Working for you is what an Officiant does in their “off time”.

Continuing Education

Many people work in professions which require them to attend classes and seminars to learn additional skills. While the Professional Wedding Officiant is not required to do these things, I take the honor of being your Officiant very seriously. That’s why I take it upon myself to attend classes and seminars throughout the year. This past week I have been at the Wedding MBA in Las Vegas along with 5000 other Wedding Professionals. Even if we have not met as yet, I see this as working for you. Learning about current trends in weddings, finding better ways to serve you and discovering better ways to help make your ceremony more memorable are all part of my continuing education.

The difference between me and “Uncle Bob”

Uncle Bob, or Aunt Martha may show their love for you by agreeing to be your Officiant. I honor that sentiment. Having a friend or loved one preside over your wedding is a wonderful thought. However the pitfalls which arise from getting their information from random websites are many. Your wedding ceremony is much more than speaking beautiful, heart-felt words before you and your guests. As much as they may care about you it is the details which become so important to a flawless ceremony.

Uncle Bob is going to do this once. As a Professional Wedding Officiant your perfect ceremony does not come about by accident. At the conference I just attended I heard so many stories about friends and family forgetting to do the simple things. I heard about a friend who forgot to have the guests sit down after the bride’s entrance, leaving out the legal wording which makes your ceremony official, dropping the rings and getting so caught up in the emotion of the day they stumble through the ceremony.

My way to show that, even if we have not yet met, I am working for you and your magical day is to continue my learning and training. Working for you means learning the legal fine points within your ceremony. It means having the experience to complete your license and get it filed according to the requirements of the jurisdiction where it will be recorded. Working for you means being fully prepared mentally to deliver a ceremony you will love and your guests will enjoy. That’s the difference between me and Uncle Bob

Experience counts

Love is the most important part of a wedding ceremony; your love as well as my love for the profession of Wedding Officiant. Aunt Martha may bring the love but what happens when she has to deal with sudden changes in the weather? What happens when the wind shuffles her ceremony script? Can they handle the PA dropping out? This is where experience comes in. Let your imagination run wild about the things which might happen during your ceremony. I promise you, you will only scratch the surface! I have had the wind wreck havoc with the bride’s dress and veil. The pet who was supposed to bring the rings to the alter suddenly decides to investigate a nearby tree instead. Groomsmen and bridesmaids succumb to the heat. The emotion of the moment leaves the couple overwhelmed to the point that they cannot focus on the most important day of their lives together. Dealing with these kind of factors requires experience. As a Wedding Officiant I have helped hundreds of couples successfully overcome these distractions. Experience counts.

Then there is the license

I care about you. Are you aware that a single drop of liquid on your license can invalidate it? It’s true! Before I learned the tricks of safekeeping the license I had to re-file several licenses (at my own expense). No cross-outs are allowed. Going outside specific areas can invalidate the license. Completing every block is essential. No matter how much Aunt Martha or Uncle Bob love you, making an error on the license can cost you months of delay and unnecessary expense. When I do your ceremony my goal, my only goal, is to be the consummate professional beginning with creating your ceremony and ending with the successful filing of your license.

The other professionals

Chances are I will not be the only professional contributing to your wedding day. The Wedding Coordinator, the Venue, Photographer, DJ, caterer, make-up and hair are just a few of the professionals who are dedicated to helping you create the perfect day. Often my responsibilities include coordinating with at many of these other professionals. I promise you, my experience puts me in a position to not only work with the other professionals, but to help them serve you better. Even before I get to your venue I am often working with your team. This means I am working for you every step of the way.

DJ’s want to know sound and music cues. Photographers want to understand what we will be doing during your ceremony to get the perfect images. The Coordinator want to be able to confidently hand over those twenty minutes to someone else. The experience of your Officiant can make the difference between a beautifully orchestrated event or a clumsy, uncomfortable experience. I am even working with you to insure the Caterer knows when to have your food and beverage ready.

But still,

If Uncle Bob or Aunt Martha is your choice for your Officiant you can still call upon me to be on hand to insure all of these things happen properly. Your friend or family member does not have to become Ordained on line. In most cases you can engage me to be there to do the pre-ceremony coordination I have spoken about as well as legally and properly complete your license. I am happy to say I will still be working for you!