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Dezzy
Just Said Yes March 2020

Wedding Officiant/minister

Dezzy, on August 3, 2019 at 2:16 PM Posted in Planning 0 11
So how does this work? I find a wedding minister to marry us on our day, but what needs to happen prior to that? Marriage license? Roughly how much is that and minister? New to all of this 😔

11 Comments

Latest activity by Kristal, on September 6, 2019 at 10:36 AM
  • 2d Bride
    Champion October 2009
    2d Bride ·
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    You don't need to have the marriage license before you hire the officiant, just before the wedding day. (There may be a waiting period after you get the license, but it's typically not more than three days.)

    As for officiants, if you don't have a minister of your own, you can check out listings for officiants to get an idea of costs. There are both religious and secular officiants.

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  • Ali
    Expert March 2021
    Ali ·
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    You don't need to get the marriage license until before the wedding but if you are lucky like us then the officiant will take care of filing the marriage license for you. Our officiant is $700 but he is also traveling for our wedding and we have to provide a hotel for him and his wife. He is great and worth the price. If there are any bridal shows near you I highly recommend going to some as they are so helpful. I found him at a bridal show and all we have to do is fill out a vendor sheet as he likes to make sure our wedding runs smoothly and take stress off us, couples questionnaire so he can make it personal for us and what we would like to have in the ceremony.
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  • Ali
    Expert March 2021
    Ali ·
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    The marriage license in my state is $60 and is valid for 60 days before the wedding.
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  • 2d Bride
    Champion October 2009
    2d Bride ·
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    Cost of marriage license varies widely by state, and even by county within the state. You'll need to contact the courthouse in the area where you intend to get married to find out the cost.

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  • Colleen
    Master September 2019
    Colleen ·
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    You can hire officent whenever. Ours was 250. Marriage licensee is a month before wedding some states 2 months. I am getting married September 28. Picking up license September 11.
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  • A
    Expert August 2019
    Aliciabilly2019 ·
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    It depends where you live and the jp or minister can take a donation so normally its like 75-100 or more depending where your located and how much your willing to donate to them and their church
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  • A
    Expert August 2019
    Aliciabilly2019 ·
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    Our officiant told us 2 weeks before wedding get it and fill it out but not bottom bc thats for day of your court house will let you know what to fill out now and later and you can normally google your state or town and see how much its going to cost or call mine is only 40 bucks but other states are little higher . I live in upstate ny so everything else is expensive to live but apparently to get married marriage license is cheap lol
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  • Marissa
    Expert August 2019
    Marissa ·
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    Officiant first. Most marriage licenses are only valid for 60 days give or take. Our officiant was 295 and our marriage license was 24 (Rhode Island) but both vary state to state. we just got our license last week and our wedding is in two weeks. We’ve had our officiant booked for over a year now.
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  • Clíodhna
    WeddingWire Administrator January 2030
    Clíodhna ·
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    Hi there Dezzy!

    The cost for a marriage license and officiant varies from state to state! Where do you plan on having the wedding?

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  • Sherry
    Master September 2019
    Sherry ·
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    The cost of your marriage license will depend on where you are but needs to be purchased prior the wedding. Typically 30-45 days but differs from place to place. The officiant will usually file your license with the state after the wedding. They charge for this service but it is usually included in the price but you may want to check with them.

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  • Kristal
    Expert February 2020
    Kristal ·
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    Typically, you are not supposed to get your marriage license before a few months out but you generally are going to want to have your officiant set long before that so you can plan out the contents of your ceremony long before that.

    For me, there was no question on who as he's our grove's 'head druid' and he's 'free' for us as part of the group. However, I am getting him and his wife, who is playing DJ for the ceremony, gifts for their help-not super expensive but none the less. We asked him before we even had our venue to make sure the date would work for him. You might want to get date and venue set before the officiant though. I hear elsewhere they can be expensive. If you get someone local, it shouldn't cost too much.

    The marriage license will vary by state. For me, it will be $75 unless they take our work books as proof of pre-marital counseling (doubtful), in which case it is $60.

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