Hi all!
We are getting married in May 2024 and are trying to find an officiant.
I am Christian and my family is religious and all English speaking. His family is not religious and neither is he. Both he and his family are Korean speaking. I am bilingual and we plan to have the entire ceremony be done in both English and Korean so we need an officiant that is also bilingual.
I am having trouble finding someone to officiate the wedding. There are many bilingual churches in Northern Virginia however my fiancé is not Christian so I am not sure they will be willing to participate (the churches I have attended in the past have all had a policy that both bride and groom must be baptized and attend marital counseling in order to have the pastor officiate). There are also 2 bilingual officiants listed on Fairfax County's website and I contacted them both. One has not replied and then other replied very rudely to go find someone else after I asked her a few questions.
Does anyone have experience with a situation like this? It seems like Virginia is a bit strict when it comes to officiants? It's quite expensive to apply to be a one time officiant (a $500 bond is required??).
In other people's experience will pastors marry a couple that is not both Christian? I know there certainly are pastors who will marry couples of different religions but Korean Churches tend to be quite strict in my experience.
I would love to hear if anyone else knows more about the one time officiant process in VA or if anyone can give a recommendation or advice on finding a bilingual officiant who is already ordained and does not mind the religious difference...