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To have passion for something that you have been called to do is a gift given and when acted upon, serves everyone.
Patti came into my life over 30 years ago, and throughout this time I have seen her passion for celebrant work develop and grow into the exacting, professional, seamless and compassionate service she offers to all. Through her endless dedication to study she has honed her craft well. I have experienced her work with weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies and have seen the smiles and heard the appreciation from the people she has worked so respectfully with.
I have attended and thoroughly enjoyed classes she has given to facilitate aging well, and taken the time to join her in group meditative walks on her serene Labyrinth in the Pines.
Last October , I lost my only brother to suicide. Shock hits you and leaves you paralyzed. My family reached out to Patti and in her embrace we experienced a most meaningful memorial, facilitated with great sensitivity and all in times of heavy Covid-19 restrictions. Her work with grief counselling was apparent and appreciated.
When planning a life celebration or reaching out for some life learning ,I would not hesitate to recommend turning to Patti. There is nothing more satisfying than a good choice made. Lorraine H. 2021
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Patti is an extraordinarily compassionate person. She is familiar with multiple spiritual practices and understands the importance of ritual to help heal and create connection. She is creative and uses that gift to especially enhance this aspect of her work. She listens with her whole heart, putting all at ease with her openness and warmth, and uses what she gathers to create meaningful ceremony. Trish W. 2021
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Our family has had the honour of having Patti act as The Celebrant on several occasions. Patti has performed Weddings, Funerals and a Child Naming Ceremony for us.
You will never find a more professional, genuine, warm-hearted, loving, caring and compassionate woman. During some of the saddest and some of the happiest occasions in my family, Patti delivered her services.
Patti knew exactly when support was needed. One occasion stands out: When a family member was unable to continue on with her tribute to a loved one during a funeral, Patti very graciously stepped in and seamlessly finished the tribute
In our family opinion, it takes a very special person to perform the Celebrant ceremonies Patti provides. Patti has answered a calling and we cannot say enough good things about her.
Our recommendation for Patti comes in the highest degree !!!! Paul and Ele B. 2021
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Over the years, we have had the pleasure of having Patti create the most wonderful ceremonies! She brings unique and personal ideas, and is always open to change and review. She officiated my mothers funeral, our daughters wedding, our renewal of vows, and our grand daughters unique and special Baby Naming ceremony. Many other family ceremonies were heartfelt and much appreciated. Patti can bring any of life’s milestones to new heights , always with compassion, humour and her own special touches. We have recommended her on many occasions and continue to do so. She’s the BEST! Nancy Mc 2021
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Who will you get as your officiant? If you choose Patti you will have someone....
Genuine and truly loves this work.
Empathic and has a 6th sense about what is needed for whatever the celebration is.
Gentle and caring about what this means to those involved.
Hard working. Will not quit till its just right.
Accepting of all different kinds of celebration requested, including non-traditional.
Inclusive with any people or ideas that are important for the celebration.
Humourous….where it fits, or when something goes awry.
Respectful of all of humanity. Sue F August 2021
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Patti has a passion for helping people in many aspects of their lives including officiating at weddings, funerals, baby naming etc.
Our family was truly blessed to have Patti officiate at my uncle’s memorial service truly making it a memorial event. Myrna Aug 2021
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Patti is a good listener, encouraging each person, so they feel comfortable and able to voice their ideas/concerns. She is aware of each person’s dignity, showing empathy and kindness while doing her best to serve and enhance each person’s ceremony, whichever celebration.
Patti is competent and organized, balanced with a sense of humour and joy in life. Marlene P. July 2021
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We reached out to Patti, with very short notice to officiate our wedding in October. She was very quick to reply to us and set up a meet and greet, to discuss what we were looking for etc. in such a short period of time, Patti was able to put together a very personal and meaningful ceremony for our special day. Not only did she write our ceremony and vows, she also opened up her property and allowed us to get married there, with a beautiful natural fall setting. She was more then helpful and so welcoming and also did a great job keeping our younger guests and myself warm on this cold fall day, by providing us with blankets
I would also like to add, that she was very respectful with Covid protocols and wanted to ensure everyone was kept safe on this day. Thank you so much Patti for making our day so memorable. Cathy & Michael Oct. 24/20
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Michael and I were married October 2020 during covid. Like many other couples our plans changed a few times. Patti adapted with us as we changed venues, scaled down in numbers but enhanced our ceremony as it became more involved with speeches and other additional aspects that would traditionally be saved for the reception. She really made the ceremony ours. We had no idea where to start with planning a ceremony, but with her guidance it became better than we could have imagined. She is very well organized. Thank you Patti for ensuring our day ran smoothly and that everyone was safe. We would certainly recommend Patti.
