Many couples start wedding planning by setting a budget, booking a venue and sitting down to find their vendors. But where do you find the best vendors? More specifically: How do you find a wedding officiant?
Unfortunately, there is no central database where all of the wedding officiants in your area will be listed. But there are some easy ways to find the best wedding officiant for your big day – someone you trust to deliver a ceremony that is true to you two!
Let’s figure out how to find a wedding officiant – let us be your wedding officiant finder!
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Trying to find a wedding officiant? Congratulations, your search is over: You found us!
Sure, we might be biased, but we have been told by a few thousand reviews that Young Hip & Married wedding officiants are the best wedding officiants in the biz! We’d love to help you plan an amazing ceremony and get married.
Check out our packages, meet our officiant team and get in touch to book your wedding officiant!
by Clint Bargen Photo
One of the easiest and most obvious ways to find a wedding officiant is to simply Google it! Just type “CITY NAME + wedding officiant” into the search bar and let Google do its thing.
Remember that the first officiant on Google isn’t necessarily the best officiant for you. While some officiant companies appear higher on Google thanks to lots of positive reviews and great business, others pay for the top spot.
Nothing against paid ads – just do your homework before booking! Take the time to read reviews, look through packages and get in touch with any wedding officiant you find through a search engine.
Wedding Wire or The Knot
Websites like Wedding Wire and The Knot offer huge databases of vendors, including wedding officiants, for wedding planning couples to search through. They’re a great place to find local vendors and connect with other couples planning weddings in your area.
These databases allow you to see lots of wedding vendors in one place and get consistent info about each one, such as their packages, pricing and contact details. You can also read through reviews left for each wedding officiant. However, it can be overwhelming to go through so many choices!
Once again, we encourage you to do your homework. Top spots on wedding databases are often awarded to vendors that pay the most for that spot – not necessarily the best vendors out there or the best vendors for you. Take the time to read through reviews and reach out to any officiant who seems like a good fit.
by Amber Leigh Photography
The best wedding officiant finder? Friend and family referrals!
Finding a wedding officiant via friend or family referral is a great option. Not only is your friend or family member someone whose opinion you trust and value (we hope!) but you can also ask them lots of questions to learn about their vendor choice.
Best case, you may have even attended a friend or family member’s wedding and been able to see their wedding officiant in action. That way, you have firsthand experience with a wedding officiant’s ceremony script delivery and can ask your loved one to fill in any blanks around pricing, booking, etc.
If none of your friends or family members have been recently married or none have had weddings in your area, try joining an online wedding group. There are lots of location-specific wedding groups on Facebook where you can ask for referrals and chat with other local couples.
Ask your other vendors how to find a wedding officiant
Good wedding vendors know good wedding vendors, so tap into this wedding officiant finder resource! One of the best ways to find a wedding officiant is to rely on your vendor network.
Wedding officiants usually get booked after some of the bigger ticket items, like a wedding planner, photographer or caterer. That means you can reach out to vendors you have already booked and ask for their recommendations. They will have worked with lots of wedding officiants in the area and should have lots of insight for you.
Not only will your already-hired vendors be able to give you information about wedding officiants in your area, but you can also trust that they will only recommend officiants they like working with. They can vouch for the officiant’s service and you’ll know that your vendors will be able to work together cohesively on the big day.
This & feature image by John Bello Photography
Now that you’ve found wedding officiants in your area, how do you choose the best one for your ceremony?
So you’ve narrowed down your list of potential wedding officiants after getting referrals, chatting with people in your local wedding groups, searching Google or a wedding database, and asking your other vendors for recommendations. You now have a few officiant options in front of you. But how do you choose the best wedding officiant for your ceremony?
We’ve got your back! Check out our post on how to choose your wedding officiant with 7 steps to follow, including questions to ask your officiant and what to do if you accidentally book the wrong one.
Ready to find a wedding officiant for your big day? Meet our team of officiants and get in touch to book!
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!
