How to Become a Professional Wedding Officiant

A wedding officiant plays an important role in legally marrying two couples. First and foremost, they conduct a couple’s wedding ceremony and are in charge of making a marriage legally valid. However, they also have various other roles and obligations.

Your responsibilities as a wedding officiant will vary depending on each couple’s preferences, but you may be expected to perform any of the following tasks:

• Provide premarital counseling
• Lead the wedding rehearsal
• Officiate the wedding ceremony
• Ensure the ceremony abides by state laws
• Assist the couple in crafting their wedding vows
• Sign and mail the wedding license

While the soon-to-be newlyweds are the real stars of the show, as the wedding officiant, you’re the orchestrator responsible for ensuring the ceremony runs smoothly and that they have space to shine.

Types of wedding officiants

Wedding officiants fall into three main categories, each with distinct roles and certifications:

• Religious officiants: These are ordained ministers who are authorized to perform weddings by their religious organization. Ceremonies officiated by religious officiants are crafted within a specific religious framework.
• Civil ceremony officiants: These officiants are not ordained ministers. Instead, they’re trained and certified to perform secular weddings. Examples include judges and justices of the peace.
• Professional officiants: Professional wedding officiants are individuals who have started their own business  centered around officiating weddings. Oftentimes, they are certified through online ordination and training programs.

When starting up a wedding officiation side business, you’ll fall under the final category of “professional officiant.” However, that doesn’t mean you can’t also fall into one of the other two categories.

The requirements for becoming a wedding officiant vary from state to state. Some states require officiants to be ordained by a religious organization or get certified through a secular officiant training program, so always check local regulations to see what you’re required to do.

With that said, wedding officiation is a field with relatively few barriers to entry. You don’t technically need a degree or prior experience in the industry. You just need the right character traits and the motivation to meet your state’s requirements and get your own business up and running.

Required skills

Even if you tick all the required boxes for conducting wedding ceremonies and legally wedding people, that’s not enough to secure a fruitful wedding officiation business. You need to have certain skills and personality traits to be a good wedding officiant who regularly gets new clients.

Here are some desirable traits and skills for wedding officiants:

• Empathy: You need to be able to connect with couples and understand their emotions.
• Communication skills: A big part of the role is communicating with each couple before the wedding to understand their needs and preferences.
• Public speaking skills: Being comfortable speaking in front of large crowds is essential for performing a wedding ceremony.
• Business/marketing skills: When you’re self-employed, you need to advertise your services to secure new clients.
• Organizational skills: Staying organized is the only way to ensure a smooth ceremony without glitches.
• Flexibility: You need to be able to cope with diverse demands and changes to a wedding’s original plan.
• Serenity: You should be able to keep each couple calm before and during the wedding ceremony in the event that problems arise.

Don’t worry if you don’t have all of these characteristics right now. Through training and practice, you’ll gain the tools and skills needed to succeed as a wedding officiant.

Once you have met the requirements to become a wedding officiant and checked your local licensing requirements, you can start your own business. Here are the steps involved.

1. Get ordained

You can get ordained through a religious organization, a secular officiant training program, or an online ordination service. While you could pursue a degree in theology or divinity and ordination in a particular denomination, if you’re just planning on getting ordained to officiate weddings, then all you really need is an online ordination.

Here are the steps you need to take to become ordained online:

1. Choose an online ordination service (1–2 hours): Start by researching and selecting an online ordination service. Well-known organizations offering online ordinations include the Universal Life Church, American Marriage Ministries, and Open Ministry. Choose an option that aligns with your beliefs and meets your state’s legal requirements.
2. Submit your application (15–30 minutes): Once you’ve chosen an organization, fill out an application form on their website. This typically involves providing some personal information and agreeing to the organization’s terms and conditions.
3. Complete the required courses or reading (duration varies): Some organizations offer or require you to take courses to prepare you for your role as a wedding officiant. These courses may cover topics like how to plan a wedding ceremony, legal requirements for marriage officiants, and how to work with couples to create a personalized ceremony.
4. Receive your ordination certificate (minutes to weeks): After completing the necessary courses and agreeing to the organization’s terms, you’ll receive your ordination certificate. Your certificate may be instantly available for download, or it may be mailed to you, which can take a few weeks.
5. Register with your local government (1 day to a few weeks): Registering isn’t always required. Check the rules and regulations in your jurisdiction to find out whether it’s something you’re required to do.

The amount of time it will take you to get ordained as a wedding officiant depends on the rules and regulations where you live and the type of ordination or training program you choose. You could get ordained in as quickly as just 1 day, but it could take you longer if you undergo more extensive training.

