Pros and cons of having a family member officiate the wedding

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I see what you are saying but having a stranger marry us feels so weird to me. In the very beginning of our relationship, I always told my best friend that she will marry us in the future but she’s going to be the MOH so that’s out of the question. FH has 2 older cousins he can ask those are our options. if we are keeping it in the family. But yeah, I have the fears you pointed out now.

View Quoted Comment Are all your other vendors close personal friends/family? I'm going to guess not, most likely because you want things done right and you don't want your dearest working your event. An officiant isn't any different. Add in that once you have worked with your officiant they won't be a stranger.

The officiant is the most important vendor. If your caterer, florist, dj/band, photographer, baker, etc screw something up you'll still be married at the end of the day. If the officiant screws up, you might not be.

My best friends husband officiated for us. He is an amazing public speaker and did such a beautiful job for us. He was ordained online.

We used Officiant Eric website to help get the flow and wording right for the ceremony.

My brother officiated the ceremony, but I wrote it. It was amazing and people still mention how fun it was. It was also nice to include him in the wedding in such a fun way-- he has a lot of personality and knows us well enough to know when we're frustrated. There were many moments where he surprised me by stepping in (specifically during speeches) to tell people to stop talking and listen. Had I been the one to do it I would not have been so nice. I recommend it if you have a family member that is loud but receptive and will listen to what you want your ceremony to be like.

We had my wife's Padrino do it as he is a bishop in the Lutheran church. It was perfect!