Why a Professional Officiant?

While a wedding ceremony is not a theatrical performance, there are many elements that are the same.  You are spending a great deal of money for the right venue, for the gowns and tuxes, the food, decor, etc., so why not hire a professional officiant who will be able to guide you through the various aspects of the ceremony and avoid problems that may otherwise manifest.

You may have settled on a perfect venue and have hired vendors for photography, musicians or DJs, caterer, bakery, flowers and decorators.  If you wish to hire a wedding planner to take care of the details of your wedding, you may find it less challenging, but a professional officiant is capable of helping you plan the greater portion of the wedding as well. 

You can expect your officiant to go through the details of the ceremony with you, including the music, readings, vows, wedding party and special rituals, including such things as dove releases, flower exchange, Unity ceremony, handfasting, jumping the broom, and so forth.  The officiant can help you organize the entire ceremony, create a schedule of events, as well as perform the wedding.  A friend or relative, who might be honored to marry you and your spouse, does not have the training to organize all of these things.  While it may save you a small amount of money, your ceremony will not be as it might otherwise be.

A professional wedding officiant may cost a little more, but they are worth every penny.

Why The Professional Officiant?

A lot of the scuttle-butt on the Professional circuit these days is about officiants who do not perform their work on a professional basis.  This includes friends and relatives of the bride or groom who apply for an ordination simply for the purpose of performing this specific wedding, often as a measure for saving money, but occasionally for the purpose of being the individual who blesses the marriage.  While either is acceptable in the eyes of the law, and reasonable for the couple, the finished product can sometimes be a disaster, leaving the bride and groom with memories that are below their expectations when it comes to how they see their wedding.

To see what you might be missing by having Uncle Joe perform your ceremony, consider what services you get with a professional officiant.  First, the officiant meets with you, taking the time to get to know you.  He or she might have a questionnaire for you to fill out, describing not only your preferences, but a little bit of the history of your relationship, so that your ceremony can be personalized to the two of you.  He or she might interview you, to really get acquainted with you both.  Then, if there are several basic ceremonies that the officiant uses, you can select a ceremony that reflects who you are as a couple and the feelings that you have for each other.  In my estimation, this is one of the most important things in the preparation of a wedding ceremony.  The professional officiant will prepare the ceremony and send you a copy for your approval.  He or she will rehearse with you prior to the ceremony so that your wedding will appear polished.  The day of the wedding, the professional officiant will coordinate events in such a way that everyone is ready on time and the ceremony comes off like a well-practiced production.  Your license will be signed and copies delivered to the appropriate parties.  You can trust the officiant to complete all phases of the preparation and display of the ceremony, without having to remind him or her of anything. 

When you are being married by Uncle Joe, this is not going to happen.  Although your friends and relatives know you, they do not know wedding protocol or what needs to be done when.  They are likely to find a ceremony script on the web, and will read it for you, but the ceremony will be lacking in polish, practice, and satisfaction.

While a professional officiant costs more money, the finished product is worth the extra investment.  Shopping around, you will be able to find a professional who cares about the memories that you are going to create, and will take a creative approach to providing them.

Honoring Loved Ones

It has become a common habit to make a memorial to loved ones who could not attend the wedding ceremony, as they have passed. Whether the passing is recent or whether it is one that took place long ago, it never goes out of style to show our love for these dear ones, to invite their blessings from above, and to receive their warmth raining down upon the ceremony. Many people will set a chair aside and grace it with the individual's favorite flower. Some will place photos on the altar to acknowledge their loved one's presence. Others will have an item that is less intrusive placed on a chair or table, perhaps something that belonged to the individual. Some will want the loved one's name and a touching verse to honor him or her. All of these things are easy and quick acknowledgements of someone who played a special part in making the bride/groom who she or he is. They are never morbid reminders of the pain felt in losing the loved one. If you wish to add a little more personal touch to your ceremony, consider honoring a loved one who has passed.

Planning Your Wedding

What's the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to weddings? The joy? The celebration? Not generally. For the bride, it's the work that comes with planning all of the elements that go into making a perfect memory. Some will opt to hire a wedding planner upon whom they can lay the work (and the blame if things go wrong). Some will depend upon a mother who may or may not be more than willing to take charge. (This works for some, but more often than not, Mother will do things her way, not your way, and this YOUR day!) aYou will need to select an officiant, a location, a photographer, a band or DJ, a florist and a gown and tux shop. And you will need to coordinate all of these people according to the date you want. Is it any surprise that more and more couples are opting for the garden wedding in the back yard?

Eventually, the planning will find its way around to your officiant. Your officiant will ask you questions about what you want in your ceremony as far as rituals (Unity Candle, Sand Ceremony, Hand Ceremony, Flower Ceremonies, etc.), if there will be special music, and special recognitions, prayers, blessings, readings, how you want to say your vows (memorize, repeat after me, or just say, "I do.") how you want to be introduced, and so forth. Don't be shy about asking for what you want, whether it is something you have imagined your entire life or whether it's something you saw at So-and-So's wedding and would like to include, or conversely, you DON'T want to include it. Your officiant is the go-to person to make your dream come true. And he or she will also have a good idea where you can find those "hard to locate" items as well.

How to Choose a Wedding Officiant

You're getting married. Congratulations! This is a big step forward in your life and you want your day to reflect who the two of you are as a couple and the feelings that you have for each other. Right? You don't want your officiant/minister/celebrant/preacher telling you what "should" be said. This is about the two of you--what you want and feel.

So number one on your list of questions to ask an officiant, is, "Do we get to choose what will be said, how long the ceremony is, what rituatls will be included, etc?" If your officiant is worth her salt (or his) the answer will be ABSOLUTELY! He or she should be flexible when it comes to what you want in your ceremony, how long it should be, what is included--which should be what you want and nothing you don't want. By all means, listen to the suggestions that he or she makes, but the final decision is yours.