We’ve worked with many couples who opted to have their friend officiate the wedding and all of the deliveries have been very personal and heartwarming. I still recommend a professional officiant who will work with you on getting your stories and write the perfect ceremony script, but if you have that perfect friend for the job, then you should ask and provide them with the information they need to successfully deliver a beautiful wedding ceremony. Click here for more information about obtaining a marriage license in Los Angeles.

10 Tips for Friend Officiants

1. Dress the part, but don’t go overboard, you’re not the focus of attention here.
2. If you accept the job, put in the time. Really work on the ceremony script to include personal encounters, stories, cultural and heritage reference.
3. Add funnies and jokes to loosen the tension, but avoid embarrassing or inappropriate references.
4. Practice your delivery, edit any sentences that are awkward to say out loud or don’t roll off your tongue.
5. Print out the script, in a font size that you can easily read, preferably all on one page so you don’t have to flip the papers. Ipads are ok, but phones are not.
6. Slow and steady does the trick. Pause and look at the couple and audience. We’ve allocated at 20 – 30 min for the ceremony so don’t talk too fast.
7. Smile! You are going to be in their wedding photos.
8. When asking for the rings, turn to him. Rings go on the left-hand ring finger.
9. When it’s time for the kiss, “you may now kiss the bride”, step to the side, so you’re not photobombing their first kiss photo.
10. DON’T FORGET TO SIGN THE MARRIAGE LICENSE! Bring a black ink pen and write neatly within the box on the form. Avoid making mistakes, or it will delay the processing, and the couple would have to wait longer to receive their marriage certificate.

Wedding Ceremony Resources

Become Ordained:

• American Marriage Ministries
• Get Ordained
• Universal Life Church

Sample Ceremony Scripts, Readings, Vows:

• Sample Ceremony Script for Different Religions – The Knot
• 3 Beautiful Non-Religious Wedding Ceremony Scripts – A Practical Wedding
• A Non-traditional, Non-religious, Non-boring Wedding Ceremony Script – The Offbeat Bride 
• A Collection of Wedding Ceremony Readings – The Spruce
• How to Write the Perfect Personalized Wedding Vows – The Spruce

Professional Wedding Officiants We Recommend:

• Alexander Officiants
• The Great Officiants
• LA Wedding Woman
• Marriage To-Go
• Reverend Dawn Camacho
• Wedding Officiant Jon Olson