In our blog last two weeks ago we told you the Do’s and Don’t’s of  choosing your Wedding Officiant, this week we wanted to give you 12 questions that you should ask your officiant before you decide to hire them:

 1. Is the officiant available on your wedding date?

 2. If you don’t have a site, can the officiant suggest one or provide a courthouse or meeting room?

 3. Can the officiant travel to your chosen wedding site?

 4. How long has the officiant been performing weddings?

 5. Why does the officiant perform weddings?

 6. Does the officiant charge a standard fee?

 7. Does the officiant have sample wording or ceremonies or readings to show you?

 8. Will the officiant allow you to play an active role in the planning of your ceremony?

 9. Can you include some religious aspects if you choose to?

10. Is the officiant available for the ceremony rehearsal?

11. Does the officiant make you comfortable

12. Does the officiant seem genuinely interested in you as a couple?

These 12 questions will help guide you as you work through trying to plan your ceremony and ensure that you have the right officiant for you as a couple.

Until Next Time, Happy Planning

Amalia Ward

You are putting the final touches on your ceremony and your reception; one of the final outstanding questions you and your spouse to be need to decide on is whether or not you should have a receiving line after your ceremony or at your reception. Before that decision is made let’s give you some background on the purpose of the receiving line, the purpose of a receiving line an opportunity for the happy couple to greet there guests and thank them for attending your wedding. The receiving line also allows you to have a quick conversation with each of your guests rather than getting caught in my longer conversations later on in the evening.

When it comes to choosing the officiant that will preside over your wedding there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

Do’s:

1. Do know the regulations of the city you are getting married in to ensure that under that cities law they can marry you.

2. Do ensure that the officiant you choose can actually marry you; for example in the Province of Ontario for religious ceremonies only an official of a recognized religon and has authorization from the Office of the Registrar General. In a non-religious ceremony only a Judge, Justice of the Peace or a Municipal Clerk can perform the ceremony.

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Have you every been at a wedding where speeches begin and it seems like you are sitting there forever as a number of guests get up to wish the couple well in their marriage? This is one of those points in a wedding where your guests become easily bored as they don’t know what to do and begin to do one of two things: fiddle with items on the table or begin side conversations while the speech is being given.

So how do you get around this and ensure that your speeches are brief and to the point? Here are some tips on who should be giving speeches and when those speeches should be given.

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