Friend to marry us in NYC; need it legal

Your friend can be ordained by the United Life Church and perform the ceremony. From the website: http://ulc.net/index.php?page=wedding_laws

NEW YORK

Marriages may be performed by a clergyman or minister of any religion. Ministers do not have to be licensed except that before performing marriages in New York City, the minister must register his or her name and address in the office of the city clerk of the city of New York. Documentation, to be obtained from ULC Headquarters must be provided with the application for registration in New York City. Ministers must complete a marriage certificate and return it to the town or city clerk who issued the marriage license within 5 days after the marriage. --- For questions see the town or city clerk.

Just make sure whatever route the friend takes to get ordained, that particular ordination has either successfully fought being challenged or is an ordination which has been recognized officially by the city clerk's office. Heck, if Joey on "Friends" can do it...

If you are getting married in one of the five boroughs of New York City, you can use an officiant ordained online. You just can't use such an officiant in Westchester County, Long Island and most of the Hudson Valley. See this New York Times article.

Just cause they can, doestn' mean they should. Officiating a ceremony is more than cut an pasting a bunch of readings and reading them.

Your friend will have to be registered by the city clerk at 141 Worth St. That ordination may or may not be legal outside of the five boroughs; every clerk has a different take on this. Its worth a call to the clerk in the town that they are getting married in to see if they consider it legal.

That NYT article is four years old. The laws have changed since then.