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How To Be A Wedding Officiant In New York

What Are Some Skills And Experiences That Will Help You Build A Successful Wedding Officiant Business

My first zoom wedding in New York as a wedding officiant. My first virtual wedding.

In order to marry a couple, an individual needs to be ordained. Luckily, it is very simple to become ordained online. In addition to being ordained, a wedding officiant business owner should have a natural ability to engage with a wide variety of people. A business owner should feel comfortable working with people from the LGBTQ community and should not hold any biases against any race or religious group. A wedding officiant business owner should also have a solid background in running a business including marketing and accounting.

License To Marry In New York

After you’ve contacted your marriage authority, you should visit our online store to purchase whatever documentation will be required. We typically advise ministers in New York to get an Ordination Package. Please attempt to leave at least 3 weeks between the date of the wedding ceremony and your order, to ensure that you receive all of your materials in advance.

Please note that ministers who plan to perform a wedding in New York City are required to register with the city. If you plan to perform a wedding in New York City, you need to purchase a New York City Wedding Officiant Package. If you are mailing your application, the authorities in New York require a minimum of 30 days to process your minister registration, so purchase and submit this paperwork as soon as possible. Walk in submissions are processed same day.

Two Capital Region Divorce Family Law Attorneys Weigh In

Instagram photo submitted by to #TUBestShot.

Whether you’re a die-hard “Friends” fan or a casual consumer of the hit TV show, there is no denying how sweet it was when Joey officiated not one but two of his friends’ weddings.

So we can see why you’d want your own loved one to help you and your soon-to-be spouse say, “I do.” It’s a personal touch on a deeply personal day.

There are several ways to get ordained online but the most popular is the Universal Life Church, a non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 under the doctrine, “Do that which is right.” The church says it has ordained 20 million people in nearly six decades, most of whom signed up in order to be a wedding officiant.

“Unlike traditional religious organizations, we don’t require years of training or expensive courses to become a member of the clergy. Becoming ordained is free and can be done entirely online,” ULC’s website states.

But is it legal?

To get to the bottom of things, the Times Union spoke to two local attorneys who specialize in divorce and family law: Eric Tepper, who is the chair of the State Bar Association’s Family Law Section and a partner at the Glenville firm Gordon, Tepper & DeCoursey, and Leyla A. Kiosse, who is the president of the Capital District Women’s Bar Association and a partner at the Albany firm Tabak & Kiosse.

So, what does the law say?

So, does ULC fall into either category?

What do the courts say?

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Officiating A Wedding In New York

Next, you should contact the office of your local marriage authority . Let them know that you are a minister of the Universal Life Church in Seattle, and ask what they will require of you to officiate a legal marriage.

Select your City or Town Clerk to quickly generate the contact information for your local marriage authority.

Community Of Peace And Spirituality

How Much Should Wedding Officiants Actually Cost?

Principal ministers Susanna Weiss and Allan Lokos perform some 100 individually crafted ceremonies every yearthanks to Lokos’s background as an opera singer and Weiss’s expertise in linguistics, performed in virtually any language and they can be religious or nonreligious, spiritual or nondenominational. Prices upon request.

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Planning A Wedding Ceremony

If you’re having an intimate elopement, the ceremony is everything. If you’re having a grand affair, the ceremony is the reason for the party. So take a moment to imagine your ceremony. I believe your wedding ceremony should match your wedding day vision.

Few couples have considered their wedding ceremony until they hire an officiant, so there’s no need to stress. As your officiant, I will create a ceremony that reflects your relationship, as you define it. I am passionate that each Wedding Ceremony is as distinctive as each couple.

The only element that is legally required in your New York wedding ceremony is that you actually say “I do”, or any other verbal form of “yes”, as consent to enter into your marriage. Everything else that happens is up to you. Therefore, should you choose, I welcome your participation in preparing your ceremony. Whether you write your own vows or select from my diverse library of spiritual and civil ceremonies, I will compose all those feelings that are often difficult to express in words into a pronouncement of love that will be spoken on your wedding day.

