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Dan Jones, Wedding Officiant

Embracing Ceremony Blog

Budgeting Wedding Priorities

Where, in the long list of expenses for your big day, does your wedding officiant fit in? Comparing costs for the venue, the flowers, the rings isn’t easy, but the costs are somewhat tangible as you compare from vendor to vendor. You can consider tradeoffs such as selecting a venue that has such a stunning view that you can skimp on (or altogether skip) the flowers.

 

A marriage celebrant is more of an emotional decision. Do you want to know the person that is administering your marriage vows? Do you want to have at least met them prior to the ceremony? Wedding celebrants operate with different styles and it will benefit you to “shop around” as much for that style as for their price. Interviewing your prospective wedding celebrants will give you a sense of their personality which is often as important to the decision as any other factor.

 

You’ll want to consider that in the overall wedding budget, your marriage celebrant is quite a small piece of the pie. However, they are going to be in the limelight for your marriage ceremony and will set the tone for you and for your guests. Is it important to you to have a customized ceremony that reflects you and your beliefs? Or are you comfortable with a wedding officiant coming in that doesn’t know you and reads through their generic script? Do you want a polished performance or someone that stumbles on their words or perhaps slips and calls you by the wrong name? Do you want your officiant present and helping just prior to the ceremony or do you want to be biting your nails wondering when they’ll show up?

 

In my experience in Taos and northern New Mexico as well as Denver there are enough wedding officiants to choose from that it behooves you to shop around and find the right fit. You’ll want someone that leaves you feeling confident and your guests relaxed and celebrating the meaning in your ceremony.

Want more information on this topic? Email Dan at Dan@EmbracingCeremony.com

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