One of the funnest parts of my job as a busy Los Angeles wedding officiant is that I get to meet people from all over the world and learn about their wedding traditions. I recently had the privilege to marry a couple with Armenian heritage and, after their ceremony, they celebrated with the “money dance”. …Click Here to Read More…
Posts by Officiant Guy
Wedding Officiant Los Angeles
Get Married Now or Why You Can’t Take Life for Granted
It happened again. I was astounded, but it does happen frequently to me as a wedding officiant. I was contacted by a couple this week who had been living together for decades. They lived many years together and then suddenly, there was a cancer diagnosis, and I was called when the bride was in the …Click Here to Read More…
KTLA Wedding Officiants
How cool is this? KTLA was looking for officiants. I was recommended to KTLA to be the main wedding officiant for their “Week of Weddings Daily I Do” leading up to Valentine’s Day. I ended up officiated the non-religious weddings. Although I had to get up super early on Tuesday morning to be on KTLA’s …Click Here to Read More…
Gay Marriage in California is Now a Reality
I’d like to congratulate LGBTQ couples and let you know that I’m available to be your wedding officiant immediately.
The Wedding Officiant Enjoyed his First Motorcycle Wedding
After thousands of weddings, I can now say that I have been the wedding officiant for a marriage ceremony while the bride and groom were sitting on a motorcycle.
Ideas for Wedding Favors
If you are getting married, I’m sure that you are looking for ideas for wedding favors. Many wedding couple’s give their guests a gift or a memento of their wedding. Some are very hip and useful. Some are kitschy and cheesy. Some are just plain weird. I’ve seen a fascinating variety of wedding souvenirs. I …Click Here to Read More…
Airport Elopement Ceremony
I married a couple on St. Patrick’s Day in an elopement ceremony in the Encounter Restaurant at LAX. I’ve performed many airport marriages in the past which is a unique kind of destination wedding. In fact, USA Today wrote a story about me and airport marriages. They flew in the morning, ate lunch, and met …Click Here to Read More…
Don’t Wait, Get Married
As a minister for weddings in the Los Angeles area, I’ve seen so much frustration and sorrow when a couple hopes, at the last possible moment, to get married. Too often I have had to deny such sincere requests for a marriage ceremony because one of the hopeful spouses does not have the required frame of mind …Click Here to Read More…
I am a Wedding Minister for Deathbed Weddings
There are very sad moments in my otherwise happy career. At a death bed wedding the joy of true love and the immense pain of love lost collide. I’ve been a wedding minister now for many years and some of my most memorable moments as a wedding minister have been at death bed weddings. A …Click Here to Read More…
Wedding Officiant for Bedside Hospital Weddings
When I became a wedding officiant I never expected to officiate bedside weddings. Bedside weddings typically join a couple who have been with each other for a significant period of time and had vague plans to get married but sudden health issues require an immediate marriage ceremony. It is often a very bittersweet experience. Bedside …Click Here to Read More…
Getting Married in LA? – The Perfect Destination Wedding
Are you getting married, perhaps on a whim, and don’t know exactly where you would like to have your marriage ceremony? Why not have a fun destination wedding in sunny Southern California?
Oops! I Think I Just Swallowed a Fly.
As we wedding officiants have found, anything can happen at a wedding. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes it is frustrating but it is almost always unpredictable and memorable. Whether it is a couple who decides to consummate their marriage vows before I depart their private elopement ceremony or a bride’s sister who gives a peep …Click Here to Read More…
Be Prepared
Simply Bridal has some great tips for your wedding ceremony day so you and your bridesmaids and groomsmen will not be caught unprepared at your wedding ceremony. Some of their suggestions, like water, are very appropriate for summer weddings and outdoor marriage ceremonies, especially if you are getting married in Southern California during the summer. Ironically, one of their suggestions, alcohol, often causes the need for some of the others (eye drops, painkillers, spot remover, breath mints). Most do not apply if a couple has opted for marriage in the nude which I have encountered a few times as a wedding officiant.
