A friend becoming ordained?

Literally, please don't believe any of the "it went great" posts. Most of these don't go well.

Mine did go well but I can only speak for myself. Our ceremony was only about 10 minutes, not too much to orchestrate. What I would say (and I stress this strongly) is if anyone has ANY doubts, go pro. If you are feeling pressured because a family member is offering and you are feeling obligated, say no. This is a huge and LEGAL deal. I would hate to be at family functions for years (and years) with Hubby's brother Bob who screwed up your wedding because he got stage fright. Be VERY clear on script, everything, and be upfront on expectations. If it is the $40 you are eyeing (and I am a budget gal!) save your money someplace else.

If you are close enough to this friend to clearly explain exactly how the ceremony would go and you are confident you know they would do well under pressure public speaking I don't see the problem. If you are hesitant then the answer is probably hire a pro.

Megan, respectfully, how does anyone 'explain exactly how the ceremony would go" when they have no idea how the ceremony would go?

The irony is that most people who want a friend because it's 'more personal' end up just cut and pasting stuff from the internet.

This is an art, believe it or not.

If you do decide to do this just be sure that he gets registered correctly in the state you'll be getting married. Every state has different requirements and you may risk not actually being legally married. It can be the most simplest thing to get ordained online but be sure to double check the laws and requirements to make sure the marriage will be legal.

Go for it. A friend of mine has done it and it was the most awesome ceremony ever. Sure it catered to the younger crowd in that he was a bit of a goof but it was very effective and sweet all at the same time.

We had one of our best friends officiate our ceremony and it was honestly THE best decision we made of our entire wedding. He got ordained online and performed the most beautiful and personal ceremony we ever could've hoped for. It was perfect and every single one of our guests commented on how incredible and emotional our ceremony was. Everyone on here will tell you not to do it (which is fine, there are horror stories!) but in my opinion as long as you make sure everything is legally in order, I say go for it!! We have absolutely no regrets.

@A.L.C ....and you would know that because you've attended the wedding of every person on here that did this, right? You can go ahead and believe every word in my post because it actually "went great."

I can't believe people in trust the most important part of the day in a person who just got ordained for 40 bucks

We are having a family friend that we 100% trust marry us. She went online (After calling our circuit court and asking to make sure) to The Life Church online and got ordained. We just emailed her our ceremony script and are meeting with her soon to talk about what we want and what she can add and everything. When thinking about who we wanted to marry us, FW and i couldn't think of anyone better.

A good friend officiated our wedding, and he did a fantastic job. That said, he was ordained online years ago and has done maybe a dozen weddings (several of which I attended), including some in the state where we were married. I've seen plenty of professional officiants crash and burn (or, at least, make things awkward), and really liked the idea of someone who actually knows us officiating the wedding.

It depends on the individual. It was a lot more work (for him) than I anticipated, and he was totally on the ball with all of it. If they're new at it, they'll need to be very organized and have to do some research to assist with constructing the ceremony and ensuring all the legalities are in place (for example, while some states will technically allow an online-ordained officiant, individual counties within that state can sometimes be picky and have slightly different requirements in order to process the paperwork).

We have a family friend getting Ordained! We aren't very religious, and I think they will do a good job! She knows us both very well and I think we would be more comfortable.

Let me tell you a little story about someone I know that did this. Friend of the groom officiated the wedding. He spent most of the 20 minute ceremony talking about his own marriage and a fight they had. It ended with “climaxing at the Hotel” ( the fight, not the other thing im not allowed to say). The guests gasped, the bride looked mortified and could barely repeat her vows. As we walked out, it’s all the guests could talk about and I was begged to have a pro do ours as we were 5 months away from our own wedding.

do you want someone talking about climaxing at the hotel during your ceremony??