Asked to officiate a wedding for a friend or relative, but not sure what your responsibilities as a wedding officiant are after the ceremony is over? Learn more about how to sign and complete a marriage license, return the license, get reviews from couples to start or expand a business, and more!

Learn about legislation in Wisconsin that would remove the 6 month mandatory waiting period between divorce and remarriage -- allowing couples to apply for their marriage license and remarry immediately after their divorce judgment is granted. (Senate Bill 288 / WI SB288 2023 / Senators Joan Ballweg, Mary Felzkowski,  Kelda Roys, and Lena Taylor.)

Attention Chicago Wedding Officiants: Meet the speakers for our June, 2023 Education and Networking seminar! This fun and informative event features 5 AMM Ministers and professional officiants, with expert advice on how to start an officiant business, attract the couples you want to marry, marketing tips, unity ceremony and vows, how to create an LGBTQ+ inclusive wedding ceremony, and more. This event is open to all wedding officiants!

First Time Officiants: Ask these five questions when you’re asked to officiate a friend’s wedding to ensure the ceremony is legally binding, fun, and exactly what the couple is hoping for! Here’s what to know after you get ordained online and before the wedding day to plan a great event.

A step-by-step guide to help you plan an unforgettable tropical wedding or elopement in Hawaii - including how to find a wedding officiant (marriage performer), choose the best wedding venue, plan your ceremony, and how to apply for and return your Hawaii marriage license. Get married in paradise!

Learn about current efforts in Michigan to raise the minimum age requirement to marry: House Bill 4293 would eliminate exceptions for the marriage of minors, banning all child marriages in the state. (MI HB4293 / Rep. Kara Hope)

New Hampshire Governor Sununu signed 'The Marital Freedom Act' on May 4th, 2023, codifying protections for interracial marriage in the state. Learn about the passage of this important legislation, and why other states have passed or introduced similar legislation this year to protect marriage equality at a state level. (NH House Bill 240 / HB240)

Join American Marriage Ministries for a day of wedding officiant education and networking on June 14th, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois! This seminar includes expert speakers and training on how to be an incredible wedding officiant and build a successful small business, networking and strategy, marketing, unity ceremonies, inclusivity and working with LGBTQ+ couples, and community building for officiants in the Chicago metro area and beyond. Tickets are available now on Eventbrite.

The Anonymous Officiant #6: A sweet story about a bride and her beagle... Plus EXCELLENT advice from an experienced officiant about how and when to include your dog, cat, or another pet in a wedding ceremony -- in this installment of American Marriage Ministries’ new candid column about real weddings and officiants: The Anonymous Officiant.

Lawmakers in the CT House of Representatives voted yes on HB 6569, which would raise the minimum age to marry in the state to 18 years old, and remove current exceptions for minors, including emancipated minors. Learn what's next, and read the proposed changes to the law. (2023 CT HB 6569 / An Act Concerning the Minimum Age to Be Eligible to Marry)

Add a dash of magic to your marriage ceremony, handfasting, or vow renewal with this simple introduction to common herbs and botanicals. Believed by many to hold magical and symbolic properties, these plants have been used on wedding altars and marriage blessings, and in other commitment ceremonies, witchcraft and spellcasting, and individual spiritual practices since ancient times.

Not sure what to say in a wedding card? Here are a few of our favorite ideas for wedding card wishes, including suggestions for wedding officiants! With simple, heartfelt, and funny examples for close friends and family, acquaintances, coworkers, and more. Personalize to suit your needs, or use them as is to tell the newlyweds how much they mean to as they celebrate their marriage.

Learn about current and ongoing efforts to repeal the 2005 Diné Marriage Act, which bans same-sex marriage within the Navajo Nation. Legislation No. 0139-23 would legalize LGBTQ+ marriages in the Navajo Nation and provide legal recognition for marriages solemnized elsewhere. The bill was introduced by Council Delegate Seth Damon in June and is being reviewed by the 25th Navajo Nation Council Budget and Finance Committee.

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy signed a new law on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, that ensures all New Jersey marriage laws be read with race neutral intent. Effective immediately, the amended law provides strong protections for interracial marriages in the state. Learn more about the passage of Assembly Bill 4939. (NJ A4939; 37:1-1; Rep. John McKeon)

In addition to officiating with Savannah Simple Weddings, Wedding Officiant Helen P. Bradley is also a successful novelist! Her debut novel, Breach of Trust, was published by Moonshine Cove Publishing in April and launched in June, 2023. Learn about Helen's new book, her previous work as a victim advocate with the Chatham County Victim-Witness Assistance Program, her thriving wedding officiant business, her advice for first-time officiants, whether there's another novel exciting novel on the way, and more.

Add one of these 5 Spanish love poems to your wedding ceremony or vows! Includes English translations for a personalized bilingual script, featuring wedding poems by Bécquer, Neruda, Paz, Benedetti & Mistral.

Elope with wedding inspiration from Dolly Parton and Carl Dean’s 1966 Spring Elopement Ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia. These 5 ideas will help you plan a memorable, intimate elopement ceremony, filled with retro charm, vintage style, and lots of love.

Aprenda cómo incluir el significativo ritual de la Unidad del Cordón de Tres Hebras o Nudo de Dios en una ceremonia de boda Cristiana contemporánea, con consejos sobre cuándo realizarlo, el significado del ritual y qué palabras utilizar, incluyendo un ejemplo de guión para el oficiante con lecturas Bíblicas sobre el amor y el matrimonio. "Un cordón de tres hilos no se rompe fácilmente...". Este ritual también recibe el nombre de Trenza Matrimonial o Trenza de la Unidad.

Wedding Officiants still serve an important role in Alabama despite changes to the state’s solemnization and marriage laws. Learn how ordained ministers contribute to the wedding ceremony and their communities, by bringing couples and friends together to celebrate, and creating inclusive spaces for LGBTQ + and interracial families.

Take this short quiz to test your knowledge of the wedding ceremony and the role of an ordained minister on the wedding day. Then brush up on your officiant skills with AMM’s officiant training pages.

A look back at the Ministers, officiants, couples, photographers, DJs, and other wedding professionals who contributed their time and ceremony expertise to American Weddings this year. Thank you!