Wedding Tactics

Choosing a wedding officiant can be a daunting task. Some people have it easy and they call up their childhood Minister or they just use their parent’s Rabbi. When two people get married they are not always of the same background faith and they search for an officiant who meets both of their needs and is willing to perform a ceremony with as much or as little religion as possible. It is also nice when the person marrying you can toss in a few words about your personalities or a quick story about when you met. It makes your wedding extra personal and extra memorable.

I was just reading through some of the recent wedding-related posts on Alltop and I came across a wedding planning firm in Scottsdale, Arizona. Liene (Lynn) at Blue Orchid Designs is ordained. (You know, just in case someone needs to sign a marriage certificate. ALSO: I’d pay extra for THAT feature!) Talk about being prepared! She is also the owner of this destination planning firm that specializes in being honest, helpful, and very in touch with their clients needs.

Liene offers these five tips for choosing the best person to officiate at your wedding ceremony:

1) Hire someone who is available for you. It was easy for me to write a heartfelt ceremony for my friends because they have been a significant part of my life over the years. Chances are, though, that you won’t know your officiant that well. They should be willing to meet with you in order to get an idea of who you are so that your ceremony can be personalized and not just a canned wedding message.

2) Weddings are a sacred event, and as such, a person’s beliefs play a large role. If the officiant you want has a theological or ideological difference with something that is important to you and your fiance, there is no need to be offended. It just means it is time to interview the next person.

3) Not all ordinations are created equal. Make sure that the ordination your officiant has is legal in the state you are getting married in. Each state has their own marriage laws and just because someone can perform a ceremony in Washington doesn’t necessarily mean they can perform one in Arizona.

4) Some officiants will come to the rehearsal, some won’t and some include the option for an extra fee. If your officiant doesn’t include the rehearsal in their services, make sure that they can get a copy of the ceremony outline to your wedding planner a few days prior to the rehearsal. This will allow your coordinator to better run the rehearsal and walk you through specific elements in the wedding, such as when you’ll do your sand ceremony and where to stand for it, when you’ll present flowers to your mothers, etc.

5) If the officiant works with a videographer often, they may have access to past weddings documented on film. If possible, ask to see video clips of the officiant speaking. Not all will be able to offer this, and it shouldn’t necessarily be a deal breaker. It is helpful, however, to see if they are good at speaking and whether or not they do, in fact, skip the cheesiness that so many officiants are known for.