For example, if you want to become a seminary-trained minister, you may choose to undertake a Master of Divinity program, which takes around 3 years to complete after you’ve gotten a bachelor’s degree. Whichever route you choose, once you are legally ordained and registered, you can start officiating weddings immediately.

2. Practice holding wedding ceremonies

The more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll be officiating weddings. To build officiating experience, you could start by performing weddings for friends or family members before you start marketing your services. This will allow you to get comfortable with the process and establish your style.

How to perform a wedding

The steps involved in officiating a wedding vary depending on the couple’s preferences and the officiant’s style. However, most officiants follow a basic outline for a wedding service:

1. Greeting to welcome the family and friends to the couple’s special day
2. Declarations of consent (if desired by couple) indicating that both the bride and groom came to the service freely and without reservation to enter into marriage
3. Opening prayer (if a religious service)
4. Vows of marriage
5. Exchange of rings
6. Nuptial prayer
7. Declaration of marriage pronouncing the couple officially wed
8. Closing blessing (if desired)
9. Signing of the marriage certificate, usually with two witnesses chosen by the couple

There’s no one “right” or “wrong” way to perform a wedding. The key is making sure you communicate with the couple to ensure they’re satisfied.

3. Network with other workers in the wedding industry

Making connections with other professionals involved in a couple’s special day is a great way to find clients and learn more about the wedding industry. There are numerous people involved in making weddings happen, but here are the key players you’ll want to get to know:

• Wedding planners
• Photographers
• Venue managers
• Caterers

Forming alliances with these professionals can be very fruitful for both you and them, opening the door to referrals and collaborative opportunities. Once you’ve officiated a handful of ceremonies, you’ll find that more and more customers hear about you through word-of-mouth.

4. Advertise your services

In today’s digital age, advertising your services effectively is vital. Here’s what you need to do to put yourself out there:

• Create a website: Every wedding officiant needs a professional website. By putting a bit of effort into your site and using SEO best practices, you could be one of the first results potential clients see when they search “wedding officiants near me.”
• Get added to wedding officiant directories: When couples browse their local options for wedding officiants, you should be an option that comes up. Popular directories you should consider include The Knot and Thumbtack.
• Tell people you know: Personal networks and community circles can be a powerful tool for building your clientele. Once you’ve started your wedding officiant business, get the word out on social media.

You can also try more old-fashioned advertising approaches, like posting fliers where betrothed couples might see them, such as flower shops or bridal stores.

Officiating weddings isn’t the first option that comes to most people’s minds when they’re brainstorming side hustles or business ideas. However, it can be a pretty quick and easy side hustle get into, and it comes with plenty of perks.

As a professional wedding officiant, you get all the freedom and flexibility of self-employment, but you also get one very rare benefit: a job where your day-to-day tasks often involve working with people on one of the happiest days of their lives.

With all that said, a wedding officiant business may not be the best side hustle option for people who aren’t particularly sentimental, don’t enjoy public speaking, or would prefer a job that allows them to work from home.

Still have questions about how wedding officiation works or what you can expect when starting your new career? We’ve got you covered.

How much does it cost to become a wedding officiant?

The cost of becoming a wedding officiant varies depending on the ordination or training program you choose and where you live. For example, you can get ordained for free, but you may need to pay a registration fee if required in your local jurisdiction.

The process of getting ordained is typically free of charge if you’re going through an online ordination company. However, these companies will often charge fees for certain items you might need to get registered in your state, like an ordination certificate or letter of good standing.

Cost of Ordination Credentials from Online Companies

If you’re interested in a more serious career, you can also find seminaries that are free, thanks to donors. However, getting qualified through a seminary involves investing a significant amount of time into your education.

How much do wedding officiants make?

The amount of money you can make as a wedding officiant depends on your location, experience, and the demand for your services. In general, you can expect to earn somewhere in the range of $100–$400 per wedding.

As a professional wedding officiant, you can also earn extra income by offering premarital counseling sessions or charging extra to meet with the couple before the service or lead the wedding rehearsal.

Can you be ordained in multiple states?

Yes, you can be ordained in multiple states. However, wedding ordination training and registration requirements vary by jurisdiction, so it’s important to check the requirements for each state to ensure that you are legally authorized to perform weddings there.

Being a part of a couple’s wedding day is both a responsibility and a privilege. As long as you take your role seriously, being a wedding officiant can be a fruitful venture for both you and your clients in the years to come.