May 8, 2017

Meet Elly Jackson of Boston Ceremonies in Brighton

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elly Jackson.

Elly, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was living in upstate New York, and in late December 2003, I was listening to an interview on WNYC out of New York City, where a woman was describing her international foundation called the Celebrant Institute. It had been alive and thriving in Australia and she and her partner brought the training and licensing to the US in 2002.

They provided a way to celebrate life cycle changes for people who did not want or need religious based ceremony, but who still sought something artistic, uplifting and spiritual. They trained interested parties through their coursework, in person and online, to understand ritual and to perform ritual in a unique way that had a deep appeal to many, especially to those who might feel lost if they were marginalized (gay commitment ceremonies at the time) or at a disadvantage when planning a funeral for someone who was not religious, or a baby blessing for a newborn child of non-religiously affiliated parents.

I knew this was my calling and began training in person within a few weeks. I drove 210 miles round trip from Woodstock NY to Montclair NJ every week for the next six months. I was subsequently ordained in June of 2004, a necessity by law in most US states to be able to perform marriages legally.

I moved to Boston in March 2005 and performed my first wedding in June of that year on a small beach near Hopkinton, MA. Now, after twelve years, I have composed and conducted over 400 ceremonies, most of which are weddings, but also including baby blessings, vow renewals, funerals and memorials.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There were many early struggles. It was much harder than I had anticipated. I learned through the Celebrant Foundation some of what I had to do for marketing, but tried a variety of methods that did not seem to give the best results, like going to bridal shows, or advertising in bridal magazines.

But in August 2008, a free-lance writer called me from out of the blue, interviewed me extensively and sent me down to a magazine photographer, and I was the featured wedding officiant in the Spring 2009 issue of Boston Magazine.

And almost simultaneously I had married a couple in September 2008, and the bride was a professional in social media networking. She introduced me to yelp by giving me a spectacular endorsement, and Yelp became a big boost for my business.

By January 2009 my business tripled. I had been at a low point financially during 2008 for reasons not directly connected to the ceremony business, but I was considering leaving the business in 2008 to focus on a better way to increase my income. I was not doing ceremonies full-time and my overhead needs required a primary full-time job. The primary job was very satisfying, but not providing enough income to cover my expenses.

The new business increase convinced me to stay with it. I had been with the Knot since 2004 and never dropped them, so I had help there. My husband ran Google ad words for me and the Yelp referrals kept coming in my favor. My 6 year average was consistently high (2010 to 2016).

However, I hit another downturn in 2016, falling off by ten ceremonies that year. But at that point I was weighing the balance of working so much against the free time to enjoy family and to be able to travel for pleasure once in awhile. This is still true. Nevertheless, the drop-off in my business still needed to be examined. There are always trends in the wedding industry and one of the newest for wedding officiants is in the DIY realm. Although there have always been one day certificate authorized friends to perform weddings, these choices are somewhat more common in the past two years. That said, I have more requests now for vow renewal, baby blessings and funerals than I had back in 2010 and 2011.

So the income issue is a challenge, but it is weighed against the freedom I have in doing ceremonies more flexible and open to other choices in my life. We have one life and it is not all about work.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Boston Ceremonies story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a Celebrant, meaning I create and conduct ceremonies for a wide variety of people who seek a way to lift up moments or events in their lives through the life cycle as we know it. We are born, we come of age, we marry, we renew our vows, we divorce (yes and it is sometimes celebrated), we start a new job, we leave a job or retire, we move into a new home or community, we face our death and we have those who love us honor our lives when we are laid to rest.

The life cycle is faster than we notice, so celebrations that are carefully custom- designed mark special events for us to create meaning through reflection and to honor events and people who matter to us. We express our hopes for the future in ways to escape platitudes and Hallmark cards. We have people in our lives noticed and appreciated. We create memories that will never escape us because we made the effort. We make our lives relevant and meaningful by visible, tangible participation.

What I am known for is my insightful writing and comedic presentation, my careful representation of the people I serve. I gather information, stories, anecdotes, as much as possible within a specified time frame (overnight with a funeral, and over months with a wedding, baby blessing or a memorial) and pull together everything to make the story unique to the people who hire me and interesting and entertaining to all who will hear that story.

My greatest pride is allowing myself to stick with this and reinvent myself when I needed to, and to crafting better writing and presentations over the years. I cannot say anything but the obvious about what sets me apart, other than the word of mouth, the good reviews and the kindness of those I am so proud to serve. It is a very personal business, since this kind of work is so intimate and calls for holding nothing back in delivering the very best of who people are through the written and spoken word.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck is HUGE. My life is an endless stream of incredible luck. Just moving to Boston in 2005 became an opportunity for independent wage-earning. Working in two arenas both so appropriate to my passions has been deeply enriching.

Who knew Terry Terspicio would call me in August 2008 for the interview for Boston Magazine? And she called when I was at a very low point in my financial footing.

Who knew Shannon Sweetser would plant that terrific Yelp review in September 2008 and that Shannon herself had a big following already that brought in so much notice?

Who knew that my primary full-time job would offer an 18% salary increase in 2016 that would allow me to view my celebrant business with a more relaxed attitude that would invite me to have a life where it is not just working almost all the time?

Yes, hard work, patience and luck are always a factor.

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