Friend getting ordained to perform our ceremony

krodner

Hi all,

My friend is getting ordained, and performing our ceremony at the venue (not at a church).  We are trying to figure out the exact steps to take to make sure he is certified and the marriage is legal.  Have any of you been through this, if so any and all advice is welcome, this is the one thing we can not mess up on : )

Thanks as always!

TerriandJoe

This question gets asked a lot. It's considered the a la "Friends" episode reasoning. Anyway, from what is understood on the knot in the state of NY, you can't have your friend legally marry you.

http://www.health.state.ny.us/vital_records/married.htm

Look to the section where it asks about who can marry you.

What a lot of girls do here, is have a legal ceremony with the justice of the piece, and then the next day, your friend can celebrate a ceremony-like ceremony with readings, etc. But you will have been legally married the day before. And not by him. (Unless of course, he is a judge, than he can legally marry you on the day of your wedding)

Hope that makes sense.

Good luck!

Siobhan615

I was considering this as well until I found out it was illegal for my cousin to marry us. Definitely look at the website Terri posted, and be very careful. I can't remember off the top of my head who originally posted it, but there is also a NY Times article about how the marriage can be annulled if someone who is not legally allowed to perform the ceremony does. We ended up hiring a reverend, whom we love.

kristinanddan

I believe online ordinations are not accepted in Westchester, NYC or Long Island. That said, I would be very very careful about doing this.

KWats2011

Sorry to hijack this thread, but can any of you tell me if an ordained minister (from NJ) still has to get a license to marry us in New York State? I couldn't fully tell from that web site.

sjsphish

Not true at all. I (and at least 4 other of my friends) have gotten married in Westchester by friends who got ordained online. My marriage is perfectly legal and valid.

SandDD

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-york-hudson-valley_friend-getting-ordained-perform-ceremony?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:113Discussion:a1f5a4cc-4d3d-4744-811c-883b87a764e3Post:7589a0d0-e48c-41e5-b87c-4c2082def5cd">Re: Friend getting ordained to perform our ceremony</a>:
[QUOTE]Sorry to hijack this thread, but can any of you tell me if an ordained minister (from NJ) still has to get a license to marry us in New York State? I couldn't fully tell from that web site.
Posted by KWats2011[/QUOTE]

I think they have to be registered in NY to perform the ceremonies.  If you're looking for one, my officiant is registered in NY & NJ - Jessie Blum of Ecletic Unions
<a href="http://www.eclectic-unions.com/">http://www.eclectic-unions.com/</a>

Don't have reviews yet but she came highly recommended on the NJ board.

ADKbride2011

Hi sjsphish,

I too thought that a friend could marry us, as long as he was ordained through Universal Life church and registered in NYC. Did your friend do this? If so, how much time would you say it takes? Did your friend physically have to go to NYC to register? Our friend is in Colorado and we want him to marry us but we don't want to inconvenience him too much. If it's not too much trouble, could you let me know what your friend had to do in order to be able to marry you in NY state?

THANKS! 
ADKbride