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Dedicated September 2019

Officiant Cost

FutureMrsBeeson, on March 14, 2018 at 11:13 AM Posted in Wedding Ceremony 0 46

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How much did you all pay for an officiant? FH and I are not religious. We are looking for a secular officiant, but it's harder than we thought it would be. We originally had a family friend that was going to officiant for us, but sadly he passed away a few months ago. Since then, it's been hard to find anyone we like. I know we still have time, but vendors book well over a year out in our area (Seattle).

We are meeting with a vendor off Wedding Wire next week. She sent me a quote in advance, and whew was I shocked at the price! It's almost $1k! She has great reviews, and I think we'll like her, but I didn't budget for this much of an expense.

Does this seem reasonable? Granted, Seattle prices are higher than average. For all of you city folk, what did you pay for your officiant?

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46 Comments

Latest activity by Jen, on June 8, 2018 at 1:17 PM

Champion August 2017
Mrsbdg · on March 14, 2018 at 11:23 AM
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We were in suburban PA and we paid $500 for a custom secular wedding.

Honestly some "Christian" officiants are willing to do custom secular weddings. Our officiant was technically religious but I told her we didn't want any mention of religion, spirits, or blessings.
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Dedicated September 2019
FutureMrsBeeson · on March 14, 2018 at 11:25 AM
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$500-600 was what I was expecting to pay. I think the exact quote I got was $950 + tip/travel.
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Super May 2018
Amanda · on March 14, 2018 at 11:27 AM
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We're paying for a customized non-religious ceremony and it was $300. Includes the rehearsal.
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Dedicated September 2019
Morgan · on March 14, 2018 at 11:27 AM
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Hey wedding date twin!

Im kind of in the same situation as you. We live in the NYC/Long Island area, and officiants are crazy expensive here. We don’t really want to pay more than $500 MAX. I recently discovered Thumbtack, which allows vendors to bid on your services. We were quoted between $200-350 for good, reputable officiants that had glowing reviews (the website only allows people who have booked the vendor to review them). We’re leaning towards going with one of the officiants we found on there, but we’re going to make sure their legit by checking their websites, review sites like yelp, WW and the knot, and meeting them in person. Good luck!
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Dedicated September 2019
FutureMrsBeeson · on March 14, 2018 at 11:29 AM
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Thanks, date twin! I forgot all about Thumbtack.
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Super October 2018
MaltedMilk · on March 14, 2018 at 11:52 AM
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I think $500 is reasonable - they put in A LOT of work that you don't see. As for the religion aspect, if you are hiring someone and you want zero religion....it should be zero religion. You are hiring him/her for a service and your wishes should be followed.
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Master April 2017
Anne · on March 14, 2018 at 11:54 AM
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Yeah that seems a bit expensive. Our wedding officiant was 450 (would have been $550 if we had a rehearsal). He is a Christian officiant but he did a custom secular ceremony for us as we are not religious.
We met with like 5 officiants before we found one that DH didn't find annoying lol, he's picky with people.
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Master October 2017
O · on March 14, 2018 at 12:03 PM
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I paid $609; when searching for officiants I did come across some with packages in the $1000 range, too.
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VIP September 2018
Michelle · on March 14, 2018 at 12:35 PM
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Were getting married st my FHs church in his hometown. Ours is donation based but we plan to pay around 200$. Our pastor requires premartial counseling as well technically free of charge because it’s required. So we will also tip him 100$ to a local restaurant.
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Devoted March 2019
AF412 · on March 14, 2018 at 12:56 PM
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The one we are looking at is $350. An additional $50 if we want to add a rehearsal (which I don't think we'll need)
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Devoted September 2018
No · on March 14, 2018 at 12:57 PM
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Total for ours is $750, honestly I'd give him whatever he wanted lol He fits so perfectly for our wedding. Ours will be a non religious ceremony too, I'm not sure if that impacts the price between officiants though.
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April 2018
GoodMOB · on March 14, 2018 at 12:58 PM
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Sometimes, the officiant is also doing 6 sessions or more of pre-marital counseling, so that is something to consider when comparing costs.
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WeddingWire Administrator October 2016
Lynnie · on March 14, 2018 at 1:14 PM
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Hi FutureMrsBeeson! We actually literally just dropped our annual Newlywed Report with all new data:
2018 Newlywed Report
In 2017, the average amount spent on a wedding officiant was $300.
You can also check out regional pricing info using the WeddingWire Cost Guide - it also says $300 for average officiant cost in Seattle, with most couples spending between $250-$425!
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Expert June 2018
Mrs.Todd · on March 14, 2018 at 2:22 PM
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My mom is marrying my fiancé and I so it’s absolutely nothing! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
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Expert February 2018
Kiersten · on March 14, 2018 at 2:29 PM
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We had an interfaith officiant from WW. We paid $160 for her.
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VIP March 2017
Liana · on March 14, 2018 at 2:34 PM
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$1K sounds like too much. We paid less than $400.
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Dedicated February 2018
Mrs70 · on March 14, 2018 at 2:38 PM
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Phoenix area- we paid $400 for a custom ceremony and he was not present at our rehearsal.
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Dedicated August 2018
Amanda · on March 14, 2018 at 2:42 PM
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We found an amazing officiant here on Wedding Wire who’s writing a non religious ceremony for FH and I and including rehearsal she’s charging $275
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Dedicated September 2019
FutureMrsBeeson · on March 14, 2018 at 2:52 PM
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Lucky!!!!!
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