My fiance and I are starting to plan our wedding and have had several conversations lately about what details we do and do not want to be a part of our big day. Luckily, we’re agreeing on all fronts! We are both art-minded individuals (from design to music), we are laid back, and we are not very religious — we want our ceremony and reception to highlight our personalities in a way that is simply us. Since we won’t be getting married in a church, one of our first ideas was to ask a friend to marry us; a trend I have noticed is gaining popularity.
Our friends, Leslie and Adam, were married last year and they decided to ask a friend of theirs to officiate the ceremony. The result was phenomenally personal with sweet soulful moments and even a few outbursts of laughter. Since considering this option myself, I asked Leslie what led them to ask Erick to officiate their wedding.
“It was really important to us that our ceremony be very much a reflection of who we are as a couple. We wanted it to be about us, our relationship, our promises to each other, but also keep it light and fun since 200 people were watching (and Adam and I DO like to have a silly time). Since we were having a pretty casual wedding on a goat farm and not in a church, and didn’t want the ceremony to have anything religious, we asked an old friend of Adam’s, as well as a fast friend of mine, to get ordained for us. We wanted to honor him and he was quick to go along with it. He went online and got ordained, then we wrote the ceremony. Erick did a really great job and will remain special in our lives because he did that for us. We thanked him with a Bacon of The Month Club membership. : )”
Leslie also added that, since her own wedding, Erick has gone on to assist a few other couples in tying the knot! My fiance and I have a few friends that have done the same — get ordained to marry one couple and then help several others. It’s a win-win!
No matter your religious views, having someone dear to both of you lead the ceremony will surely be very memorable. What a sweet way to include and honor your childhood friend, a great-uncle, or even your scuba diving cousin! (Yep, we’re considering asking my fiance’s cousin — if he can swim with sharks, I’m pretty sure he can handle a wedding!)
Image Source: Couple Exchanging Rings (geeksugar.com)
