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Finding an Officiant

SilverSarahBSilverSarahB member
First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
in Florida-Central Florida
I am the first to admit that I am being particular in my search--I do care about who is marrying me to my hubby.  I have been looking for an officiant and my search hasn't been very successful.  I know many people have their officiant search easier by doing their wedding in a chuch, which I am not, or choosing a religious mentor which I don't have. 

I am looking for a non-religious ceremony, and I have had some basic communications with some self-advertised officiants that would send me their basic Christian ceremony as a response.  I find that rude and insulting, and I have been struggling with finding someone who seems like a reasonable, understanding person who would be happy to do the kind of ceremony that my fiance and I would like.  

Does anyone have any leads?  How did you find your officiant?  And why, oh, why are these people oblivious to the fact that sending religious quotes to someone requesting a non-religious ceremony is rude? 
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Re: Finding an Officiant

  • fullsyzebarbiefullsyzebarbie
    First Comment
    We are using Lon Tosi from Sensational Ceremonies!  He is awesome and I really liked him from jump. He is very genuine & down to earth and the prices are very reasonable.  He works with you to create any kind of ceremony that you like. We are not doing a religous ceremony. He has many options & ideas.  You can search them online and send a request for info. Be sure to request Lon, you wont be disappointed!
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  • mck4517mck4517
    First Comment
    I agree, I have just started my search for an officiant and I never realized how hard it might be. I'm also seeking a non-religious ceremony, and like you said, most responses I've gotten have been along the lines of "choose between these two vows and this is the outline" kind of thing. I would appreciate any advice as well! Good luck!
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  • nerdybirdynerdybirdy member
    First Comment First Anniversary
    We are also Lon from Sensational Ceremonies for our wedding. He understood our wish to have a non-religious, simple ceremony, and has tons of experience. 
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  • kbiggs11kbiggs11 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    We used Bryan Fulwider out of Winter Park. He had three ceremony scripts to choose from titled "god and Jesus" "god no Jesus", and "non religious". I liked him a lot. We chose the 2nd option and made some changes and cuts to the script. He was ok with all of it. His only requirement was that our vows be equal.
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  • srlavinsrlavin member
    First Comment
    edited April 2013
    We are going with Renee Silverman from A Lovely Ceremony.


    Renee is VERY flexible and offers many options to tailor the ceremony to exactly how you envision it.  She is also very warm, friendly, experienced, and professional.  We are confident that Renee's service will be perfect for us.

    One month to go!!!


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  • SilverSarahBSilverSarahB member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    In Response to Re: Finding an Officiant:


    Thanks for the help guys.  I ended up following your advice and contacting Sensational Ceremonies.  Lon Tosi did contact me, but the interview didn't go well.  I didn't really like him, and his energy didn't match up with us or our wedding.  I was disappointed for a bit, but decided to try to interview someone else from the same company, and scheduled a meeting with Debbie Swan.  I found that we meshed with her much better, and she was excited to hear about what we already know about our wedding before making suggestions or offering information.  

    After a quick chat with hubby-to-be, we decided that we liked her enough to book her.  YAY, I found my officiant!  

    If you guys have other suggestions, maybe this thread can help others looking for officiants.
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  • TinaSweeneyTinaSweeney member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited May 2013
    Congrats on finding your officiant!

    For those who are still questioning... Have you considered having a judge perform your ceremony? They also cannot accept money for doing so (although you could always slip them a giftcard of some sort.) We're having a judge perform our ceremony and he is fantastic! 
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