One of the questions we get all the time is, “How much does a wedding officiant cost?” So let’s dive in and discuss the cost of a wedding officiant and why some charge more or less.
How much does a Young Hip & Married wedding officiant cost?
At Young Hip & Married, we believe in being very transparent with our costs. Head to our packages page to see the most up to date details of our current services and pricing.
If you have something else in mind, get in touch for a custom quote. Our customer service team would be more than happy to put something together for you!
What is the average cost for a wedding officiant?
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an average cost for a wedding officiant. Every officiant or officiant company will charge differently based on their experience, location and what is included in their ceremony packages. Just like how wedding venue costs can vary greatly based on their included services and location, so too does the cost of a wedding officiant.
There are also different costs associated with the different types of people who can marry couples. Marriage commissioners and justices of the peace may charge a set amount, as dictated by the government, and religious leaders may officiate weddings based on donation or membership to a religious organization.
by Erica Miller Photography
Why is the cost for a wedding officiant higher?
Generally speaking, the cost for a wedding officiant will be higher than the cost for a marriage commissioner or justice of the peace – just like getting married at a wedding venue will usually cost more than getting married at City Hall or in a judge’s chambers.
The wedding officiant cost is usually higher for a few reasons. Wedding officiants generally undergo specific training in how to officiate weddings – our Young Hip & Married officiants all go through the same training course and observe a Young Hip & Married wedding before officiating one of their own.
Wedding officiants often include more in their ceremony services than commissioners or justices do. In some instances, commissioners and justices are not allowed to make any changes to ceremony scripts and must use language dictated by the government, whereas officiants can write custom scripts for every couple.
Many officiant companies also have packages that include travel fees, wedding rehearsals and a team of staff members who help make sure every wedding ceremony goes off without a hitch!
For more on the difference between a wedding officiant and marriage commissioner, check out this post!
by Thea Loo and Jeremiah Reyes
But anyone can read a ceremony script! Why should we pay more for a wedding officiant?
Officiating a wedding is about so much more than reading off of a script. You have to command a room of 150 people during the most important moment of a couple’s life. You can’t mess up because there are no re-dos.
Officiants liaise with the wedding planner and DJ, connect with the couple and their guests in a way that is heartfelt, personal and humourous while also maintaining the seriousness of the moment, and keep the ceremony going even when things happen, like the wrong music gets played or the ring gets lost.
When you’re officiating a wedding, every moment is important and there is no room for error!
That’s not to mention all of the work that wedding officiants do before and after a wedding such as meeting with the couple to get to know them, interviewing the couple’s friends and family, writing a custom script that tells the couple’s love story, revising and editing the script, practicing the ceremony, getting in touch with the wedding planner, and filing the marriage licence. Plus there’s travel time, contracts, booking calendars and so much more. Phew!
by Amber Leigh Photography
All of our Young Hip & Married wedding officiants are experienced and professional. We have a back up team of officiants so that if something were to happen, someone else on the team could step in and get you married.
We also offer more than simple wedding officiant services. On our packages page, you’ll see we have different options for different types of ceremonies, from large-scale custom ceremonies to intimate elopements, as well as photography add-ons and adventure elopement upgrades (helicopter elopement anyone?).
Lastly, Young Hip & Married has a dedicated customer service team whose job it is to answer all of our couples’ questions, match them with the right officiant, get them booked and handle all of the paperwork. Our couples often tell us that the process of working with us could not be more simple or stress-free and that’s all thanks to our Customer Service Rockstars!
by Erica Miller Photography
Is it worth spending more on a wedding officiant?
Of course, we’re biased. But we think the answer is a resounding YES!
As a company with 10+ years of experience officiating weddings across Canada and the US, we have amassed 1300+ reviews from our couples. Not a single couple has told us they regret booking or spending money on a wedding officiant.
Your wedding ceremony is a once in a lifetime experience. It is the moment when your marriage begins and the part of your wedding day that will stick with you forever. Why not invest some time and money into such an important part of your life?
They say the average wedding costs $30,000 – with Vancouver weddings costing $50,000 – $80,000. If you spend $900 on your wedding officiant, that’s still just 1-3% of your total wedding costs. Not a big investment for a hugely important part of your marriage!
At the end of the day, we’re on a mission to eradicate boring wedding ceremonies and help couples have fantastic marriages. We believe booking a wedding officiant and investing in your ceremony is one of the best ways to do that.
by Clint Bargen Photo
We believe couples should walk into their wedding ceremonies confident that the person marrying them is going to do a fantastic job and honour their relationship. We’ve all been to that wedding where you cringe, knowing the person talking just said something the couple doesn’t believe in. Or the ceremony where you catch yourself yawning, because the same old vows or readings are being recited again.
We want you to have a say in the words that start your marriage.
We want to help you write the best vows ever and select awesome readings that represent who you are.
We want to facilitate your wedding rehearsal so everyone feels confident and comfortable.
We want to tell your love story in a way that honours your values and has you and your guests crying, laughing and cheering for your love.
We want to take the stress out of your booking experience so you can focus on what really matters: your marriage!
by Kathryn McLaren Photography
Still not sure if a wedding officiant is worth the cost? Read our reviews to see what other couples have to say!
Have questions or want to book a wedding officiant for your ceremony? Get in touch!
Riana Ang-Canning has been working with Young Hip & Married since 2017. She is a professional content writer with experience in travel, lifestyle and weddings. Riana not only writes Young Hip & Married blog posts but is also involved with the company's internal communications, social media, copywriting and more. She knows YHM, and the wedding world, inside and out!
