How to Pick a Wedding Officiant

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.

intimate wedding officiant ceremony headerCeremony 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?
Mike Staff Productions Guarantee

The Mike Staff Productions Guarantee

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!

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My DJ services were great. Reasonably priced. DJ Chris was exceptional at communicating with me prior to our wedding to have different genres of music. He kept the crowd engaged in the music and dancing. I are very satisfied with my services and I highly recommend.
Ebony R
2 September 2026
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Mike Staff helped provide the perfect DJ for our wedding! We had DJ James K, he was wonderful - organized, on time, and conscientious of everything we asked of him. James did an awesome job and had the dance floor packed the whole night!
Elena M
30 August 2026
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We had an absolutely fantastic experience with DJ Ron from Mike Staff Productions and could not recommend him more highly! From the planning process through the last song of the night, Ron was professional, organized, responsive, and genuinely invested in making our wedding celebration exactly what we hoped it would be. Communication leading up to the wedding was excellent. Ron made the process easy, listened to our preferences, and helped us feel confident that the music and flow of the reception were in great hands. His balance of professionalism and fun energy carried through every part of the evening, and the quality of service we received was outstanding. Ron was also an incredible emcee. He kept the reception moving smoothly, made announcements feel natural and energetic, and brought exactly the right amount of personality without ever overdoing it. He helped create such a fun and welcoming atmosphere for everyone. And, most importantly, he had the dance floor going all night!! He did an amazing job reading the room, choosing songs that kept people excited, and balancing our musical preferences with what our guests were responding to. Seeing so many of our friends and family dancing together was one of our favorite parts of the entire wedding. For the level of professionalism, communication, entertainment, and overall service we received, we also felt that Mike Staff Productions provided excellent value. DJ Ron played such an important role in making our reception memorable, fun, and completely stress-free. We are so grateful we had him as part of our wedding day and would recommend him to absolutely everyone!
Aaron R
26 August 2026
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Mike Staff and DJ Evan made our wedding great! First they were so easy to work with and get all the details done before the wedding. Then DJ Evan was a perfect fit. We were behind in our timeline but DJ Evan calmly made it seem perfect. The music was amazing and people I never thought would dance were out there having a blast. Such a fantastic experience!!
Jas
26 August 2026
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Mike Staff and DJ Evan made our wedding great! First they were so easy to work with and get all the details done before the wedding. Then DJ Evan was a perfect fit. We were behind in our timeline but DJ Evan calmly made it seem perfect. The music was amazing and people I never thought would dance were out there having a blast. Such a fantastic experience!!
Joel S
26 August 2026
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We had an absolutely fantastic experience with DJ Ron from Mike Staff Productions and could not recommend him more highly! From the planning process through the last song of the night, Ron was professional, organized, responsive, and genuinely invested in making our wedding celebration exactly what we hoped it would be. Communication leading up to the wedding was excellent. Ron made the process easy, listened to our preferences, and helped us feel confident that the music and flow of the reception were in great hands. His balance of professionalism and fun energy carried through every part of the evening, and the quality of service we received was outstanding. Ron was also an incredible emcee. He kept the reception moving smoothly, made announcements feel natural and energetic, and brought exactly the right amount of personality without ever overdoing it. He helped create such a fun and welcoming atmosphere for everyone. And, most importantly, he had the dance floor going all night!! He did an amazing job reading the room, choosing songs that kept people excited, and balancing our musical preferences with what our guests were responding to. Seeing so many of our friends and family dancing together was one of our favorite parts of the entire wedding. For the level of professionalism, communication, entertainment, and overall service we received, we also felt that Mike Staff Productions provided excellent value. DJ Ron played such an important role in making our reception memorable, fun, and completely stress-free. We are so grateful we had him as part of our wedding day and would recommend him to absolutely everyone!
Ellie S
26 August 2026
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We had an amazing time celebrating our wedding, RJ Ron killed it! He was an excellent EMCEE And even better Dj. He listening to me (the bride) and my guests, which was very much appreciated. We loved him!
Sylvie Q
16 August 2026
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Mike, the owner, is so kind! He reached out to me after the wedding to make sure everything went well and made sure we were happy. It speaks volumes that he cares so much about the customer experience. Thank you!
Brooke B
13 August 2026
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We used Mike's staff productions for our DJ and cameraman DJ Ron was excellent as was Dennis our photographer we couldn't be happier with their professionalism and the mood they set very grateful to them I would hire them again and again hopefully not for wedding stuff LOL
Matthew K
11 August 2026
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Mike Staff made our special day completely unforgettable!! Jenny, our photographer, was amazing from the get go. She was so fun and energetic! She was constantly making us laugh and smile which helped tremendously with wedding nerves and getting ready! I will always appreciate her helping me get settled and fluffing my dress for pictures, making sure it laid just right. Overall, she was absolutely AMAZING and I’m so glad she could be a part of our special day. Our DJ Ron was a hit! He always brought the energy, kept the crowd going, and was so fun! We all loved him and I’m so glad he was a part of our day! He is so sweet and easy to work with! I can’t thank him enough! Overall, we are extremely satisfied with Mike Staff for our wedding day. 💚
Lacey
7 August 2026
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