Find the Best Wedding Officiants & Marriage Officiant

Wedding Officiants:

How to Find the Right Person to Perform Your Ceremony

One of the most important parts of planning the perfect wedding is lining up the people you want to take part. You might ask your maid of honor and best man first, and shortly after, your bridesmaids and groomsmen. There’s one very important person, however, who you might overlook in the initial excitement of your plans: your wedding officiant. In fact, your wedding cannot occur without your marriage celebrant.

Wedding celebrants are the people who put a legal stamp on your marriage. They are front and center at every ceremony, taking the lead and helping you follow protocol. If you are a member of a church, synagogue or mosque, you can ask your religious leader to officiate at your marriage.

Otherwise, you have the option to interview non-denominational wedding officiants. The big question on many couples’ minds at this point is, “How do you find the right wedding officiant to preside over your wedding?” You might also be wondering, “How much does the average wedding officiant cost?” There are several things you should know about wedding officiants, including answers to both of those questions and beyond.

And yet, the answers are as varied as the types of wedding officiants available. From religious leaders to county clerks, you’ll find that each wedding celebrant has unique qualifications and ideas on how to officiate a wedding. Wedding officiant cost scales also vary depending on a variety of factors.

The best way to get started is to check out our directory of wedding vendors, where you’ll find hundreds of wedding officiants who've performed weddings all over the world, and you can search by location. Accessing authorized local marriage officiants has never been easier.

What is a Wedding Officiant?

You might be wondering, what exactly is a wedding officiant? If you are unfamiliar with the term "wedding officiant," perhaps you’ve heard these individuals referred to as a marriage officiant or marriage celebrant. This is another commonly used term for wedding officiants. An officiant at your wedding is an authorized individual who both legally sanctifies your union and leads the ceremony in celebration of your love.

Many marriage celebrants use a standard wedding officiant script and give a memorized wedding officiant speech. Other wedding officiants may be flexible and willing to customize the wedding ceremony wording to your preferences. If you are looking for a more personalized option, this is something you should discuss with your wedding officiant during your initial conversations (as not all officiants are open to adaptation). There are ways that they can gear the wedding officiant speech to reflect who you are as a couple. Sometimes, this comes with an extra wedding officiant cost for their additional time spent in preparation. But it is worth it to have someone who you know is an expert at how to officiate a wedding.

In addition, a religious leader may only be able to officiate a wedding in their house of worship. Nondenominational wedding officiants are more likely to know how to officiate a wedding in outdoor or non-traditional venues.

If necessary, check with your venue jurisdiction to make sure that your marriage celebrant has a valid wedding officiant license to officiate a wedding at that location. This will ensure that they know how to officiate a wedding in the setting you are getting married in. In addition, wedding officiants will ensure that your union will be legally recognized.

What are the Different Types of Wedding Officiants?

Curious about who can officiate a wedding? There are several different types of marriage celebrants, so you and your partner should discuss which you’d like to officiate your wedding. This is important because the different types of marriage celebrants have different ways to officiate a wedding. The majority of states recognize the following kinds of marriage officiants as those authorized to officiate a wedding:

Priest
Minister
Rabbi
Imam
Cantor
Ethical culture leader
Justice of the Peace
Court clerk
Judge
Other non denominational wedding officiants

However, some states have some unusual marriage laws and wedding officiant license requirements. This is why it’s important that you research the laws for the state you’re marrying in before you decide on your wedding officiants. Hawaii, for instance, requires even religious leaders to obtain a specific wedding officiant license to perform marriages. Marriage laws in other states, like Kentucky, do not require a wedding officiant license for clergy to officiate a wedding. Other wedding officiant license laws unique to particular states include:

California allows anyone to apply for a Deputy Commissioner of Marriage license, which is valid for a single day.
Maine includes notary publics in its list of authorized wedding officiants.
Missouri mandates that an authorized marriage officiant must be a U.S. citizen.
Oklahoma and Tennessee are two of the states that legally sanction Quaker weddings, which do not not include wedding officiants.
In Tennessee, a mayor can act as a wedding officiant.
In New Jersey, it is a misdemeanor for an unauthorized person to officiate at a wedding or an authorized wedding officiant to perform a ceremony without presenting his or her license.

