American Weddings Blog

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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Finding the right wedding officiant is a very, very, very common problem. If that’s you… relax! We’re here to help.   

For couples who believe that the wedding ceremony is one of the most significant parts of their wedding day, the question of who should perform the wedding ceremony is a very important one. In this blog post, we’ll cover your options, and pass along what we’ve learned along the way. 

So, who's out there...?

A Friend or Family Member...(continued)

One of the biggest sources of stress for couples planning their wedding is (no surprise here) their guest list, which always seems to cause headaches no matter what sort of wedding you’re planning. Whether it’s your crazy cousin, screaming babies, a co-worker that’s always trying to sell her life-changing essential oils - we’ve all got a list of people we would rather not have in attendance, even if they think they deserve a seat at the table. 

We’re not going to pretend that we’ve got the perfect solution for dealing with folks like this, but what we can do is provide some examples of common problem areas. That way, when you’re drawing up the guest list, you can plan ahead. We reached out to our friends in the wedding industry, as well as former brides and grooms, and these are some problem guests to watch out for. 

1. The Food Diva

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Unless you’re planning on eloping, you’ll have to create a list of guests that you are inviting to your wedding. (First on that list, of course, is your officiant.) But it’s just a matter of coming up with a list of the people that you want to join you in celebrating your big day, right? 

Nope. 

Several factors -- from family obligations to venue capacity -- will complicate your guest lists. That’s why your good friends at AMM have come up with six steps -- and a couple tips -- to help you get a handle on this challenging task.  

1. Make the First Draft

When creating your guest list together, start by making your no-holds-barred, budget-be-damned version. This means drafting a list that you and your fiance(e) would invite if money and space were no issue. ...(continued)

How much time will you spend planning your wedding? 

A new study found that Americans spend 528 hours planning their wedding over the course of 11 months. Most couples said they were excited during the wedding planning process, but admitted they had around four arguments during that time. 

What were the flashpoints?

The list was pretty long, but deciding on the venue was the number one cause of disagreements, with other contentious subjects being catering and who to add to the guest list. 

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