Family, Friend, or Professional?

Just The two Of Us Wedding Services

Why You Should Hire a Professional Wedding Officiant.

I have a lot of couples contact us regarding their concerns with using a family member or friend to officiate their wedding. Most of the time they tell us they feel it would be more personal to have a family member or friend be the one to officiate their wedding. 

And we completely understand this. But there are many factors to consider when thinking about who will be in charge of your ceremony. In this blog I want to break down why having a professionally trained Wedding officiant truly makes all the difference for your wedding ceremony. 

You’re getting married and right away you start planning your big day. From the catering, to the DJ, linen colors, floral, lighting, HMUA, there are so many working parts that go into creating your day. 

Outdoor wedding with a covered patio
Flowers and candles as the centerpiece for a wedding table

In the past 11 years I have heard quite a few phrases from couples who were looking into a professional wedding Officiant.
“Well, you just stand there reading, why is it so much?” or “Wait, you’re just reading a script, we don’t need anything fancy, just someone to perform the ceremony and sign the license, that’s it”. 

Well, I can PROMISE YOU a lot more goes IN TO this process than just showing up, standing there and reading. So I’m going to break it down for you and hopefully this will give you some insight into WHY Professional Wedding Officiants (and I will explain a Professional versus someone who does this on “the side” for play money in a bit) are definitely a vendor you DO NOT want to skimp on. 

The Interview Process:

When considering a Wedding Officiant there are many key factors you want to consider in the interview process. And yes, you SHOULD be interviewing many.
How long has this person been Officiating weddings? Do they have verifiable proof such as a website with pictures of them with their couples? Social media accounts? References from past couples? Video of them speaking at a wedding? Having an in person meeting or a virtual meeting at the bare minimum allows you to ask the officiant as many questions as needed. And think about what you want to ask them before the meeting. Write those questions down and have them ready so that you don’t forget anything in that initial meeting. 

Verifiable Business: 

Is this person/company a true Wedding Officiant business or just someone who does this because they went online, got ordained and can? What background training do they have? Public speaking experience? Creative writing? Are they an actual BUSINESS with an EIN and pay taxes? Are they insured? 

Are they able to help create a custom ceremony script that will fit your style, beliefs and set a tone for your day? Can they provide proof or samples of their work? Will they let you have a creative hand in creating their wedding ceremony script so that there are no surprises or things said or done that do not reflect their personalities? Do they have contracts? A professional website? Marketing materials? Are they well known in the community among their peers? Do they have Reviews online? VERIFY! VERIFY! VERIFY! 

Experience Running a rehearsal: 

If you haven’t hired a Certified wedding Planner or Certified Wedding Coordinator at the very least, will your Officiant offer help Coordinating your rehearsal and bridal party? Many of our couples have never been married before and many have surprisingly never been to an actual wedding! They don’t know how to even start this process of who walks when, with you, how do they know when to walk? Stand? Spaced out? Who will have rings? There are SO many factors that go into a Ceremony and a professional Wedding Officiant knows every key point to hit. Will the officiant include this process in their pricing or charge extra? Or will they even do it at all? Ask these questions! 

Contracts: Plain and SIMPLE here folks…..NO CONTRACT, NO HIRE! PERIOD! 

NEVER. EVER hire any vendor for a day you are investing money into without a solid contract that protects YOUR DAY! Your wedding day is an investment. It’s an investment in the start of your marriage, your memories and let’s face it and be honest, weddings are not cheap! So why would you hire anyone without a contract? Without verifiable experience? Without the proper knowledge to HELP YOU make your day everything you have been dreaming about? 

Public speaking: Sure, a lot of people can talk in front of a crowd. But how they PRESENT is just as important. Are they engaging your guests? Are they making them feel like we are speaking directly to them? Are we looking up from our script and making eye contact with you? Your guests? Are we SMILING? Are we speaking in such a way that guests want to hang on those words? Do you know how we know we are pulling in those guests? They are SMILING BACK. They are wiping away tears. Laughing at those cheerful moments. Anyone can talk. Not EVERYONE can PRESENT. 

