Officiant Fees - what is normal?

Syndelin

I'm just curious... we met with the first officiant we've seen today, and his fee seemed kind of high, but I really have no idea at all what is normal for them to charge.

If you don't mind sharing what you paid, or what you've been quoted, I'd love to know if he's basically in line with other local ones!

Thanks!

acnahm

We only met with one and his fee is $400.  I don't know what's normal either, but we liked him so much and he's so experienced that it's worth it to us.  Hope that helps.  Good luck!

belgirl

That seems pretty high.  I think $100 - $200 is normal. 

Celles

I think it depends on if you're hiring an officiant (so, essentially, a wedding vendor) or if you have a personal relationship with one through whatever religious services you attend.  $400 seems pretty average for a vendor. 

Rev. Giovanni was the lowest I found at $200 and I saw some up closer to $500, so there's a bit of a range.

jemmini6

I've been researching a little also and the average I've found is around $350-$400.  I find that extremely high since they will be there for all of about 30 min.  My sister suggested we book just a JoP, hers was about $75 for her wedding.  I think that's the route we want to go since I liked her ceremony...we don't need anything elaborate.  As long as we end up married, that's all I really care about.

Syndelin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_arizona-phoenix_officiant-fees-normal?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:71Discussion:95753040-6fb9-40d0-9bbf-ab5c14c7e6daPost:85a0765f-c654-44e7-86a2-189f9fcae324">Re: Officiant Fees - what is normal?</a>:
[QUOTE]I've been researching a little also and the average I've found is around $350-$400.  I find that extremely high since they will be there for all of about 30 min.  My sister suggested we book just a JoP, hers was about $75 for her wedding.  I think that's the route we want to go since I liked her ceremony...we don't need anything elaborate.  As long as we end up married, that's all I really care about.
Posted by jemmini6[/QUOTE]

That's my issue with it as well...  we want a short, simple ceremony...  20-25 minutes maybe.  We're not doing a rehearsal. We have a day of coordinater through our venue, so we don't need the officiant to do anything of that sort I don't think, and the one guy we met was $395.  It would be $100 extra if we did a rehearsal.  I was blown away really...  I didn't think they would be more than maybe $200 TOPS.  And then you're supposed to tip them right?  Ugh.   LOL

Marissa0717

I am using Jody from Spirit and Light. Two coworkers used her and loved her. She only charges $200 and considering it includes a prelim meeting, custom vows, rehersal, and the ceremony I thought it was a deal. My research found that many people charge around $400.
Here is her website: http://www.spiritandlight.net/

Syndelin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_arizona-phoenix_officiant-fees-normal?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:71Discussion:95753040-6fb9-40d0-9bbf-ab5c14c7e6daPost:ac2eb06d-4934-4240-b514-e2cb4e8c05d0">Re: Officiant Fees - what is normal?</a>:
[QUOTE]I am using Jody from Spirit and Light. Two coworkers used her and loved her. She only charges $200 and considering it includes a prelim meeting, custom vows, rehersal, and the ceremony I thought it was a deal. My research found that many people charge around $400. Here is her website: <a href="http://www.spiritandlight.net/" rel="nofollow">http://www.spiritandlight.net/</a>
Posted by Marissa0717[/QUOTE]

Wow...  she also gives a $50 discount for military (FI is retired Navy)...  I think we might have to give her a call!  LOL

She doesn't have a ton of reviews on weddingwire, but all the ones that are there are really good.  The only thing I can see being an issue (maybe) is how far away she is.  She's around 60 miles from our venue.   If she's willing to travel this far though, it would be great!  I love that little booklet that she does with the vows and everything.  It looks amazing!

This is exactly the kind of options I was looking for though, so thank you so much for posting. I really appreciate it! 

lcarp203

We are using Pastor Mark Faul.  He charges $275 and then an additional $50 for the rehearsal, which he does not have to attend.  I think it is pretty reasonable.  When you think that you are hiring someone to take time out of thier day to come to your location and perform a ceremony which they will have to put a little time into it so they can sound professional, it is not that bad!

Marissa0717

My 2 coworkers raved about Jody and she has been great so far with our wedding. We are meeting with her Monday to figure out ceremony details so I will let you know how that goes!

