officiant-kinda long

sonya_hoff · October 2010

I'm wondering how much you are being charged or were charged for your officiant?

We are looking for an officiant for a non-religious ceremony and we have been quoted between $375 and $850 from the recommendations from theknot. (REALLY!?? $850?)

Our ceremony is going to be short, no prayer, no readings, just simple introduction of marriage, some kind words, and the I do's. about 20 mins long. I am obviously in the wrong profession if someone can make $850 in 20 minutes. We are not getting married in a church, so we need someone who can travel to our location outside of philly.

Does anyone know of any good civil officiants/justice of the peace in the philly area that are reasonably priced? We are trying to look into a mayor, but I figured i would check here as well.

(*FYI: Our original play was to get a friend ordained, but we found out that PA no longer recognizes marriages by ministers without a congregation)

Thanks everyone!

Bride_to_be_2011 · October 2010

sending you a PM

ashleylovesmark · October 2010

i am having this same problem and would appreciate the same info

Bride_to_be_2011 · October 2010

okay YGPM

[Deleted User] · October 2010

You could do a self united license and then you don't need one.

then you could have someone kind of lead everyone.

Cost free.

LaRositaMonita · October 2010

We used Maris Odilia Romeu from Journeys of the Heart and were at first also a little skeptical about the $300-ish pricetag (I am thinking they might be the $375 you mentioned, I know they are in that range these days). We met with Maria and one other, slightly less expensive, officiant, who we just didn't click with or think was particularly great for various reasons. Maria, however, left us literally misty-eyed at the end of our meeting, which took place just over a year away from our wedding. She had lots of great ideas and, even thought our ceremony was also only about 20-25 minutes long, was worth every penny we spent due to the personal attention she gave us. (She purchased and brought extra flowers for our small ceremony to honor our parents and deceased family members as well as all the other supplies we needed, checked in with us a few times over e-mail on plans, arrived early on the wedding day and was a wonderfully calming presence during our brief rehearsal.)

I don't doubt that you can find someone for less money - I agree that $850 is absolutely insane - just saying that if your $375 is spent on Journeys it will be well worth it. DH and I kind of felt "meh" about our actual ceremony at the beginning, too, but realizd after we met with both our potential officiants that even our little civil ceremony had more meaning than just signing a piece of paper and saying "I Do." Meeting with 2-3 officiants and deciding who is the best fit for you and your fiance would be my advice, regardless of the price.

sonya_hoff · October 2010

i checked with Journeys and their prices range from $450 to $850. Even at $450, you don't get to meet your officiant in person...you get a 15 minute phone colsultation. i was disgusted how little they offered for so much money. We would also like a rehearsal before the wedding day, since we are getting married at 11:30 AM and the morning will be crazy enough as it is.

and NCV2, a friend suggested the self-officiating liscence, but it varies county to county. I'm going to call ours today and see if we can do it!

cll915 · October 2010

I used Reverend Marion Tetor, she was very nice and her cost was around $250 with no rehersal just the ceremony. she was awesome and everyone enjoyed the short service. She was very accomodating with what we wanted to do. You can google her name and her website should come up.

FutureMrsTCT · October 2010

I also am using Journeys of the Heart, and they are a little pricey, $595, but that is because, I'm not one of the mainstream religions - and wanted a completely custom ceremony with readings, and a Handfasting. Not a lot of people out there are licensed to perform marriages and have experience handfasting a couple - so Irene Fulton was wonderful the first meeting. She was prepared, organized, and is diligent with emails (and continues to be).

Although, if you're not looking to spend that much (I wasn't either until Irene ended up being the only one we liked) I can definitely understand that! Good luck finding out if your county allows self-officiating licenses!!

sonya_hoff · October 2010

I just called...we can do the self-united license! I am so excited, we are going to just get that type and get a friend to stand in and lead the ceremony.

thanks everyone!

asf5017 · October 2010

So far we have had a great experience with Eric Whilden, who owns Water Lily Weddings. We met with him at a coffee shop before booking him where he told us about his family, how he got involved in the business, etc. Incredibly warm and friendly. He also provided us with a huuuuuge packet of options for the ceremony. He was around $400 though, so I know that might be a little much for you... but you do get the personal experience you seemed to be missing with the others.

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