If you’re not having the priest at your childhood church marry you, then you need to start scouting out possible wedding officiants. Keeping some tips in mind can help you to quickly narrow down your list, schedule appointments with possible candidates and select the person who will marry you and your spouse.
Consider Religious Requirements
Some religions require you to marry in a corresponding house of worship if you want to have your wedding ceremony recognized by the faith. Therefore, you must check the requirements of your religion; sometimes, exceptions apply. For example, two Roman Catholics must marry in a Roman Catholic church in order to have a valid ceremony in the eyes of the church. However, if you are Roman Catholic and marrying a Jewish person, you might be able to have a wedding ceremony at the reception hall with a Catholic priest and Jewish rabbi officiating together.
Consider the Officiant’s Faith
Even if you are not having a ceremony in a house of worship, selecting an officiant whose faith matches yours might be important to you. When you are not concerned with the faith of the marriage officiant, you may want to know how much religion or spirituality is infused into the ceremony. Some officiants may perform only ceremonies that incorporate certain religious or spiritual elements, and others may offer ceremonies that are more suitable for atheists and agnostics.
See the Options
When you meet with the possible officiants, they should bring options along with them. Approach officiants who have no material to show you with some level of skepticism. Usually, officiants have a book or a program that shows the different readings that they offer and the types of ceremonies that are available. You may even have the chance to see a sample script from another ceremony. The officiants usually also talk to you about the options for what they will wearing while performing the ceremony.
Customized Elements
Perhaps you and your partner want to recite your own vows to one another, or maybe you want to ask a couple of people to do a reading or to perform a song. On the other hand, you may want a ceremony that is already entirely planned out for you. The level of customization that you want is up to you and your partner, but you must make sure that the officiant can provide it. Some allow for almost complete freedom, and others will provide stricter rules that you need to follow.
Your wedding officiant plays a tremendously important role on your wedding day since he or she performs the marriage ceremony. Therefore, you want to put great care and consideration into selecting the person who will perform the job.