Anyway, we met her and it went great. She had SO many great ideas of ways to incorporate parents and grandparents and how to honor those who have passed away. We loved her. She was interested in us and what we do. I could tell that was an expressive and interesting lady. She has been an officiant for ten years but was a private investigator before that.
Well, after meeting with the officiant it felt like the ceremony was starting to come together in my mind. All the pieces that I felt were so disconnected start to flow. I am so excited to work with her and to meet with her to write our ceremony.
She was a little bit more than our budget allotted but after some discussion, we determined this was the place to go over. The reception wouldn't be much more than a party without the ceremony.
I can't wait to work more on the ceremony and share some with you all!
Some tips for meeting the officiant:
- Have some pictures of your wedding ideas so they get a sense of what kind of wedding you are having. Bring your planning binder! They won't be intimidated.
- Know what you are looking for in an officiant - list some qualities before meeting him/her
- Ask him/her about their life outside of their job to get a sense of him/her as a person
- Find out how they construct a ceremony, do they allow you to write any?
- What type of tone do you want the ceremony to set? Will the officiant be comfortable setting that tone? Will they be good at it?
- Relax! Don't be nervous and just let the conversation flow. Most likely they have done a lot of meetings and can carry the conversation. If they can't speak, they probably shouldn't be saying your ceremony.
- Set out an hour for the meeting - you have a lot to talk about!
Helpful stuff you've got there. It's too bad I'll be meeting my officiant 5 mins before our ceremony or I'd be able to use some of your tips!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you covered all the bases :) I asked a lot of questions because I had never been in a wedding before, and had no idea what to expect!
ReplyDeleteWe met our officiant the week before the wedding and absolutely loved him. I wish we had lived in the town we got married in so we could have done our pre-marital counseling with him. How are you doing with the long distance and job change? We are doing long distance just this month and I am also facing a job change (or unemployment) and it is so so so stressful to me!
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies!
ReplyDeletePoorandfabulous - It sucks! We are moving this weekend and he is late getting home and I am doing a lot of the packing and it is just super stressful. I feel your pain! I love the new job though so that is definitely a plus!