Wedding Blog
Last night we met with our officiant for the first time. Ever. As in, I had never spoken on the phone or seen her in person ’til last night. Mr. D and I aren’t particularly religious and we come from different faith based backgrounds. We don’t have a church we attend regularly (when we’re not country hopping) and as such, we don’t have a minister or priest that we have a close relationship to. Not to mention that we haven’t solidified which (or if) organized religion suits us, and we simply wouldn’t feel comfortable marrying in a faith we weren’t 100% committed to.
Many people have asked how we found our officiant, and really, I’m just a huge review devotee. I searched on Wedding Wire for an officiant, did a general Google search (Maryland non-denominational wedding officiant), and checked out the reviews on Project Wedding. Then I scoped out her website, too. Because three sources just aren’t enough for me. I told you, I’m devoted to reviews! So I shot off a preliminary email, and when she wrote back, Laura was so friendly and warm, and I just felt comfortable working with her.
I’m a fan of “gut feelings” and I’m happy to say that this one panned out quite nicely.
During our meeting last night we were able to flush out the order of the ceremony, which elements were most important to us, and Mr. D and I are even modifying a ritual to suit us perfectly. We came with a huge pool of ideas, and Laura was great in helping us to funnel them into a cohesive outline. Not only that, but she emailed us a ceremony draft to review the very same night!
At first, I was concerned about how we would find an officiant that would suit us, understand us, and really grasp what makes us tick. After all, it’s pretty difficult to put your faith in the internet and hope that you’ve picked the right officiant out of the “bag”. But really, through reading the reviews and hearing how people described her and their ceremony, as well as the words she chose to describe herself on her website, I began to favor her above all the others I had looked at.
How did you chose your officiant? Were you pleased with them?
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We have the same officiant!! And we found her the exact same way - I read all the reviews, checked out her website, etc… I’m not getting married until next year, but we already met with Rev. Laura and we’re so excited to design our ceremony with her! She’s super friendly and understood exactly what we were going for. I’m sure your ceremony will be fantastic, and I bet people will think you’ve known her for much longer 
Our officiant was a pastor from a local Jamaican church. So obviously, we had no relationship with him whatsoever. We met with him a couple of days before the wedding to go over some things & that was it! While I would have preferred to have someone we know, it ended up being just fine
Our situation was like Mrs. Quiche. We didn’t meet our officiant until two days before the wedding ceremony. But an acquaintance of ours was actually married by him a year before us and he cam highly recommended! Getting a referral made us feel a LOT better about being married by a stranger in another country!
We happened to choose one that is relatively young who we felt was very charismatic. The bad this is that we might have offended the clergy from the place I’ve gone to since I was a kid. Needless to say…drama.
Still deciding who to choose… I have a neighbor from NJ who was my church reverend. He even officiated my father’s funeral and interjected it with humor, thoughtfulness, and love for my dad as a friend, reverend, and neighbor. I am thinking about asking him to officiate but feel bad asking him to come to IN to do it… so I’m still sitting on the idea! Good thing for you with your gut feeling working out though! I try to always trust mine too!
Mr. Mango! Where have you been at, our seemingly lone male Bee? Hopefully, you’re back for a bit! We’ve all missed you.
We are lucky in the fact that my fiance’s cousin is a pastor. He does a great job whenever he speaks in front of a crowd and to have someone who knows us well marry us makes it even better!
Haha…one of those reviews was written by a friend of mine. BucknellGroom and I attended their wedding back in May, and I think that the warm way about her that you mentioned really came through in the ceremony. Great choice
Our officiant is going to be the father of my host family, back when I worked on the interchange program and met my FI, so he witness the beginning of our relationship really close We couldn’t be happier that is going to be him!!
I’m so glad you found an officiant you love Mr Frenchie and I asked a friend of mine who is a Presbyterian Minister to be our officiant and we couldn’t be happier.
Can’t wait to hear more about your ceremony!
We get along really well with our celebrant, one of my priest friends from undergrad. I know him better than Mr. Bru does, but the few times we’ve all been together, everyone has a great time — our meetings usually last at least an hour longer than previously anticipated.
So glad you found an officiant you like and are comfortable with! That makes things easier. Mr. Engineer and I are members of a local church, so our pastor there is marrying us.
So happy for you guys that you made the right choice. Finding an officiant can be a daunting task! Mr. G and I were married by a judge who is an old friend of my family. There were a few bumps along the way, but mostly, things went smoothly.
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Mrs. D'orsay, Baltimore/Lancaster UK
Age and Occupation: 24, Stay at home fiance (formerly in nonprofit communications)
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Web site developer and designer; co-owner of men's skincare shop
Engagement Date: August 10, 2008
Wedding Date: August, 2009
Venue: Oakland Manor
About Me: I'm a Maryland raised environmental policy wonk/activist/organizer and communications aficionado. In the past year I've lived in Baltimore, MD, Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL and Lancaster, England. In my not so spare time I enjoy planning trips with Mr. D' Orsay, visiting friends and family and crafting like a mo-fo. I also enjoy modern dance classes, rugby and soccer but have been banned by my mother, MOHs, and Mr. D' Orsay from playing till after the wedding. I have an unnatural addiction to cheese and shoes, but love Mr. D' Orsay more than either and can't wait to become Mrs. D' Orsay!
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