Almost every couple that contacts me asks this question and those that don’t, should! I have heard some horror stories from clients and other wedding pros about couples that have recruited their family member or friend to conduct their wedding ceremony to save a buck. A lot of times the couple doesn’t come away with great memories of their ceremony. Then they get the photos of their ceremony and are disappointed all over again.

Here are the top 5 reasons you should hire a professional wedding officiant.

5. Your family and friends will get to enjoy the day without added pressure and stress.

This is a big day for you and your partner and all of your family and friends should be able to relax and enjoy the celebration of your marriage. If your cousin John is freaking out over having to perform in front of 100 people he won’t have fun - and who is going to help calm him down? More than likely you, one of your wedding party, or another family member or friend. Now not only is cousin John stressed, he has also caused stress to other folks there to enjoy your big day.

4. Your other wedding vendors are there to do their job, not help your officiant.

What happens when your officiant doesn’t know what to do? They lean on the pros to get them through the day. Your photographer should be focusing on taking amazing photos, not giving tips to your officiant on where to stand. Your DJ shouldn’t be running around at the last minute trying to figure out how to make sure folks can hear the ceremony or when to start and stop the music. A professional officiant will have taken care of every detail and worked everything out with your vendors well in advance of your ceremony.

3. Your ceremony will be customized to show what is important to you as a couple, and what makes your story unique.

A lot of people that have been recruited to officiate a wedding don’t even know where to begin. They spend a bit of time googling wedding ceremonies and copy pasting what they liked out of the hundreds of cookie cutter ceremonies out there. They may edit the ceremonies to fit how they would speak but they don’t know enough to truly make a ceremony that wows.

A professional officiant will know exactly the right questions to ask and how to structure a wedding ceremony that people will enjoy. Your guests will be engaged through the storytelling techniques learned through experience officiating other weddings.

2. Your ceremony photos will turn out better.

An experienced officiant will know exactly where to be and what to do to help your photographer capture your special moments unimpeded. Your photographer won’t be frustrated that your officiant is making goofy faces without realizing it - or worse, accidentally photobombing your first kiss!

1. Your ceremony will run smoothly with little to no stress to you and your partner.

Getting married is stressful! You shouldn’t have to worry about where your wedding party is standing, or what cue they should use to start their walk down the aisle, or if the pianist will play the music at the right time, or if the flower girl will know where to go once she gets to the altar. All of this will be handled by a professional officiant. They will have coached your bridal party at the rehearsal they run. They will have worked ahead of time with all of the vendors that impact your ceremony. They will have worked with you and your partner to make sure the ceremony is exactly what you’ve been dreaming about. They will even take a moment before the ceremony to calm last minute jitters so you can focus on your partner when walking down the aisle.

That’s not to say that your cousin John won’t do a good job at the ceremony. But will he know all of the little details that come with experience? A professional officiant has the training and years of experience guiding them to make your ceremony flawless.

Still not convinced? Book a free consultation and we can discuss your ceremony needs.