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Weddings

What is the story behind Rev. Jim Rooney?

Deciding on the person you want to be your voice as you recite your vows and promises to each other will be one of the most serious choices you will make about your wedding celebration. You will want someone who will take the time to learn about you as a couple and vision of the day, encouraging and accepting input from you. One who is caring and professional and who will be sensitive to your wishes as well as having the ability and experience to speak eloquently on your behalf. One who will be a calming presence on you wedding day as you recite your vows and promises to each other as you join your lives together.

With a calling and passion for what I do, I welcome the opportunity of getting to know you, to assisting you in creating your customized ceremony, to participating in one of life’s time honored traditions and to sharing in your joyous celebration whether it be marriage, commitment ceremony or vow renewal.

For me, the wedding ceremony is all about celebrating your relationship! I tell my couples that there is a reason that they are getting married in front of family and friends, instead of just taking care of the legalities at the County Clerk’s office. You want to celebrate your relationship in front of the people who matter most to you. And that’s exactly what we will do together! With a fun, personal, meaningful, and non-traditional ceremony that fits you and your relationship, truly celebrating who you are together.

Whether you are non-religious, spiritual, inter-faith, a touch religious (or need a touch or a slight feel to satisfy a family member), or somewhere in between – and no matter what else it is that makes you who you are together – I am committed to creating a personalized wedding that incorporates your beliefs and values, celebrates who you are as a couple, and includes components and traditions that represent you best.

I want to be part of your special day. As a priest, wedding officiant and celebrant, I will design, create, and perform a unique ceremony just for you, as it will be about you. Your ceremony can be simple, traditional, contemporary, or as elaborate and eclectic as you desire. Regardless of the style, it will be perfect for you. I believe your ceremony should be a personal reflection of your current relationship and of your future years together.

The process begins with an in-person meeting (or via Skype or FaceTime if you are not based in the Hudson Valley) to see if we are a good fit for each other. We will discuss what is important to you, what you want and don’t want from your ceremony, and then we’ll talk about my process and how I work, including talking about some other ideas you may not have heard about. Then, we will design a ceremony that truly reflects who you are, and your wishes for your ceremony – and that truly celebrates you in the way you deserve to be celebrated.

I promise to then present your ceremony, professionally and with caring, that will bring you and your guests tears of joy and plenty of smiles.
  • LGBTQ+-owned
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What are Rev. Jim Rooney's coordination packages and rates?

Does starting price include the ceremony rehearsal?

No

What is the starting price for ceremony rehearsals?

$350

What types of weddings and events do you provide services for?

Non-religious
Interfaith
Ceremony Rehearsal
Vow Renewal
Civil Union

What services do you provide?

Premarital Counseling

What religious affiliations do you serve?

Agnostic
Anglican
Baha'i Faith
Baptist
Buddhist
Catholic
Earth-Based
Episcopalian
Evangelical
Hindu
Islam
Jainism
Jewish
Lutheran
Methodist
Mormon
No Denomination
Orthodox Christian
Pagan
Presbyterian
Quaker
Shinto
Sikhism
Taoist
Unitarian

On average, how long are wedding ceremonies you officiate?

Less than 30 mins.

In which states are you licensed?

AL
AK
AZ
AR
CA
CO
CT
DE
DC
FL
GA
HI
ID
IL
IN
IA
KS
KY
LA
ME
MD
MA
MI
MN
MS
MO
MT
NE
NV
NH
NJ
NM
NY
NC
ND
OH
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SD
TN
TX
UT
VT
VA
WA
WV
WI
WY

What languages do you speak?

English

What are real couples saying about their experience with Rev. Jim Rooney in reviews?

This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Review summary

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The officiant crafted deeply personal, warm ceremonies by learning each couple’s story and collaborating on readings and rituals. He was responsive, flexible, and calm under last‑minute changes, accommodating interfaith and nontraditional requests. Interactive touches like mingling and ring‑passing delighted guests, who often called it the best ceremony they'd attended.

Review summary

Powered by AI
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

The officiant crafted deeply personal, warm ceremonies by learning each couple’s story and collaborating on readings and rituals. He was responsive, flexible, and calm under last‑minute changes, accommodating interfaith and nontraditional requests. Interactive touches like mingling and ring‑passing delighted guests, who often called it the best ceremony they'd attended.

