Sandra was the perfect officiant for us. It was very comforting to have Sandra officiating on our big day. Her character and attitude definitely put us at ease.
We really appreciated the way Sandra worked with us to customize our ceremony in such a short time. She was open and available to connect at anytime.
We highly recommend Sandra to anyone looking for an officiant. November 20,2021
We began our Bat Mitzvah journey with SandraLaya nearly a year ago, after she was recommended by her colleague as the perfect spiritual leader to help our family bring to life a warm, welcoming and deeply meaningful Bat Mitzvah ceremony for our 12 year old daughter.
SandraLaya is genuinely passionate about Judaism and Jewish education and she is a very caring, inspirational and considerate professional. We were so impressed at how she always provided the right amount of encouragement, support and challenge that allowed our daughter to have the confidence and skills to enjoy and appreciate what she was learning.
This has been an enriching and fulfilling process that has provided our daughter with an important foundation and a lifelong positive connection to the Jewish value of ‘tikkun olam’.
While we’ve already had to postpone and reschedule the Bat Mitzvah twice, due to the pandemic, our family looks forward to enjoying this life celebration with SandraLayas’s guidance and support in the future.Thank you SandraLaya, you’re the best!
The Gordon Family
We had the honour and pleasure of having Sandra Ruch officiate our wedding ceremony and could not have asked for a more delightful person. She was very professional and easy to communicate with leading up to the wedding. She offered a great deal of insight and flexibility with the ceremony, especially since we planned our wedding in a very short amount of time. Her energy radiated and filled the room during the ceremony, and we laughed plenty. We also received a compliment from our photographer that Sandra was great at finding the perfect spots to be in/out of photos, which is a skill I never expected! She surpassed all our expectations and we loved working with her. We would absolutely recommend Sandra for all your officiating needs!
Joanna & Arnold, February 2020
Sandra Ruch was everything, and more we thought she would be. Our ceremony was personable and fun. We had an island theme and she dressed for the part. She had everyone’s attention and several people told us after the ceremony that they even cried, with how beautiful it was. We had a cross section of family and friends at our wedding and EVERY single one of them commented on Sandra’s officiating. Thank you Sandra! With much love….Alice & Melanie February 2020
Sandra Ruch was so friendly and professional. We wanted a Jewish ceremony with some elements added in from our Greek/Egyptian heritage – Sandra helped us blend all these elements elegantly. She provided us with great templates and guided us through creating the ceremony. During the ceremony she was so friendly and spoke with warmth and gravitas. It was a great, easy and a positive experience. Couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Joseph and Julian, December 2019 venue Jam Factory, Toronto
We had the absolute pleasure of Sandra Ruch officiating our wedding ceremony. From the moment we met Sandra it was clear that she truly cared about us and wanted our day to be tremendously special. She spent an evening getting to know us and helped guide us through what turned out to be a very personalized, well executed, and beautiful ceremony. Thank you Sandra for caring so much about us and delivering a beautiful ceremony.
Andrea & Rob
Sandra Ruch was absolutely amazing! She went above and beyond to provide us with a ceremony that my husband and I both loved. She provided with us with many readings and gave us an outline of how the ceremony would go. She was professional, responsive and gave us lots of ideas! Our guests thought the ceremony was beautiful and memorable.Thank you so much Sandra! Kenana & David 09/17/2016
Kenana & David
How did this become our badge of honour? I want to be able to say that I had a great day, a relaxing day, that I am organized and rarely feel overwhelmed. I want to say that there are enough hours in my day. That I have time to make proper meals, time for exercise, time to meet with friends, time to read a book, time to watch a movie, a documentary or a silly sitcom. I want to say it with pride because I actually do. I have been able to create a simple life that most days is balanced and fulfilling.
When I call my Mom (keep in mind that she is 96) and tell her what I have been up to, she says, ‘My you are a busy woman”. I want to explain that yes, I have a full schedule but I am doing things I truly enjoy and I have a life that is very satisfying. I know that she thinks being busy is very important or what I want her to say because that is what society dictates. I know that my mother always ridiculed people who napped so I never tell her about my naps. I love a nap…now that I am older and working much less….a delicious nap might last 2 hours….ok….2.5 hours. Why not? If I nap, I can stay up later and fill the time with one of my projects.
