How to be a Wedding Officiant

So you’re a friend or family member wanting to be a wedding officiant for a day? I have photographed over 100 weddings and have seen many friends and family members make the official proclamation of “husband and wife”. While you can find several places to become an officiant within a day or two they don’t give you the best practices on HOW to do the job well. So, here are some tips from a wedding photographer on how to do the job the best you can!

Crush the Rehearsal

The rehearsal is important. While you may have never done a ceremony before there are some ways to run the rehearsal to make everyone feel confident in what they need to do. Here are some things to know that are traditional in a wedding ceremony:

1. Parents of the bride and groom come down the aisle first and are seated
2. Groomsmen enter in front of groom down the aisle
3. Bridesmaids come down the aisle before the bride
4. Flower girl (if applicable) comes down the aisle
5. Bride comes down the aisle with father/both parents/ or another important person in her life
6. Bridesmaids and bride stand on the left / Groom and groomsmen stand on the right
7. The best man holds the rings until the ring ceremony
8. The maid of honor holds the bride’s bouquet during the ceremony
9. The maid of honor should also adjust the dress and/or veil once the bride is in place to look best for pictures
10. Have the bride and groom hold hands for the entire ceremony (this allows for better photos of the two of them and doesn’t leave an awkward space between them)

Be as non-distracting as possible

1. Wear something that goes with the color scheme of the wedding
2. Have your notes in a black or white 3-ring binder that is easy to open and won’t allow any papers to fly away
3. Don’t wear sunglasses even if it’s sunny. Otherwise you will look very silly in photos!
4. Before the kiss step away from the bride and groom. I recommend that as you are pronouncing them husband and wife you step a few steps to the right or left to get out of the photo of their first kiss. Then when you say “you may kiss the bride” or whatever you’re going to say you will already be out of the photo.
5. BE PREPARED. The best way to not be distracting is to be prepared, have a script, know exactly what the couple wants and be professional.

Make it personal

The best ceremonies happen when the ceremony is personal. Personal stories they share or stories you have of the three of you together always pulls at the heart strings and makes the ceremony feel more special. Take the time to write something meaningful and that will make all the difference!