
Photo By Christie Hembech
Despite popular opinion, some of life’s greatest virtues cross cultural and religious lines—like love and happiness in whatever shape they come. At least that’s what interfaith wedding officiant Reenie Panzini, who spent two years studying around 100 religions at an interfaith seminary, says.
“They're all based on the same thing,” Panzini says. “Love your neighbor and love each other. I try to push that along.”
Panzini is a Brooklyn native with strong ties to her hometown, but she’s been a Lancaster resident for decades, helping say “I do for all,” as her tagline goes. She didn’t always have a rhyming name (she married into it, naturally), but it suits her. With a tattoo of an owl and her staple oversized eyeglasses, she’s a welcoming figure who people can’t help but connect with.
"FROM PAGAN HANDFASTINGS TO Greek crowns TIED TOGETHER WITH RIBBON..."
Panzini officiates a lot of LGBTQ+ weddings, interfaith weddings (such as Judeo-Christian, for example), and even Pagan or Celtic weddings. She writes everything custom for each couple based on her extensive training, with a knack for recommending rituals that help interfaith couples come to an agreement. From Pagan handfastings to Greek crowns tied together with ribbon, she has a strong encyclopedia to pull from.

Photo By Black Level Photography
While living in New York, Panzini had a wedding storefront, where she planned weddings, organized party favors and more. Many of her clients were from an Italian Catholic neighborhood; she wrapped lots of Capodimonte porcelain for wedding guests (an Italian tradition).
After moving to Lancaster for access to better schools for her children, Panzini decided to pursue interfaith wedding officiation, and she spent the next two years going back and forth to The New Seminary for Interfaith Studies, where she studied conflict resolution, ceremony writing and rituals for a wide berth of religions.
After a brief mental calculation, Panzini notes she has attended around 1,000 weddings over the course of her career.
Because of her work officiating all kinds of weddings—even the kinds that can be controversial in the cultural zeitgeist, such as queer weddings—Panzini has run into her fair share of obstacles. She moved to Lancaster around two decades ago under the impression it was more progressive, but quickly received threatening letters about her work. While she says the area has opened up to different kinds of people over the years, there’s still tension. Her work, it seems, is highly in demand for couples who fear they won’t be accepted for who they are and, just as importantly, whom they love.
Many couples find her after trying other avenues but failing to connect with them. “People say they're open, but then they have these rules for things you have to do, and I don't have any of that,” she says. Instead, Panzini sticks with what’s legally required for an official wedding ceremony, and the rest is custom.
For example, there’s no legal requirement to ask for someone to “speak now or forever hold your peace.” Panzini says, “I don't have to say that at all, and I won't, even if somebody requests. I think it's bizarre.” That’s a tradition with roots in medieval Christianity as a way to ensure someone wasn’t already married or had other conflicts. The internet, and other cultural advancements, made that tradition a moot point.
Because Panzini has been a part of planning and conducting so many weddings, she comes bearing advice. Have your families meet before the ceremony, she says, whether it’s at the rehearsal dinner or a barbeque beforehand. It can be a big personality clash having everyone meet on your special night.
Another tidbit? As much as possible, try to do what makes you happy as a couple, rather than letting your parents or other family members take the reins. Panzini fondly recalls a bride walking down the aisle led by her elderly cat, which brought joy to the couple, especially considering the cat passed away just a week later.
She also urges couples to book their vendors fast, pretty much as soon as they get engaged, and to make sure they’re on the same page so their event turns out as hoped. She recalls a couple whose guests weren’t big dancers, but they booked a DJ that tried to get them to dance at every turn.

Photo By Mellonberry Photography
By the time the ceremony hits, Panzini is in all black, performing her duties while trying to blend into the background. It’s not about her, after all. But the reality is that Panzini is a standout, and her clients know it, too. That’s why, she says, “I get to hear everything afterwards. For some reason, I turn into everybody's mother, and they all email me afterwards, first with a thank you and a picture, but then, ‘Oh, you're not going to believe what happened.’”
All of that considered, Panzini says, “I love all of my couples.” That’s what keeps her coming back for more, working baby naming and baby blessing ceremonies when the next family member comes along.
Reenie Panzini | Lancaster | 717-575-8850 | reeniepanzini.com