Officiate Your First Nyc Wedding And Send Back The Paperwork

The ceremony is only the first part. As the officiant, youre also responsible for getting the legal paperwork done. Heres a visual guide on how to complete a NYC marriage license. The couple will be responsible for providing you their marriage license, obtained at least 24 hours before the wedding, but not later than 60 days. After the ceremony, you, the newlyweds, and a witness will need to complete/sign the marriage license, and then you need to send back the paperwork in the envelope provided to the couple. If they obtained their marriage license online via Project Cupid, they will need to upload the signed paperwork in the Project Cupid portal.

Read Also: How To Plan A Really Cheap Wedding

How To Officiate A Wedding In New York

Contact your local City/Town Clerk’s office. Introduce yourself as a minister officiating a wedding, and ask them what documents they will need from you. Please note: in order to perform a wedding in New York City, ministers are required to complete a registration process. If the marriage will take place in New York City, you must purchase a New York City Wedding Package, containing all necessary documentation. Be advised that authorities in New York require a minimum of 30 days to process registration by mail. For our ministers elsewhere in the state, registration is generally not required. However, since officials may still ask to see a copy of your credentials, we recommend ordering a Classic Wedding Kit.

Select your county to view contact information for each office:

The New York state flower, the Rose

Nyc Wedding Officiant Services And Packages

Episode 4 – New York Wedding Officiant on How To Get Married in New York City

I am pleased to provide my couples with valuable wedding officiant NYC services, including:

  • Wedding Ceremonies I will work closely with you to create a Manhattan wedding ceremony that reflects your personal values and traditions. As an experienced marriage officiant, I can offer recommendations for readings, songs and poems that will enhance your wedding ceremony.

  • Elopement Ceremonies I offer elopement packages NYC that will allow you to plan an intimate and personal wedding ceremony that includes your closest friends and family members. My experience in Manhattan and throughout NYC allows me to offer personalized suggestions for locations for your elopement ceremony.

  • Zoom Ceremonies I have harnessed the power of technology in order to provide you with an innovative virtual ceremony option. With a Zoom ceremony, I will prove that your love story can shatter physical boundaries.

  • LGBT Ceremonies I firmly believe that every love story deserves to be shared and celebrated. As a welcoming and inclusive wedding officiant, I will design an LGBT ceremony that incorporates your values in a symbolic way.

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Whats The Best Way To Set Up A Consultation Or An Appointment With A Wedding Officiant During The Covid

The safest way to conduct a consultation during COVID-19 is virtually. Ask wedding officiants near you if they can have a phone call or a virtual appointment over video chat. If they can, make sure to ask them any questions you have about upcoming work. Discuss what precautions, if any, they have in place to ensure safety. You might consider asking if they accept digital payments or if they can complete the work remotely, without any in-person contact.

Where To Go Online To Become A Wedding Officiant

There are several non-profit, interfaith organizations online designed to help you earn your street cred as a minister. In the case of the American Marriage Ministries, the organization believes strongly that everyone has a right to be married. As such, they are looking to spread the gospel, so to speak, and want to get everyone ordained. To become an officially ordained minister with American Marriage Ministries, all you have to do is to agree to uphold these basic tenets:

  • All people, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, have the right to marry.
  • It is the right of every couple to choose who will solemnize their marriage.
  • All people have the right to solemnize marriage.

You then submit your application , and thats it. You are ordained! I did it myself and received my ordination certificate electronically in a few seconds. Other popular online resources for ordination certificates include:

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How To Get Ordained In New York To Officiate

New York is a state unlike any other, not just generally speaking, but specifically as it pertains to performing a wedding. Even if you know how to marry someone in other states, you should read this guide if you are asked to officiate a ceremony in New York. It will explain how to become a wedding minister, how New York differs with its process, and how to ensure the ceremony is legally binding.

