Marriage officiant
Marriage officiant – Wedding officiant or civil union in Québec – The couple who want to marry or join civilly can choose the person of their choice as a marriage celebrant / wedding officiant.
Civil or religious ceremony?
Here, the bride and groom reflect what kind of ceremony they want. The goal will be to respect their choice. A ceremony at the Church will provide a priest as a wedding officiant, and it will also be the case for an interfaith marriage (mix of 2 religions). For a civil ceremony, the choice of the marriage celebrant stops on a clerk or notary. The marriage celebrant may also be a relative of the spouse.
Criteria of the candidate
The wedding officiant role will be making a speech in front of the newlyweds and those present. In the end, it must be comfortable to speak before an audience, must have good communication skills. If it is a relative of the spouse, it must know the bride and groom. If it’s a notary or a priest, who celebrates, the ceremony may be less personalized. But everything goes according to the choice of the couple.
Approach for the ceremony
When the couple has chosen its celebrant (relative of the spouse), he must apply for designation to the Ministry of Justice of Québec. In the best of worlds, the request must be made 2 months prior to the official date of marriage. Once the request made, the marriage celebrant will be mailed an information package on the procedure of a ceremony.
Speech content
One of the tasks of the marriage celebrant is to prepare the bride and groom’s speech. When it comes to a priest, the speech is done in the name of God, but for a notary or a relative of the spouse, it is important that the couple items to include in the speech. What is the content? The story of the couple, anecdotes, important moments, etc. All added a pinch of emotions!
Wedding / civil union fees
In addition to the cost of preparations, future spouses will have to plan a fee for the celebration of the wedding. These vary depending on the location of your wedding and the type of your celebrant. For the expenses, the couple pays them according with the law or according with the negotiation between them and the wedding officiant (notary, priest, etc.).
In the case of a civil marriage, the fees vary depending on the place and the wedding officiant clerk, mayor, municipal representative, notary, priest, etc. In the event that the couple wants a notary or a religious marriage, it is necessary to see directly with them because the fees vary from one person to another.
Marriage officiant: Conclusion
Marriage celebrant – Wedding officiant or civil union – The bride and groom can choose the celebrant at their leisure. Several factors influence their choice: the type of ceremony, the criteria, the procedures and ultimately the costs. Of course, all wedding officiants have tariffs that vary depending on the place of celebration and celebrating it himself. But it is possible to get a better price if you are dealing with the church or a notary – you can negotiate a deal!
Me Leopold Lincà NOTARY WEDDING OFFICIANT IN MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC
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