Wedding Minister Training Schools

Wedding ministers should be familiar with vows, religious tradition and non-traditional ceremonies.

A wedding minister, or wedding officiant, conducts the ceremony that joins two people. Not only does the minister need to be ordained or given authority to conduct the wedding, he should also be trained to perform a wedding ceremony. Brides, grooms, family members and guests count on the wedding minister to conduct the wedding ceremony with professionalism and grace.

Know the Law

Before training to be a wedding minister, know the laws for the area in which you are going to be performing weddings. Laws vary state to state and also in counties and cities. Usmarriagelaws.com and firstnationministry.org offer lists of wedding minister laws by state.

Type of Minister

Depending on the area where you will be officiating, there are different options for training as a wedding minister. You could be an ordained minister, a notary public, a justice of the peace or an officer of the court. In some states, you only need to be legally designated by the bridal party to conduct a wedding. This is referred to as a Deputy Commissioner of Marriages and the authority to conduct a wedding is available for one day.

Training

Regardless of what title you hold as a wedding minister, you will need training to conduct the wedding ceremony. The bride and groom may know exactly how they would like the ceremony to unfold or they may rely completely on you to compose and perform the ceremony. One ordination school that offers training for wedding ministers is The Clergy Network. First Nation Ministry offers guidelines for wedding ministers to follow as well as details of a Cherokee wedding ceremony.

Wedding Minister Resources

Other resources that can help you with training for wedding ceremonies are wedding handbooks, marriage certificates to present to the bride and groom, and wedding vows. These resources can be found at the Universal Life Church Monastery and at the Justices of the Peace of the U.S. websites.

References

• First Nation Ministry: Information for Wedding Officiants: State Recognition of Certification
• US Marriage Laws: Officiants Requirements
• The Clergy Network: Learn How to Become a Wedding Officiant
• First Nation Ministry: Information for Wedding Officiants and Ministers
• Universal Life Church Monestary: Wedding Materials
• Justices of the Peace of the U.S.: Wedding / Civil Union Ceremonies

Resources

• First Nation Ministry: Three Easy Steps to Ordination