Modern Ministries

14/08/2024

19/07/2024

This is why I love what I do.

02/07/2024

Your words are very powerful. Choose wisely.

29/06/2024

Four couples have contacted me in the last week looking for a last minute officiant. I cannot stress enough hire your officiant and do so early. Everything from a friend decided last minute they were not comfortable performing, or questions about the legality of their brothers online ordination .....Whatever it was they are now scrambling trying to find an alternative.. spending thousands of dollars on everything else to save $400 on an officiant..

Literally the most important person to make your marriage legal. I feel this needs reposting.

Why Hire a Professional Officiant?
Deciding to hire a professional wedding officiant is a choice you aren’t likely to regret.
If you’re anything like most couples planning a wedding, deciding whether to hire a professional wedding officiant is only one of the many decisions you’ll need to make. Depending on the type of wedding you’re planning, you may be considering hiring an officiant or asking a friend or family member to perform your ceremony instead. For many couples, it can seem like there isn’t much of a difference between using an amateur or hiring a professional, but there are quite a few major advantages to hiring an experienced professional to perform your wedding ceremony.
In most areas of the United States, it is relatively simple for anyone to perform a legal marriage ceremony. Most often, the only barrier is that one needs to become an ordained minister, which is a simple process and can be done online through a variety of websites. With the exception of a handful of states with more stringent requirements, this means that practically anyone can perform a wedding ceremony – but should they?
Laura Weatherly, Engaging AffairsAsk the Expert: Wedding Planner
“Your wedding is not the time you want to take chances. Hiring a professional officiant means that you will have a professional who knows how to speak in public and has the experience to ensure the ceremony will go smoothly, even if you are too nervous to remember a word.”
– Laura Weatherly, Engaging Affairs
Professional Advantages
There are a number of advantages to hiring a professional officiant. They bring the necessary knowledge, experience, and skill to help you create a top-quality ceremony and deliver it with poise and grace. Ask any wedding planner, photographer, or videographer whether they prefer to work with an amateur or a professional officiant and they will tell you the same thing: definitely hire a professional. Here’s why:
Experience
The number one reason to hire a professional officiant is experience. The more experience someone has at performing wedding ceremonies, the better equipped they are to deliver a high-quality performance in the midst of an unpredictable, unscripted environment. Performing a wedding ceremony isn’t as simple as just reading a piece of paper, and many amateurs get thrown off by the near-constant distraction of mumbling guests, crying children, flying bugs, moving vendors, and the like. A professional officiant has a level of comfort that comes only from experience, and can maintain a state of calm and focus despite changing or unforeseen circumstances. This leads to a better experience for you, your families, and your guests – you can relax and enjoy your ceremony, knowing you’re in the capable hands of someone who knows exactly what to do.
Knowledge
Since a professional officiant has the benefit of experience, they can also offer knowledge and guidance that you simply can’t get from an inexperienced amateur. A professional officiant can advise you on the proper length for your ceremony, any potential logistical challenges you might face at your venue, different options for wedding traditions to incorporate into the ceremony based on your unique circumstances, and the answers to many questions an amateur wouldn’t even know to ask. Aside from being a life-changing display of your love and commitment to one another, your wedding ceremony is also your guests’ first impression of your wedding and sets the tone for the rest of the day. If you wouldn’t trust your friend to photograph your wedding or DJ your reception, then why would you put something as important as your wedding ceremony in the hands of an amateur?
Reliability
Any professional officiant will tell you that one of the biggest benefits to hiring a professional, and one of the biggest drawbacks to using an amateur, is reliability. Professional officiants get calls all the time from couples who either hired a low-grade officiant from Craigslist who flaked on them at the last minute, or from couples who had planned on using a friend that now has cold feet and doesn’t feel comfortable doing their ceremony. These unfortunate circumstances are extremely common, and can be very stressful for a couple – especially when they happen only weeks or even days before their wedding. Professional officiants understand the commitment they make to every couple that hires them, and take that commitment seriously as a matter of professional integrity.
Teamwork
