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Friend marrying us????

thoward298thoward298
10 Comments
in Ohio-Cincinnati
So, my fi newest bright idea is to have one of our friends go through the process of being an officiant and marrying us! It is possible, but it makes me very nervous! We are not the traditional type, but at the same time I want it to be serious and not a big joke. I have all of the info that he needs to actually do this. What do you think????
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Re: Friend marrying us????

  • econner42econner42
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We actually thought of doing this too. I would personally rather be married by someone we know and that is close to us than by a total stranger, but that's me. My FI has a friend that was willing to get ordained, but we really haven't followed through with it. I think that if you have a friend that can be serious, that doesn't get nervous speaking in front of a group and can add a little personality to the ceremony, I say do it. I think it will make the ceremony even more personal. Just make sure that your friend knows, understands and respects your expectations for the ceremony.
    Anniversary
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  • nict1121nict1121
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We just did this at our wedding last weekend. My dear friend of 16 years became ordained and married my DH and I. We got the idea from watching One Tree Hill. Lol We were kidding around about it, then realized we really liked the idea. And my friend was totally up for it. He went to Universal Life Church and filled out a form. Then they sent him a certificate that says he is ordained through them and he sent that and a form from the State of Ohio that we downloaded to the state and he is legally allowed to solemnize (SP?) marriages. http://www.themonastery.org/Here are the laws regarding who can legally marry you in the state of Ohio and KY... not sure where u are! :)http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/KRS/402-00/050.PDFhttp://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/Text.aspx?page=408&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1At first I had the same concerns, I wanted it to be fun, but serious. We actually kept it a secret from everyone except for my MOH and BM. My friend is also my brother-in-law (thats a whole other story, lol) and MOH's hubby. So, we told everyone he was an usher and that he was going to escort my step-mother down the aisle. So, he did that, but instead of sitting down he went to the front and stood where the minister would stand. We had it in the programs, but the people who would be surprised by this were all involved in the wedding, so they hadn't seen the programs. We told everyone that the mayor of a local city was marrying us when people asked who are officiant was. Sorry, this is a long post!HTH! Good Luck
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  • LA01LA01 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We did it as well.  The key was having a person that would be comfortable speaking in front of a large group.  My DH wrote the ceremony and practiced it several times with our friend to make sure he was comfortable with everything.  It was so much more meaningful!  I've heard that many guests were wiping away tears.
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  • mindiosumindiosu member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We are having a friend marry us.  Luckily for us, once she decided she'd do it for us, another friend asked her and she married them already and we got to watch. She did an amazing job and took it very seriously and now we are very excited to have her perform our ceremony!  Just be sure that you pick a friend that you can trust and that you know will take the job seriously. I much prefer having someone who knows us and believes in our relationship get us hitched :) 
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  • mindiosumindiosu member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I meant to add that another friend helped us write our ceremony like pp and we gave it to our friend months ago to practice. She'll come to the rehearsal and we've met with her several times already to go over details. 
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  • nict1121nict1121
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I researched online different ceremony versions and changed it to modify what we were looking for as well.
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  • DebbydewDebbydew member
    Ninth Anniversary 100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Go for it! We are seriously considering doing this too. FIs grandpa is a judge, and may want to do it, but if not, we are going with a friend of ours.
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  • shaypbshaypb
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    The biggest concern should be seeing if they're considered legal in the state you plan to marry in.  OH insists they be licensed by the state but KY doesn't.  Just be sure you don't uncomfortably find out you're un-wed a couple years and a couple kids down the road. 
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