The secret to a perfect wedding officiant speech (with examples)

How to write a beautiful wedding officiant speech & ceremony script, with simple advice from the experts

 

Updated November 4, 2025

 

You're officiating wedding for a friend or family member soon (congrats!), but have no idea what to say during your speech... Don't stress, you're in the right place! These expert tips will have you feeling confident and prepared in no time, with real wedding officiant speech ideas and examples, plus advice how to deliver your speech in front of an audience.

 

But first, if you haven't been ordained online to officiate yet, do that first: 

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Now take a deep breath, pause for a second to appreciate being asked to officiate, and remember: They chose you because they know you’ll do a wonderful job. 

 

Table of Contents: How to write a wedding officiant speech

 

• What is a Wedding Officiant Speech Supposed to Be?

Thinking of the Wedding Ceremony as a Theater Play

How to Start an Officiant Wedding Speech

How Long Should a Wedding Officiant Speech Be?

 

• Wedding Ceremony Outline & Sample Script

Wedding Invocation

Declaration of Intent

Wedding Vows Exchange

Wedding Ring Exchange

Pronouncement of Marriage

 

• Bringing it All Together: Tips for a Smooth Ceremony

 

• More Advice on How to Perform a Wedding Ceremony

How to officiate a wedding for the first time

Legal wording requirements

Using humor in the ceremony

Handling wedding ceremony mistakes

 

 

What should a wedding officiant say at a wedding? You'll speak from the heart, make sure the legal requirements are met (with a declaration of intent and marriage pronouncement), and share sweet details from the couple's love story to create an authentic and one-of-a-kind ceremony! (Photo: jacoblund / iStock)

 

 

• What is a Wedding Officiant Speech Supposed to Be?

 

Instead of giving a single speech, the wedding officiant speaks at several important moments throughout the wedding ceremony, reading from a written script called a "wedding ceremony script." The officiant's script includes wording to make sure the ceremony is legal (like the declaration of intent and pronouncement of marriage), and any other elements the couple wants to include (like poems or personal wedding vows).

As the officiant, it's your role to guide the couple through each part of the ceremony, such as the wedding ring exchange and declaration of intent (the "I do"s). Then you'll pronounce them married! Reading from a written script ensures you don't forget anything important.

 

Most wedding ceremonies follow a familiar outline, so you don't need to write a wedding script from scratch. This should take some of the pressure off! You can personalize a prewritten wedding officiant script from our script library, and put it in your own words. Take a look at the basic wedding ceremony outline below, and you’ll see what we mean!

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• Thinking of the Wedding Ceremony as a Theater Play

 

The secret to becoming a great wedding officiant? Think of yourself as a stage director, guiding the couple through a theater play on opening night. You're not just delivering a few lines -- you're the one making sure everyone's on their marks and saying their parts as the curtain rises! 

 

Approaching your role from this perspective can help you keep things conversational and collaborative, and make the entire ceremony feel more authentic and natural.  Like a theater play, each person on stage has a unique role to perform, and everyone takes turns delivering their lines. It's a conversation! For example, you'll ask, "do you take this person to be your lawfully wedded" spouse, and the couple will take turns saying, "I do!" See what we mean? 

 

Related: Casting Call: Aspiring Actors Make Great Wedding Officiants

 

• How to Start an Officiant Wedding Speech

 

The wedding officiant's speech or script usually begins with an "invocation." This is the part of the wedding ceremony when you welcome the  guests, talk about the meaning of the day (as in, "dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of..."), and share sweet details about the couple’s love story. This is usually the part of the wedding ceremony that people are thinking about when they refer to an "officiant’s speech."

 

You can start the invocation with the classic "Dearly beloved;" a modern "Welcome friends and family;" a lighthearted "Welcome, you gorgeous theydies and gentlethems! It's time to get these two lovebirds married!;" and so on. Personalize the invocation with these tips: 

 

• Personalized Wedding Invocation & Opening Words - Examples for First Time Officiants

 

If the couple wants an unplugged or no-phones wedding, you might add a housekeeping / unplugged announcement before the invocation. This would become your first speaking part: 

 

• What to Say at the Start of an Unplugged Wedding Ceremony

 

• How Long Should a Wedding Officiant Speech Be?

