We all know how much time and energy goes into planning a wedding! Everyone can agree that the ceremony is where the true magic happens and your wedding officiant is an integral part of that. While it’s usually not the first thing couples think about when they begin sifting through the finer details of wedding planning, the ceremony is, we believe, the most important piece. That is the moment in time you are making the promises that you intend to last a lifetime.
When it comes to deciding on a wedding officiant, we recognize no single wedding is the same. It’s important to personalize who will be the one to marry you and your partner. Just be sure, as with all your vendors, to make sure whoever you choose is qualified and ordained! It may seem like a daunting task to choose this special someone, but don’t worry! With this list, we hope to make the search as easy as it was saying “yes!” to your soon to be partner-in-life!
Professional Non-Denominational Wedding Officiant
This kind of officiant is for the couple looking for a spiritual or secular style ceremony. These officiants are typically very open to using verbiage that speaks to you as a couple (e.g with or without “God” language). They can help build a custom wedding ceremony from scratch. Make sure to be very upfront about what kind of ceremony you’re looking to have. This will help them pull something similar they’ve used in the past and personalize it for your day. Most often these officiants do what they do because they just LOVE love and celebrating marriage!
Photo by Amanda Gilley Photography
Religious Wedding Officiant
For the couples who choose to have a religious ceremony, you will most likely look towards a religious leader whom you know from your community. You can also use one from your venue of choice. The important things to remember with this kind of officiant/priest/rabbi/etc. is to make sure you go through what a typical ceremony will look like. Make sure you and your significant other are comfortable with the rituals, material, and pre-marital counseling requirements (if applicable).
Civil Wedding Officiant
This type of officiant is a civil servant, and their primary role is legalizing the marriage. Head to your local city clerk’s office (in the city you’re getting married in) to find the right person to get the job done! If you’re getting married in a state away from where you reside, you may want to consider getting married privately at the courthouse before your wedding event.
Friend or Family Member
In today’s day and age, getting ordained to marry someone is more literally than figuratively as easy as the “click of a button”. Having a close friend or family member marry you is more common than ever before.Many of your favorite celebrities and married friends before you may have done this. Couples who opt to have this type of wedding ceremony usually are looking for someone who knows them as a couple very well. They trust their officiant to speak openly and honestly about their relationship in front of a large group of people. Please keep in mind that every state has different laws surrounding the legality of online ordained officiants. Be sure to look into these details ahead of time!
{Feature Image by Alysia and Jayson Photography}
Photo by tPoz Photography