How to Pick a Wedding Officiant
While it may seem nice to include a friend or loved one in your wedding ceremony, having them act as your wedding officiant may not be the best way. Acting as your wedding officiant has legal and practical implications that go beyond the ceremonial role.
Learn their tones.
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.
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 straightforward, 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 when choosing how to pick an officiant for your wedding:
- 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?
- Will you work with my MC?
- How will you dress?
- What are your ceremony fees?
- How many ceremonies will you officiate on my wedding day?
The Mike Staff Productions Guarantee
At Mike Staff Productions, we trust that you’ll choose the perfect person to work with because you know what you want on your wedding day! There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all wedding DJ, photographer or videographer – we get that, that’s why we invite you to be a part of the planning process.
Let’s bring your wedding vision to life!
Mike Staff is the founder and CEO of Mike Staff Productions, one of the most highly acclaimed wedding services companies in the country, providing award-winning Wedding DJs, Wedding Photographers, and Wedding Videography for over 25 years.
