How to Select a Wedding Officiant
If you are being married in a church, chances are the officiant will come along with the venue. However, for many reasons more and more couples are being married outside of traditional church settings. If you are among them, finding, selecting, and securing the services of a capable wedding officiant is a vital part of planning for your wedding. Don’t forget that aside from yourself and your fiancé, your wedding officiant is the one person you absolutely can’t do without on your wedding day.
What exactly is a wedding officiant?
A wedding officiant is a person who is legally able to perform a marriage ceremony and report that marriage to the state or county for recording. The officiant bears witness to the fact that you are freely and of your own will, choosing to marry in the presence of two other adult witnesses. A marriage ceremony may be performed by a government authority or a religious authority. Laws vary from state to state regarding who is authorized to solemnize marriages.
Depending on where you live, a wedding officiant may come from a variety of governmental offices such as a justice of the peace, a judge, a governor, a notary or a county clerk, depending on the state. Or your officiant may come from one of numerous religious organizations. They may be called reverend, minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, shaman, or any other title that is given by their sponsoring congregation. They can stem from a particular faith, or be interfaith or non-denominational. The possibilities are as wide as our nations religious and spiritual beliefs are.
Based on their own beliefs, some officiants choose only to perform ceremonies with specific religious content. Others are open to a couple’s desire for ceremonies that have differing religious or spiritual beliefs from their own, or no religious, or spiritual content at all. Since many couples today, do not participate in any organized religion, many wedding ministers, frequently perform wedding ceremonies with no religious content. Also some officiants refuse to marry couples who they believe are living outside of their view of morality; such as those who are already living together, or have been married before.
What are the duties of an officiant?
First of all an officiant always performs the wedding ceremony, signs your marriage documents and sends those documents into the government authorities for recording.. Sometimes the ceremony is as short as “Do you take this man as your husband and do you take this woman as your wife?”. Or it can be long and detailed. Most often it is somewhere in between. The in between is where most of the variation occurs. Many officiants work at weddings on a part time basis and have set scripts they recite, while filling in the current bride and grooms names in the blanks. This allows them to offer their services very economically. Other officiants allow for some variation, allowing you to pick from some different choices of readings and allowing you to write your own vows. Other officiants spend considerable time working along with the bride and groom on writing a totally custom ceremony for each wedding they perform.
Some officiants also work with engaged couples on marriage preparations classes, or relationship coaching. Certain officiants require this training when using their services. Other officiants do not require, but simply offer these services to couples requesting them.
Many officiants simply show up at the wedding at the time it is scheduled to begin and conduct the ceremony. Others spend many hours working on the creation of a unique and personalized ceremony for each couple they work with. They can also sometimes serve as a total wedding ceremony coordinator, helping the bride with order, lay out and planning of her wedding day. This is a role that is a perfect fit for an experienced officiant; having become expert in the protocol and proper etiquette of weddings through years of first hand experience. They sometimes also attend and run the wedding rehearsal, coordinate with the musicians, photographer, videotographer, ushers and staff of the wedding venue. Full service officiants are also often available for phone calls and E-mail consultations and serve as coordinator on the day of the wedding, to make sure all elements are in place and everyone knows their cues. This helps take the stress off of the bride and groom, not to mention the bridesmaids and groomsmen, insures the event runs smoothly, and saves the couple money by eliminating the need to hire a separate wedding ceremony planner.
How to choose a great officiant.
You only have one chance to get this one right! Rule number one is do not pick an officiant because they are the lowest bidder! There are a lot of ways you can save on your wedding, selecting an officiant because they have the lowest price probably should not be one of them. The expression that you often get what you pay for is true. Unfortunately with an officiant you generally don’t find this out until right before, or on the day of the most important event of your life! The “bargain officiant” is often someone who does it as a hobby, part time, or is inexperienced, or undependable. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t receive a phone call from a frantic bride trying to find a new officiant because three days before the wedding he has called her to tell her he can’t make it! Or he or she has not asked for a deposit and is now; right before the wedding refusing to return phone calls, because he does not consider it a commitment. There are only so many weekends. Most top notch officiants have busy schedules and are often booked well in advance. Finding an experienced and available one at the last minute can be difficult if not impossible. This happens all too often!