 

There's no right or wrong length for a wedding officiant script, but most experts (including us) will suggest a time between 15 and 20 minutes. This timeframe includes your opening words (invocation), the couple's vows, the pronouncement of marriage, and any other elements they want included. Of course, some weddings are much shorter (only a few minutes!), and some are much longer (like traditional Catholic or Hindu ceremonies). 

 

• How long is a wedding ceremony? What to Include and What to Skip
   

 

It's helpful to think of the wedding ceremony as a theater play, with the officiant serving as an on-stage director. It's all about collaboration with the real stars of the show -- the couple getting married! (Photo: Unsplash / Natasha Dale)

 

 

• Wedding Ceremony Outline & Sample Wedding Officiant Script

 

The wedding ceremony outline below includes examples from several sample wedding ceremony scripts in our library. 

 

• Wedding Invocation

 

Part One: The wedding ceremony begins. The wedding officiant welcomes guests, introduces the couple, and talks about the meaning of the day and the couple’s relationship. This part of the ceremony is probably the most similar to a traditional speech or toast.

 

Officiant to Guests: 

"Dear friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of [PARTNER A] and [PARTNER B]. In the years that they have been together, their love for each other has grown, turning them into the couple you see before you. Now, they are ready to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife."

 

Officiant to the Couple: 

"A true marriage begins well before the wedding day, and the efforts of marriage continue well beyond the ceremony. A brief moment in time and the stroke of the pen are all that is required to create the legal bond of marriage, but it takes a lifetime of love, commitment, and compromise to make marriage durable and everlasting."

 

Today you declare your commitment to each other before family and friends."

 

(Taken from the full sample wedding script: Short Non Religious Wedding Ceremony With Heartfelt Invocation) 

 

 

• Declaration of Intent to Marry

 

Part Two: The couple publicly declares their intent to marry, guided by the officiant. 

 

Officiant to the Couple:

"With this wisdom – and your love - in mind, I now ask you:"

 

Officiant to Partner A:

"(Partner A), do you welcome (Partner B) to be your (wife/ husband/ spouse), and your cherished best friend?"

 

(Partner A responds ‘I do.’)

 

Officiant to Partner B:

"(Partner B), do you welcome (Partner A) to be your (husband/ wife/ spouse), and your cherished best friend?"

 

(Partner B responds ‘I do.’)

 

(Taken from the full sample wedding script: Lighthearted Wedding Ceremony Script with Funny Reading on Marriage)

 

 

• Wedding Vows Exchange

 

Part Three: The couple exchange their wedding vows, either by repeating after the officiant or by reading personal vows written before the ceremony.

 

Officiant to the Couple:

"Your wedding vows are an outward sign of your love and commitment. While there is a legal aspect of this wedding, a signed document does not create a marriage. What creates a marriage is the promises made and kept in your hearts.

 

As you look lovingly at each other, you’ll speak the promises that you’re pledging for a lifetime."

 

Officiant to Partner A:

"(Partner A), please repeat after me:
 
Today, I give you my heart to hold and my life to keep
I take you as my partner in life and with this promise:
I will support you and encourage you, during the good times, and the trying times.
I will laugh with you, and cry with you, 
And love you faithfully, for all the days and seasons ahead of us both."

 

(This section is repeated for Partner B)

 

(From the full sample wedding script: Fall Wedding Ceremony Script with Reading From "Harvest Moon") 

 

 

• Wedding Ring Exchange

 

Part Four: The couple exchanges their wedding rings, sometimes this is combined with the vows. 

 

Officiant to the Couple:

"The wedding ring serves as a reminder of the promises you make today to each other. 

The circle is a symbol of an eternal bond -- there is no beginning and no end. That means you two are stuck with each other!"

 

Officiant to Partner A:

"(Partner A), place this ring on (Partner B)’s finger and repeat after me."

 

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment and devotion.
I choose you to share in my life’s journeys. 
I give you this ring as a pledge to love you, 
today, tomorrow, always, and forever.
With no take-backs.

