How to find an officiant for your virtual wedding?

Whether your online ceremony is legal or not, you’ll need someone to administer the ceremony. If you do intend to have a legal online ceremony, your officiant will need to be registered with the state you live in. If you’re performing a symbolic or committal ceremony, anyone – brother, father, friend, cousin – can officiate your ceremony for you. Be sure it’s a person you’re comfortable with who will respect the solemnity of your wedding. This is about your love – not about their ability to crack a great joke! Whomever you choose, ensure that they have your ceremony on their schedule and are prepared to perform a ceremony on your chosen date and time. Some professional officiants may require a deposit.

 

Reach out to local officiants

 

It’s great to work with local officiants. You can either reach out to your local religious leaders (whether it’s a pastor, priest, rabbi, imam or other religious leader). If you don’t have a local officiant, you can find listings on WeddingWire or Thumbtack. The price typically ranges between $200-$1,000. You’ll want to ask whether they have experience with virtual weddings & are tech savvy. Another alternative is to find a family member or friend who’s interested in officiating. If you want them to get licenses, it’s fair easy to use Universal Life Church. You’re also going to want to check with your local laws – learn whether virtual, video weddings are legal in your state.

Be sure it’s a person you’re comfortable with who will respect the solemnity of your wedding. This is about your love!

Work with Officiant to Create Ceremony Script

 

It’s always a good idea to work with your officiant to do a rehearsal & create a script prior to your ceremony. You’ll want to do a good amount of practice beforehand for your sake & theirs. There are many components to personalizing a script, including regular traditions, vow exchanges or methods of including your guests. You can choose which traditions get included such as mentioning of a passed loved one, community vow, ring exchange and many others. It’s always nice for the officiant to have a bit of back-story to incorporate into the ceremony script. It’s helpful for the officiant to know if you intend to do a vow exchange or not. There are also religious elements you can choose to include like reading a piece of scripture or telling a biblical story. Whatever you envision for your big day, be sure to give your officiant a heads up so she or he can properly prepare.

 

Speak Loudly & Clearly During Ceremony

 

It may be counter-intuitive to speak at a high volume when your partner is standing a foot from you but if you’re quiet or speaking intimately, your guests and officiant may be not be able to hear what’s happening between the two of you. Be sure to speak with enunciation and projection during your very special ceremony so everyone can hear and participate.

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