Dayna Reid

Dayna Mason (writing also as Dayna Reid), Writer, Author, Minister. She has officiated weddings for over 20 years. Her love for people and the desire to provide couples with a non-judgmental and personalized approach to selecting the words spoken at their wedding inspired her to seek ministry ordination. Although Dayna personally believes in God, she also believes, “Everyone has to find their own way in this world, including any beliefs they may have about the mysteries. Because truly, all we really have is a faith in what we believe to be true.” Her book, “Do-It-Yourself Wedding Ceremony: Choosing the Perfect Words and Officiating Your Unforgettable Day,” is a revised, expanded and re-titled edition of her bestseller, “Sacred Ceremony: Create and Officiate Personalized Wedding Ceremonies.” Dayna grew up in a low-income neighborhood in the city of Seattle surrounded by cultural, economic, and social diversity. This upbringing gave her an appreciation of all differences, including spiritual differences. She had two main loves; people and books. She spent most of her childhood either reading books or observing people and contemplating why they did the things they did. In 1999 after attending many non-religious weddings of friends and family, Dayna recognized a need for the same care and commitment to the significance of the wedding day in non-religious ceremonies as with religious ceremonies. So, she got her ordination and began working with couples to create meaningful and personalized wedding ceremonies—non-religious ceremonies, sometimes spiritual, but always focused on love and commitment. In 2010 after officiating hundreds of weddings, and writing and collecting a variety of wording choices for creating ceremonies, Dayna decided to pursue her dream of authoring and publishing a book. She left her 30-year-long Information Technology career and six months later, in March of 2011, self-published the bestselling wedding book, “Sacred Ceremony: Create and Officiate Personalized Wedding Ceremonies.” Growing up in a low-income household, Dayna’s only access to books was through the library. So, once she published her book, her entire focus for the first year, was getting her book into all the libraries. She wanted to make sure that lack of money would not prevent anyone from using the book to make their wedding day unforgettable. In 2014 Dayna officiated her first memorial service. She once again discovered a need for providing a meaningful and personalized ceremony to those who have no religious affiliation. She published the book, “Funerals and Memorials: Creating the Perfect Ceremony to Remember Your Loved One,” in January of 2015. In 2017 she ventured in a new writing direction, with a new name of Dayna Mason, and published a book of self-help tips, based on a true story, written as fiction, "I'm Just That Into Me: You're The One You've Been Waiting for." In 2021 she ventured in yet another new writing direction and published her first children's picture book, "Mosley the Feelings Monster." This heartwarming and colorful book received high praise from actor David Newell who played Mr. McFeely on the Mister Rogers Neighborhood TV program. Dayna currently resides in the southern California area. She still loves books and has been spotted at the library taking pictures of her books on the shelves.