Confidential Marriage License vs Public Marriage License
I’d like to clarify some misconceptions about a Confidential Marriage License vs. a Public Marriage License. Many people I talk to think that the Confidential Marriage License is not a valid license, but that is not the case. The only thing that a Confidential Marriage License does it protect your marriage license information rom public view. …Click Here to Read More…
Fun Family Small Wedding in the San Fernando Valley
Yesterday I had the honor to issue the marriage license and to be the wedding officiant at the family only small wedding ceremony of beautiful Datchanee and her groom, Jim. Their ceremony was in their front yard on an absolutely beautiful day in late February. I love Southern California weddings!
Officiant: What Is It And How Do You Pronounce It?
An officiant is one of the number of individuals who can legally perform a marriage ceremony for a wedding couple. The legal term for the performing of a marriage ceremony is “solemnization”. Thus, an officiant can “solemnize”your marriage.
Hugh Hefner Wedding Officiant at the Playboy Mansion
On New Years Eve I had honor to be the wedding officiant for Hugh Hefner and his beautiful bride, Crystal Harris, at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. What a blast that was. Crystal was beautiful in her light pink wedding dress and Hef, uncharacteristically, wore a tuxedo instead of his silk pajamas. It was nice …Click Here to Read More…
Los Angeles Beach Weddings Rules and Permits in Los Angeles County
Many people who have a beach wedding in Los Angeles County forget that the beach is a public place (aside from Malibu’s private beaches) and governed by Los Angeles County rules, as well as the individual city rules. It’s important to know what the beach wedding rules are in order to have an outdoor wedding on the beach in Southern California
Wedding Dogs
It is a great wedding idea for many couples to include their children in their wedding ceremonies. But for dog lovers, their “children” are their dogs. And so, of course, this kind of wedding couple will tend to include them in the wedding. I’ve officiating many weddings where the wedding dogs are either a best man, a greeter, a ring bearer or just plain hanging out. It’s very sweet and humorous to see a dog in a tuxedo.
Wedding Tips to Beat the Summer Heat
It’s that time of year here in Southern California when the temperatures are very high and yet, the most popular time for weddings is summer. The temperature has reached in the hundreds which can be incredibly uncomfortable for many wedding guests (I should know as I wear a suit and tie when I am a wedding minister). Here are some summer wedding tips to help your wedding guests beat the heat:
Unity Wedding Ceremonies
Many bridal couples choose to include a symbolic unity ceremony on their wedding day. Whether you prefer a unity candle ceremony or a unity sand ceremony, the sentiment is the same. Both wedding ceremonies offer a symbolic way to celebrate the joining of the groom and the bride into new and inseparable marital community.
Destination Weddings in Los Angeles
I love talking with people from other countries as I get to learn so much about the world. Since international couples typically do not know a lot about Southern California I am happy to suggest unique and fun wedding locations in various parts of Los Angeles for their ceremonies that fit the wedding couple.
Officiants for Southern California Beach Weddings
There is nothing more quintessentially Southern Californian than a beach wedding. Miles and miles of beautiful California coastline and consistently great weather make it an easy choice to get married with your feet in the sand and the waves lapping at the shore.
Getting Married in Los Angeles: Weddings with a View
Getting married in Los Angeles is filled with many great choices. Palos Verdes offers some of the most beautiful panoramic views of any place in Southern California. And the amazing view from La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates is one of the most dramatic.
Wedding Cupcakes for Beach Weddings
At a recent Malibu wedding that would have been a beach wedding had the weather behaved, the bride and groom, a couple of beach lovers, took a whimsical approach and made wedding cupcakes for their guests. This is a wedding cake trend that is lots of fun and very casual. I love the nicknames that they chose for the wedding cupcakes. Here’s to a long and happy life for “Gidget” and “Moondoggie”.