Wedding Officiate?

Scary as it sounds, I've done a number of karaoke weddings over the years, many for singers who have met at my shows.

On occasion the wish was expressed that I perform the ceremony. Though there was enough time for me to become a weddining officiate, I just had no interest in doing so. One reason was that I don't like doing weddings ( I no longer accept them- I make about as much with corporates, with WAY less hassle..:laughpill.

Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone else here on the karaoke forum does or did weddings, and if so have any of you thought about becoming an officiate as part of your marketing strategy?

Of course, if anyone here is already an officiate, please share your experiences?

 

yes both DH and I have been working on becoming NP's and wedding ministers:biggrinpill:

 

Did the life church ordained minister bit but never followed through with getting the state fees paid!

 

Done a TON of weddings.... even have a special wedding set up 4-page pdf brochure for the couple that spells out everything important.

I don't officiate weddings though, just doesn't seem right to me to have the officiant also be the DJ.

However, I have seen some pretty hilarious ministers do some pretty crazy stuff;

MINISTER: "Do you Jane, take Fred as your lawfully wedded husband?"

BRIDE: "I do."

MINISTER: "Are you sure? Have you looked at him lately?"

 

I officiate, BUT, only if I am on the same plane as the bride and groom spiritually. I will not pretend to be what I am not, especially for money, but if the bride and groom are friends or otherwise understand my "politics" and want me FOR that reason, I will do it. If they contact me and want me to do something outside of my comfort level, I decline.

 

Great posts all, but since this is in the Marketing Forum, I guess I should ask if officiating is a significant marketing tool or money making upsell for you?

 

I was actually wondering the same thing.....How much do you charge to officiate a wedding?? I am one of those who believes a true pastor should officiate a wedding but that just goes along with my beliefs. I'm curious if this would or could truly be an upsell for some? Do you tell them ( We'll Marry Ya, Run sound for the Ceremony , and DJ the Reception! All for the low price of $$$$$ )....for some reason i just have this image of this being similar to a chapel in Vegas

 

C'mon! This could be a whole new avenue of revenue for you.... I can see it now.... "Loneavenger's D.J, Karaoke and Marriage Emporium!"

 

You would need to figure out if the potential added income would offset the expense of the Elvis suit.

 

Joe the operative word in your query is "significant". An officiant is limited in what he can charge, and that is based on how good they are at the craft and what they bring. I know and have seen officiants bring in nice portable sound, speak clearly and eloquently that earned a good wage, whereas I have seen notarys or others just go thru the motions.

Any skill you have can be sold to a client, so if the client is looking for something you can provide, MAYBE that is a deal sealer or upsell. Every client will be different. If the client is not religious and had to look in the Pennysaver to find an officiant, chances are a KJ/DJ with the credentials is a viable alternative.

Either way, it would not mean a significant increase, but if it seals the sale or adds 50-150 dollars to the deal, more power to ya!!

 

:laughpill: i'm picturing the Sign now, and i'll move into an old church as the new office/warehouse :laughpill:

 

There you go... Fix up the Church basement and then have the reception there and get them for a hall rental also. Full Service :laughpill:

 

Now THAT'S freakin' FUNNY! :laughpill:

 

just receive my N.P yesterday and starting class and will be ordained by church in about a month. Now we can do it all (except photos):biggrinpill:

 

THAT'S what I was looking for! Please keep us ( actually ME ) posted! I'd really like to see how this works out for you!

 

HEY! I resemble that remark.

FYI: It was "The World Famous Chapel Of The Bells".

There was no karaoke. It didn't last.

 

we have a friend that does beach weddings here using only her website and averages 2 a month She is the one who got us the info on the wedding ministers church.We have provided sound for her on a couple of occations so we think it will work well.....may have 2 overflow bookings already. 1 pagan wedding and 1 christian wedding will keep you uodated:winkpill:

 

well I picked up the pagan wedding I was speaking of earlier. I will be doing the ceremony and DH will be running the sound for the ceremony and reception. The wedding is on June 21 for around 150 people. The bride and groom are looking over the wedding group site to design a custom ceremony. The sand ritual,unity candle and handfasting rituals look really beautiful I hope they will use a couple of them. The deposit will make our "cheerleaders meeting" alot more comfortable:yespill:

 

Keep the info coming, Athena, and thank you!

 

I personally hate weddings, but my husband is the master at them!!