Hello! My name is Melissa Coe, and it is my true pleasure and delight to meet you!
I am originally from Kentucky, but I have lived in the Pacific Northwest by choice for over thirty years. Because I have a southern gene (at least after a glass of wine), I LOVE telling stories ~ beautifully, compellingly, and with conviction. I feel that being a Celebrant was meant to be!
I believe that each of our lives has an abundance of significant days, all of which deserve to be celebrated memorably with great enjoyment for all concerned. I also believe that “Life has its moments, so remember them well.”
As an unknown author once said:
Our stories ground us. We select them, we edit them, and we tell them to others in order to explain ourselves.
What a great reason to conduct ceremony! In fact, there are as many different ceremonies to be performed as there are stories to be told and ways to express love for each other.
I Love Performing ALL Kinds of Ceremonies
As a full-time Professional Wedding Officiant and Certified Celebrant, I LOVE traveling the magnificent Pacific Northwest from coast to mountain, from river to desert, to perform ceremonies. I’ve conducted weddings and commitment ceremonies, funerals and memorials, divorce healing ceremonies, and ash scatterings. And I’ve performed them on Mt. Hood, in the Rose Garden, in the Arboretum, on the beach, along the Columbia River, and among the beautiful vineyards of Oregon and Washington.
I promise all of my clients that they will have my total, undivided attention during our time together. My clients can expect that I will arrive at least one hour before the starting time, I will be their calm in the eye of the storm, and I will perform their ceremony exactly the way it was agreed to–with no surprise announcements, proclamations or elements that were not previously approved!
My clients OWN their ceremony, and it is my true labor of love to make it so.
Eclectic Interests and a Passion for Storytelling
Personally, I have been married for longer than I can count, have three incredible daughters, and one small dog. I confess to being a TOTAL “foodie” who loves to cook and garden and is addicted to remodeling and installing hardwood floors and granite countertops–despite disastrous results for manicures!
Academically, I have a BFA in Art and Children’s Literature and have done graduate work in Business and Interior Design. I also completed the Celebrant Foundation & Institute’s academic program as a Certified Life Cycle Celebrant (one who is educated in ceremony from birth to death).
Professionally, I have taught art, worked as Marketing Director of a nationally known book company, owned an art gallery in downtown Portland, and directed the Sacred Arts program at Marylhurst University: all while working as an Interior Design consultant.
In other words, my interests are many and varied.
What unites them is that they draw on my skills of organizing, creating and celebrating, as well as on a love of community, ceremony and ritual. They also incorporate a passion for color, design and texture, as well as for public speaking and writing. All woven together with love.
My sole/soul goal is to provide ALL of my clients with their own perfectly composed, beautiful, breathtaking, unforgettably meaningful ceremony designed just for them! They can have it any way and anywhere they want, and I will be there for them, conducting their ceremony warmly and sincerely. Joyfully.