Should You Let Your Family or Friend Be Your Officiant?

When planning a wedding the checklist can get pretty long and overwhelming. There are so many decisions to make and vendors to hire. Brides & grooms want their weddings to be personal and reflect them as a couple. They can do that through decor, colors, the wedding dress, and flowers, but how can they make their ceremony extra personal? Our solution is to have a personal family friend or a family member be your officiant. 

Getting ordained is easy. All it takes is a quick google search and they’ll be on their way to marrying you. We really don’t think you’ll regret it, but obviously, choose someone who isn’t going to blabber on and give a bad or boring message (looking at you Joey Tribbiani).

Over the years Josiah and I have seen so many different ceremonies. We love when the officiant is a family member or friend. These are people who have known the couple for a long time and can personally relate to them. We mean really know them. They’re likely someone who has helped shape you into the person you are today. These ceremonies are more emotional and really reflect the personality of the Bride & Groom.

We’re huge fans of choosing someone close to you to be your officiant because they have an inside look into your relationship together and can create a beautiful and personal message to deliver on the wedding day. This is also a great way to include someone in the wedding who might not have been in the wedding otherwise. It’s also a great way to honor a close friend or family member. Josiah and I had my best friend’s father and childhood church’s pastor marry us. He is someone we’ve both known since we were children and choosing someone else wasn’t even a question for us.

Three recent weddings that come to mind of couple’s who chose for a friend or family member to marry them are Matt + Molly, Max + Katie, and Adam + Lauren. All of these wedding ceremonies were beautifully written and so personal and meaningful.

Is this something you’re thinking about doing? Or maybe a friend married you already? Let us know what you think in the comments box below! You can also take a look at additional tips for brides by clicking here.

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