Officiant Troubles

sahoskin

We're getting married in late May at my Grandpop and Oma Ann's farm.  It's all going really smoothly, except the issue of an officiant.  My family expects my Uncle to be the one to marry us.  He married my parents, grandparents, aunt and some very close family friends but he always leaves things out of the ceramony and we're not on the best of terms.  We've considered getting married in Ohio, where we live, and having our parents talk through the ceramony in Virginia, but even that has brought on some issues.  My FH's family are Catholic, my family is Christian, but I am Pagan, so there have been some interesting conversations about that one and I'm not convinced they would be comfortable being part of a Pagan ritual.  At this point we're getting closer and we need to make a decision.  Any ideas?

historyerin

Can you just have a completely secular ceremony so there's no favoritism to any one faith or religion?  That's something that really should be decided by the couple and not the family. 

katiedidthat

I guess my biggest question is what faith your FI practices.  The choice of who to officiate and what traditions to incorporate should be made by the couple based on their practiced faith and what religion they plan to raise their children in.

  For example, my sister is also Pagan, but our family is Christian(Presbyterian to be specific) and her husband is agnostic(raised Baptist).  They chose to have a completely secular ceremony with no religious aspects at all because they knew my family would be most comfortable with it and that most likely their children would be brought up in the church by attending with my parents, and then held a Pagan ritual for their own private comfort. 

scpalmtree06

Do a Google search for a wedding celebrant in your area -- that's what we're doing to handle our completely secular ceremony, but this particular officiant can create a customized ceremony to meet a variety of needs.  It's an especially helpful thing for people who don't have a home church or whatever.

cathyandjustyn

I hate to sound so ignorant, but can you please explain to me a little about the Pagan religion?