When should you hire the wedding officiant?

I’ve seen the question come up on many wedding forums: when should I hire the wedding officiant? It’s a good question to be thinking about since without an officiant there really can be no wedding. Even if your officiant is a friend or relative or the clergy at your church, you need to start thinking about hiring them or confirming them pretty early on in your planning process. Here are my thoughts on when you should hire your wedding officiant.

• Before you hire your officiant you should have the date secured. I suggest you book your officiant as far in advance as possible since many of us take a limited number of weddings each season and book up quickly. Many couples book me a year in advance.

• It would be a good idea to have a wedding venue confirmed as well, that way your officiant can calculate any travel fees that might applicable.

• I also suggest hiring your wedding officiant well in advance of the wedding (at least six months) if you're having them craft a customized ceremony. This planning process takes a while and you don't want to have to rush it. It will take multiple emails, Skype sessions and/or meetings to create the right ceremony for you and your sweetie.