Here are the basic steps for officiating a wedding:

Weddings Ceremonies In New York City

NYC Wedding Officiants

In person Ceremonies!Get married in the park, a restaurant, a reception hall or even at your own home. We will come to you and perform a civil wedding ceremony at a discounted rate. Click below to see our prices:

Legal Wedding Ceremonies done onlineYou don’t need to leave your house to be legally married. Click below to see our Virtual wedding ceremonies in New York.

For folks who want to have a standard ceremony, in the safety of their home, a virtual ceremony is the ideal way to go! I offer a Bargain Ceremony for $100 For folks who want to have a standard ceremony, in the safety of their home, a virtual cere…

Avoid the hassle of City Hall and get legally married in my office or at my courtyard in Columbus Circle. You can bring up to 2 guests with you and you can recite your own wedding vows, if you want to.What’s included:Legal-Licensed Wedding Officiant to perform a Standard Ceremony.Signing & f…

Hair & Makeup Styling We offer the best trained, and most intuitive professionals in the beauty industry. Our goal is always to be of service. And we cater to your needs and your preferences. The artist will come to your hotel room to get you ready for your Big day, and make you look as fantast…

Veronica did a great job at arranging my partner and I virtual wedding ceremony. Thank you Veronica for everything.

Also Check: How To Become A Wedding Officiant In Nj

Make The Marriage Official

After you finish the wedding ceremony itself, the final step is to fill out and sign the marriage license with the couple, then make sure it gets returned to the office that issued it. To learn more about how a marriage license works and the other legal requirements to finalize a union, please check out our

After the marriage license has been signed and submitted, the wedding will be officially in the books!

Details Details Details And Location Location Location

And thats it. New York City is a bit like Las Vegas in the ease with which you can get married, or marry someone else.

One important item to note: the above information applies to any marriages taking place in New York City. If you will be officiating at a wedding in Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam, or Dutchess counties in New York State, than an online ministerial license is not recognized, and the wedding will not be a legal union. For these five counties you need to get a minister from a recognized church to oversee the ceremony and sign the documents.

Finally, once you have declared the couple married, dont forget that it is the officiants job to fill out the marriage license paperwork and return it to the place where it was issued. If a couple applies for their marriage license in any of the five boroughs, they have the option to be married anywhere in New York State. That said, the marriage license must be signed and returned to the place from which it was originally issued. So if you applied for a marriage license in Manhattan, and were married in Albany, your officiant would need to return your paperwork to Manhattan NOT Albany.

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Who Should You Ask To Officiate

Your officiant should be someone you care about , and whom you trust to make your ceremony special. This person should be reliable and organized. They’ll need to go through the ordination process and be prepared on your wedding day. You’ll also want to ask someone who feels comfortable speaking in front of crowds, since, along with you and your future spouse, they will be the center of attention during your ceremony.

Documentation Required By The Nyc City Clerks Officeto Become An Officiant

How to become a successful Wedding Officiant

Now heres the kicker: while the ordination certificate from your chosen church is free, the City Clerks office also requires you to produce two letters:

  • You must attach a letter from your local congregation that verifies that you are the pastor or associate pastor of the congregation and that your congregation consents to your registration with the Office of the City Clerk and
  • You must attach one of the following documents:
  • A copy of the churchs Articles of Incorporation or
  • A statement that lists the location of the church, the reason for the churchs founding, the number of trustees of the church, the approximate size of the congregation, and how often the congregation meets.

And this is how these organizations make their money. In the case of the American Fellowship Church, a copy of the membership directory was on sale for $25, and a letter of good standing on church letterhead was $10. For each of these online organizations, you can receive all of the documentation in a packet at a cost of around $35. If you would like to splurge on your new title as Reverend, there are a myriad of trinkets that await you including the all important bumper sticker and hanging parking tag just so you get noticed.

If you dont want to fill out the application online, you can download the application here and submit it through the mail.

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