American Weddings Blog

“Hi AMM! I know I can perform marriage in any state for others, but can I perform my own ceremony?”

The quick answer is this: It might be possible to perform your own marriage, but it is not a common practice, and is generally not permitted.

Whether or not you can perform your own marriage ceremony depends entirely on the regulations in the state where you are getting married.

At present, these are the only states that offer self-uniting (also known as self-solemnizing) marriage licenses: 

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Ordination / Ordained

To become a Minister and have the authority to perform ceremonies. American Marriage Ministries is the entity with the power to ordain you - that is, grant you the authority - to perform marriage.

Officiate

To perform a service or ceremony.

Officiant / Minister 

A person authorized to perform or officiate a service or ceremony. Once you are ordained with AMM, your official title is Minister.

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In this series of articles, we’re answering questions about what we do here at American Marriage Ministries, and the role that online churches play in the wedding industry.

A lot of people want to know how to become ordained online, and what it actually means. Since there are so many options, it can be hard to sift through the different beliefs and guidelines. 

So why do people get ordained?

Becoming an ordained minister online is the easiest way for most people to officiate weddings for friends and family members. (If you've been asked to officiate a wedding, this is probably the best option for you, too!)

Webster’s Dictionary defines ordination as:

 “To invest officially with ministerial or priestly authority.”

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One of the most common questions aspiring wedding officiants ask is, “…where should I get ordained online?” You might have been asked to officiate a wedding, or perhaps there’s another religious ceremony you want to perform. Or, maybe you just want to become ordained so that you can have the title “minister.” They are all legitimate reasons to get ordained, and for most people, the easiest way to make that happen is to get ordained online. 

The good news is that there are plenty of online churches and religious organizations, so there’s probably one that shares your values and beliefs. The next step is finding out what one fits your needs, how much each church charges for ordination (American Marriage Ministries doesn’t charge anything) and then clicking “get ordained.”...(continued)

Officiating demands a substantial amount of your personal time, effort, thought, consideration - and almost always, love.

So it’s only fair when a new officiant wonders, “How much should I charge for my services?”

Here's the thing: officiant fees vary drastically across the country, so you will have to do a bit of research to determine this magical number.

If you are considering performing ceremonies in a professional capacity, you will want to start by looking into what others are charging locally, and proceeding from there.

We recommend doing an online search along the lines of, “Wedding Officiant in [City Name]”. You can also use vendor searches for your area - like looking up Officiants in WeddingWire's Vendor Search based on location.

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