A wedding officiant has an essential role on your big day and it is fair to wonder how much a wedding officiant costs.
The most obvious role of a wedding officiant is to actually prepare and perform the ceremony. A wedding officiant can be a religious figure, like a priest, rabbi, or minister, but can also be a secular officiant like a judge, a justice of the peace, or a professional. Whatever the style of ceremony you choose, it is his or her job to work with you to create a meaningful and special experience for you, your partner and your guests.
In Europe, the cost for a professional wedding officiant is generally slightly higher than US civil officiants (see The Knot’s post : “Your Guide to Wedding Officiant Fees and Donations“.
Roughly speaking, I’ll say there are 3 kinds of wedding officiants, and of course, 3 price ranges.
When a wedding officiant charges less than $500
It is hard to know if it’s someone competent. Indeed, there are only about 20 Saturdays (usual wedding day in Spain) between May and September. That’s why it seems obvious that, even when officiating every week, it is not his main job. It may be someone who has time during summer, like teachers, or who works part-time. They have their “real” job during the week and officiate on weekends to supplement their income.
These people are often self-taught, offer “copied/pasted” texts reproduced for each ceremony and spend no more than 10 hours on a ceremony, the celebration included. They are not wedding professionals.
When a wedding officiant costs from $500 € to $850
For the same reasons, this price range is proposed by wedding professionals offering other services, like wedding planners. For example, a wedding planner who offers to celebrate your ceremony in addition to taking charge of organizing your entire wedding.
They are rarely professionals of the ceremony, rather generalists.
Anyway, they are usually not professional wedding officiants. Indeed, a wedding planner needs to keep in mind and control every provider’s job and tasks during the preparation and on your wedding day. How then could they fully concentrate on your wedding ceremony only?
From $850 € to $1,500
When a wedding officiant costs from $850 € to $1,500, you are dealing with a professional of the wedding ceremony.
But what justifies a price ranging from 800 € to 1,500 € for a service that lasts less than an hour?
It is precisely that the work of an officiant does not require just an hour, but rather over 50 hours. Indeed, the work of a good professional wedding officiant includes many tasks.
Masters of ceremonies in this price range have the particularity of limiting the number of ceremonies they celebrate each year in order to be 100% available for their clients.They usually have a very high level of involvement and spend more than 50 hours on the preparation of each ceremony is around 50 hours.
The price difference can also be explained by:
– The experience of the celebrant: beginner or confirmed
– The training of the celebrant: trained, in training or self-taught
– His literary style
– Equipment available: desk, sound system, arch
– The languages he speaks
The cost of a wedding officiant compared to other vendors
– a photographer will charge from 1290 €
– a photobooth will cost between 600 € and 1000 € and even more depending on the number of photos printed
– a drone will cost you between 750 € and 1200 € according to the chosen package
Here is my main advice: when it comes to choosing your wedding officiant, go with your heart. If, from initial contact, the officiant shows a sincere interest, enthusiasm, is friendly and is able to answer accurately to all your questions, go for it!
Therefore, before choosing your wedding officiant, ask yourself these three questions:
1.) Do you give an important place to your wedding ceremony?
2.) Does it matter to you that the officiant is the faithful spokesperson for your couple?
3.) Would you like all your guests to have an unforgettable moment full of joy and emotion?If you answer “yes” to the three questions, you already know what kind of wedding officiant you want.
Don’t hesitate to contact me because I will be more than pleased to hear about your story and help you organize a perfect wedding which will remain a lifetime memory.
