What to look for in Wedding Officiant

When selecting a pastor, justice of the peace, priest, minister, bishop, rabbi, or other wedding professional to officiate your wedding the most important factor should be their personality and the chemistry they have with you and your fiancé. You will want a wedding officiant that relates to you and your beliefs and will perform the ceremony accordingly.

The qualities you want to look for in your wedding officiant second to their personality and beliefs are good public speaking skills, good human relations skills, experience, can effectively handle all variety of people and situations, and one that will respect the your wishes.

It is important that you and your fiancé are on the same page as to what type of ceremony you would like to have and be sure to select an officiant that performs that type of ceremony; whether it be Religious Wedding Ceremony, Non-denominational Wedding Ceremony, Spiritual Wedding Ceremony, Interfaith Wedding Ceremony, Cultural Ceremony, Civil Wedding Ceremony, etc.

Each state has different laws as to what is legally required during the marriage ceremony. For example, in New York, there are only two legal mandatory parts: A declaration of Intent and a Pronouncement. Check with your officiant, the rest of the ceremony is tradition and up to you. Be sure to read our section about writing your vows for ideas.

Be Smart and choose to have a beautiful ceremony that is meaningful and the highlight of your wedding rather than the part people do as a formality. Start by finding a Wedding-Smart Approved officiant in your Region in our LOCAL VENDORS section.