Learn inclusive, gender-neutral alternatives for common wedding terms for the couple and their wedding party, and help make the wedding industry more welcoming to LGBTQ+ couples and their friends and families! This list includes simple gender-free substitutes for commonly gendered terms like bridal, bride or groom, bridesmaid, best man, and more.

Add a unique and unexpected unity ceremony to your wedding ceremony, reception, or afterparty, with palm reading! Palm reading can be combined with traditional 'blessing of the hands' or handfasting rituals to create something new and authentically YOU. Learn common meanings and how to read the heart line, head line, life line, and marriage line on a couple's palms, plus the advice we'd give these newlyweds if we were the wedding officiant or friend performing this ritual!

Learn about legislative efforts in Rhode Island that would change the state's marriage license return period, and make it easier for a marriage officiant to return a completed license by mail -- such that a license mailed and postmarked within the return period would be considered on-time. (2023 House Bill 5443 / H5443 / Rep. Edith H. Ajello)

The Anonymous Officiant #5 : Sage advice for newlyweds from an experienced wedding officiant! This minister reminds couples to use their wedding gifts after their married, and to treat every day life brings as a gift -- in this installment of American Marriage Ministries’ new candid column about real weddings and officiants: The Anonymous Officiant.

Beginning July 1, 2023, individuals must be at least 18 years old to marry in Vermont, with no exceptions. Gov. Phil Scott signed the 'Act to Ban Child Marriage' into law on April 20, making it illegal for all minors to get married in the state. (VT HB148 2023 ; Rep Carol Ode )

Will Minnesota lawmakers vote to allow notary publics to officiate weddings in the state? Learn about current legislation to add notaries and certain elected officials to the list of people authorized to solemnize a civil marriage ceremony or wedding in Minnesota. ( MN HF1826 2023 ; Rep. Ginny Klevorn )

A simple, nonreligious hand blessing ceremony script. This blessing is easy to combine with another unity ritual, such as a handfasting or palm reading, to create a personalized and unique ceremony. This variation on a traditional 'Blessing of the Hands' reading includes mindfulness elements, advice for the future, and ends with a popular Irish wedding blessing.

REAL wedding advice for couples from professional wedding officiant Jody Serey! This candid advice is for anyone planning a wedding, to keep your marriage ceremony on track, on budget, stress free, drama free, fun, and everything you want it to be.

This advice will help you get married for less money and without going into debt! You don't have to plan an expensive wedding ceremony or reception to have a good time. Check out these popular resources on how to plan an intimate, inexpensive, memorable, and fun wedding ceremony, including how to find an officiant you can afford.

Oscar Mayer is bringing fun wiener-themed elopement ceremonies to Las Vegas this weekend! Lucky couples will marry with the help of Hotdogger wedding officiants outside the 'Wienermobile of Love' -- parked beside the iconic Little White Chapel. The 'Meat You Down The Aisle' event promises a big serving of puns, hot tunes by the Wiener Whistle Quartet, a hot dog wedding cake, and more.

¿Qué edad hay que tener para oficiar una ceremonia matrimonial para amigos y familiares, o para trabajar profesionalmente como oficiante matrimonial? Conozca la edad mínima requerida para oficiar una boda en cada estado, junto con otra información importante sobre la celebración de matrimonios.

Sweet wedding ideas from 5 celebrity couples who married later in life: Ask a friend to officiate, celebrate with a backyard elopement, plan an adults-only vacation wedding, and more! Inspiration for older couples, from Cameron Diaz and Benjie Madden; Tika Sumpter and Nicholas James; Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi; Elton John and David Furnish; Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault.

Attn wedding vendors: Wedding MBA 2023 is coming soon, and we can't wait to see these expert speakers! American Marriage Ministries will be sponsoring the Wedding Officiant track again this year, sharing exciting news about our Officiant Accelerator events, and learning from expert wedding professionals including Christopher Shelley, Bethel Nathan, Rev. Laura C. Cannon, and more. Who do you hope to see? (November 2023 Las Vegas Convention Center)

Sources say that pop icon Taylor Swift gave a funny 15 minute toast at Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley's wedding reception last week. Learn what wedding "spies" at Page Six said about the star studded event, along with our advice on how to write and deliver a funny and memorable wedding toast.

Comedian and licensed NYC wedding officiant Adam Sank brings heartwarming humor to the altar with comedy themed weddings: Adam talks about how to write a funny wedding speech, recent attacks on LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality, naked weddings, and more.

A quick intro to marriage customs between cousins. Curious if you can marry your first or second cousin, how common this practice is in the US or around the world, or why some see it as controversial while others don’t? This short article looks at the history, culture, practice, and prevalence of cousin marriage – also known as consanguineous marriage.

A soon-to-be bride and groom want ‘flower gremlins’ at their marriage ceremony as an alternative to flower girls, but her family objects and are threatening to cut them out. Check out this great wedding advice from Ask Amy of the Chicago Tribune on planning a creative authentic wedding!

Todo lo que necesita saber para casarse en casa. Incluyendo lo que se requiere para que su matrimonio sea legal, cómo encontrar un oficiante de bodas o pedirle a un amigo que oficie, si necesita testigos presentes, dónde solicitar una licencia de matrimonio y mucho más.

A moment of appreciation for AMM Ministers & Officiants who know how to rock a wedding stole while performing marriage and bringing love and service into their communities.

Very few jobs give you the same close-up view of the human experience that working as a wedding officiant will! Become an ordained minister with AMM and see heartfelt, happy, funny and sometimes crazy shit at wedding ceremonies.

This bride didn’t have a wedding dress for her ceremony -- until AMM Officiant and ordained minister Donna Morris of Newport, Tennessee stepped in to make her dream come true! Donna owns Off the Beaten Path, a TN wedding chapel and boutique.