Full time officiants take their profession seriously, spend considerable time and effort on each wedding and also offer a variety of services to the couple to make their wedding as special as they always dreamed it would be. Make sure well ahead of time that your officiant takes their profession seriously and has a solid track record of dependability! Again, there is nothing worse then an officiant who backs out at the last minute or shows up late! Strangely enough this occurrence is VERY common! Ask if they have back ups they are able to call in case of an emergency. Ask them if the worst possible thing occurred, would they work with you to find a different officiant. Also ask them what they would consider an emergency drastic enough to not be able to attend. Get references and check them! Do not do business with an officiant who does not ask for a deposit. If they are not asking for a firm commitment, chances are they are either in little demand, or are also not offering a firm commitment in return. On that same vein, make sure that your officiant offers you a contract, as this is the professional way to do business.
Start planning well ahead of time. Do not attempt to book your wedding at the last minute. Many top officiants start booking months and even up to a full year in advance. Once you meet with the officiant decide as quickly as possible if this is the person for you; as generally they are not able to hold dates without a deposit. If this is the person you like, don’t wait until it is too late to book them. Also be flexible on rehearsal plans.
Top officiants are often busy performing weddings on Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays and may either have to charge more for rehearsals at those times, or are not able to perform them at all on those days. Staying flexible on your rehearsal date until you have secured your wedding officiant can mean the difference between getting the perfect officiant and having to choose one who is less then you would desire, simply because the wedding officiant you want is not available for your rehearsal time.
It is highly advisable, whenever possible, to meet with the candidate in person before choosing. If this is not possible, speak with him or her, read about them and speak with a couple of their former brides and grooms before choosing. Remember that the number one fear of many people is public speaking. An officiant is, among other things, a public speaker. Someone who is professional, articulate, comfortable in their own skin and feels at ease in front of an audience is absolutely vital! A well educated, unstuffy and lighthearted individual makes a ceremony sing. A great wedding officiant also knows how to adapt to the unexpected, bring a tear to the eyes of guests and create a ceremony your guests will fondly remember long after the event has passed. But most of all a great wedding officiant will help make your wedding the most spectacular event of your life. Just like it should be!
Regards,
Sally Ann Street
Dream Wedding Ceremony
What exactly is a wedding officiant?
A wedding officiant is a person who is legally able to perform a marriage ceremony and report that marriage to the state or county for recording. The officiant bears witness to the fact that you are freely and of your own will, choosing to marry in the presence of two other adult witnesses. A marriage ceremony may be performed by a government authority or a religious authority. Laws vary from state to state regarding who is authorized to solemnize marriages.
Depending on where you live, a wedding officiant may come from a variety of governmental offices such as a justice of the peace, a judge, a governor, a notary or a county clerk, depending on the state. Or your officiant may come from one of numerous religious organizations. They may be called reverend, minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, shaman, or any other title that is given by their sponsoring congregation. They can stem from a particular faith, or be interfaith or non-denominational. The possibilities are as wide as our nations religious and spiritual beliefs are.
Based on their own beliefs, some officiants choose only to perform ceremonies with specific religious content. Others are open to a couple’s desire for ceremonies that have differing religious or spiritual beliefs from their own, or no religious, or spiritual content at all. Since many couples today, do not participate in any organized religion, many wedding ministers, frequently perform wedding ceremonies with no religious content. Also some officiants refuse to marry couples who they believe are living outside of their view of morality; such as those who are already living together, or have been married before.
What are the duties of an officiant?
First of all an officiant always performs the wedding ceremony, signs your marriage documents and sends those documents into the government authorities for recording.. Sometimes the ceremony is as short as “Do you take this man as your husband and do you take this woman as your wife?”. Or it can be long and detailed. Most often it is somewhere in between. The in between is where most of the variation occurs. Many officiants work at weddings on a part time basis and have set scripts they recite, while filling in the current bride and grooms names in the blanks. This allows them to offer their services very economically. Other officiants allow for some variation, allowing you to pick from some different choices of readings and allowing you to write your own vows. Other officiants spend considerable time working along with the bride and groom on writing a totally custom ceremony for each wedding they perform.
