Helpful Parents

As a wedding officiant dedicated to helping a couple find themselves within the words of their ceremony, nothing is more difficult than to have a parent telling the couple what they can say in their ceremony and how they will say it. Some parents feel that since they are paying the bill, that they should have the right to direct the production.

Wedding day is for and all about the couple being married. Although most couples acknowledge that their parents have shaped their lives and brought them to this point of marriage, if anything speaks to the maturity, independence and ability to make their own choices, a wedding does just that. So to have a mother or father or the obligatory aunt looking over their shoulder and vetoing the couple's choice in any regard, is poor etiquette.

Couples tend to be a little nervous about their wedding day. What parents and other family members can do is to be there to support the couple, help to soothe nerves, answer questions and offer positive advice, as opposed to dictating choices.