Michael & Melanie, Oct. 3, 2020
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"My partner and I were married on September 12th 2020, and we chose to use Patti as our officiant.
We initially had some trouble finding an officiant, and didn't really have a clear idea of the kind of ceremony that we wanted, but once Patti was recommended to us, our problems were solved! We liked her instantly, and were able to work with her to determine exactly the sort of things that we wanted (and importantly, didn't want) in our wedding ceremony. She was able to provide a lot of useful input based on her experience as an officiant, and was also able to help us tackle the paperwork process. Despite the pandemic, our wedding was able to go off flawlessly- Patti was very respectful of COVID-19 safety protocols, and her management of the ceremony put us all at ease. Based on our experiences, we would definitely recommend Patti and Thresholds of Life! " Currie & Dan Sep 12/20
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We are so happy to have had Patti officiate our wedding! From the first meeting, we could tell that she has a passion for her work. She was so kind, friendly, and organized throughout the process. When our plans changed due to the pandemic, Patti was very flexible and wrote a beautiful ceremony that reflected us and matched our smaller wedding. We received many comments from our guests about how pleased they were with Patti and how they enjoyed listening to the ceremony. We would absolutely recommend Patti to anyone!
Kaylyn & Dan Aug 30/20
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"We feel so lucky that Patti was referred to us! She was the officiant for our daughter's wedding and then sadly we called upon her shortly after for my Mother's Celebration of Life. We received countless compliments for both ceremonies. She is organized, reliable, calm, understanding and was simply a pleasure to work with. A few people said 'I could listen to her speak all day!' and we, as a family, all agree! Our daughter and her husband wanted a non-religious ceremony that helped to tell their story - they met with her and were immediately comfortable and knew they made the right choice. Prior to my mother's passing I suggested Patti for her service, she was so pleased when Patti confirmed she would be happy to do it for us.This was very comforting to her in her last days with us. Thank you again Patti, for everything!" Amy F. Dec. 2019
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"We are so happy to have found Patti! From the very first meeting, and through the subsequent few months, she took the time to get to know who we are and built a ceremony that truly reflected and stayed true to us. There were tears and laughter as she told our story to our guests. Our friends are still telling us how much they loved the ceremony, and how personal and genuine it was. She truly helped us have our perfect day. We would recommend Patti without hesitation, and will be calling her for any other celebrations in the future!"
Emily & Wade, October 20/19
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"Patti was both the officiant for our wedding in July 2016 (an absolutely perfect ceremony!) and she also officiated our baby's Blessing Ceremony in July 2018. My husband, Julien, and I couldn't be more thrilled with Patti's work. Both ceremonies were completely unique, tailored to our interests and represented exactly what we had envisioned. She has a wonderful way of personalizing each ceremony as well as making us and our guests feel loved and part of a truly special day. Thank you, Patti, for making our most important events even better than we could have imagined! Hilary & Julien July 2018
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"Patti provides quality personalized service. By the time we arrived at our wedding date, it felt like she was more than our officiant but our friend. She is professional, friendly, helpful and very willing to support you in getting supplies, or anything else you may need. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to make your event personal, meaningful and filled with kindness." Leah and Al July 1, 2018
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"Patti was no less then amazing! Neither of us are overly religious and we wanted our ceremony to be lighthearted and fun and she did just that. She gave us exactly what we wanted when we really just gave her a few ideas. The ceremony was basically our story, Patti has some excellent ideas up her sleeve and does a great job at making your ceremony personalized. We had many compliments on how well it went and that it was the best ceremony that many people had ever been too! We wouldn't change anything even if we could." Caylie and Alex, August 2017
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"Patti had a very natural way of making my husband and I feel at ease through the entire process. She took the time to get to know us and our history together. Once she had an idea of our story, she confidently lead us through the creation of our ceremony; one that was truly unique to us and our love for one another. We can't thank you enough." Matt & Jenna, January 2016 NEXT Restaurant, Stittsville
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"Everyone said you were the best officiant they had seen! You did a great job." Meghan Birchfield Frei, July 2015, Museum of Nature
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Patti was very accommodating in helping us create a unique and personal wedding ceremony, she was open to many of our ideas and constant changes. I even made changes to the script the morning of the wedding, which wasn't a problem at all!