All this doesn’t mean that I don’t get busy, get tired, get stressed but when it does happen, I want to realize that this is not a state of being I admire. I am looking at ways to continue working and by that I mean continue working past the average retirement age. I want to work at things that bring me joy. I want to undercover my passions. I want to share them with others and earn my living doing just that.
I don’t think we need to wait until we are sixty to start this journey. It seems important to excavate, explore and dig deep to find your authentic self now – today. We all have one. I left Canada at 48 with a plan to travel for a year. I came home 2 years later….a radical activist and what felt like a very different person.
I wasn’t a different person– I had just uncovered another part of me that I had missed. It feels now like so much of all those personal discoveries are coming together – all my passions, all my interests, all my desires and yes, maybe all my dreams.
peace, joy and love
SandraLaya Ruch, Life Cycle Celebrant – Weddings, Funerals, Coming of Age, B’nai Mitzvah, Retirement, Unbinding and more.
SandraLaya brings a professional attitude to all your Life Cycle events. She will work with you to create just the right atmosphere to meet all your hopes and expectations. She is an ordained Kohenet (Hebrew priestess) mother and grandmother, teacher and community leader. SandraLaya offers private and group classes for Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparation, conversion and general studies in Judaism (Judaism 101)
SandraLaya lives in Toronto area and officiates marriages, coming of age ceremonies, baby namings, Jewish conversions, funerals and memorial ceremonies, unbindings and other Life Cycle events in Toronto and the GTA as well as Hamilton and London. She has traveled extensively for both work and pleasure. She brings a sincere openness to people and their personal beliefs and values.
Wherever you choose to celebrate – in a traditional setting or under a waterfall, Sandra will bring just the right amount of reverence to your Life Cycle event.
Areas include the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), London, and Hamilton
Contact: sandralruch@gmail.com
Telephone 416-716-4010
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The coming of age ceremony you did for Kasha was very beautiful and touching! You’ve got the gift of bringing people together in a meantingful way. Marla Slavner June 2016
” Thank you Sandra (Ruch) for your professionalism. It was a pleasure to have you as our officiant to the start of our life together. Sandra had a gentle personality, dressed very professional and had great shoes. We have nothing to say except great things.” David and Wayne
Sandra Ruch was absolutely amazing! She went above and beyond to provide us with a ceremony that my husband and I both loved. She provided with us with many readings and gave us an outline of how the ceremony would go. She was professional, responsive and gave us lots of ideas! Our guests thought the ceremony was beautiful and memorable.Thank you so much Sandra! Kenana & David 09/17/2016
Sandra Ruch went beyond our expectations, she was kind and really guided us through the entire process. I have already had numerous people reach out to me asking for Sandra’s information – she was a huge hit. Sandra was truly magnificent. She was accommodating with us being out of province, she provided so much guidance in the process and really gave us a warm feeling. She has the combination of a really heartfelt smooth tone with genuine excitement and love when performing your service. We would recommend her to all. Kale & Justin
We had the absolute pleasure of Sandra Ruch officiating our wedding ceremony. From the moment we met Sandra it was clear that she truly cared about us and wanted our day to be tremendously special. She spent an evening getting to know us and helped guide us through what turned out to be a very personalized, well executed, and beautiful ceremony. Thank you Sandra for caring so much about us and delivering a beautiful ceremony. Andrea and Rob
From start to finish my experience was fantastic! Everyone at All Seasons Weddings made our official wedding ceremony easy plan and they are extremely efficient in planning and wonderful to communicate with. Sandra was our wedding officiant and I can’t say enough about how pleasant, kind and wonderful her spirit is. When I first welcomed her into our home, I felt like I had known her for years. She is warm and caring and took the time to get to know us. Initially we had planned to have Sandra come to our home and sign our marriage certificate but she made us feel special and put the care into her role to present a sweet speech and really highlight what it means to commit to marriage. We had already had a symbolic wedding ceremony at our destination wedding but Sandra still made our quaint living room gathering feel special. Thank you Sandra! I talk about you to all my friends getting married and really hope that you can spread your kindness and spirit to other couples. You really left and impression on us and thank you for being our officiant! Courtney & Allan
Sixty in the City 