By The Marriage Experts at the Universal Life Church Ministries
As a wedding officiant, you have a unique role in the wedding ceremony.
You are the source of authority, the person holding the power to legally bind the couple together in marriage (which is obviously pretty important). But you’re also a performer, charged with delivering a wedding officiant speech that draws in the audience, reflects the couple’s style and personality, and fits their desired tone for the event.
That might seem like a lot of pressure. And it’s true that performing a wedding is a great responsibility. But it’s also a tremendous honor – you should feel proud that you’ve been asked to play such an important part in someone’s big day. Congratulations!
Heads up: if you need to order a copy of your official credentials prior to officiating, or any other wedding supplies, you can find those things in the minister catalog here on the site.
How to Plan an Officiant Wedding Speech
Whether you're aiming for a funny wedding officiant speech or something more serious and formal, the goal is to come prepared to the ceremony with a polished version of what you plan to say that has 1) been reviewed by the couple and 2) that you have practiced enough to be quite comfortable with.
If that sounds like a tall order, take a deep breath – we’re here to help. This step-by-step guide will explain how to build a wedding officiant speech script that keeps the audience engaged and gets them laughing or crying (or both), depending on what tone you’re going for. It will also offer tips on preparation and delivery of your speech, to ensure you’re fully ready when you step up there on the big day.
This might seem obvious, but it’s probably the most important point to underscore: prepare your wedding officiant speech in advance. Under no circumstances should you “just wing it.” Take it from the experts, that rarely goes well.
So, how do you go about planning your speech?
Ideally, a wedding speech script should be well-researched and written with plenty of time to spare in advance of the ceremony.
First and foremost, this event is about the couple. Whether you’re a professional officiant or a good friend who’s been asked to officiate, take the time to understand the couple and their love story. Gather information about their journey, their values, and what makes their relationship special.
Ask the couple what type of tone they prefer for their ceremony, what elements they want included (or excluded). Overall, the goal is to get a sense for what they want this event to look and feel like. This will help you personalize your speech and make the ceremony that much more meaningful.
Okay, enough on background research. Now let’s focus on creating the speech itself.
How to Write a Memorable Officiant Speech
Establish the tone
Based on your discussion with the couple, the first step will be to decide what tone you want to set with your speech. Depending on the couple’s personality and preferences, the ceremony might be humorous and casual, formal and heartfelt, or a mix of styles. Consider the couple's wishes, the nature of the audience, and the overall atmosphere the wedding will have.
Structure the script
Create an outline and divide your speech into sections. Here is a sample section outline:
Sticking to a defined structure will help you stay organized and draft a cohesive speech.
Draft your speech
With your structure dialed in, now you can start writing! Working off your outline, you can go section by section to fill out your script. If you need inspiration or ideas for what direction to go, check out our catalog of sample wedding ceremony scripts. This script archive includes a wide range of ceremony types and wedding officiant speeches that could provide helpful blueprints for you!
Edit, edit, edit
There is a saying heard in writing circles: “write drunk, edit sober.” While we don’t necessarily encourage you to follow that advice literally, the spirit behind it is sound; begin by writing freely, letting the words fall on the page however they may. The goal here is to express the thoughts and feelings that will provide the foundation for your wedding officiant speech.
Then, come back later with fresh eyes and assess your work. Make changes where you see fit, ensuring that the final product aligns with the couple’s wishes for the ceremony and meets your personal standards.
Sample Wedding Officiant Speech Script With Examples
You might be thinking: what should a final product look like? We’ve put a sample together below so you can see the form a finished ceremony script might take.
1. Introduction
In the introduction (sometimes also called the Invocation), the officiant greets the couple, their families, and the guests, and announces why everyone has gathered. Typically, this is a time to acknowledge the importance of the occasion and gratitude for being able to witness it.
Officiant:
Welcome, everyone. Friends and family who have traveled to be with _________ and _________ today: we thank you for being here to share this special day. You may be seated.
_________and_________, love is the force that brings us all here today. In fact, love is the force behind much of what we do every day. Whether making a meal for our family, taking time to teach our children, or lending a listening ear to a friend—even in the mundane, commonplace routines, love is always the reason.
We are all here to support _________and _________ on their first day as husband/wife/partner and husband/wife/partner. As you go into married life, remember the reason: the reason you get up each morning, get ready, do your best in the world, and look forward to coming home. Remember the reason you sacrifice, the reason you give, and the reason you laugh. The reason you are legally becoming a family.