Custom ceremony scripts:

 Ok I am going to be honest on this one. I don’t understand ANY “officiant” who just shows UP With a script on your wedding day and expects you to be happy with what they are going to say without YOUR prior approval.

 How do they know what you want to include in your day? Do you want a non-religious wedding or a simple prayer? Do you want to include a Unity Ceremony? Or two of them? What about your vows? Are you planning on creating your own that you read to one another or are you a shy couple who doesn’t like to speak in front of crowds? What about readings? Timing of the ceremony script to match the Music played while performing your Unity ceremony? And while we are at it let’s talk about Unity Ceremonies for a second.
There are DOZENS UPON DOZENS of unity ceremonies. And couples are getting quite creative and creating their own which we love! But the unity ceremony you create or pick SHOULD absolutely reflect the both of you and be something memorable to honor your day! And NO, we don’t charge extra for them. Why would anyone? That is ridiculous and anyone who DOES is in it for a money grab. We also do NOT charge for custom script creation. Again, anyone who does? It’s just to pad their pockets. 

A professional Wedding Officiant can guide you in this process and help you find the unity ceremony that is PERFECT For you both. 

We always include CUSTOM CEREMONY SCRIPT creating with all of our weddings.
It’s very VERY important that you have a creative hand in this process and we help you build it, create it, customize it and make it PERFECTLY YOU! 

The Marriage License: That’s a simple one and we are HAPPY To guide you on that process. 

Wedding Attire: Ok, you spent probably a month OR longer picking out your wedding dress. The Bridesmaids Dresses. Flower girl dresses. Groomsmen suits. You are paying thousands for a photographer, maybe a videographer.
Your Officiant should be Sharply dressed. Dress or suit freshly pressed. Tie and white shirt for the male officiant with Dress shoes. Clean NAILS. Freshly shaved. 

Our Female officiants wear knee length dresses or longer, a professional suit, dress shoes. Modest Jewelry and Manicured nails. This is YOUR DAY. We will be in those photos; videos and you want someone who looks the part. 

We know when to ask guests to rise, to be seated, when to step out of important shots during your ceremony…….THE KISS SHOT! That is our BIGGEST pet peeve. Why would your officiant stand there watching you kiss? Not. Our. Moment. 

We always arrive early, check in with you both, meet your DJ, do a mic check, check in with your Planner/Coordinator, go over details to ensure nothing has changed, help make announcements, line up the bridal party…we help take the stress off so that you can remember the beauty of your day! 

A professional wedding Officiant doesn’t just “Stand there and read”.
On average, we spend 12 hours PER couple with a rehearsal included, on each wedding. Some are a little longer, some are a little shorter. 

But at the end of your wedding day, or the next you will look back on that day and be SO THANKFUL you hired Professionals. 

Your wedding will be polished, flawless and as close to perfect as possible. 

It’s your wedding day and ultimately, it’s your decision to have whom you feel is best for your wedding ceremony. 

Whatever your choice we are here for Officiating, Professional wedding Planning, Coordinating, Custom Script Creation and so much more. 

Let us help you remember the beauty of your day……………..

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Our Difference

Whether you are having a backyard wedding at home or a wedding at the Zoo every couple gets the same level of Professionalism and Dedication and attention that they deserve.

We know what goes into a wedding day. We know the stress that can come with it, the frustration, the confusion, the expense, the questions! But we am here to help relieve that stress and guide you so that you don’t have to feel that way.

Why Choose Us?

We love weddings. We love watching a wedding come together and we LOVE being a part of a day where we am able to witness the joining of two people’s lives into ONE.

This isn’t a Job. A job, to us, is something you have to do. We WANT to do this. We continue to grow, learn, challenge ourselves and see trends changing. It’s so much fun! It’s a happy time. A special and beautiful day for everyone involved.

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Phone

(317) 416-7777

Address

997 Silver Valley Ct
Greenwood, IN 46142

Hours

Monday-Saturday: 9 AM - 7 PM
Sunday: 12 PM - 5 PM
Weddings: 363 Days a Year
Closed: Christmas and Thanksgiving

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