Wedding Officiant...

Paul.M92

My friend has asked if i would "officiate" at her wedding next year... only she wants it to be legally recognised...
Now correct me if im wrong but i need to be registered to do that dont I?
I cant really find much info about doing so but i would appreciate if anybody could give me advice...

tinkerbell

No you cannot as presumably you are not a registered solemniser. Dunno where your friend got this crazy idea from ...

Sleepy

To be fair, the idea is far less crazy than the system: I'd much prefer a civil wedding performed by a friend than the current farce. I'm afraid to say that there's no way you'll be able to do this legally OP.

We live in a country where the state's employees will only marry you during office hours (9-5 Monday to Friday) and only those affiliated with a theistic belief system can be registered to carry out weddings at the weekend.

As a result, most of us who are non religious end up paying a group of spiritualist mediums if we want to marry at the weekend even though we consider their beliefs to be ludicrous, they're the only ones prepared to put those beliefs to one side and perform a civil marriage for those with no interest in their doctrine.

holding

Ha, you mean 9-3.30 Sleepy, right! I don't think they will begin a ceremony after 3 or so. Mad I know.

Paul your friend could get married in a registry office, and then you could officiate at a blessing/ ceremony type thing. Lots of people do that with humanist ministers, or just with a family friend performing the ceremony bit (cos the legal bit has already been accomplished at the registry office).

loveisdivine

We e doing the legal bit in the registry office a couple of days before hand. Then we are having Dara Molloy perform a handfasting ceremony for us on the actual wedding day.