Want to avoid the church but keep the ceremony? Hire a wedding officiant!

According to the organizers of the recently concluded Paris Wedding Fair, having an officiant perform a secular ceremony is going to be the wedding trend of 2017.

The concept of having a wedding officiant originated in the United States and the trends growing popularity can been seen in the proliferation of sites specializing in secular ceremonies. A wedding officiant can be an actor, a facilitator, or even a member of your family. The role of an officiant is a bit like that of a priest’s during a religious ceremony. An officiant’s role is to set the rituals and coordinate the speeches, they might even write the speeches.  An officiant helps the couple create a unique ceremony that matches their vision. Some may also coordinate with the caterer, florist, DJ, and other persons involved in arranging the couples wedding day.

One thing you need to remember is, in the eyes of the law, an officiant is a sufficient replacement for a priest but this is not the case with the registrar.  You are still going to have to go through town hall for your marriage to be considered valid.

The Wedding March is the official music for weddings. The best known version is the one of Mendelssohn. He wrote it in 1842 for the Shakespeare play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Another popular piece of music to use is Wagner’s “Here Comes The Bride” from the opera Lohengrin. There is also “Pachelbel’s Canon” which was composed in 1677.  There are also wedding marches composed by Camille Saint-Saëns, Vierne or Alexandre Guilmant.