officiant in central pa

annie42207

ladies...looking for a good officiant, not have a religious ceremony but still need someone to conduct it, i've been looking but don't want to spend 300-400$ any suggestions?

slpankuch

You just described my officiant! Pam Brehem from Boyerstown is a great person for the job! She is non-denominational. I am not religious as well. Instead of bible verses she is letting me do poetry. You can do as much or as little as you want. She will send you tons of poems, verses, vows ideas. She loves new ideas if you have your own. She does not rush you in picking these things out. You do not have to have any counseling if you do not want. She can do everything via email if you're busy!

Prices are around $300-400 depending on what type of ceremony you would like. E-mail her, she will tell you how she prices.

Here is her website:
http://www.reverendpamela.com/

E-mail:
revpam@dejazzd.com


She will travel to this area for no added costs and she is always on time for our appointments. She will be marrying me and my FI and she has married my soon to be sister in law..the ceremony was beautiful and very personalized (she's not religious either!)

Good luck with your searches. If you choose her you will love her! She's such a warm hearted lady!

SHALYNNMARIE

Honestly, if you really didnt want to spend the money- anyone, friends, or someone in your family can get officiated online - then they just have to register at the county courthouse, I and my uncle are officiated (got it for my cousins wedding in case the minister couldnt) and it was a fairly easy thing to do- also Free. I saw a beautiful ceremony where the gride & grooms family did it an then the "familes married".  As for my ceremony we are very lucky to have several minster friends that are offering their services. Good Luck in your search!!!!

annie42207

i asked my mom to get ordained and she thought about it for awhile and decided not to do it...she's afraid all she'll do is cry lol.  and thanks i'll check into pam

kimberlyr22

I looked into having a friend ordained for our wedding and was told the state of PA is one of the states that does not acknowledge weddings performed by individuals ordained online. The officiant has to be ordained by a "real" church (for lack of a better word) or be a judge, mayor, etc. 

Am I wrong?? 

jnpfautz

We thought about having a friend or someone ordained but have read the PA doesn't acknowledge it as legal so be careful with that one!!

"Applicants are advised that persons who have been ordained over the internet may not be persons permitted to perform marriages in Pennsylvania. A recent Court decision held that persons ordained over the Internet are not ministers as  defined in the marriage law of Pennsylvania  IF they do not regularly preach to a congregation that regularly meets at a place of worship. You are advised to consult an attorney concerning the legality of such marriages."

That's from the Lancaster County website!  Another option that you can do is pay to get a slightly more expensive "self uniting marriage license" that is able to be done because of the Quakers.  Not all courts will issue it though - but it allows for you to get married as long as you have at least 2 witnesses present. So, it wouldn't matter who preformed the ceremony (google it - you'll get a better explanation haha)

We gave up with all of that and I'm paying $400 for my officiant.  She is Irene Panzini (Susquehanna Ceremonies) and I absolutely love her!  I want a non-religious ceremony and she is the perfect person for it!

RaptorSLH

Any ordained minister, priest or rabbi of any regularly established church or congregation, "

according to one source I found.  Even read one horror story about a marriage that was deemed invalid years after the fact.   Otherwise, we'd have a friend do it.  I'm looking for an officiant, too, and would appreciate advice on where to look.  I'm in Centre County PA (although originally from Boyertown!) and we're not a member of a church, so we don't know who to ask.  We're willing to pay if we have to.   Don't even know where to look, really, and we could use some advice on that regard.  

Not "Beautiful Affair of the Heart," though.  Found them on the internet, but the officiant they chose for me was not impressive or trustworthy enough for me to want to shell out $425 to someone I only know from the internet.

PS - sorry about the fonts.   Don't know why they're messing up, or how to fix them.)

annie42207

wow, didn't know that about pa...go figure they would have something like that in the laws of pa... i was searching wedding wire, and i did contact irene...but i just don't know if i want to pay 400$

annie42207

just looked into the self-uniting license in lancaster county, i spoke to someone at the courthouse and she informed me that there is a possibility if we move to a different county or state our marriage might not be recognized, we might have issues with social security, name changing on passport documents, health insurances, etc.  

JB26368

Father Joe McLaughlin! He's doing our wedding next weekend and he and his wife are awesome. He's was a Catholic priest but left the church to get married. He can perform any type of ceremony, religious or not, in any place except a Catholic church. His rates are also within your budget. Here's his website if your interested

fatherjoem.com

Scruffybean718

I recommend Dave Diraddo from Wedding Dayz. He was recommended to us by our venue and is priced very reasonable - there are different packages you can choose from and a very simple registration/contact info form. Good luck!

http://www.weddingdayz.net/

MrsJFDixon

If I'm not mistaken, I think I read in one of my wedding books that you actually don't have to have anyone marry you.  Once you've signed the marriage cert w/witness of course, you are married.  I could be wrong.  I'll have to see if I can find the info and let you know.