It's easy to see why: your choice of wedding officiant is a highly personal and meaningful one. An officiant's style also plays a part in creating the mood of your wedding. For this reason, you'll want to be thorough in your search for the best man or woman for the job. Here are a few things to keep in mind when searching for your Florida wedding officiant.
Your Personal Beliefs
Florida is a land of lifestyle varieties. From the ultra-traditional to the newest of new, you'll find people of every character and belief system in the Sunshine State. In fact, one of Florida's merits is the way it embraces and blends a wide range of beliefs.Because there are so many wedding officiants in Florida who would be happy (and honored) to oversee your ceremony, if you're starting from scratch, you may want to consider doing an Internet search and then selecting officiants to interview from there. Some Florida wedding officiant searches to get you started include Wedding Help Line or Florida Wedding Officiant.
Narrowing Your Search
Florida is a big state, so to get more specific results, add your own personal criteria to your search. For instance, rather than looking under "Florida wedding minister," try adding a word that's a must-have for you and your spouse (such as "Lutheran," "Unitarian," "blended ceremony," etc.).Another way to get better search results is to look in the specific area you'll be having your wedding. The Miami area is large, but even adding a simple "Miami" to your search criteria will narrow things down quite a bit from simply using "Florida." On the other hand, if you want a large selection of potential officiants to choose from, try a region rather than a city or country. Try looking under Florida Panhandle, northern or southern Florida or the Florida Keys, for example.
On the other hand, if you already know the area you'll be marrying in, and you have an officiant in mind, don't discount him or her just because there is a distance in mind. Ask your officiant of choice whether he or she can travel to your wedding locale. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Making Your Choice
Now it's time to interview your prospects. If you don't live in Florida, or if you aren't able to make a trip to see your wedding officiant candidates, at least call each one. Set up telephone interviews; one with the person doing the initial screening (this is likely to be either you or your groom) and one that includes all three of you (bride, groom and officiant).Make sure you feel comfortable with the officiant's style, beliefs and the way he or she suggests conducting your wedding. If you have special requests such as writing your own vows, make sure you ask about that, too.
Take enough time to be sure you're happy with your choice of Florida wedding officiant. Then you can relax knowing your ceremony will be the lovely and personal occasion you've always dreamed it would be.