 

(Partner A repeats each of these lines in turn)

 

(This section is repeated for Partner B)

 

(From the full sample wedding script: Funny Wedding Ceremony Script with Simple Unity Ritual)

 

 

• Pronouncement of Marriage

 

Part Five: The wedding officiant says a few closing words on the importance of marriage and love, offers any final blessings, and pronounces the couple officially married.  

 

Officiant to the Couple:

"Now that you have joined yourselves in matrimony, may you strive all your lives to meet this commitment with the same love and devotion that you now possess.

 

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the State of (Name of State) and American Marriage Ministries, I now pronounce you husband and wife (or "spouses for life," or whatever descriptors the couple prefers)"

 

(From the full sample wedding script: Quick & Simple Civil Wedding Ceremony Script)

 

 

The couple should be the focus of the wedding day, not the officiant. 

Photo by Leonardo Miranda

 

• Bringing it All Together: Tips for a Smooth Ceremony

 

As you can see from our advice above, and the simple ceremony outline, you don't need to write a complicated speech. In fact, the purpose of the wedding ceremony is to keep the focus on the couple, not you the wedding officiant.

 

You'll need to do some talking as the officiant, but you can keep things collaborative and conversational. That's best, actually! You don't need to deliver a long monologue, sound like a professional speaker, or memorize anything. However, we do recommend that you read the script a few times outloud before the wedding day, and practice any difficult-to-pronounce words or names.

 

• Preparing To Officiate a Wedding Ceremony
• 4 Tips for New Ministers
• How to Revise the (Bad) First Draft of a Wedding Ceremony
• Wedding Ceremony Stage Fright: Tips for officiants (and couples)

 

Your role when performing a wedding is to lovingly guide and direct the couple through each part of their ceremony, while sharing details of their love story with their guests. You'll do a wonderful job! 

 

Congratulations on being asked to officiate a wedding, and don’t forget to have fun! 

 

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More Advice on How to Perform a Wedding Ceremony & What to Say

 

• How to Officiate a Wedding For the First Time

 

• Are there legal wording requirements in a wedding ceremony?
   
• How to Use Humor in the Wedding Ceremony

 

• 3 Ways to Handle Wedding Ceremony Mistakes
   
• Can you get married without a marriage license? What if you lost it? Or forgot it?

 

 

What should you do if you lose your marriage license, forget to bring it to the wedding ceremony, forget to mail it after it's signed, or never even apply for one? Click the article linked above to read the full article.

 

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Get ordained online free with American Marriage Ministries & start officiating weddings right away!

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American Marriage Ministries is a nondenominational inclusive internet church that ordains and trains ministers to officiate marriage ceremonies. We are a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit church, and welcome people of all backgrounds and beliefs.

 

Officiating weddings is an incredible honor, and a great way to show your love and support for the people getting married. As a wedding officiant, you will help to create memorable ceremonies and memories that last a lifetime.

 

Our ordinations are free, accessible, and never expire. Just click here to start the online ordination application, it only takes a minute to complete.

 

AMM Ministers are authorized to officiate weddings in every state* (*it's much harder in Virginia, where we're looking into our options). After getting ordained with AMM, you might need to register your ordination with your local county clerk’s office. Click the links below to get started! 

 

• How to Become a Wedding Officiant
• Weddings by State: Officiant Registration Requirements

 

 

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Giving a wedding toast or speech?

Here are some examples of what NOT to do! 

 

Avoiding a Terrible Wedding Toast -- What *Not* To Do

 

(Illustration: Jessica Levey)

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A step-by-step guide to the perfect wedding ceremony:

Asked to Officiate

 

Asked to Officiate is a comprehensive and easy-to-use guide, designed to help first-time wedding officiants to write and conduct an original wedding ceremony. This planning guide contains detailed advice on how to write a personalized wedding ceremony, deliver it with confidence, and complete your role on the wedding day. Written by wedding professionals, this book is like having an experienced wedding officiant looking over your shoulder every step of the way!

|* custom-button, "https://theamm.org/store/products/asked-to-officiate", "ORDER 'ASKED TO OFFICIATE'" *|

(Above: A copy of Asked to Officiate, along with other great AMM minister products and resources for the wedding day.)

 

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