Vows and ceremony script

Agree. We have a ton of ordained friends who have offered us. We discussed it and since we are getting married in Louisiana (We live in Texas) we want someone licensed in Orleans Parish, who knows all the laws and won't let us miss anything, or forget to file it with the state. Go to Thumbtack. I'm getting great responses from officiants there.

We got married by an officiant we found on WW. Our ceremony was only as religious as we requested, and she was able to lead us through making decisions on how to design a ceremony based on what we liked/wanted. She was seriously one of the best parts of our day.

I know you're thinking you want to have a family friend marry you - but this is part of why officiants seem "expensive" to some people - because of all of the knowledge and helpful experience they bring to the table.

I found the vendor tab on this app to be incredibly helpful when looking for an officiant that would perform a short, non-religious ceremony for me and my atheist husband.

In some states there's specific things that have to be said, but you can find those on your state marriage info webpage. The Knot had a good page on sample scripts and so does Offbeat Bride. This site is one I'm looking at personally:

https://www.thespruce.com/sample-secular-wedding-ceremony-3490187

I haven't nailed my script down just yet, but it'll be pretty similar in structure since we're not religious either. I'm making a general outline that gets the gist of what we want done, but the guy doing ours is hilarious and has a real way with these sorts of things so I trust it'll be entertaining. Yes it can be risky not using a professor officiant, but in every single one of those "Worst Things You Saw at a Wedding" lists, you will find at least one story of a pro screwing up. Chalk it up to a bad luck or whatever for them, but that's enough to level the playing field with non-pros for me personally.

I really urge you to search online on WW for friendor issues/dilemmas. While I know you have the best intentions at heart, I think you should get someone who is a professional. Many ordained ministers will only make your ceremony as religious as you request

We live in PA and the clerk at the marriage license department said they are not legal in PA. So check you state and county.

On the flip side, PA allows you to marry yourself. So we have written our own vows and taking that route.

Best of Luck!

This is the most important part of one of the most important days of your life. Please don't leave it to some one who literally doesn't know what they are doing. Hire a pro and enjoy your day. Best wishes!

We live in Missouri and it is completely legal. Additionally, in our small community the only options for an officiant are super religious. If we want a non-religious ceremony, we would have to pay a lot of money for someone to travel hundreds of miles. We will be using the family friend, I was just looking for ideas on scripts.

Too bad Celia is not here, she has a ton. You can contact her at http://celiamilton.com/

Also, my son officiated a few weddings. He is an attorney so used to speaking and with a booming voice. His vows at his own wedding began "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury..." It can be done, just be careful

OP, there's a thread around this one about a user who used a friendor for her cake. Please use her lesson, and hire a pro. It's not worth it. Even in small communities, there are other people to officiate.

Highly recommend DIY Ceremony. Having a friend/family member is poo poo'd on here but not in every wedding community (DIY Ceremony is done by an officiant). Just be careful with your choice and make sure there is a LOT of practice. I have to say I've been at some weddings with professional officiants where I wanted to fall asleep I was so bored (obviously a subpar professional), and some with friends/families that had me laughing and crying, which I still remember to this day.

I was really happy with the guidance from DIY Ceremony and definitely feel like we're ending up with a stellar script.

ETA: I'm a lawyer and was easily able to navigate the legal requirements in our location. DC is also way liberal (you can marry yourselves!), but this could be a huge hassle making it worth hiring an officiant if you live somewhere more conservative like Virginia. I know our friends there had a lot more work to do because they didn't have a pro. Just go in with your eyes open!

Our minister is also a friend. We r religious, but do not have a pastor we r close with so we would rather have our childhood friend do it. He plans to talk a lot about his personal experiences with us & how he views us as individuals & as a couple. So that way people from his side can understand me more & visa versa :-)

If you google "wedding officiant script" you'll find plenty.

My Future BIL is officiating at my wedding. He's an attorney by trade but has officiated at lots of weddings since his state allows you to be married by a notary. He's also an actor and a great speech writer.

Just be absolutely sure your officiant is comfortable in front of a crowd and is well prepared.

Offbeat Bride has some great examples! Make sure the three of you practice a lot, and I'm sure it will be great.

@Celia can give the best advice, however, I agree with PP's. You need to hire a professional officiant who isn't using your wedding as their first rodeo. The ceremony is the most important part of the day, it sets the tone for the rest of the day. A good officiant will be able to provide you with guidance and options on creating your ceremony. Please, please hire a pro! If not, please research, practice, research, and practice some more. You're going to want this to be perfect.

You need to look up what is legal in your state and ensure those are being said.

As for your vows, you can just look up standard ones online or write from your heart. Keep it short and sweet.

My husband and I are not religious either so we chose to have my sister who was already ordained online to perform her first ever ceremony at our wedding in Ohio on October 10th and she was amazing!! I actually googled wedding ceremonies and took pieces from different ceremonies that I liked to combine into one unique ceremony for ourselves. It was short but sweet and meaningful for my husband, his daughter and I. It honestly wasn't that time consuming and I had more than several guest tell how lovely our ceremony was. Personally, it meant much more to us to have my sister marry us then some stranger. I wish you the best in your search.