Only you can know your financial situation and how that relates to selecting the correct wedding celebrant to conduct your marriage ceremony. A difference of $25 or $50 between officiants’ pricing may mean the difference between staying on budget or drifting off course (easy to do!). You’ll also need to weigh how important the wedding minister you select is to you. Are you seeking a completely custom ceremony with an officiant you meet with a couple of times before your wedding date? Or are you content with an officiant that will show up for your wedding, solicit the “I do’s” and sign the license?
I see the full range in my business. Some panicked brides call a week or two from their wedding date because the completely forgot about needing someone to perform the ceremony. Other times I hear more than a year in advance from couples that are meticulously planning their ceremony and want first pick of each component. Usually the level of desperation to find a marriage celebrant correlates closely to the degree to which they’re looking for a bargain.
My primary message is for you to identify for yourselves the degree to which budget is driving your selection process? If it is strictly a monetary decision your work is straightforward in comparing price quotes. Otherwise you’ll want to interview several officiants just as you would in any service solicitation. On the intangible side you’ll want to determine your comfort level with the officiant. Is this who you want to look at as you’re standing before your guests about to make your vows? Do you want this person in all your wedding ceremony photographs? More tangibly, do they use pre-scripted ceremonies? Do you get a say in what is spoken? Do you want something innovative and custom? These questions and more are the type of things you should be thinking about as you interview officiants.
Want more information on this topic? Email Dan at Dan@EmbracingCeremony.com