Remember: the applicable marriage laws are those in the state where you are marrying. Your state of residence, if different, doesn’t have jurisdiction. If you have more questions about the different types of wedding officiants, you can always ask your wedding planner.

How Do You Find a Wedding Officiant?

Getting married in a religious setting such as a church or synagogue? 22 percent of U.S. couples opt for a religious wedding ceremony. The resident clergy will preside over the ceremony using a standard wedding officiant script.

However, if you want your ceremony to take place outdoors, in a restaurant, or at any other non-religious venue, you will have to find your own wedding officiant. In this situation, you can choose non denominational wedding officiants. There are plenty of wedding officiants that fall into this category, so with some searching, you will find the perfect one. If you are unsure of where to start, you can source recommendations from friends and family members who recently wed.

If you are interested in getting married in a religious setting, you can look up church or synagogue weddings in your area to view possible venues. Then, you can reach out about wedding officiants and see if there is a clergyperson available to officiate your wedding.

If you haven’t attended church in a while, but you are a member of the faith community, you can reach out and see if the clergyperson is willing to be your marriage officiant.

Some faiths are stricter than others about performing weddings outside the church. However, even the conservative Catholic Church has been slowly loosening this restriction. Sometimes, the clergyperson you’ve asked to officiate your wedding is willing to travel to your venue, so it’s worth asking. If you are marrying in the Jewish faith, your range of venue choices is typically broader. Many rabbis prefer officiating in their own synagogues, though. If your wedding celebrant is your rabbi, you can ask them if they’d be open to officiating your marriage in a setting outside the synagogue.

If you have decided where you want to marry, you can also search for weddings that have occurred at your chosen wedding venue. You can then find the contact information for marriage celebrants who have officiated weddings at that venue.

Your other vendors may also be a helpful resource for finding the right wedding officiant. For example, your wedding planner will likely know a number of marriage celebrants they’ve worked with in the past. Or, if you are looking for non denominational wedding officiants, you can ask a friend or family member who had a non denominational wedding celebrant at their wedding to put you in touch with theirs. It is also possible that the staff at your venue may be able to refer a few potential marriage officiants.

What If You're Getting Married Outside the U.S.?

If you are planning a destination wedding in another country, there are several factors you should take into consideration regarding wedding officiants. First, keep in mind that your marriage officiant must be a citizen of the country where you marry. They must be authorized to officiate a wedding in that region.

And while a marriage performed abroad should be legally recognized in the US, officiants in some countries may be restricted from marrying foreign cirtizens. When you are searching for the right wedding officiant in that country, you can ask if there are any marriage laws you should know about. Alternatively, you can do your own research before you reach out to a wedding officiant.

However you should still always look into the marriage laws in your state of residence. If you have any questions regarding the required paperwork or the validity of your marriage abroad, you can contact the Attorney General n your U.S. state of residence.

What Does a Wedding Officiant Do?

Finding the right wedding officiant is an essential part of planning your big day. However, you might be unsure what exactly their role is, aside from reading a wedding officiant script. Here’s how a wedding officiant contributes to your big day.

The Wedding Officiant's Legal Duties:

Your wedding officiant’s main role is to take care of legalities that occur on your wedding day. Part of that legal process is that, prior to the big day, you must obtain a marriage license from your county clerk’s office. (Be sure to check your local office's rules far in advance, as many jurisdictions require that the marriage license is issued within a certain window before your marriage.)

Once you hand your license to your marriage officiant, they take over on the legal front. After the ceremony, your wedding officiant will ensure the proper completion and signing of the marriage certificate. The newlyweds, the marriage officiant, and two witnesses must sign the certificate.

This is not where your marriage officiant’s role ends, however. It is your wedding celebrant's responsibility to guarantee that the license is complete and return the license to the county clerk’s office in the mandated timeframe. There, staff will legally record your marriage. Later, you will receive a certified marriage certificate, which is yours to keep, in the mail.

The Wedding Officiant's Additional (or Optional) Duties:

Prior to the big day, the couple, marriage officiant, and wedding party will gather at the venue for a wedding rehearsal, which helps to ensure that all goes smoothly at the actual event. This typically occurs the evening before the wedding ceremony.