Stephanie
Stephanie Sent on 10/30/2026
5 out of 5 rating

A Beautiful and Personal Ceremony

We couldn’t be happier that we chose Father Rooney to officiate our wedding! From the very beginning, he was an absolute pleasure to work with. He was incredibly responsive and made the entire process feel easy and enjoyable.

We had the opportunity to visit Father Rooney at his beautiful home in Beacon before the wedding, which was such a nice experience and gave us the chance to get to know each other better. He was genuinely interested in learning about us as a couple and what we wanted our ceremony to feel like. He was also incredibly receptive to our ideas, including incorporating a Led Zeppelin song as a reading :)

The ceremony itself was absolutely beautiful. Father Rooney put so much time and thought into making it personal and meaningful to us while incorporating the Catholic traditions that were important to us. He struck the perfect balance between heartfelt moments and lighthearted humor, and so many of our guests commented on how well he seemed to know us based on the personal details he included. We especially loved the moment when he invited all of our guests, including the groomsmen, to hold hands during the ceremony. It was such a sweet and unexpected touch that made everyone feel included and brought a little laughter to the moment.

We are so grateful to Father Rooney for making our ceremony such a special and memorable part of our wedding day. We would recommend him without hesitation to any couple looking for someone who will go above and beyond to create a truly personal ceremony!
Juliette
Juliette Sent on 10/25/2026
5 out of 5 rating

A truly beautiful ceremony

We cannot recommend Father Jim Rooney enough! He was so easy to work with from start to finish and played such a special role in making our wedding ceremony everything we hoped it would be.

We chose to get married on-site at Saratoga National Golf Club. Since we weren’t parishioners at a local church, we were referred to Father Jim, and we are so grateful we found him!

From the beginning, Father Jim took the time to get to know us as a couple, learn our story, and understand what was important to us. He did an incredible job of making our ceremony feel personal and unique while still incorporating our faith and Catholic values. He wove our story into the ceremony in such a natural, beautiful, and lighthearted way that felt so true to us.

One of the things we appreciated most was how collaborative the entire process was. We truly felt like we were creating our ceremony together. Father Jim provided so many wonderful options for readings and special moments, while also offering guidance on anything we wanted to do differently and how it would all flow together. He made the entire process feel easy and enjoyable.

One of our favorite parts of the ceremony came from a suggestion Father Jim made that we had never heard of before. He invited our guests to take a moment during the reception to touch our wedding bands and make a wish for us. We loved this idea, and it ended up being one of the most meaningful parts of our wedding day. Throughout the entire night, guests kept coming up to touch our rings and share their wishes for our marriage. It was such a beautiful, unexpected moment that resonated with both us and our guests, and it is something we will always remember.

Our ceremony was simply beautiful, and we received so many compliments from guests, including several who told us it was the best wedding ceremony they had ever attended. We are so grateful Father Jim was the one who married us and helped make the beginning of our marriage so meaningful.

If you are looking for someone who will take the time to get to know you, honor your faith, and create a ceremony that feels truly personal to your relationship, we wholeheartedly recommend Father Jim!
Robert
Robert Sent on 10/21/2026
5 out of 5 rating

Rob and Janelles Wedding

Jim did such a great job at our wedding! His program was beautiful and all of our guests loved it. He met with us multiple times before hand to create the exact ceremony we wanted. I would highly recommend having him at your wedding!
Blake
Blake Sent on 10/20/2026
5 out of 5 rating

So special to have Rev Jim at our wedding!

Rev Jim Rooney made the wedding so special. He spent the time during months leading up to ensure he fully understood our relationship and love. He asked us questions in detail and spent time on facetime chatting with us about it. During the ceremony, he really found a way to remind everyone of the love that we were there gathered to celebrate, while also bringing some laughs and a lot of connection. My favorite part of the wedding was Rev Jim's idea of allowing people to mingle during the ceremony It was the most special experience! Thank you so much for your blessing and love!
J
John Sent on 10/26/2025
5 out of 5 rating

A Personal Ceremony We’ll Always Remember

We're so glad we found Father Rooney to perform our wedding ceremony! We don't have any spiritual traditions and didn't have much of a vision for how our ceremony should proceed. Jim helped us with all of that.

He made the ceremony highly interactive, asking us questions and even letting the family chime in here and there. Rather than giving a lengthy homily or speech, he really put the focus on us, allowing us to express our love story on our day.

