Connect
To Top

Meet Ann Kurtzman

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Kurtzman.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ann. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Miami, the eldest of three children of a widowed mom. From Coral Way Elementary to Miami Senior High, the wonderful melting pot of cultures that is Miami molded and shaped me with a deep appreciation of our diversity. I loved the novellas my girlfriends watched and my mother’s fondness of “old movies” ignited the flame of a hopelessly romantic heart. The Beatles had brought meditation to the forefront of my consciousness and fanned a flame of interest in both meditation and psychology.

When I was 14, I was offered a summer job working for the first female children’s dentist in Miami. When I graduated from Miami High in 1971, “The Family” decreed that there would be no college for me because there were funds for one child to attend and it was “more important for a boy to go,” and I had a younger brother. So I married my high school sweetheart and stayed in the dental field for many years….more years that the marriage lasted. I did find my way to college, attending Miami Dade College, discovering that I had an aptitude in computer desktop publishing and graduating with honors and distinction in psychology.

Over the years, my career took a number of turns. For a very short time, I designed dish gardens for a commercial supplier, was a receptionist at a very cool place called MindWorld (that was blown away by Hurricane Andrew I heard), worked for Kelly Services as a temp, Miami Cerebral Palsy as Office Manager and at a Jewish Community Center in Activities and teaching Ceramics. My continued interest in the human mind led me to become certified in Advanced Hypnotherapy and Neuro Linguistic Psychology. My spiritual path led me to become ordained.

Weddings with Serenity truly began when my beloved and I were to be married in 1984, although at the time, it was the furthest thing from my mind. A friend, Malcolm Fromberg, who was mayor of Miami Beach at the time, was to officiate the ceremony. We were to provide him with the ceremony. So we scoured the library (yes, I actually had to go to the library), and the bookstore and my romantic heart typed and clipped and pasted to create something that we felt was representative of “who we are,” our values and hopes and dreams for the future. Hearing Malcolm read “our words” was a very moving experience. Many of our friends and family were moved as well and some asked us to help them write their ceremony. Then my husband, (who was a Notary) was asked to officiate for a friend’s father and his new bride. So, for a time, my romantic heart and I would write the ceremony and my husband would officiate, mostly for family and friends. Then a friend insisted that they wanted me to officiate for their son’s small backyard wedding and I was changed forever. The joy of creating and officiating this momentous moment in someone’s life is THE BEST FEELING EVER!

For a time, weddings were a joyous sideline for me. I’d not thought of making it a career of it. Then, the economy tanked, and the State Legislature changed the laws governing hypnosis. I was speaking to a friend, wondering what direction my life should go and without missing a beat, she said, “Why don’t you put all your energy into weddings? You love that more than anything!” Truthfully, I’d never considered it before. But she was right. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Has it been a smooth road?
Life’s road isn’t always smooth. My mother had an abusive alcoholic boyfriend who scarred our childhood. I can say that now that both he and my mother have passed. I suffered from depression for many years and I’m blessed that it is no longer a controlling factor in my life. For many years I was absolutely paralyzed by shyness. I find it mind boggling that the same person who nearly didn’t graduate High School because I could not get up in front of my Government Class and speak now essentially speaks in from of people for a fee.

As an older woman looking back, I see the obstacles or challenges as guidance. Each experience has added to my skill set and better equipped me for the next phase of development. My childhood taught me many things, but the most important lessons were kindness, compassion, acceptance and forgiveness. And that’s when I began to write to process my angst. Being able to express emotion on paper is vital in writing ceremonies. Compassion served me well in my years of dentistry, at Miami Cerebral Palsy, and at the senior center. I think we could all do with a little more kindness and compassion.

Please tell us about your work.
At Weddings with Serenity, I specialize in creatively crafting custom ceremonies that reflect who each couple is, their values, and their hopes and dreams for the future. I expertly blend traditions so that both sides of the family are represented, and the grandparents and parents are happy. And I’ve even created some ceremonies tailor made for my couples. For example, one couple wanted to exchange sneakers instead of rings! Life has taught me to roll with the punches and maintain flexibility and a good sense of humor.

I think that what most of my couples say about me is that I’m very calming. Most of us aren’t brought up knowing how to plan a wedding or write a wedding ceremony. I take the time to get to know my couples, to really listen to them to find out what is important to them. I think that’s what set me apart. I’m not ruffled by last minute changes because “life happens!”

I think I’m most proud of the amazing reviews I’ve received from my clients, winning the Couples Choice Award on WeddingWire every year since 2014. I keep in touch with many of my couples and delight in their triumphs and support them when they walk through difficulties.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the diversity of Miami. From our architecture to our foods, we are a fabulous melting pot of color and flavor. I grew up being welcomed into many diversely cultural homes. I sample not only foods but cultures. And I savored each. The matzo ball soup, cheese grits, tropical jaboticaba ice cream and lechon asado all part of the amazing delights of Miami. What I like least of Miami. Rush hour traffic. Yup, definitely rush hour traffic.

Pricing:

  • Sunrise Ceremony – $500 The amazing majesty of the sun rising from our subtropical ocean creates the perfect inspirational backdrop for your Sunrise Wedding.*+travel @ $1.00 per mile to your location
  • The Shipboard Ceremony – $800.00 This is a full-length wedding ceremony held on your venue boat, ship, or cruise.*+travel @ $1.00 per mile to your location
  • Micro Wedding – $500 This is a full-length wedding ceremony package with 6 hours of consultation/research/editing, 1 Additional Ceremony Element, Keepsake Certificate, PA System, Wireless Microphones and Bluetooth mp3 streaming.*+travel @ $1.00 per mile to your location
  • Hotel/ Party Venue Ceremony – $700 This is a completely custom creatively written full-length wedding ceremony package including a Rehearsal, Unity Candle Lighting and Keepsake Certificate.*+travel @ $1.00 per mile to your location
  • The Romantic Elopement – $400.00 This is a lovely, personalized ceremony, with a mini-reception for two (or up to six guests) *+travel @ $1.00 per mile to your location
  • G’it ‘Er Done – $150.00 This is a simple, touching and tasteful ceremony for you, your beloved and up to 4 guests. Available at my location only•
  • Elopement with 5-8 Guests – $250 This is a simple, heart touching and memorable ceremony, for the couple to be wed with from 5-8 guests.*+travel @ $1.00 per mile to your location
  • Custom Elopement with 5-8 Guests – $300 This is a unique, heart touching and memorable ceremony, for the couple to be wed with from 5-8 guests.*+travel @ $1.00 per mile to your location

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
If the photo looks amazing it was LeoPhotographer.com that took them.

Suggest a story: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in