Syndelin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_arizona-phoenix_officiant-fees-normal?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:71Discussion:95753040-6fb9-40d0-9bbf-ab5c14c7e6daPost:7b6f75d3-e321-45c6-a2fe-b8895db9046a">Re: Officiant Fees - what is normal?</a>:
[QUOTE]My 2 coworkers raved about Jody and she has been great so far with our wedding. We are meeting with her Monday to figure out ceremony details so I will let you know how that goes!
Posted by Marissa0717[/QUOTE]

Wonderful, I'd love to hear about it!  We actually called and left a voicemail for her today as well, but I don't think she got back to us today.

731brnigirl

I am paying $400 and that includes pre wedding meeting to discuss our desires, rehersal and the ceremony. 

We REALLY liked Andrew Murphy so Im not botherd by his price.  I agree 400 is a lot for 30 min. 

HUMMMMM...... maybe I should take the on-line class and do weddings! LOL  I would only charge $200 for 30 min any takers? LOL

kb5432

I could not justify spending hundreds on an officiant when our ceremony will be short as well so we asked my Godfather to perform ours.  He became ordained online and we have written the ceremony ourselves.  I love that ours will be more personal and done by someone who means a lot to us both.

Marissa0717

Syndelin : I met with Jody on Monday and she was lovely! She has been doing it for such a long time that she gave some great advice about the little details like name changes and the marriage certificate. She gave us tons of ideas and suggestions on what to do and when to do it during the ceremony. We had researched ahead of time and came up with 2 ideas that we wanted to use. She looked them over, was familiar with them, and is going to write them into a draft for us. She is going to email us the draft later this week so we can check it our and make any changes we want.
We really liked her because she was so knowledgeable yet not pushy at all. We could tell that she wants to make sure it is special for us. She took time to get all the little details written down that I didn't think about and made me even more excited for the little book she is making us!
I thought it was so nice that she even tries to make a book for couples who call to elope with 2 hours of advanced notice! She was wonderful and I totally recommend her. I am looking forward to seeing what she writes up for us. My wedding is in 10 days so I will write reviews after

Syndelin

Thanks so much for the update on Jody!   That makes me excited to meet with her.  I have to wait a few weeks until my FI is back in town again, but I'm going to get ahold of her for sure. 

Thanks again!

krkapple

Ours is $250, but I think he may have come down a bit in price since he has been my pastor for several years and was my siblings' youth pastor before planting his own church.  As an added bonus, he'll let us pay him after the ceremony since he already knows us.  FI and I will probably tip him an extra $50 because he is so awesome!

Marissa0717

Syndelin - Jody emailed us our the ceremony wording she wrote up this past weekend and they were so beautiful that FI almost cried! It was really sweet. We love them, they are a perfect blend of traditional, romantic vows and more modern ones. We love them and so happy we picked her. 5 days till we get married so I will let you know how it goes!

jhricovec

I booked through Rev. Giovanni. He charges $200.00. His process is really nice. The first meeting, he sits with you to talk about you as a couple and what you expect. He does this to get a feel for you as a couple. You take a book home to pick out your ceremony and decide what you want, and don't want. Then at your 2nd meeting, you go over choices and make sure everything is in order and will flow. Then you can either choose the rehearsal or not...he made some good points. He's been great and gives suggeswtions for other things you need.

Syndelin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_arizona-phoenix_officiant-fees-normal?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:71Discussion:95753040-6fb9-40d0-9bbf-ab5c14c7e6daPost:b41b2cd5-eafe-4adc-a8c2-75315a6f8bad">Re: Officiant Fees - what is normal?</a>:
[QUOTE]I booked through Rev. Giovanni. He charges $200.00. His process is really nice. The first meeting, he sits with you to talk about you as a couple and what you expect. He does this to get a feel for you as a couple. You take a book home to pick out your ceremony and decide what you want, and don't want. Then at your 2nd meeting, you go over choices and make sure everything is in order and will flow. Then you can either choose the rehearsal or not...he made some good points. He's been great and gives suggeswtions for other things you need.
Posted by jhricovec[/QUOTE]

He is actually who we ended up going with.  =)  We've had our first meeting with him (where he made me cry! LOL) and are waiting for my FI to get back into town for the second meeting,  but yeah, he's really awesome actually.  I love his attitude and his sense of humor.