American Weddings Blog

Have you been asked to officiate, and even though you’re excited, you’re not sure where to start?

Or – are you embarking on a new passion or career path in performing weddings, and looking for an all-in-one inclusive guide?

Fear not! Asked to Officiate – one of our most popular resources – is here to help.

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The key to a great wedding ceremony is to make it flow. And when we talk about “flow,” we’re referring to the words and the emotion of the ceremony, and that magical combination of saying the right thing at the right time. 

When planning a wedding ceremony, consider what traditions or readings will resonate with the couple and audience. Perhaps there’s a prayer, or a reading, or a traditional blessing that speaks to the couple's values or emotional state. Then, decide where to fit these parts into the ceremony. 

Think about the ceremony as a story, with each piece fitting into a logical order. Consider which pieces fit best leading into or following one another. I often write short transitions between pieces. Not only do the transitions help with the flow, they also give me an idea of whether one piece works well following another, based on how easy it is to write the transitional wording....(continued)

It happens to the best of us… we make a goof while delivering a wedding ceremony. It may be missing a word (or words), it may be pronouncing something incorrectly, or perhaps it’s a matter of losing our place in the ceremony. We’ve all been there. You’re not alone, so if it happens, don’t worry!

But truthfully, 95% of the time, it is not the goof that matters, but how you handle it. So, here are some tips:

Stay Calm

This is sometimes tough but if you realize you made a mistake or lose your place, staying calm will prevent you from making more mistakes. If you let yourself get flustered by the one mistake, you increase the likelihood of making more mistakes. If you have to, wait till you get to a natural pause point (e.g. the end of a paragraph), take a deep breath, quickly center yourself, and then move on.

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In our line of business, you’ve got about one sentence to grab your readers and keep them interested in what you are talking about. So, for the sake of keeping your eyeballs glued to this blog post, let’s just say that the rest of this article will be about turning you into a charismatic, compelling, and popular wedding officiant because guess what... It is! 

It’s all about getting folks hooked, and keeping them interested!

When writing a wedding ceremony, the way that you start the ceremony and end the ceremony are both very important. 

In fact, the opening words are the most critical part of the ceremony, since they are what grab the guests' attention and pull them into the ceremony. Botch this part, and you’ll be dealing with folks nodding off… checking their phones… daydreaming…...(continued)

You’re probably thinking, “Jeez AMM, isn’t officiating weddings stressful enough? Why are you dialing up the pressure even more?”

Don’t worry, folks! We aren’t trying to stress anyone out here. Quite the opposite, we’re eliminating stress by frontloading this one important fact -- wedding ceremonies are a big deal, and the only way to eliminate stress is to be prepared. That in turn, requires a clear understanding of what’s at stake, and guess what… it’s a lot!

As we all have learned, probably from not being prepared enough ourselves, the first few times you do anything, it’s always a good idea to be over prepared. Now, let’s take that notion one step further and talk about something you only get one shot at… a wedding ceremony.

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