ULC - IN THE NEWS - 2026

Amateurs Now Conduct Most Weddings. Here is Some Basic Advice.

Friend-officiated weddings have surged from 27% to 67% since 2009, according to The Knot, as couples favor personalized ceremonies over traditional clergy. It's a chance to share hope and faith in a couple's relationship, and make a special day even more intimate. Wedding experts Esther Lee and Shelby Wax advise officiants to prepare thoroughly rather than improvise. The Universal Life Church, which ordains ministers online for free, has ordained 20 million people to date, making it a popular choice for couples seeking a friend or family member to officiate.

Source: NPR

They Wanted a New York Wedding. They Got a Very New York Ending.

Lauren Patterson Birkhold and Devin Thomas McGinley, who met on OkCupid in 2019 and bonded over their love of entertaining and Birkhold's dog, Stella, married at Syndicated Bar Theater Kitchen in Brooklyn, a movie theater they frequent monthly. The June 13 ceremony coincided with Game 5 of the N.B.A. Finals, with the Knicks game playing silently above the dance floor until the final 20 seconds, when guests erupted as the team won. The couple's friend Kate Napolitano, ordained by the Universal Life Church for the occasion, officiated.

Source: The NY Times

Years After High School, Their Love Story Began

Eleftherios Pericles Alexander Ipiotis and Cailin Sullivan Cook, who reconnected at a sports bar in 2019 after attending the same Long Island high school years apart, fell in love over weekends at his family's home in Montauk, where Cook said their relationship felt less like a getaway and more like home. The couple married at Montauk Lake Club and Marina, with a reception honoring Ipiotis's Greek heritage through dancing and plate smashing, and Cook's late father through a signature cocktail named for his favorite beer. Cook's uncle, Victor Cook, ordained by the Universal Life Church for the occasion, officiated.

Source: The NY Times

The Wedding Was Part of a Show, and the Show Was Part of the Wedding

Pietro Brooke Robert Alexander and Sara Apple Maliki, who met in 2022 when Maliki inquired about purchasing artwork from Alexander's Los Angeles gallery, married inside the SoHo art gallery they now co-run, with the wedding platform remaining in place as an installation for the space's inaugural exhibition. Guests roamed lounge areas and a grazing table while a DJ played from the altar where the couple wed, and the pair skipped cake for Key lime pie in a nod to the bride's Florida roots. Their friend Jacob Greenberg, ordained by the Universal Life Church for the occasion, officiated.

Source: The NY Times

How Public Theater's Romeo & Juliet Opening Night Culminated in a Live Wedding in Central Park

Oscar Diaz and Janelly Mendoza were married at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park before an audience of 1,800 people on opening night of the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of Romeo and Juliet. The couple, from the border town of Laredo, Texas, was brought into the production after director Saheem Ali met them by chance at a local cafe during a research trip. Francis Jue, who plays Friar Lawrence in the production, was ordained by the Universal Life Church to officiate the ceremony.

Source: Vogue

Growlers Host Taylor Swift Wedding Night with Andy Curtis Hosting First Kiss

Rachel and Alex Bibeau renewed their vows on the field before a Kalamazoo Growlers game, in a Taylor Swift-themed ceremony that included their adopted children, Jameson and Havana. The couple, who originally married in a small Vegas ceremony six and a half years ago, entered the Growlers' wedding contest after daughter Havana — a Swiftie — inspired them to make it official as a full family. Andy Curtis, a local news anchor ordained by the Universal Life Church, officiated.

Source: Fox 17 West Michigan

He's Famous for His Mukbangs. But They Met the Old-Fashioned Way.

Tommy Winkler, a TikToker known as "The Food Guy," threw pebbles at Jess Pappas's window when they were college students with Covid. The two eventually left education for an unexpected career path — satisfying the growing demand for videos of Winkler eating Taco Bell Crunchwraps, gooey mozzarella sticks and other not-especially-healthful comestibles. The couple was wed by the groom's brother, Jonathan Winkler, who had been ordained by the Universal Life Church for the occasion. The groom, who normally shoots his own content, didn't film himself eating any of it.

Source: The NY Times

She Said Yes. Then a Crowd at Madison Square Garden Cheered.

Owen Brown met Sophie Everhard 11 years ago at an event where she was working the door. He proposed before a Billie Eilish concert last fall. By the end of the proposal, the entire arena was cheering as fans took notice. They married at American Gardens, a park in Charleston, South Carolina. Tomos Lovett, a friend of the couple who was ordained for the occasion by Universal Life Church, officiated.

Source: The NY Times

Another Taylor and Travis Enter the Spotlight

Taylor Hayes and Travis Wickboldt became the face of Zola's 'Wedding of the Year' campaign, appearing on a billboard in Times Square. It was their names that put the Wisconsin couple in the spotlight. Zola featured them in ads, social media and a Times Square billboard, and the cost of their wedding was covered as part of the campaign. Christopher Pabich, a close friend of Hayes who was ordained by the Universal Life Church, officiated.

Source: The NY Times

How Two Bookworms Wrote Their Own Love Story

Stefanie Joseph and Christopher Richards, who met on a dating app three years ago, immediately bonded over their love of reading. After deciding to move in and combine their book collections – roughly 800 tomes each – the two bookworms took it one step further. In October 2024, Richards proposed. The two were married at First Presbyterian Church in Hudson, N.Y. Jim Rooney, who was ordained through the Universal Life Church, officiated. Their reception at Hudson Hall at the Hudson Opera House in Hudson, following the ceremony, featured a literary theme.

