Officiant and Ceremony Script?

We got the final draft about a week and a half before the wedding. She emailed a few rough drafts during the week before that.

I already have mine. To be fair, we are planning out of town, and can't meet the officiant a month before the wedding like she usually does, so we are starting way ahead of time to give ourselves lots of leeway.

Actually just got it today. Wedding isnt until Sept.

We wrote ours, and just sent it to the officiant for approval.

Our first phone call she said the whole ceremony over the phone to me. No script yet but I want to email her and ask for a copy, I just keep forgetting.

He has several examples of ones he used/done on his site. His are all completely customized by the couples, so each one is a little different. Based on that, I sent him a rough sketch of what I wanted before we even met, which he was perfectly ok with. He said we'd get a rough draft a couple of weeks before, in case we needed or wanted to make any changes, and then just go from there until the wedding day- making as many changes as we wish until it's perfect.

I try to have a first draft to my couples between 3-4 weeks before the wedding day, depending on how conscientious they are about getting their questionnaires back to me on time. Then we do an edit, which is usually pretty minor, and it's done two weeks ahead.

Our ceremonies are very couple driven, which makes it critical for the couple to see and approve the entire script to make sure the love story parts are right, parents/dogs/key player names are right, and that we didn't forget anything like unity candles or sand...

When we do the final edit, we put the processional blueprint together, and I remind the couple to send me their vows so I can print them up for them.

I got a rough draft before I even signed a contract, we are free to edit it and will have a meeting with her before the wedding to get a final copy

Okay! Good to know that I am not odd for expecting one. I asked her to send me wording she would use for the wine box portion of the ceremony and she "jokingly" called me anal :/ she really may have been joking, and I'm just too sensitive or she may have been rude.... Ha. I will ask her about a script. Thank you

That's rude.

Yeah I kind of figured, Celia. Tried to move on from the comment since she plays such an important role. But, I'm still annoyed over it -_-

I'd tell her, honestly. I think most officiants have pretty good filters; after all, as fun and funny as the process can be, we're still 'clergy', even if we're secular. My couples range from, "You put three spaces after that period" to, "Just say anything, we trust you", but to me, part of why you choose an independent officiant is that you feel they'll work with your anxiety level and be a partner and an all for the most nerve wracking (for many) part of the whole day. No one should feel belittled by their need for details.

"I need to tell you that I felt insulted when you made the comment about my wanting to see details. I realize you've done this dozens of times, but it's my first and only wedding, and the tone of the ceremony is important to us. When you get a chance, can you send me the wording for the wine box? We want to make sure the emphasis is on the happy opening of the box on our 10th anniversary, not the possibility of opening it earlier (if that's your concern). (Or, "we want to make sure you mention that the wine is the same wine we shared on our first date. ...)

I think this thread is so important on so many levels:

-To show brides that come in here and say an officiant only does 20 minutes of work

-To show people like my FMIL as to why I want to pay for an officiant and not ask a family friend. Because I won't get things like you know, a planned ceremony.

Get the script!

I don't have a script. We are doing a practice run through at our house the night before and that is probably when we will get exact wording. It isn't a big deal to me. I trust my grandfather 100% as our officiant and I have witnessed other weddings he has done. He told us last week he uses the same basic template with minor changes as needed. He has used the same template for every wedding he has done since the early 60's when he did his first wedding.

^ Does that mean he has not yet taken out "obey"?

Like another PP we wrote our own and sent it to our pastor for approval a month before the wedding.

I wrote our wedding script. We are having a family friend marry us, as we are getting married off at a desintaion beach with just our VIP family and friends. I googled scripts for months before I gave our friend the final. We are very happy with it. Wedding is in less than 2 months. WeWe'llll see how it goes! ?

I wrote our wedding script. We are having a family friend marry us, as we are getting married off at a desintaion beach with just our VIP family and friends. I googled scripts for months before I gave our friend the final. We are very happy with it. Wedding is in less than 2 months. WeWe'llll see how it goes! ?