needed to create an individualized ceremony. Details about the couple, their families, their relationship, and how they envision their special day are all considered. This serves as a foundation for Part II of Joining Hands and Hearts which begins by looking at the marriage practices of 14 different religions.

Chapter 9 is simply fascinating. Here Reverend Susanna explores wedding customs from around the world. We are given a vivid picture of the customs of 47 different cultures including French, Afghani, Greek, Japanese, Scandinavian, and Sudanese. In this chapter, Reverend Susanna takes us to exotic foreign lands where we experience the Showering of Sweets and Coins (Afghani), the Sedan Chair (Chinese), Le Buste (Italian), and Edelweiss (Swiss).

Of course, no book on interfaith marriage ceremonies would be complete without examples of interfaith weddings. And this is exactly how the book concludes. The final chapter is the ultimate tear-jerker where couples affirm their love for one another and respect for their cultural,religious and racial differences in beautifully fashioned ceremonies.

This is a very special book, written by a very unique person who conveys a very important message. Reverend Susanna reminds us through the words of Sathya Sai Baba that "there is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one language, the language of the heart." Don't miss this book. It is an affirmation that there is beauty in diversity and that we are all ultimately one.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Opens Your Mind...
Review: My fiance and I recently met with Suzanna to begin the process of planning our upcoming wedding ceremony. She asked my fiance and I to buy her book beforehand to truly understand the way she conducts ceremonies. This book is easy and delightful to read. I entitled my review "this book opens your mind" with good reason. This book opens your mind to the endless possibilities of how to make your wedding ceremony unique, romantic and personalized. My fiance and I are from different religions. Neither of us are very religious ourselves however. We wanted to find a neutral person to conduct our ceremony. With the help of this book, and of course Rev. Susanna; we are going to be able to incorporate both of our religions, as well as other religions we find interesting, into our ceremony. Not only will the ceremony reflect the two religions we practice, but it will truly reflect our love as well. I highly recommend the book to anyone who is planning a wedding!

Rating:
Summary: Peace of Mind
Review: Planning a wedding is stressful no matter how you go about it. Things tend to get more complex especially with the ceremony when different religions and cultures are involved. Joining Hands and Hearts by Rev. Suzanna Stefanachi Macomb shows you how various religions and cultures from all over the world celebrate marriage. This book makes it simple for you to custom build your own ceremony. No matter where you are from, no matter who you are or what you believe in this book will pertain to your special needs. It's organized in such a way that it's a quick reference guide to the many different rituals and traditions that are available. Mix and match them as you choose fit! Macomb also addresses how to deal with family problems and helps you to realize that these issues are more common then you think. On the very first page, she addressed a dilemma that I was facing and then I found many more through out the book. This gave me peace of mind that my ceremony was going to be everything I dreamed it to be and it was.

Rating:
Summary: Peace of Mind
Review: Planning a wedding is stressful no matter how you go about it. Things tend to get more complex especially with the ceremony when different religions and cultures are involved. Joining Hands and Hearts by Rev. Suzanna Stefanachi Macomb shows you how various religions and cultures from all over the world celebrate marriage. This book makes it simple for you to custom build your own ceremony. No matter where you are from, no matter who you are or what you believe in this book will pertain to your special needs. It's organized in such a way that it's a quick reference guide to the many different rituals and traditions that are available. Mix and match them as you choose fit! Macomb also addresses how to deal with family problems and helps you to realize that these issues are more common then you think. On the very first page, she addressed a dilemma that I was facing and then I found many more through out the book. This gave me peace of mind that my ceremony was going to be everything I dreamed it to be and it was.

Rating:
Summary: The answers I had been looking for....
Review: Rev. Macomb's book assured me that I was not the only one struggling with an interfaith, multi-cultural marriage. I felt tremedous relief and acceptance as well as a sense of comfort reading her words. Her book was absolutely integral to the planning of our wedding. Rev. Macomb writes from the heart with an amazing amount of love and honesty. She shares so much with her readers, it would be impossible not to be moved by what she has written. Her ability to bridge together cultural traditions and religious beliefs is truly inspirational; her joy in doing so is infectious. I feel that this book will be an asset for anyone considering, planning or involved in the marriage process. We all have something to learn, gain and experience from this book. I am just so grateful to have found it... as it embraced me and has not let go.