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When choosing who will officiate at your wedding, first you need to decide whether you are going to have a religious or non religious ceremony.
If your choice is a religious ceremony, then you will want to have an ordained minister of a faith similar to your own officiate.
Some people know up front who their wedding officiant will be. Perhaps their pastor is their first choice or a family member is ordained and will lead the special occasion.
But many couples do not already know someone who they've decided would be the ideal person to lead them into holy matrimony.
If you are planning on using a church facility, you may ask the pastor if he or a member of his staff would do the honors. Many pastors will not officiate at a wedding ceremony unless they do premarital counseling first, so be prepared for this to come up.
Other ministers will only perform marriages for members of their congregation.
Most rabbis will not officiate at marriages without both the bride and groom are Jewish. The Jewish and Interfaith Rabbi's Network provides referrals for interfaith couples seeking to get married with a Jewish rabbi as the sole or co-officiant.
Unitarian-Universalist clergy are open to marrying people of any faith and are quite flexible in incorporating readings, songs, and liturgy from various traditions.
But an ordained minister is not your only option for a wedding officiate. If you are looking to have a non-religious ceremony, you have many alternatives.
Under some circumstances, you can have a friend or family member perform the ceremony.
California and a few other states allow individuals to get a one day "Designation of Deputy Commissioner of Marriages" license. For $ 35, any adult can perform the wedding ceremony.
Another option is to have your officiant become ordained through the Universal Life Church which has no creed. They have a simple internet form and small fee for which anyone can get licensed as an ordained minister.
Your county clerk's office should be able to provide you with a list of local Justices of the Peace who are empowered by the state to perform marriages. Another choice is to make an appointment with city hall for a quick office wedding.
The officiant sets the mood for the wedding. Make sure you are comfortable with the person you select in order to make the ceremony memorable for the two of you.
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Source by Chris Hunter
