by Dotti Templeton
Why does an officiant costs hundreds of dollars? I would have asked myself that same question until I became one.
Many people wonder how it can cost so much to “stand up there for 20 minutes.” Well, now I can tell you from experience, that’s the shortest, easiest, most fun part.
Most officiants these days are not ministers of churches with salaries and/or housing. They are ministers for the sole purpose of officiating weddings and, perhaps, baby blessings and memorial services. They are one of your most important vendors.
You know that when you pay $4 for a latte at the local coffee shop, the drink’s ingredients cost about 22 cents. You understand that you’re paying for rent, lights, insurance, salaries, equipment, advertising, profit, and more.
Now, an officiant’s expenses aren’t all as readily obvious, I admit. But they include purchasing robes at several hundred dollars each, stoles at more than one hundred dollars each, advertising, a website, a dedicated phone, business cards, numerous reference books, association dues, certification that cost thousands of dollars, and ongoing education costs. Other hard expenses include things like dry cleaning, car, gas, and computer.
Then there’s the time factor. I spend a lot of time with couples on the phone and email who ultimately don’t book.
For the weddings I do book, I spend about an hour on the phone with each couple, an hour or more in person, several hours researching, composing and typing the ceremony then making revisions, about two hours preparing for the ceremony (Map-Questing directions, printing and binding the ceremony, ironing my robe, and rehearsing), a half an hour on creating the wedding certificate, an average of 4 hours travel and time and at the ceremony because I always get there early, and another half an hour completing, copying, and mailing the marriage license.
But in the end, that’s not really all you’re paying for. Just as you can hire lawyers and surgeons for $100 or $1000 an hour, you can find officiants at various fees too. Like doctors and lawyers, officiants’ fees are based on their experience and ability to do the job well.
Couples pay for the perfect ceremony…the one that will touch their hearts, reflect who they are and make their guests feel welcome and included. For that to happen, they depend on an officiant’s organization and communication skills, ability to research and compose a beautiful ceremony, solid people skills, dependability, sound counsel, and ability to speak well in public.
I won’t even start to compare the cost of the officiant with the price of the other elements in a wedding like flowers, food, venue, photographer, limos, makeup & hairdos, music and a hundred other details. (Sorry, I said I wouldn’t ;-)
No matter, to me it’s the greatest honor and the best job in the world, and I love every minute of it.
Think about it, you might spend a couple of hundred dollars more for the officiant you really like…the one that gives you a good vibe, the one you feel really comfortable with. Your wedding is perfect. You and your guests are moved by her personal words, written just for you. Everyone tells you it’s the most beautiful ceremony they ever heard. Your ceremony set the tone for the rest of the day.
But let’s say you don’t spend the money on the officiant you think is the best. After all the time, effort and expense you’ve put into making this day special, you’re taking the chance that the person you chose to marry you won’t call you back, can’t spell worth a lick, doesn’t know how to string two words together in a coherent sentence, gives you a canned ceremony, and just doesn’t do the job you deserve. Everyone walks away feeling cheated. Is it worth it?
Whatever you pay your officiant, you will likely get what you pay for, so interview several and choose wisely.
Dotti Templeton, Wedding Officiant
Westchester County, NY
