It happens all the time to wedding officiants, and it's the most common and preventable mistake we make. Especially we professional wedding officiants who serve new couples every weekend. It might be a small slip of the tongue or memory, but it can lead to a disproportionately big embarrassment. What's the mistake? The wedding officiant gets the bride or groom's name wrong. If it's just a slip of the tongue or a brief mispronunciation, no big deal. But if it's saying the wrong name, or drawing...
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How to Add a Toast to the Couple in the Wedding Ceremony
A toast to the happy newlyweds isn't just for the wedding reception. Often, couples ask if they can include a wedding toast in the ceremony. I love it! But what to say in the wedding toast? What should be the order of the toast in the wedding ceremony? What about the logistics of getting everyone a drink in their hands? I've thought it all through so you don't have to. And I've done it many times. Here's what works best when the happy couple want a toast right in their ceremony. Make the toast...
How to Add a Handfasting to the Wedding Ceremony
"Tying the knot." Yep, it's the euphemism for marriage that comes right from the handfasting ritual in a wedding ceremony. The first time I was asked by one of my wedding couples if I would do a handfasting in their ceremony, I said yes, of course. But I was pretty intimidated by it. Handfasting sounds very formal. And there are actual logistics to consider! How do you tie the knot? What do you say? And most importantly, how can handfasting possibly not seem out of place in a fun,...
8 Steps to Landing New Wedding Clients in the First Meeting
It's common for us wedding officiants to feel a lot of pressure about that first consultation meeting with a prospective client. What do I say? How do I structure the conversation? Is there a best way to do this? As a full-time professional wedding officiant, I run these first meetings with couples once or twice a week on average. I've honed my method over years, and I feel like I've hit on a routine that works. Now, I call this first meeting our "chemistry check." It's more... human (or...
5 Seating Options for the Signing of the Registry
In many wedding ceremonies, there's an element called the Signing of the Registry. This is when the couple sign their marriage license with two witnesses and the officiant. When I started out, my first questions about wedding ceremonies in general were, "Who sits during the Signing of the Registry? And when?" Does everyone sit down? Only one half of the couple? What about the witnesses? In what order do they sign? As it turns out, there are a few ways to do it. Here are 5 options I recommend...
5 Tips for Working Well with the Wedding Photographer (Part 2)
In the last post, we discussed the two things we need to go over in our pre-ceremony conversation with the wedding photographer. 1. Discuss requests and expectations with the wedding photographer ahead of time. 2. Give the wedding photographer a rundown of our Order of Ceremony. (You can jump back to Part 1 here.) But we're not just all-talk, no-action, are we? No. Here are three more things we can actually do to work at our absolute best with the wedding photographer and make sure our...
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