CHOOSING AN OFFICIANT
The person you choose to marry you is going to share a very intimate and personal moment in your life. If you’re a member of a church, usually, you will choose your pastor to marry you. But if you do not go to church on a regular basis, or at all, then you will need to find a person who is approved by the state in which you are going to be married to legally marry you. This can be a Judge, sometimes a Notary, a Justice of the Peace, a Clerk at the County Courthouse, or you can choose someone like me who is a minister but does not have a church. Many people have ordinations from accredited institutions that never wanted to preach or have a church. I became ordained in January 2011 after I was asked by a family member to perform their wedding ceremony. After holding public office and performing weddings on a regular basis I realized that I had enjoyed doing them and had moved ahead with the ordination.
It is your decision whether you want to have any type of religious expression in your ceremony. In my experience, I find that most couples will want to have some type of blessing during the ceremony. However, if they do not want a prayer, or any mention of God or The Bible, then I prepare a personal ceremony for them that just reflects their special love for one another. You have the right to insist on your personal desires being expressed.
I marry many couples with mixed religious backgrounds. When I meet with a couple, I ask them if they have any specific religious faith, and if they do, what part if any of their religious faith they would like to include in the ceremony. My ceremonies (which I have written myself) are spiritual without reflecting any specific religious faith, but I can tailor-make it to suit any belief that they have.
WHAT IS A "PROFESSIONALLY-TRAINED WEDDING OFFICIANT?"
You can sometimes find an Officiant in the Yellow Pages, or today, the best place to find a good Officiant is on the Internet. You will want to set a time to meet with the Officiant and see if you have good feelings about him or her. You should have an easy conversation together. The Officiant should be very agreeable to do whatever you want in your ceremony. The Officiant should NOT dictate to you what you should or should not do. The Officiant is your Servant, and it is their obligation to fulfill all of your wishes and desires for your wedding day.A professionally trained Wedding Officiant is a person who is specifically trained in every aspect of Your Wedding Day. A Wedding Officiant doesn't need to be an Ordained Minister who is professionally trained in the creeds and dogmas of a specific religion. A Wedding is not the place to preach or teach guests concerning a particular religion! The Wedding Ceremony is a time to celebrate love. The Wedding Day is all about loving and being loved. The Wedding Ceremony celebrates love in all of its aspects and dimensions, particularly the love of family, and most specifically, the love between a man and a woman that causes them to want to live together in the holy state of marriage. In considering the person who is going to take you through this transition and is going to sign The Marriage License that sets up these legal boundaries, you need a consummate professional. The Wedding Officiant who is going to marry you needs to know how to prepare a very loving and meaningful ceremony for YOU that reflects your Beliefs and your hopes and dreams for your marriage.
You need a person who is informed and who is experienced in the ways of the marriage ceremony.
You need a professionally trained Wedding Officiant who can inform you how to get your marriage license and how to obtain your certified copy of the marriage license after the Wedding.
You need a professionally trained Wedding Officiant who can handle any unexpected or embarrassing moments that could develop during the Wedding Ceremony.
You need a professionally trained Wedding Officiant who is an experienced and professional public speaker and knows how to use a microphone.
You need a professionally trained Wedding Officiant who knows how to meet with the photographer, videographer and musicians, prior to the ceremony, so that everyone has their signals straight!
You want your Officiant to be professionally dressed, either in a clerical/judge's robe or black suit or black dress.
You need a professional-trained Wedding Officiant who will supply you with a Contract for Services.
Choose your Officiant by what you feel in your heart, as you will be sharing a very precious time together.
