I am a minister in the liberal religious tradition ~ dedicated to the free and conscious search for truth. Bring your own beliefs and values with you and I will weave them into your ceremony. I work with every couple to create, from the depths of your own hearts and minds, the perfect ceremony that expresses your core values and your highest aspirations. Only with this kind of depth preparation will your ceremony truly become the lasting fountain of inspiration for you and your guests that it is meant to be.

My gradute degrees from the University of Chicago Divinity School and the Unitarian seminary have prepared me to work with rigorous intellectual and spiritual honesty to do justice to this profoundly important event in your life. For many years I have explored the role of ritual, symbol and story in human communities. My long association with mythologist Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth, Follow Your Bliss, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, etc.) has alerted me to the need for RITUAL ELDERS who understand how to help individuals move through the great stages of life. While it may be possible for anyone to become a mail-order minister, it takes training and experience to recognize the deep lineaments of metaphor and the truths they hold for the soul.

My specialties are in interfaith, humanistic, ethnic, Celtic and "eco" weddings. Many of the ceremonies I do are out in Nature and I love to accommodate the special needs for that kind of ceremony. I also offer special wedding packages if you are eloping, renewing vows, creating a public ceremony after being legally married, looking for a co-officiant, marrying after divorce, wanting to include your children in the ceremony, marrying in an unusual location, coming from abroad to be married in the U.S., and all sorts of other special circumstances.

Rev. Dr. Rebecca Armstrong - BIO

I am an ordained Humanist Minister with the Humanist Society of Friends and have officiated over six hundred weddings since 1992. I have graduate degrees from the University of Chicago Divinity School and Meadville-Lombard, the Unitarian-Universalist seminary. In 2004 I received my doctorate from Chicago Theological Seminary. A professional musician and mythologist, I worked for twelve years as OutReach Director with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, leading seminars around the world on the importance of myth and ritual in contemporary life. I am the co-founder of Friends of Compassion - an interfaith service ministry - and co-led a pilgrimage to India where our group met with the Dalai Lama (see photo on website) and initiated service projects among the Tibetan refugees and the Saddun Women's Collective. As a minister, I have been a guest preacher, educator and workshop leader in churches around the country and abroad. My work has received wide attention in the media and I have been published in magazines, journals and books. I am a certified mediator and offer sessions in conflict resolution for individuals and couples.

I meet with couples in my downtown Chicago office on weekday evenings and weekends, and from my home in northwest Indiana. You are invited to set-up a free half hour meeting to determine if you would like to work with me for your ceremony or for counseling.

Among other cities, Ceremonies from The Heart may serve the following areas: Chicago, Rockford, Schaumburg, Aurora, Hoffman Estates, Carol Stream, Oak Lawn, Palatine, Naperville, Evanston, Bedford Park, Joliet, Oak Brook, Melrose Park, Oak Park, Lincolnwood, Loves Park, Hinsdale, Harwood Heights, Des Plaines, Elgin, Crystal Lake, Downers Grove, Barrington Hills, Beach Park, Bensenville, Bolingbrook, Arlington Heights, Fox Valley, Green Oaks