Are you having a friend or relative officiate your wedding? While it always adds a meaningful and personal aspect to your day, if your officiant isn’t a professional or has never officiated a wedding before, they will likely have a lot of questions about how to put together and conduct your ceremony. We have put together some tips on how to officiate a wedding to make sure your ceremony runs smoothly.

Quick tips:

Remind them to tell guests to be seated after the processional.

Nothing worse than all of your guests not being sure whether they need to remain standing or if it’s time to sit.

Make sure they practice receiving the rings from the best man.

Practicing this will make for an easy hand off during the ceremony.

Ask them to step aside before the first kiss.

As much as you love your officiant, having the photos of your first kiss just being the two of you is ideal.

Ensure they are on the same pages as the musicians/DJ for music cues.

Making sure everyone knows the last words of the ceremony and when to start the music is imperative.

Let them know any announcements to make.

Guests will need instructions. If you want an unplugged ceremony, be sure your officiant says that. As mentioned above, also letting them know when to stand and when to sit is imperative. Guests will also need to know where to go after the ceremony. Have your officiant direct them to cocktail hour and also mention if there are family photos after the ceremony and invite those people to stay.

Discuss logistics.

-What will they wear?

-Will they be reading from a book or a binder? Do they need a podium to place it on?

-What is the microphone situation? (often the band or DJ can provide this)

How to Get Ordained

Here is a link with details on how to get ordained in Wisconsin.

The officiant’s basic duties:

Get Ordained Online
Check County Marriage Laws
Order Documents
Acquire Wisconsin Marriage License
Perform the Ceremony
Make it Official

Making sure you have all of the information for the state and county is incredibly important, because counties vary on what they require.

How to Structure the Ceremony

Depending on what you want included in your ceremony, this will vary. Often couples will have readings which could include Bible scriptures, poems, or anything you like. Sometimes there is a form of unity ceremony such as a unity candle, sand ceremony, or exchanging love letters and sealing them in a box with your favorite drink to open on a future anniversary.

Here is an example: