For a personalized wedding ceremony that connects your guests to you and your love story, Reverend Karen Schaefer of With This Ring creates timeless moments. A union is more than just signatures on a piece of paper. This ordained minister and wedding officiant performs weddings and vow renewals that are a reflection of each couple’s unique beliefs and traditions, whether the ceremony is traditional, religious, non-denominational, interfaith, same sex, transgender. Equal parts professional and personable, she’s overseen countless unions at every possible indoor or outdoor venue in Northeast Ohio, for couples in their 20s to 70s. She gets to know the couple with a consultation, getting a feel for their love story from the moment they first met. Together they craft their preferences, goals and visions of the wedding. If a couple wants to write their own vows, she helps makes suggestions, tapping into her many years of experience. She guides a couple through memorizing their vows, repeating them after her, or reading them. Karen orchestrate a ceremony in keeping with the couples’ vision, often recommending additional symbolic touches such as lighting the unity candle, performing a sand ceremony or giving roses to the couple’s mothers. Karen feels that weddings should be embraced not only as two people coming together, but also two families uniting. Sometimes a couple may not be religious, but members of their families are, and would feel honored by a simple bible reading. Karen often begins a ceremony by recognizing a family member who cannot be there or has passed away but is still in their hearts. In addition to the wedding ceremony, she attends the rehearsal dinner and can attend the reception and say the meal blessing. Wedding guests often tell people the weddings she officiates are the most beautiful they’ve ever attended. For vow renewals, she finds that children are often a part of the celebration, too, so she offers meaningful suggestions to make them feel engaged. Always a faithful person, Karen chose to become ordained with a ministerial license in 2008 for her own spiritual growth. Then once she performed a few weddings, word got out and the number of weddings she’s overseen has grown each year since. She’s proud to have officiated at both of her son’s weddings. Call With This Ring for a once-in-a-lifetime experience for your special day.