Find the Wedding Officiant
for Your Ceremony

Start your search early

Your first choice should always be an officiant you both have a relationship with.

Even if you’re not religious, this could be a valued friend, a mentor, or family member who is a good speaker and legally able to officiate your wedding.

You can ask your friends for recommendations, but know that your friends may have had wacky ceremonies.

One of my friends was married by a minister who went on and on about farm animals, with no apparent point.

Yet another friend’s officiant told a completely inappropriate story about a married couple at a very intimate moment (ahem…) in married life. No joke!

• Look in the Yellow Pages under “Wedding Chapels” and “Wedding Consultants” - the wedding vendors will be lumped together, but it’s worth a look
• Ask your other vendors for recommendations
• Google your city and “officiant wedding”, or “[your city] celebrant wedding” or “[your city] non-denominational minister wedding”
• Look on Craigslist under services
• Check the Celebrant Foundation & Institute for a non-denominational minister
• You may also want to look into hiring a justice of the peace through the county clerk’s office (call and ask; they should have a list)
• If you plan to have a friend ordained online, like a Universal Life Church Minister, www.ulc.net, make sure it’s legal for them to officiate in your city and state. Check with the County Clerk’s office (sometimes listed as the Circuit Court Clerk)

• Are there any restrictions on who they will and will not marry?
• Will they marry a couple of different faiths?
• Will they marry you if you’ve been divorced?
• Will they marry you if you are not a member of their church?
• Are they legally able to marry you in your county/state?
• Will they marry you at the location of your choice?
• Are they willing to perform a ceremony that’s as religious, spiritual or non-religious as you would like it to be?
• Do they require any religious marriage counseling before they perform the ceremony? If so, how much counseling and when does it need to be completed?
• What are the required fees, expenses or donations?
• What is their policy and back-up plan in case of an emergency on your part or theirs?
• What is their standard ceremony outline and how flexible is it? How much customization can you do? How much can you personalize the ceremony?
• Will there be a sermon as part of the ceremony?
• Are there any restrictions on the kind of music you can play? Religious only? What about the readings?
• When do they want the marriage license? Who will be responsible for mailing it after the ceremony?
• Are there any restrictions on photography during the ceremony?
• Will they wear a wireless microphone if you have video?

Protocol dictates that you formally invite your wedding officiant to the rehearsal dinner and the reception. Many will decline the dinner and the reception or just come to the cocktail hour, but they should be invited.

Your wedding ceremony is a very personal event - it’s not like getting your oil changed or your lawn mowed - so choose the person you’re entrusting with an incredibly important moment in your life very carefully.

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