Cornish Maine Wedding Photographer // Hiring A Professional Wedding Officiant

Now before you come at me saying, “I had so and so marry me and it worked beautifully”. You have to understand that I see A LOT of weddings and 50% of the time using a friend or relative as your wedding officiant works just fine. But, then there are the other 50%……..

The two most common issues that happen when a couple has a friend or relative officiate their wedding is that they 1. forget to have all of the guests sit after the bride gets to the end of the aisle. Not the end of the world, but it will severely limit your photographers ability to accurately capture your ceremony. I mean, I’m pretty adaptable, but I still can’t see through someone’s head. 2. Making a mockery of your wedding day or saying something inappropriate. I get that they are just trying to be tell a funny story and lighten up the ceremony, but there are probably something that Nana doesn’t need to hear. Also a lot of the times those stories include themselves, taking away the focus on the couple. Save it for the toasts. The ceremony is not the time for it. I have heard some pretty cringy things shooting weddings that had no place being said into a microphone.

Hiring someone to professionally officiant your wedding definitely costs more money that it does to get ordained in the state of Maine, but they do so much more than show up on your wedding day, talk for 20 minutes and marry you. A professional officiant will understand the flow of a wedding ceremony and be able to write something that is pretty amazing. They will take the time to get to know the couple and customize and personalized the ceremony. Many will help the couple write their vows. This was something that was particularly hard for me on my wedding day and I could’ve used the help. On the other hand, it was very easy for my husband and 13 years later, I’m still mad at him! But the most important thing of all, they make your marriage legal. Professional Officiants are Notaries in the state of Maine. They understand what paperwork is needed and where it needs to go afterwards to make sure that your marriage is indeed a marriage!

Remember when I said that 50% of weddings that are officiated by family or friends have some sort of weird hiccup, that means that the other 50% are perfectly fine. I totally think it depends upon who you pick and what you are looking to gain from it. So, if you and your fiancé find it more meaningful to hire a friend or family member, that’s great. Obviously, make sure they are a good public speaker that takes your marriage seriously and knows the proper procedure for submitting all of the paperwork to the state of Maine after the fact. I have most certainly seen some of the more moving wedding ceremonies done by family members. Sometimes couples literally just want to be surrounded by friends and family for their wedding and it just makes them feel more comfortable and that’s okay too.

Regardless of what decision you make or why you make that decision, just make sure that you put some real thought into it! It’ll make all the difference!