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Officiant Question

lily1346lily1346 member
First Comment
in Virginia
We're having my stepfather perform the ceremony and we had originally planned to be officially married by a marriage celebrant in the city clerk's office of Newport News where we live. 

Now I'm wondering if there's some way we can have an officiant (non-religious marriage celebrant, preferably) come and witness the ceremony and just give us the "I now pronounce you" part.  I'm concerned that the wedding will be on a Saturday and a little worried someone will still charge us the full price of a wedding ceremony, which we don't need. 

Do you know of any non-religious officiants who would be able to perform that little legal part?  Any other suggestions?

I know it's silly, but I want our real wedding date to be the same as our legal wedding date.  Thanks!
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Re: Officiant Question

  • serenabeana317serenabeana317
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm on my phone so I can't link but try www.weddingbysusan.com she is a marriage commissioner that does non religious ceremonies and is located near Newport News.
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  • lily1346lily1346 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thank you!  I'll send her an email right now. :)
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  • beautifulbridetobe11beautifulbridetobe11
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Could your stepfather get licensed to do the ceremony? I've heard that you can do it online and it's pretty easy for a one-time license.
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  • lily1346lily1346 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_virginia_officiant-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:236Discussion:1a789c58-2da9-4e9e-859f-d32f60e03c9cPost:bbb9ec2a-fed3-481b-ab2f-13b6a8b30a40">Re: Officiant Question</a>:
    [QUOTE]Could your stepfather get licensed to do the ceremony? I've heard that you can do it online and it's pretty easy for a one-time license.
    Posted by beautifulbridetobe11[/QUOTE]


    That was the first thing I looked into, but when I called the city clerk's office the lady didn't seem to think it was such a good idea.  She said he couldn't be ordained through an online church (which was my first thought, haha) and that it would be pretty expensive to get him licensed as a marriage celebrant.  I ended up just paying $90 for the lovely officiant listed above to come sign the papers for us on the big day!  If she's witnessing it, it'll be legal and we'll be all set.  I'm glad to have that bit checked off our list!

    I do wish it had been easier for my stepdad to just be the officiant, but I'm sure it'll still be beautiful and memorable this way too. :)  Thanks for the suggestion!
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