Confused about PA marriage licenses

Gerbertmcway

I've read other threads on this but unfortunately I am still confused. My fiancé and I are planning to have a very simple, non-religious ceremony. We were planning on having a friend who was ordained/certified/whatever you call it online but are now realizing that this may or may not actually be legal. I've also looked into a self uniting license, but I am confused about how the ceremony would go - do you still have an officiant?

emmyg65

You're correct that it's not legal to get ordained online in Pennsylvania.

Self-uniting licenses just allow you to marry yourselves without an officiant. They don't determine the type of ceremony you have. You can still have your friend lead your ceremony, and use whatever structure you like. The only thing that's different is that only you, your spouse, and two witnesses sign the license.

We have a self-uniting license and we had a Quaker ceremony (so no officiant), but you can do whatever you'd like. If you google around for "ceremony script" you can find lots of different options.