Some officiants also work with engaged couples on marriage preparations classes, or relationship coaching. Certain officiants require this training when using their services. Other officiants do not require, but simply offer these services to couples requesting them.
Many officiants simply show up at the wedding at the time it is scheduled to begin and conduct the ceremony. Others spend many hours working on the creation of a unique and personalized ceremony for each couple they work with. They can also sometimes serve as a total wedding ceremony coordinator, helping the bride with order, lay out and planning of her wedding day. This is a role that is a perfect fit for an experienced officiant; having become expert in the protocol and proper etiquette of weddings through years of first hand experience. They sometimes also attend and run the wedding rehearsal, coordinate with the musicians, photographer, videotographer, ushers and staff of the wedding venue. Full service officiants are also often available for phone calls and E-mail consultations and serve as coordinator on the day of the wedding, to make sure all elements are in place and everyone knows their cues. This helps take the stress off of the bride and groom, not to mention the bridesmaids and groomsmen, insures the event runs smoothly, and saves the couple money by eliminating the need to hire a separate wedding ceremony planner.
How to choose a great officiant.
You only have one chance to get this one right! Rule number one is do not pick an officiant because they are the lowest bidder! There are a lot of ways you can save on your wedding, selecting an officiant because they have the lowest price probably should not be one of them. The expression that you often get what you pay for is true. Unfortunately with an officiant you generally don’t find this out until right before, or on the day of the most important event of your life! The “bargain officiant” is often someone who does it as a hobby, part time, or is inexperienced, or undependable. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t receive a phone call from a frantic bride trying to find a new officiant because three days before the wedding he has called her to tell her he can’t make it! Or he or she has not asked for a deposit and is now; right before the wedding refusing to return phone calls, because he does not consider it a commitment. There are only so many weekends. Most top notch officiants have busy schedules and are often booked well in advance. Finding an experienced and available one at the last minute can be difficult if not impossible. This happens all too often!
Full time officiants take their profession seriously, spend considerable time and effort on each wedding and also offer a variety of services to the couple to make their wedding as special as they always dreamed it would be. Make sure well ahead of time that your officiant takes their profession seriously and has a solid track record of dependability! Again, there is nothing worse then an officiant who backs out at the last minute or shows up late! Strangely enough this occurrence is VERY common! Ask if they have back ups they are able to call in case of an emergency. Ask them if the worst possible thing occurred, would they work with you to find a different officiant. Also ask them what they would consider an emergency drastic enough to not be able to attend. Get references and check them! Do not do business with an officiant who does not ask for a deposit. If they are not asking for a firm commitment, chances are they are either in little demand, or are also not offering a firm commitment in return. On that same vein, make sure that your officiant offers you a contract, as this is the professional way to do business.
Start planning well ahead of time. Do not attempt to book your wedding at the last minute. Many top officiants start booking months and even up to a full year in advance. Once you meet with the officiant decide as quickly as possible if this is the person for you; as generally they are not able to hold dates without a deposit. If this is the person you like, don’t wait until it is too late to book them. Also be flexible on rehearsal plans.
Top officiants are often busy performing weddings on Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays and may either have to charge more for rehearsals at those times, or are not able to perform them at all on those days. Staying flexible on your rehearsal date until you have secured your wedding officiant can mean the difference between getting the perfect officiant and having to choose one who is less then you would desire, simply because the wedding officiant you want is not available for your rehearsal time.
It is highly advisable, whenever possible, to meet with the candidate in person before choosing. If this is not possible, speak with him or her, read about them and speak with a couple of their former brides and grooms before choosing. Remember that the number one fear of many people is public speaking. An officiant is, among other things, a public speaker. Someone who is professional, articulate, comfortable in their own skin and feels at ease in front of an audience is absolutely vital! A well educated, unstuffy and lighthearted individual makes a ceremony sing. A great wedding officiant also knows how to adapt to the unexpected, bring a tear to the eyes of guests and create a ceremony your guests will fondly remember long after the event has passed. But most of all a great wedding officiant will help make your wedding the most spectacular event of your life. Just like it should be!
Regards,
Dream Wedding Ceremony
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