Looking for wedding ring alternatives to exchange during your wedding ceremony or elopement? Get creative with these 5 unique gift ideas – including matching tattoos, custom watches, love letters, and more. Add a gift exchange to your ceremony during or after the vow exchange, or any time that feels right.

A detailed look at Montana’s Declaration of Marriage Without Solemnization option, including benefits and disadvantages, how it compares to a marriage license, and what wedding officiants need to know about performing a ceremony for couples who choose this paperwork.

Wedding superstitions we love: Try these 5 lucky wedding traditions to keep your ceremony on track toward a happy marriage, and avoid day-of disasters and disappointments!

New York is one step away from creating a new one-day marriage officiant designation for lay individuals who want to perform weddings there, after legislation passed both the NY assembly and senate this month. The bill now awaits final approval from Gov. Hochul.

4 Pagan wedding blessing examples and sample scripts to help you personalize your own handfasting, marriage ceremony, or Year and a Day celebration. With suggestions for each season and specific Pagan holiday, use these nature-focused readings as-is or as inspiration to write a custom Pagan wedding script in your own words.

Make your wedding unforgettable with these delicious non-alcoholic wine, beer, canned cocktail and mocktail offerings. Choose alcohol free drinks for a unique unity toast at the ceremony, a dry wedding celebration, or as an option for sober and non-drinker guests at your reception’s open bar.

Feeling lucky in love? About to say ‘I do’ to your soulmate and best friend? Add these song lyrics to your written wedding vows for a personalized ceremony that will have you and your guests humming along.

Minister Jan Shannon delivered an LGBTQ+ affirming prayer and message of love and unity at the Coeur d'Alene Pride in the Park event, while far-right protestors carried AR-15s and pistols through the crowd, anti-gay Catholics and others harassed members of the audience, and dozens of neo-Nazi Patriot Front members were arrested nearby for planning a riot.

Marriage Ministers & Wedding Officiants: Use these meditation techniques to align your chakras in time for wedding season! Chakra work can help you lower anxiety during stressful meetings, focus during long planning sessions, tap into your creative energy while working on the wedding script, communicate clearly, deliver a ceremony in front of a large crowd with confidence, and more!

Britney Spears married longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari in an intimate celebrity wedding. The pop icon did not invite her mother, father, or several other relatives to the ceremony, raising the question: Do you have to invite your parents or other family to your wedding? Here's how to keep your guest list small and just the way you want it.

Have a friend or relative in mind to ask to officiate your wedding, but not sure if they’re the right choice for your ceremony? This quiz will help you choose the best person for the role! Plus links to AMM’s most popular articles on how to ask someone to marry you, choosing a wedding officiant, how much to pay them, and more.

The most recent update from American Marriage Ministries on the fight against Tennessee's discriminatory anti-online ordination law SB 1377 / HB 0213. With information on how ministers and couples can protect themselves in 2022 when applying for or filing marriage licenses with the county.

Ahoy, mateys! This unique pirate wedding script is fun from bow to stern, and from the officiant’s welcome speech to the pronouncement and first kiss. Filled with nautical imagery and seafaring slang, plus a special reading of Ben Harper's 'Gold to Me', a traditional hand blessing ceremony, and a rum unity toast. So gather your shipmates and say 'aye!' to love. This funny and heartwarming ceremony is written by professional officiant and ordained AMM Minister Sherri Crawford.

Vermont House Bill 148, titled 'An Act to Ban Child Marriage,' was passed by House on March 2nd and now heads to the Senate. The bill, which would raise the legal minimum age to marry in the state to 18 years old, is sponsored by Representatives Carol Ode, Mollie Burke, Tiffany Bluemle, and Sara Coffey. (VT H.148 2023)

The minimum age to marry in Wyoming is now 18 years old, with some legal exceptions for 16 and 17 year olds. Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 7 (HB0007) into law last week, after multiple attempts by lawmakers over the years to raise the legal age of consent in the state. The new law is effective immediately.

A step-by-step guide to help you plan a wedding or elopement and get married in New Jersey - including how to find a wedding officiant, choose the best wedding venue and plan your ceremony. Learn where and how to apply for your New Jersey marriage license and when to return it after the ceremony.

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!

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.

American Marriage Ministries just ordained minister number 700,000 as more Americans get ordained online to officiate weddings for friends and family during the COVID-19 Shutdown

Are wedding officiants about to be replaced by robots, or will weddings return to normal after the coronavirus shutdown learn how to stay ahead of the trends, and understand changing expectations from couples.

The USPS is a lifeline for small businesses. Letting this institution fail is an attack on small enterprise by wall street crooks that are hell bent on making a dollar off of the pain and suffering of this country’s working class.