He’s an incredibly warm spirit and within minutes of meeting him, I'm sure you'll see why he's such a popular choice for weddings around the Hudson Valley. He helped make a day that usually goes by in a blur truly memorable. I hope he can do the same for you! Highly recommended!
A
April Sent on 10/24/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Such a special day!

My husband and I were originally going to have our ceremony at Little Stony Point but a family member had a medical emergency which prevented them from making the hike. Jim kindly offered for us to have our intimate ceremony at his B&B last minute, which meant the world to us, as we were trying to figure out what to do.

Jim was responsive and communicative the entire time we worked with him. He made the ceremony fun, meaningful and unique to us. which we will look fondly on for years to come. Other wedding ceremonies I’ve been to have been much more cookie cutter. If you are having a Hudson Valley wedding, you will not regret choosing Reverend Jim Rooney for your ceremony!
A
Alison Sent on 10/24/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Best day, best officiant EVER ❤️

By FAR the best part of my wedding day was Rev Jim. Our ceremony was so personal, you would have thought he had known us our entire lives. The process leading up to our wedding was easy and enjoyable. It was important to me to have a ceremony that included aspects of faith but wasn’t too traditional and he was absolutely perfect. He was kind and considerate when navigating family dynamics. He was supportive and SO helpful to us as a couple during what can be such a stressful time. Everyone at our wedding still talks about how great our ceremony was and I would not have changed a thing. We loved working with him and I would recommend him a million times over! Genuinely there are a million things that go wrong on your wedding day, but he will not disappoint!
L
Lisa Sent on 08/17/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Simply the best!

Jim is a superb officiant and a warm and lovely person. He made our wedding just perfect. On extremely short notice he created a personal, beautiful ceremony full of emotion, humor, and grace. He incorporated our story and our families and created a wonderful day for us. I couldn't recommend him highly enough!
T
Theo Sent on 08/17/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Wonderful experience!

We were married at the Beacon Hermitage with a small party, Jim was well prepared, and conducted the ceremony with elegance, dignity and humor.
The grounds are quite lovely, and the day was a great success.
I would 100% recommend reverent Jim Rooney for your wedding needs.
Theo de Haas.
O
Olivia Sent on 06/19/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Couldn’t have asked for a better officiant!

Jim was a true gift to our wedding experience. We reached out to him last-minute, and despite our disorganized schedule and less-than-timely responses, he remained incredibly patient, flexible, and kind.

We didn’t finalize our ceremony until the morning before the wedding, and even then, Jim worked with us to ensure that it felt intentional, personal, and meaningful. He reminded us of what the day was really about - which was so grounding when everything else felt chaotic.

The day of, things were delayed, plans changed on a dime, and the ceremony location had to be moved last-minute due to weather. Jim adapted with warmth and humor, even incorporating the weather into the moment in a funny and thoughtful way. He brought a quiet steadiness and genuine spirit to the whole experience - and the mingling moment was great (trust Jim!)! We are both Catholic and had been dealing with push-back from family for not getting married in the church, but everyone absolutely loved the ceremony.

Jim was a grounding presence, and a joy to work with and to know. We feel incredibly lucky to have had him marry us.

Also, if you have the chance to visit the Beacon Hermitage, definitely do it! It’s a beautiful and peaceful space, and it was such a gift to sit down and talk with Jim there.
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What awards has Rev. Jim Rooney won?

277
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2026 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2025 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2024 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2023 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2022 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2021 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2020 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2019 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2017 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2015 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2014 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2013 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2012 Winner

Do wedding professionals recommend Rev. Jim Rooney? Which ones?

2 Endorsements
Caitlinn Mahar-Daniels Caitlinn Mahar-Daniels Wedding Photographers

Work with Rev Jim Rooney is always such an honor. Witnessing and documenting his ceremonies are already a reminder of why we do what we do. He emphasizes the magnitude of what a wedding day means on the day and for the rest of their lives. We always learn about the couples he is marrying through his ceremony, and everyone feels the impact of the words and story.

Ceremonies by Fr. Noel Clarke Ceremonies by Fr. Noel Clarke Wedding Officiants

I recommend Fr Jim as your officiant. Professional care at it's best!

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Where is Rev. Jim Rooney based?

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