Pronouncement of husband & wife

msoloughlin

When it comes time to pronounce us as husband & wife, can my brother make the announcement instead of the officient who is marrying us?  We are trying to include my brother in the ceremony.

[Deleted User]

That is something you will have to talk to your officiant about. If you are getting married in a church, I am thinking the answer is going to be no. Definitely check with the officiant directly on this one.

If not, could your Dad be a reader or something? Also, being a guest is also an honor.

Tanq&Tonic

Ditto Missy Sue.

trix1223

I don't think that he can.  The officiant generally says "By the authority vested in me by the State of New Jersey and the Presbyterian Church, I now pronounce you husband and wife." I'm not sure under what authority your brother could pronounce you, you know?

Perhaps your brother could do the introduction of you after the pronouncement if you must have him do that.

But sorry to say, IMO, that reeks of the moment in Pam and Jim's wedding on The Office where Michael jumped in yelled out "I am proud to present for the first time.....yada yada yada so that he'd be included."

I think having your brother do this would break up the flow of that part of the ceremony, and frankly, having him say one sentence isn't really "including" him all that much.

If you want to include him, make him one of your attendants.

But a big good luck to you.

mary9449

I think whomever is announcing it must be ordained and have the authority to pronounce you husband and wife. Check with your officiant though.

rkatz8

how about a brother/sister dance at the reception instead?

Sarahkayfa

Pretty sure that's a legal issue. Maybe your brother could do a reading or introduce you at the reception or make a toast?

[Deleted User]

I like the brother introducing at the reception (the part where you walk in after leaving).
"Now for the first time as husband and wife, I'm proud to present my sister and new brother in law..." or something.

My brother is my "man of honor" so, I took it to the extreme?

carolynnmarieg

Ditto for me on brother introducing you two into the reception - then there are no legal issues and he can participate and make it more personalized.

RoMy215

Not to keep repeating the same thing, but there's got to be a better way to include your brother without what could be an awkward and forced transition -- IF it were even possible. I don't know what the laws are in MI, or what your religious beliefs are, but in CA, one may get ordained for a day to perform a ceremony. Is that an option? We had my BIL do ours. There were also a couple of people I wanted to include w/o making them bm's, so I asked one to do a reading and another to be the witness to sign our marriage license.

chewyjam

Another option (other than him being in wedding party, an usher, a reader, or introduce you in dinner)-he could introduce you two onto the dance floor : 'and now, dancing for the first time as a married couple...'-something like that.