_________, let _________ represent love. And_________, let_________ represent love. This mutual love stays strong as long as you both invest in and cherish it. This love is alive: it is active, dynamic, and powerful. Cling to it during good times and bad. All marriages have ups and downs—if you will make a habit of returning to your “reason,” you will find the strength to choose each other in every moment, in every place, and at all times.
A strong and lasting marriage is built on love, trust, and respect.
Like this excerpt? It’s from our standard wedding script, which is free online for you to utilize.
2. Declaration of Intent
In this section, the officiant affirms that the couple desires to be married. This important component must be included for the wedding to be considered legally binding.
Officiant (to _________):
Do you, _________ take _________ to be your husband/wife/partner? To not only give love, support and understanding, but also to fully accept these things as well?
_________: I do.
Officiant (to _________):
And do you, _________ take _________ to be your husband/wife/partner? To not only give love, support and understanding, but also to fully accept these things as well?
_________: I do.
This minimalistic declaration is borrowed from our simple wedding script, the full version is free for you to use!
3. Exchange of Vows
In this section, the couple will share their wedding vows with one another. These can either be standard statements they recite with the help of the officiant, or vows that they wrote themselves.
Officiant (to couple):
Let’s go ahead and exchange the vows at this time.
_______________, you may go first.
Partner 1:
As the seasons pass and things change, what will never change is the love and appreciation I have for you. I vow to uphold and defend you during the ups and downs in our lives throughout all the seasons together.
Officiant (to couple):
_______________, it’s your turn to share your vows.
Partner 2:
As the seasons pass and things change, what will never change is the love and appreciation I have for you. I vow to uphold and defend you during the ups and downs in our lives throughout all the seasons in our lives together.
Like this seasonal twist? We’ve made our full spring wedding script available online for free.
4. Ring Exchange
Now, the couple will exchange wedding rings. This section will often include a call-and-response style recitation.
With the vows professed between the couple, we will now move forward with the exchanging of the rings.
Officiant (to couple):
_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I promise that I will love, appreciate, cherish, and defend you for the rest of our lives.”
Partner 1:
With this ring, I promise that I will love, appreciate, cherish, and defend you for the rest of our lives.
Officiant (to Partner 2):
_______________, place your ring on _______________’s finger and repeat after me. “With this ring, I promise that I will love, appreciate, cherish, and defend you for the rest of our lives.”
Partner 2:
With this ring, I promise that I will love, appreciate, cherish, and defend you for the rest of our lives.
There are a number of creative ways to exchange rings within the wedding ceremony. This excerpt is from our nonbinary wedding ceremony script, which is available for you to use - among many others!
5. Pronouncement
The final legally-required element, the Pronouncement is when the officiant declares the couple lawfully wed (and typically invites their first kiss).
Officiant (to couple):
_______________ and _______________, you have come forward and shown your love to us all today.
By the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church Ministries, I now pronounce you married! Kiss each other!
Short and sweet. And then, off to the reception! If you like this phrasing, you might like our full humanist wedding ceremony script, available for free on our site.
6. Closing Statement
Officiant (to audience):
Beginnings are important. So important, that it’s the 1st noun in the Bible, which starts with “In the beginning.” What follows are the heavens and the earth; water and life; humanity. And now here we are at the beginning of _________ and _________’s married life.
You’ve got a great beginning here _________ and _________ – now it’s up to you to keep in your hearts that love and warmth given to you by God. Begin and end each and every day together with love, and you will enjoy an amazing marital life filled with joy and bliss.
This comes from our Christian wedding ceremony script would be great in more traditional weddings, Feel free to use it if you like, but we have plenty of other full wedding ceremony scripts available for free online.
Final Tips for Delivering Your Speech
As we’ve shown, performing a wedding and delivering a memorable officiant speech requires some thoughtful planning. But with the right preparation, you can ensure the event goes off without a hitch.
Some closing thoughts:
The essence of the wedding ceremony is to spotlight the couple, not the officiant. While you'll have some speaking parts, strive to keep it interactive and relaxed. And when crafting the ceremony script, you have total freedom to customize. For example, a formal speech or monologue from you is not even required – it’s just a part that’s typically included.
Remember that as the officiant, your ultimate job is to lead the couple through the ceremony – whatever shape it takes – and make sure they fulfill the legal obligations to formalize their marriage.
Kudos on being chosen to officiate, and remember to enjoy the moment!
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