Getting married? Congratulations!!! You may have dreamt of your wedding all your life and you are understandably excited to start planning the event. But before you start any wheels in motion there are some important things to consider.
In British Columbia, the Marriage Act has very specific regulations as to who can officiate a wedding. Unlike what’s portrayed in television or film, your friend or favourite Uncle cannot become ordained online and officiate your special day. Your options in British Columbia are a religious official or a marriage commissioner.
Time and time again I’ve seen the unfortunate happen: the date is set, the location is booked, sometimes invitations have even been mailed out … but an officiant is not available for that day.
A wedding without an officiant isn’t actually a wedding… it’s a gathering.
Once you have identified some possible dates with your partner and before locations are booked, I highly recommend contacting possible officiants regarding availability. These professionals become fully booked quickly, especially in favourite wedding destinations such as the Sunshine Coast.
Spare yourself and your partner the agonizing stress of having paid a non-refundable deposit to secure the location only to realize you can’t book an officiant for that date.
Only book your location once you’ve signed the service agreement with your officiant and have paid your deposit.
For further points for consideration check out my post “Wedding Planning Conversations” for key questions that need to be discussed early.
As an authorized religious official with Vital Statistics I design and officiate custom highly personalized wedding ceremonies and officiate them along the BC’s Sunshine Coast. I believe that our spirituality is as unique and individual as our thumb print. I pride myself on co-creating beautiful wedding and handfasting ceremonies that reflect you and your partners spiritual beliefs.
If you would like to find out more please don’t hesitate to contact me.
