I first became an ordained minister a couple of years ago. My husband’s aunt and her fiance wanted to get married here in Illinois. Their budget was very tight and they did not belong to a church. They wanted to be married in the same place as they were having their reception and the Justice of the Peace wanted a hefty sum of money to come the place they wanted the ceremony. My husband’s aunt had heard that you could get ordained on line and perform wedding ceremonies for people and she asked anyone if they would do it. I looked in to it and found that it remarkably easy.
How to Become and Ordained Minister on Line
I simply went to this site American Marriage Ministries. There are other sites as well but I found this one to be the easiest. A nother site is Open Ministry.org.
Registering was easy, I pretty much just typed in my name and email address and I was ordained. Becoming ordained does not cost anything but if you want some kind of proof that you are ordained you might want to purchase the Minister Licensing Package that is right there on the site. It comes with your license credential, a letter of good standing, and a couple of marriage certificates. The certificates are not the official ones however, the couple will need to pick those up when they apply for the wedding license, but it is a nice thing to give them. This package is $29.99. But I found that I could just purchase the wallet ID for $12.95 and that was good enough to prove that I am an ordained minister. I don’t really like calling myself that though because I don’t feel I have gone through the necessary training and commitment that a traditional minister does, so I prefer the term officiant which is what you should use as the term to identify yourself when speaking with the village officials. Officiant means someone who officiates over a ceremony.
State Requirements
The only requirement in most states is that you be at least 18 years of age. Each state has their own rules however. You can read about each states rules and regulations for ordained ministers at the web first web site I gave the link for above. Remember though that, that is only on the state level. You still need to deal with the county, this is extremely important.
Dealing With the County
Before you do all of this however you should contact the village or county that the couple will be getting married in. You should inquire as to weather or not they allow couples to be married by an officiant with an internet license, in their county. Most counties do but you should really make sure first so that the couple does not end up being married after all because it was not legal for you to marry them. You may be required by the county to come in and show your credentials. You will need to do this each time you a marry a couple because just because one county may allow it the next county over may not. I have found usually a phone call to the county is sufficient but some counties may actually want you to come in and show your credentials and sign some documents, so make sure that you not only find out if it is legal but also find out what you need to do to assure that the wedding is completely legal.
Your Final Legal Obligation to the Ceremony
After the ceremony is performed you will need to sign the official license and it is your responsibility as the officiant to get the license back to the county to assure that the marriage is legal. This is a very big and very important responsibility. You should also find out when the license needs to be returned and make sure to get it there in the required amount of time. One county I married a couple in wanted it back within 3 days of the ceremony another wanted it back with in 20 days just be sure to check and make sure you get it in on time. I myself personally bring it in to the village, it just gives me peace of mind. That way I know that they received it. I also ask to see it stamped with the official seal. At that point I know the marriage is completely official and my duties are officially over.
The Ceremony
After you become ordained and after you make sure everything is legal and on the up and up you will need to prepare the ceremony with the bride and groom. Most of what goes on in a wedding ceremony is ceremonial. You do however have to make sure that the bride and groom verbally and in front of witnesses acknowledge that they both wish to become man and wife, and you will need to declare in front of witnesses that they are now man and wife. The ring ceremony is also traditional but not a legal requirement.
Even in the simplest of ceremonies you will want to do a ring ceremony and some sort of vowels along with asking the bride and groom if they take one another to be man and wife. You can find help guidelines as to how to do this on the
If you need help with the ceremony wording here is a very good source to help you along: Wedding sources.
if you look around on line you can find a lot of things to help you.
it is your choice as to what kind of officiant you wish to be. If you want to just go in and do a nononsense run of the mill wedding where you come in do the ring ceremony the vowels, and then announce them then you can, that may be all some couple’s want. However, if you wish to be a caring officiant that creates a memorable ceremony for he couple then you will need to sit down and carefully plan the wedding ceremony out with them. Ask them questions such as do they want someone to give the bride away, are they having music, are they having a singer or singers, do they want people to do readings, a prayer or a speech, do they want to do some sort of rose ceremony or a candle ceremony. All of these things need to be organized in to the ceremony. When I am marrying a couple I keep a notebook and the couple and I plan the entire ceremony out from beginning to end so that they know what to expect and I am completely organized and the wedding goes off without a hitch.
You will also need to have a rehearsal of some sorts either the evening before the wedding or should show up early on the day of the wedding if it is not possible the night before, ask that anyone who is in the wedding, reading, singing, or playing an instruments is there early as well so that you can go over the ceremony with them. I also find it helpful to make a copy of the outline of the ceremony with each of them so they know when it is their time to do what they need to do. The singers and musicians should know when it is time for them to do their thing. Due to the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding you might need to meet with the bride and groom separately so make time for all of this. You don’t have to do a full run through but you should make sure everyone knows when to stand and then tell them after I do this then you do this, etc. I usually introduce anyone who is doing a reading, a prayer, or a speech. I usually work it out with the singers and musicians to let them know I will give them a subtle nod when it is time for them to do their thing.
Conclusion
You can make money as an ordained minister if you choose to charge the bride and groom for your services. I have married three couples to date and since they were all friends or family I did not charge them, but it is well within your rights to do so.
If you plan on becoming an ordained minister and marrying people you need to be sure that for one you are not shy about public speaking. You should also be prepared to educate yourself on how to conduct a ceremony, and plan to spend some time with the bride and groom planning the ceremony ahead of time. Although it is easy to become ordained it does not mean that you should take the responsibility of marrying two people lightly. You will need to train yourself on how to do it properly, but there are plenty of resources on line to help you.
