If you don't know where to begin when it comes to starting your wedding officiant business, you may want to check out some of the helpful information offered in these pages listed below.

Ordination

Learn about online ordination and how to become a wedding officiant. See the article > Ordination And Marriage Laws.

Another helpful resource is the ULC page that lists Marriage Laws and Minister Requirements by state.

Checklist and Helpful Links

See the Checklist page and begin taking the steps in order to become a wedding officiant and start your business. The checklist helps you to organize your tasks/steps in a logical sequence and also has links to supplemental information pages and articles for corresponding topics.

Use the Helpful Links page to complete even more steps as it provides time-saving links for many promotional tools and resources. You will find links for listing your business with wedding directories such as Wedding Wire and The American Association Of Wedding Officiants as well as promotional tools such as submitting your site to Google Places, Yelp and many more!

If you complete these steps you will be well on your way to becoming a wedding officiant and starting a wedding officiant business!

Good Luck!

Avary

The exchange of the rings during a wedding ceremony takes place immediately after the blessing of the rings.

The officiant performs the blessing of the rings and then the bride and groom exchange rings as they pledge vows of faithfulness and fidelity to one another.

Below is a list of 12 examples for the exchange of rings element in wedding ceremony.

Examples of The Exchange Of The Rings In A Wedding Ceremony:

1.

Officiant: To Groom:

________ will you take this ring and place it upon _____’s finger, and as you do, repeat after me, these words:

The following can be broken down line by line instead of said all at once.

I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of God.

Officiant: To Bride:

_________ will you take this ring and place it upon ________’s finger, and as you do, repeat after me, these words:

The following can be broken down line by line instead of said all at once.

I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of God.

The Rings part of the wedding ceremony typically consists of two wedding ceremony elements; The Blessing Of The Rings, followed by The Exchange Of The Rings.

For the Blessing Of The Rings element of the ceremony, the officiant prays a blessing over the rings. It is also common for the officiant to speak of the symbolism and meaning of the rings, such as how the rings are an outward sign of the couple’s commitment to one another. The unending circle of a ring symbolizes faithfulness and love without end.

Here's an example of the ring portion of the wedding ceremony. It is adapted from the Book of Common Prayer.

Blessing Of The Rings

Officiant: May we now have the rings?

The designated person gives the rings to the Officiant. Or in a smaller/simpler ceremony without a Best Man or Ringbearer the Officiant will already have the rings.

Officiant: Bless, O Lord, this ring, and grant that he who gives it and she who shall wear it may remain faithful to each other, and abide in thy peace and favor, and live together in love until their lives’ end. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Exchange Of The Rings

Officiant:  To Groom: ________ will you take this ring and place it upon _____’s finger, and as you do, repeat after me, these words:

The following can be broken down line by line instead of said all at once

With this ring I thee wed; with my body I thee honor; and all my worldly goods with thee I share: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Officiant:  To Bride: ________ will you take this ring and place it upon _____’s finger, and as you do, repeat after me, these words:

The following can be broken down line by line instead of said all at once

With this ring I thee wed; with my body I thee honor; and all my worldly goods with thee I share: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

The Officiant joins their right hands together and says, Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder.

Now that you are familiar with the flow of the Blessing of the Rings and Exchange of Rings portion of the wedding ceremony here is a list of 7 blessings examples you may want to use. These are the Blessings Of The Ring element that is spoken right before the Exchange of Rings. Stay tuned to my blog for examples of the Exchange of the Rings and you can mix and match them to suit your needs.

7 Examples of the Blessing Of The Rings for a Wedding Ceremony:

1.

Officiant: To the Best Man or Ringbearer: May we now have the rings?

The designated person gives the rings to the Officiant. Or in a smaller/simpler ceremony without a Best Man or Ringbearer the Officiant will already have the rings.

Officiant: Heavenly Father, bless these rings. Grant that ____________ and ____________ may wear them with deep faith in each other. May they do your will and always live together in peace, love and abiding joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!

2.

Officiant: To the Best Man or Ringbearer: May we now have the rings?

Officiant: The circle is the symbol of the sun, earth, and universe. It is the symbol of peace. Let this ring be the symbol of unity and peace in which your two lives are joined in one unbroken circle. Wherever you go, return unto one another and to your togetherness.

A “handful” of tips for the wedding officiant to keep in mind in order to avoid mishaps during the exchange and the blessing of the rings portion of the wedding ceremony.

Participants need to have their hands free at the appropriate time and rings need to be in the right place at the right time.

Here are 5 Tips To Help The Ring Exchange and Blessing of the Rings go smoothly:

1.  Avoid dropped rings by transferring the wedding bands from an open palm, not from fingertips to fingertips.

2.  When the officiant says; “May we now have the rings.”  The Bride hands her bouquet to the designated person, in order to free her hands for the ring.