Did anyone have FIL or Best Man as Officiant?

FH's dad is also really kind and would do a nice job, although I think he's much more conservative, and I would want someone who is a bit more comfortable with new-age concepts so I think I would only ask him to do a reading. Unfortunately, I work on Sundays, so I haven't had the opportunity to go to local spiritual community meetings to see if I like someone there.

ETA: I should add that there has been past tension between FBIL and BM. It seems that though they had a falling out, they are cordial. I think we should be ok for the ceremony, but I need some reassurance. I want to go with someone I know really well, who knows me and FH and gets me. One of my bridesmaids would also do an amazing job, but she is overwhelmed with her own personal matters, hence I may have her do a reading as well.

FH was considering asking his Best Man. I pushed for an officiant. I just think it's a lot of stress on someone that doesn't do it all the time. One of my cousins had her aunt as her wedding officiant. As a bridesmaid, I saw her aunt physically shaking and whisper apologies to the bride and groom. No one else saw this and thought the ceremony was wonderful. But it's just a lot to ask of someone.

The VIPs of your wedding should be guests of honor and in my opinion, asking them to work isn't a good idea.

My dad is doing our ceremony. He's a pastor (we call them elders) so he's ordained. He isn't sure he's going to be able to make it through without tears though! I think it would be weird to have a complete stranger marry us but I guess that's pretty normal. Have you tried using the WW search for vendors? You may just want to make some appointments and see how it goes.

Get a pro, okay? Get someone who does this all the time, is comfortable, has no personal issues to intervene. We're easy enough to find. Search here, look at Celebrant USA, but get someone who is good at this, can interpret your thoughts and wishes, write something articulate and perform it well.

We're asking a friend who is comfortable with public speaking to officiate for us. We're still verifying that he'll be able to do it (he lives in a different state than we do, and it's not the one we're getting married in, so we need to know that he'll defiinitely be able to make it!).

Make sure you check what you need for someone to officiate where you're getting married. In the county we're getting married in, we were told we just need to copy a certificate he gets when he goes through his online course (which is free - the certificate is $30, and comes with bumper stickers and random stuff) to send in with our marriage license.

Something else to consider (because it's something definitely on my mind) is that in addition to picking out the readings and tone, you may need to write out the whole ceremony - your officiant can always add what they want, but if it's someone who isn't super comfortable in that role, than it might help that they don't have to come up with the words you're hoping they'll say.

I would look for an officiant who has experience doing a variety of wedding ceremonies and is open to having you customize the ceremony. You know they'll be a great speaker, they won't get nervous up front, and will do a great job!

We're having my brother as our officiant. My fiancé wasn't going to have him be a groomsman (they get along great, but he just didn't make the cut) but we both wanted him involved somehow. He's never officiated a ceremony before but in Massachusetts anyone can get ordained for a day online! He's also an amazing public speaker (he is a college professor so spends all day talking in front of groups!) which is one of the most important qualities. When our grandfather passed away two years ago he did the eulogy and it was beautiful, so I'm confident he'll do a great job! He's a devout Catholic but is accepting and supportive of us being non-religious so he'll be writing a secular ceremony for us.

We had DH's uncle as our officiant. He's a judge, so he has a great presence and is very much used to public speaking. He also knew us well as a couple (and obviously knew DH very well) so he did and AMAZING job.

I would suggest not having someone who is already heavily involved in the wedding in some way be your officiant (i.e. no best man or close in-laws) they already have enough to do and will want to enjoy the day. And if they're a first time officiant you're going to need to do 95% of the work creating the ceremony, because they won't know how to do it and it's too important task to leave to a novice.

This close to the wedding I would hire a pro who's done weddings before. Have the VIPs in your life do a reading or a toast at the reception.