Patti is very thorough, and makes sure she gets to know the bride and groom as much as she can, which makes the ceremony extremely personal and genuine.
Many of our guests commented that our wedding ceremony was one of the most sincere, genuine and beautiful ceremonies they had ever attended! Michala Johnston & Jonathan Van der Ploeg, June 2015, Renfrew
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You made our ceremony so incredibly special and we can't thank you enough. We have gotten so many wonderful comments on how personal and lovely it was!! Natasha & Wes, Canoe Club, Carleton Place, June 2015
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"Patti performed our customized wedding ceremony this past October (2014) at Billings Estate Historical Site. From the initial meeting in the spring, right through to after the ceremony, Patti's kind and nurturing nature made the planning of a unique and personal ceremony an amazing experience. Guests remarked that by partaking in our union, they got to know us better - saying it was one of the most intimate ceremonies they have ever attended. Patti took the time to get to know each of us and told our love story as the theme of our ceremony. She helped us pick out readings that meant something to us and worked with us to write our own vows so that we spoke to one another what we were promising as witnessed by our families and friends. Patti's kindness, patience and creativity helped us delve even deeper into our relationship to discover what brought us to one another, and made us appreciate each other even more. As most couples getting married discover, stress levels increase as the wedding day approaches with the final details taking precedence over what we later confirm matters most. Patti worked closely with us to make sure we kept our focus and continued to make suggestions to make the ceremony exactly what we wanted. Thank you for being our guide through this most important step in making our life commitment to one another a moment to celebrate with our loved ones." Marline and Alexander
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"We had the most wonderful experience with Patti as our officiant. Patti worked so closely with us to craft a small and intimate ceremony for our close family. She was extremely patient, kind, creative and open minded and customized our wedding ceremony to our exact wishes. Patti worked hard to make our day so special and we are so grateful for the time, energy and care she put into our wedding. Our day was absolutely perfect and we will cherish the memories forever! We cannot thank Patti enough for making our wedding everything we could imagine and more! " Rebecca & Mike
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"Thank you for touching our lives, where both Ron and I thought we would never step again. You gave us the opportunity to make our marriage ceremony as unique as we are. We were also assured that our plan sustained it's meaning and you approched us with a caring and non-judgemental character. As our Wedding Officiant, you went way beyond what what we ever expected, and helped prepare us for our special day, which was enjoyed by all who attended. We are very grateful that our paths crossed and that we had the pleasure of getting to know you. We will be reccomending you to all of our friends! Best wishes on future weddings," Pauline and Ron
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"Patti Koeslag is a sensitive, gracious and patient individual, ideally suited to facilitation and leading major life events. She truly puts herself at the service of her clients, responding to their needs and preferences, helping them to organize their event with appropriate ideas and resources. She is perfectly suitable for this type of work." Gisèle Morin-Labatut, Ottawa
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"Cousins who were at Mum's Service said what a remarkable service you did for all of us!! They said Mum would have been so pleased and would have enjoyed talking and being with you as are so sincere, thoughtful and considerate and do things so well. We truly appreciated the attention to detail and how well you got to know her after meeting with us..." Richard B.
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"You were wonderful to work with - sensitive, a good listener, a good communicator, prompt, caring and efficient. Several people commented on what a good job you did at the service. We know about the hard work you put in before, during and after the service. Your contribution was warm, professional and highly appropriate...thank you most sincerely..." Bob & Katharine L.
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"[We] were very pleased, and very happy about how our Father's Celebration of Life all came together, and how well it all went. You were wonderful in your role as celebrant, and you were perfect for our family....thank you very much." E. H.
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"...you have always been very attentive and all our family and friends have spoken glowingly about your personality and how well you have acquainted yourself with Patty and what she meant to me and all our family." Carl D.
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"Thank you again for your excellent hosting of my Dad's service. You did a stellar job, and everyone said what an appropriate, accurate, and joyous service it was. If we ever require a celebrant for anything else, we would most certainly call you, and heartily recommend you to others." Julia P.
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Patti was absolutely amazing, she worked closely with us to design and personalize our wedding ceremony. Patti’s delivery of the ceremony was warm, and friendly; we had many guests come up to us afterwards and say it was the best wedding ceremony they have ever been to. We would highly recommend Patti to anyone looking to have a personalized and intimate ceremony. – Dominic & Stephanie, Stonefields, August 2017