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.

Who holds onto the wedding rings during a marriage ceremony? Here's what to consider, and our advice how to choose a ring holder and ring bearer for your wedding ceremony and ring exchange. Common choices include the Wedding Officiant; a Person of Honor, Best Man, or another member of the wedding party; a parent or elder, or the couple themselves.

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.

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 )

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 )

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.