Choosing the right person to officiate your wedding ceremony is an important step in your wedding planning. Here are some questions and tips to consider.
Choose a professional officiant. While it may seem nice to include a friend or loved one in your wedding ceremony, having them act as officiant may not be the best way. Acting as your wedding officiant has legal and practical implications that go beyond the ceremonial role.
"Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday." We all remember the Impressive Clergyman from The Princess Bride. Ask potential officiants to read a passage to you during the interview process. There is often a large difference between someone’s reading and conversational tones.
Ceremony Style. Many professional officiants will offer traditional and non-traditional ceremony styles including different levels of formality, religious influence and reading choices. Most professional officiants do not perform a full sermon, but will read selected passages should you choose to do so.
Ceremony Rehearsal. Participation in your wedding rehearsal may or may not be included in the officiant’s fee so you should definitely discuss this in advance. If your wedding ceremony is fairly straight forward, you may not need anything beyond your final consultation. If you feel you need a full rehearsal, negotiate the officiant’s participation in your initial contract.
Questions to ask:
- Can we personalize the ceremony?
- Can we do a religious or civil ceremony?
- Do you have sample ceremony readings and styles we can review?
- Do you have backup in case you are sick?
- Are you authorized to perform marriage ceremonies?
- Will you participate in the rehearsal?
- How will you dress?
- What are your ceremony fees?
- How many ceremonies will you officiate on my wedding day?
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