Source: The NY Times

Silent Bob Just Officiated a Marriage at El Paso Comic Con

For fans of Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy or really anything from the golden age of '90s indie film, being in the same room as Kevin Smith is already a bucket-list moment. For local author Timothy Hernandez and his fiancée, it became something even more memorable. On stage, in front of a packed room of Comic Con attendees, Smith officiated their wedding. Best known for portraying Silent Bob, Smith is also an ordained minister through the Universal Life Church, and he’s no stranger to turning fan moments into something unforgettable.

Source: Talk 103.9

By the End of a Hiking Trip, Their Relationship Was Elevated

Alyssa Levine and Liam Gallagher, both doctors, met through competitive swimming in 2010. A decade later, they felt sparks climbing Mount Shasta. By the descent, they had an inkling that something was happening between them. By Thanksgiving 2024, any doubt about their future together vanished when the two became engaged. The couple wed in Sausalito, California. Christopher Greeno, a fellow swimmer and close friend ordained by the Universal Life Church for the event, officiated.

Source: The NY Times

Turning a House Into a Home — and a Wedding Venue, Too

Matthew Quinn and Blair Carnahan took on redesigning their new home in just four months. Then they took on another major project: planning their wedding reception there. While contractors retouched the property from top-to-bottom, movers relocated the couple's furniture to accommodate wedding guests, and the pool was covered with an acrylic dance floor, which was packed all night. The nuptials themselves took place, in the park where they had their first date. The couple was married by friend, Anne Puricelli, who was previously ordained by the Universal Life Church.

Source: The NY Times

It Took a Persistent Friend and a Dave Matthews Concert to Seal the Deal

Daniel Martinez Clavijo and Johanna Mele finally met in 2021, thanks to their mutual friend, who had been trying to set them up for almost a decade, and a chance encounter at Madison Square Garden. After a long distance relationship of more than two years, the two came together in marriage on the lawn of the Zion Nature Center at Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah. Their close friend, Ms. Morris, who was ordained by the Universal Life Church for the occasion, officiated.

Source: The NY Times

He Came to New York For a Job and Left With a Boyfriend

Shawn Miller didn't get the job, but an unexpected connection with Ivan Gilkes on a dating app made the trip worthwhile. A budding long-distance relationship followed before Mr. Miller eventually moved to New York... just in time for the Covid pandemic to separate them in a different way. After weathering the pandemic, the two became engaged and were wed in Manhattan. Julia Muell, one of Mr. Miller's cousins, was ordained by the Universal Life Church for the event.

Source: The NY Times

They Met at the Grammys and Eventually Hit the Right Note

It was music that bonded Ross Scarano, the editorial director of Complex Media, and Nina Lee, a publicist, and writing that reunited them. The two hit it off in 2018, but the relationship never took root. But by the end of 2019, they were smitten. The couple endured the pandemic and loss together, before getting engaged in 2023. They were married at the Prospect Park Boathouse in Brooklyn by their friend, India Little, who had been previously ordained by the Universal Life Church.

Source: The NY Times

You May Now Smooch Your Boo

A Grand Cinema theater became a makeshift chapel as couples said 'I do' before an afternoon screening of "The Drama" in Tacoma. The theater invited couples to tie the knot before a Saturday afternoon showing as part of its ongoing effort to bring in moviegoers through unconventional events that tie to their films. Wendell Ratliff, previously ordained by the Universal Life Church, officiated the event, quipping 'You may now smooch your boo!'

Source: The News Tribune

It Took a Village (and a Parents’ Group and a Knitting Group) to Get Married

A blizzard forced Priscilla Villalobos and Timothy Kolk to rethink their New York wedding, and find a new officiant — fast. They needed someone who was legally authorized to perform a wedding ceremony in the state of New York. The couple posted on Facebook and were put in touch with Kris Liakos, a fellow Brooklyn resident who had been ordained by the Universal Life Church. The couple showed up to McGolrick Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to meet a stranger who would marry them the day after a snowstorm pummeled the city.

Source: The NY Times

He Loves Crosswords. She Wrote the Book on Them.

Adrienne Raphel and David Rosenberg had little luck in dating — until a riff about animals and Italian food brought them together. It was over a crossword clue involving Chuck E. Cheese and New York's infamous Pizza Rat that the two began talking. Talking eventually led to the unthinkable by New York real estate standards: they broke their leases to move in together. After unpacking, Mr. Rosenberg proposed and the two were married less than a year later. Jennifer Mackenzie, Dr. Raphel's high school English teacher, was ordained by the Universal Life Church to officiate their wedding.

Source: The NY Times

Theatergoers Can Renew Their Wedding Vows After 'I Do, I Do': A Musical About Marriage

Love is in the air at the Hampton Theatre Company in Quogue, New York. Audience members who get caught up in the magic of "I Do! I Do! A Musical About Marriage," will have the chance to renew their very own romantic vows right after the performance. General Manager Terry Brennan, ordained in the Universal Life Church in 2009 so she could officiate at a family member's wedding, will officiate.

Source: Patch