Deborah has been a high school Physics and Astronomy teacher at Friends’ Central School since 2002, fostering understanding of the Universe and building meaningful relationships with her students. After officiating weddings for a few former students, she recognized the connections between teaching, the magic of the Cosmos, and officiating weddings and has been hooked ever since!
Deborah believes that there is something deeply spiritual in witnessing that moment when two partners gaze into the eyes of their beloved and say, “I do!” To play a part in facilitating these unions gives her great joy. She delights in crafting custom ceremonies that invite a couple and their loved ones to feel the warmth of two hearts connecting. As a lay leader in her Methodist Church, she has an appreciation for the beauty of ritual and ceremony for life’s ordinary and significant moments.
After graduating from Swarthmore College with a degree in Astrophysics, Deborah pursued graduate studies at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawai’i, focusing her research on colliding galaxies in clusters. While working on her PhD, she took the position of observatory supervisor at Williams College in Massachusetts (giving herself a very long commute!) and discovered a passion for teaching. Deborah also supervised the observatories at the University of Pennsylvania for six years, running a vibrant public outreach program and enjoying sharing the wonders of the night sky with people of all ages.
You are about as likely to find Deborah curled up with a cup of coffee and her cats watching romantic Hallmark movies or Moulin Rouge as you are to find her officiating a wedding, behind a telescope, or traveling the world chasing eclipses! Deborah has journeyed to Alaska looking for auroras, to Paraguay for mission work and to places like Iceland and Costa Rica leading student groups.
Deborah always sees the proverbial glass as half-full and looks for light and love in all. She is delighted to meet you, hear your love story, and work together to create an unforgettable wedding ceremony experience!
Dear Deb,
Thank you for devoting your energy, excitement, enthusiasm, and love to our wedding. We are supremely grateful that you offered to officiate. There is nobody we could have had do this who would have had as meaningful a place in the day as you. It is amazing how the universe can bring us lifelong friends and how a friend’s role in your life can grow and evolve to become even more special over the years. We are honored to have you in this meaningful role and appreciate your coming all this way.
Love,
