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50 Essential Questions to Ask Wedding Officiants

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Selecting the right officiant for your wedding ceremony can be a tough task during your wedding planning journey. When trying to select the perfect wedding celebrant, you want to ask them questions that help you know if they are the right person to deliver the kind of ceremony you want for your big day. You may be considering a family member as a celebrant but these questions are best suited to ask professional wedding officiants.

The following list of questions will help you select an officiant for your dream wedding and will make you feel confident that you have not missed anything important.

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bride and groom standing outside.

Availability and Pricing

The first questions you should ask a potential celebrant are if they are available on your wedding date and what their prices are. Asking these questions on an initial phone call will help you make a quick decision before getting into the more detailed questions later on.

  • Are you available for our wedding date?
  • What are your fees?
  • What do these fees include?
  • Are there any extra charges for travel fees?
  • Do you do a wedding rehearsal and is that an extra fee?
  • Do you require a deposit?
  • Are you legally able to marry us in our wedding location?
  • Are there any other additional costs I should be aware of?

Style and Experience

To get an understanding of the professional wedding celebrant one of the first things is to ask them about their previous experience and possibly if they can provide some examples of their work. The following questions will help you decide which of the prospective officiants is the perfect person for you.

  • How long have you been performing weddings?
  • How many weddings have you done?
  • What is your ceremony style?
  • What type of wedding ceremonies have you officiated in the past?
  • How many weddings do you normally do in one day?
  • Do you have sample videos of past ceremonies you could share with us?
  • Have you had experience at our wedding venue before with past clients?
  • What sets you apart from other wedding officiants?
  • What is your working style?
  • How do you work with other wedding vendors such as wedding photographers, videographers, or wedding planners?
Two men are exchanging vows on their wedding day.

Before the Wedding

When looking at booking professional officiants it is good to know what services they will provide you before the special day. These questions are aimed to dive deeper into exactly what the different types of officiants include in their services.

  • How do you feel about our wedding ideas?
  • How do create a personalized wedding ceremony?
  • Can you perform a wedding that incorporates our religions/cultures?
  • Do you help us write our own vows or help us pick our vows?
  • Do you have any wedding reading ideas or resources?
  • Will you provide us with our personalized ceremony script ahead of time?
  • Will you participate in the rehearsal?
  • How many pre-wedding sessions will we have?
  • Will you help us obtain our marriage license?
  • Are there any other things you need from us to fill out the legal paperwork?
  • Do you need any information from me before the wedding day?

Wedding Day

This set of questions is aimed at you having a better idea of how the prospective officiant will operate on the day of your wedding and if they are the right fit.

  • What time will you arrive?
  • What do you wear to weddings?
  • Do you have your own handheld microphone system?
  • Do you have or need a sound system?
  • Do you have a backup to step in if you are sick?
  • How do you handle noisy wedding guests?
  • How long do your ceremonies usually last?
  • Would you like to join us at the reception?
Hands signing during the wedding.

After the Wedding

When deciding on a celebrant there are important questions to ask regarding exactly what they will help you with after the ceremony.

  • When will we have our marriage license finalized?
  • Do you help with that?
  • Do you provide any types of wedding vow memories?
  • Can our other vendors use photographs or videos that include you on their website, blog posts or social media?

Payment

Before you sign on the dotted line and book the celebrant, it is a good idea to know about the financial policies and payment terms the celebrant has. It is always good to catch a red flag before booking potential officiants so these questions are a great idea to ask.

  • When is a deposit due?
  • When will we receive a contract?
  • What does your contract contain?
  • Do you provide any payment plans?
  • When is the final balance due?
  • What is your cancellation policy?
  • What is your refund policy?
  • What is your postponement policy?
  • Do you have liability insurance?
Wedding money jar on table.

Personal Fit

When selecting a professional officiant, the last thing you will need is to ask yourself some important questions. While the celebrant may be able to deliver a lot of what you ask for, you still need to ask yourself these questions so that you select the best celebrant for you.

  • Did they communicate well with you?
  • Did they listen well?
  • Do you feel comfortable with this person leading you and your partner to become married on your wedding day?
  • Do you like the officiant’s prior work and style?

Final Step

Having answers to all these questions is a great way to get closer to that important decision while feeling confident that you haven’t missed anything. As a wedding couple, the next steps are to look at all of these answers and decide together which celebrant is a good match to deliver those special moments that you will remember forever.

After you have booked the best person for your special day you can work towards choosing some of your other wedding vendors.

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