• What Your Wedding Officiant Actually Handles Before the Ceremony

  • A lot of couples think the officiant shows up, says some words, and files the paperwork. The ceremony work starts earlier than that. This is what You Had Me At I Do actually handles before you walk in — sourced from our officiant FAQs and how we already describe the job on Forgotten Coast location pages.

    We are the officiant. We are not your planner. If you need someone to run vendors, lodging, and the rest of the weekend on Florida’s Forgotten Coast, that is a different job: Need a planner/coordinator? Forgotten Coast Wedding Company is a related business (same owner).

    Before the ceremony

    • Ceremony structure. Processional through vows through the kiss — what happens, in what order, and who stands where. We help you choose a style that fits your crowd, not a script we refuse to change.
    • The script itself. There is nothing we must include and nothing we cannot include. We start from a working ceremony and tweak, add, delete, and rewrite until it sounds like you. Some couples write their own and we perform it.
    • Readings and rituals. We help you choose them, or leave them out. We do not charge extra to customize.
    • Rehearsal. Most couples want it the day before. We schedule it when it actually works for you, not only at a slot we prefer. See professional officiant vs a friend if Uncle Mike is still on the table.
    • Destination logistics that belong to the officiant. Wind and sound on a Gulf beach, where you stand so vows are heard, and the marriage-license path for out-of-state couples. We do not book your house, chairs, or photographer.

    The license, after

    You bring the license to the ceremony. We sign it and return it to the issuing clerk. Florida and Wisconsin are different processes — use the license page for the state where you are getting married, and treat it as guidance, not legal advice.

    What we do not handle

    Full planning, vendor management, lodging blocks, rentals, and day-of timeline for the whole weekend. Those are coordinator jobs. The officiant job is the ceremony, the rehearsal, and the license.

    Florida couples: start at the Florida officiant hub. Wisconsin couples: Wisconsin officiant hub.