Wedding ministers and wedding officiants everywhere, not just in in the
Nashville area, can perform a very valuable service for you in putting your wedding
together. And this includes ceremonies in all types of locations. I can perform
weddings all over the greater Nashville area, with the vast majority of them being
in a place other than a church. And although I can do a lot of work to help couples
get married, the cost to have me as your wedding officiant is only about
3% of the total cost of the average wedding.
Although everyone knows that "you
get what you pay for," couples sometimes forget that this also applies to hiring
a wedding minister or officiant. If an officiant is good, he is not "cheap." If
he is "cheap," perhaps you should wonder why their fee is so low.
I have often been amazed that some
couples (not all) see no problem in paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for
flowers, cakes, alcohol, etc. But they want to pay the smallest price (sort of
like a "tip") to the one who pronounces them "husband and wife." I have
performed weddings where there was a melting ice sculpture that cost more than
my services.
These are the costs of the average wedding, according to "The Bridal Guide."
And of course they vary from couple to couple. Keep in mind that these costs do
not include other expenses like the wedding rings or the honeymoon. (Please
Note: I am a minister, not a "wedding planner." I do not have anything to do
with choosing your photographer, wedding cake, etc. And I do not
sell any of these services.)
Almost every provider of the above
wedding services requires a contract and a monetary deposit. My contract spells
out the date, time, and place for each couple's wedding, as well as provision
for their rehearsal.
A professional wedding officiant is
both a minister and a kind of bridal consultant. All the fancy flowers and
dresses and everything else mean very little if the ceremony gets messed up; if
the wrong people go the wrong way, say the wrong things, etc. If you've ever
been to a wedding disaster, and they happen quite often, you know what I'm
talking about.
My goal is to help each couple make all the necessary decisions
so that their wedding will go according to their "ideal." There is a lot of work
involved in sorting through everything, such as:
