Hi friends! A budding trend these days is recruiting a less traditional officiant for your wedding. Instead of having a local judge, priest, rabbi or other religiously-affiliated person perform the ceremony, many couples will ask a family member or close friend to do the honors. Actress Allison Williams, for example, revealed on Jimmy Fallon that Tom Hanks a...
Hi friends! A budding trend these days is recruiting a less traditional officiant for your wedding. Instead of having a local judge, priest, rabbi or other religiously-affiliated person perform the ceremony, many couples will ask a family member or close friend to do the honors. Actress Allison Williams, for example, revealed on Jimmy Fallon that Tom Hanks actually officiated her September wedding!
Well, we can’t all get Tom Hanks but if you’re considering going the non-traditional route in terms of your wedding officiant, here are a few things to remember:
- Check the legalities. I can’t stress this enough, but every country, state and even county has different rules and regulations for getting legally married. You can often have your chosen officiant get ordained online by the Universal Life Church, but check the local laws; some areas don’t recognize the Universal Life Church.
- Make sure you have a strong connection. The person leading the ceremony should know and understand you as a couple. If you have a connection, the ceremony will feel warm and more personal.
- Ensure he or she is comfortable with the arrangement. While you may be over the moon at the possibility of your cousin or college roommate leading the ceremony, be sure he or she is totally OK with taking on the responsibility. They need to be comfortable with public speaking and willing to put in the time and effort to write and practice the ceremony speech.
- Discuss details like tone and pace. In this respect, working with your wedding officiant is like working with any other wedding vendor. You should make sure you discuss your vision for the ceremony, the tone your officiant should use (do you want it to feel humorous, serious or a bit of both?), and what you’re comfortable with being mentioned.
Having a special person in your life lead your wedding ceremony is the perfect way to make that moment feel more personal and engaging.
xox,
Mindy
Header photo by Ira Lippke Studios .