Experienced wedding officiants are best qualified to direct the rehearsal. An experienced wedding officiant will be able to help the wedding party figure out the details such as where to stand, in what order they should enter, and when the bride walks in. Prepare for the marriage celebrant to read their entire wedding officiant script at the rehearsal so the couple is fully prepared for the big day. If you have any questions when the marriage officiant is reading the wedding officiant script, you can ask at this time.

The wedding officiant script varies depending on several factors. For instance, you can work with your wedding officiant to customize a traditional ceremony script. Or, you might create your own wedding officiant script as a couple and provide your marriage celebrant what you have created. Of course, if you have questions, you can always reach out to your wedding officiant to learn more—or work with them to create a unique wedding officiant script for your wedding day.

If you plan on customizing a traditional wedding officiant script to make it more personal, check with prospective wedding officiants in advance to ensure that they are open to adapting their usual script. If one wedding officiant isn’t flexible with the wedding officiant script, you may be able to find another who is if, it’s far enough in advance. Be sure to discuss this upfront during the selection process.

On your wedding day, the marriage celebrant will typically make a wedding officiant speech. Even when the couple writes their own wedding officiant script, celebrants often add a wedding officiant speech of their own. This speech will often include topics such as:

Religious significance, if the ceremony is religious
The meaning of marriage
The couple's story
Advice for making the marriage a success

Some officiants deliver their wedding officiant speech before they actually officiate the wedding. Others will include their wedding officiant speech somewhere else within the ceremony. If you have any questions regarding when the marriage celebrant will deliver their wedding officiant speech, you can always ask for clarification. And remember: you will hear the wedding officiant script during your rehearsal, so you will know exactly what to expect.

Some wedding officiants may ask you to come in prior to the wedding for premarital counseling. In some cases, the counseling sessions are optional, so discuss your preferences before selecting your wedding officiant.

Can a Friend or Family Member Officiate a Wedding?

In many states it is possible for a friend or family member to get legally certified to officiate a wedding. Before your loved one goes and gets ordained, check your state marriage laws. Not all states recognize an ordination certificate from an online church as a legal permit to officiate a wedding. But ultimately, learning how to become a wedding officiant may not be as difficult as you would think.

The Universal Life Church claims that most states recognize non denominational wedding officiants who get ordained via their website. Therefore, your loved one would simply have to take their course to become a wedding officiant before the big day.

However, while the Universal Life Church suggests that many states will recognize non denominational wedding officiants who just became ordained through an online course, it is best to check with your state. This is important because, as the Universal Life Church mentions, states vary with their laws.

The cost of one of these virtual courses is typically less than the average wedding officiant cost, which means it could make sense if a loved one can learn how to officiate a wedding. In addition, an online course may take less time than a traditional way to get ordained would. However, if a friend or loved one wants to be the wedding officiant for your big day, it’s important that they complete the required training in advance.

After obtaining a wedding officiant script and taking a course on how to become a wedding officiant, a friend or loved one might be able to serve as your wedding celebrant.

How Much Does a Wedding Officiant Cost?

On average, American couples spend about $250 for the services of a certified wedding officiant. Of course, this price can range depending on several factors. For instance, if you ask a leader of your church to serve as the wedding officiant for your nuptials, you can expect to pay somewhere around $100, which will be in the form of a donation to the church. If you are looking for nondenominational wedding officiants, you might pay a bit more, around $500.

However, there are some other additional fees you should be aware of. For instance, if you ask your marriage officiant to travel a significant distance to your venue, add travel reimbursement to your estimated cost. Also, if the trip requires an overnight stay, you’ll have to include that in the total wedding officiant cost, too.

Among all of the vendors and goods you will pay for in a wedding, your marriage officiant cost will likely be amongst the lowest. Despite the fact that your wedding officiant will account for just a fraction of the total wedding bill, and they are one of the most important people at your wedding! It's ironic to think what a small percentage of your total wedding bill goes towards the primary goal of getting married: a legal union.

Wedding Officiants for Your Nuptials

Looking for a wedding officiant but unsure of where to start? Carats & Cake has a robust directory of wedding vendors who will help you make your day incredible, including wedding officiants. There’s a reason why Carats & Cake is a trusted resource for couples everywhere. Selecting someone to officiate your wedding is one of the most important decisions you’ll make during the planning process. Carats & Cake will help you get choosing your marriage celebrant right.