If you’ve been asked to officiate a wedding, one of the first practical questions that comes up is when you’re actually supposed to do everything. When should you sit down with the couple to plan the ceremony? When should you send them their questionnaire? How long should you give them to answer it? When should you contact their friends and family? When do you write the love story? When should the final script be finished? These are some of the most common questions I hear from newer...
Category: Wedding Ring Exchange
How To Add Religious Elements in a Wedding Ceremony: A Guide for Officiants
You're a wedding officiant and your couple says, “We're not really religious, but we'd like something spiritual in the ceremony.” Now what? Do you add a prayer? A blessing? A religious reading? A ritual from their tradition? And if you're not clergy, are there elements you should completely avoid? More and more couples are getting married without a traditional minister, priest, rabbi, imam, or other religious leader officiating their wedding. Some identify as spiritual but not religious. Some...
Where To Put The Jewish Breaking Of The Glass In A Wedding Ceremony
When couples want to include the Jewish tradition of breaking the glass in their wedding ceremony, one of the biggest questions is where to put it. And my answer is pretty specific: I like to place the breaking of the glass right near the very end of the ceremony, after the officiant’s closing remarks and immediately before the final presentation of the couple. Not because it can’t work anywhere else. You’ll see different versions of this in different ceremonies, and some couples will have...
How To Add Shots To Your Wedding Ceremony
Should couples do shots during their wedding ceremony? It's a question that came up recently one one of my weekly YouTube livestreams; it made me laugh a little. Because like a lot of wedding questions, the answer is not really yes or no. After officiating hundreds of weddings, I’ve learned that almost anything can work in a ceremony if it fits the couple, fits the energy of the room, and fits the emotional flow of what’s happening. And almost anything can feel awkward if it doesn’t. I’ve seen...
Big Wedding Ceremonies vs. Elopements: What Actually Changes for the Officiant (And What Doesn’t)
When you're a wedding officiant, it's important to know what is different when you officiate a big wedding ceremony vs. an elopement - and what stays the same. Because when you shift from a big wedding to a small ceremony, a lot of things you’re used to relying on disappear. The room is different. The vibe is different. The “rules” are different. And you can’t just autopilot your way through. First, let’s define “elopement” like the wedding industry does now When most people hear “elopement,”...
Politics and Your Business: A People-First Blueprint for Officiants
At Wedding MBA, a fellow officiant came up to me and asked, “There’s a social/political issue I care deeply about. I think it's hurting people. Should I talk about it in my business or just keep saying nothing?” It’s a fair question — and one most of us wrestle with quietly. The world is noisy. Things happen that tug at your heart or light up your sense of justice. You feel like you should say something. But then that other voice chimes in: Will this hurt my business? Will clients walk away?...
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