Officiant FAQs

Your wedding ceremony is a very personal and important thing. It’s vital that you find an Officiant that understands that and does everything he or she can to make your ceremony absolutely perfect. It’s also important to know that with the advent of internet churches and free online ordinations, many inexperienced people are dabbling in the world of wedding Officiants. Here are some great questions to help you navigate your way through the endless sea of not-so-great Officiants!

• What are your requirements for the ceremony content?
  Some Officiants, especially those affiliated with major churches, have certain things they must include in your ceremony as well as certain things they must not include. Make sure you ask! As long as the ‘must’ and ‘must not’ items are good with you, the Officiant might be a good choice. Here at You Had Me At I Do, there’s nothing we must include and there’s nothing we can’t include – your ceremony is completely up to you.
• How do you customize ceremonies?
  The correct answer is “any way you’d like.” Some Officiants have a set ceremony ‘script’. While the names and readings may change, they prefer to stay with the pre-written script. You won’t find that here. We’ll start with our ‘standard’ ceremony, but we’ll tweak, add, edit, delete, and change it until it fits your idea of the perfect ceremony. We’ve even had clients write their own ceremonies for us to use.
• Can we see some of the ceremonies you’ve done in the past?
  You’ll want to look over the ceremonies to see how they were customized for each couple. You’ll see some similarities between them but you’ll also see the unique things the Officiant included for each couple. We’ll be happy to give you lots of different ceremonies! We even have some posted here on our site. From traditional to contemporary, religious to non-religious, fun, funky – we’ve done it all and will gladly show you it all.
• When will you do the rehearsal?
  Most couples choose to have their rehearsals the day before the wedding. Some Officiants will only do a rehearsal the day of the wedding or only at specific times. We’ll work with you to schedule your rehearsal when it’s convenient for you.
• What’s the wackiest ceremony you’ve done?
  This is a trick question for the Officiant! Any Officiant truly willing to go above and beyond for his or her couples will have a wild story or two about a quirky ceremony at an off-the-beaten-path location. An Officiant who tells you that his wackiest ceremony was the one during which he had to stand on the grass and the couple chose three readings instead of two is probably not an Officiant who is willing to do whatever it takes to make your ceremony perfect!
• What extras are available? 
  This will be a real eye-opener for you. If your officiant gives you a low package price but then tells you that you’ll be charged extra for pre-wedding consultations, customizing the ceremony, performing the rehearsal, or anything else, you’ve found an officiant that will nickel and dime you to death. The only thing we charge extra for is travel outside our regular service area.

While these questions aren’t guaranteed to weed out all of the ‘not so perfect’ Officiants, it should help narrow down the field. The best way to choose is to sit down, chat, and trust your instincts.