Unless you’re planning a very small wedding, chances are that you’re hiring other professional wedding vendors for your wedding. Professional wedding planners, caterers, photographers, videographers, DJs, and ceremony musicians all work together as a team with your officiant to ensure that everything happens according to plan. When one of the vendors you select isn’t an experienced professional, the remaining members of your vendor team are automatically tasked with “babysitting” an amateur instead of being able to concentrate on their jobs. This is because all of the different vendors at a wedding have overlapping or related responsibilities, each depending on the others’ competence in order to make sure things run smoothly. Pulling off a complicated event like a wedding requires a team effort from all of your vendors, and a professional officiant is an essential part of that team.
Control
Aside from experience, for most couples the most important reason to hire a professional officiant is control. This is one of the major advantages that professional officiants offer over church-based clergy as well – the ability to create a ceremony that’s completely customized for every couple without being bound by dogma or tradition. When couples decide to use a friend or family member to perform their ceremony, they give up a lot of control because of the inherent awkwardness of having a personal relationship with someone who is performing a professional service at their wedding.
You never have to worry about offending a professional officiant if you aren’t thrilled with their suggestions for your ceremony, or dislike something they’ve written and want to change it. It’s a much different story, however, to let down a family member who has written a terrible script for your ceremony or has their heart set on incorporating something you really disagree with. Ultimately, this is your wedding ceremony and a professional officiant is going to understand and respect that, and work with you to ensure you get exactly what you want.
Lemon & Lime Event DesignAsk the Expert: Wedding Planner
“Using a professional officiant really makes the creation of your wedding ceremony go smoothly. Writing a ceremony is tough, and it’s so nice to have the guidance. An experienced officiant has the expertise to come up with a ceremony that represents the couple and the type of ceremony they would like to have. They have the formal approach of a “traditional” ceremony but are able to let the couples personalities come through making the guests feel more connected.”
– Ashley Amtmann & Katey Clark, Lemon & Lime Event Design
Legal Considerations
As mentioned earlier, some states are more stringent than others when determining who may, or may not, perform a legal marriage. It’s extremely important to familiarize yourself with the marriage laws in the area you plan to wed in order to avoid running afoul of local laws. Hiring a professional officiant is another way to ensure that your marriage won’t face any legal issues – a professional officiant will be familiar with any city, county, or state laws and will ensure they are in compliance.
For instance, in eleven states and the District of Columbia, anyone who wishes to perform even a single marriage ceremony must be approved and registered by the state first before marrying anyone. The requirements for authorization can vary wildly, with some states like Virginia only allowing ordained ministers with a local congregation to perform marriages.
A Choice You Won’t Regret
Deciding to hire a professional officiant is a choice that will make your wedding planning easier and less stressful, and ensure that you have a high-quality wedding ceremony. While it may seem like an insignificant decision when compared with so many other choices you’ll need to make, keep in mind that your wedding ceremony is the entire reason you’re planning a wedding in the first place. With so many benefits to hiring a professional instead of using an amateur, it’s not a choice you’ll be likely to regret.

16/06/2024

Another amazing day for a wedding.

05/06/2024

Love is Love! Happy Pride.

03/06/2024

Happy Pride!!!!

13/05/2024

Watching the band test and set up. Looks like it's gonna be a great party.

18/04/2024

When fate steps in....

14/02/2024

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds: 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader, deeper, and more profound than anyone could have ever imagined...

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore... So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.' Rebecca - age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.' Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.' Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.' Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen.' Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.' Nikka - age 6

(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.' Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.' Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.' Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.' Elaine - age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.' Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.' Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.' Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image!) Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross...' Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.' Jessica - age 8

And the final one: The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry.'

Be a child again.

05/02/2024

The truth hurts only once, a lie hurts every time you remember it.