Our pre-arranged elopement packages include everything a couple needs to elope without having to contract individual vendors and services. They are designed to make our couple’s experience simple and stress-free, saving them time and money. However, every once in a while, we’ll receive an inquiry from a couple who has a friend or a family member who offered to get them married and are surprised to find that we don’t make exceptions when it comes to the Officiant. In this short blog post, we’d like to explain why.
Our Officiants’ roles are much more than just reading a ceremony. They are crucial for a flawless ceremony and experience. Just to give you some examples:
Time: Elopement ceremonies need to be shorter than a traditional wedding because the venue is contracted for a short period of time. If your ceremony service is too long, you may miss the opportunity to take photos. On the other hand, if the ceremony is too short, it may feel awkward and impersonal. Our experienced elopement Officiants perform memorable ceremonies, maintaining elements of a traditional ceremony, within the perfect time-frame and without taking over your photography time or the entire venue rental time-frame.
They fill in for a coordinator sometimes: We don’t schedule rehearsals with elopements. Our Officiants guide our couples through the entire ceremony, including if they want a short processional, how they will stand during the ceremony, the ring exchange, etc. They are lifesavers if anything goes wrong. Forget your vows? Our Officiants will be prepared to continue with the ceremony as usual. They make sure that those awkward wedding photos where the couple has no idea what they are doing, standing 10 feet apart without any contact (an exaggeration but you get my point), or the bride forgetting her flowers during the recessional, won’t happen. They go above and beyond their duties to assist with a perfect ceremony flow.
We are a TEAM: Honestly, the purpose of our discounted packages is for our couples to hire our entire team! When you hire vendors, it’s very important that they work well together. We work together so well that we can anticipate each other’s needs hence provide our couples with a smooth experience. Let’s just say that our Officiants are experts reading our hand signals and face expressions (especially during unexpected awkward moments). ;-)
With all this said, we love when our couples want to add special touches to their ceremony. For example, you are welcome to write and read your own vows. Additionally, if your Officiant friend is attending your ceremony, he or she is welcome to recite a reading, read a poem, or even do a prayer for you during the ceremony. Just give us the heads up so that we can make sure your request is incorporated into the ceremony.
One a personal note - as photographers and wedding planners, it felt amazing to delegate those duties to the professionals we hired for our daughter’s wedding and just be the parent of the bride. The best gift you can give to a parent, friend, or family member on your wedding day is to let them relax and enjoy the day!
We understand that our all-inclusive packages are not suitable for everyone, and that's perfectly fine with us. Ultimately, our goal is that all couples have an amazing and unforgettable experience even if they don't book our services.