Questions for the Marriage Commissioner

View quoted message I think it is polite to invite them.

I invited mine but she said she couldnt stay..

View quoted message I’ll be using a commissioner myself. They’re relatively cheap and there’s a good list of them especially in the lower mainland so it’s worth doing.

There’s also a sample version of a ceremony on the provincial website with the commissioners list on that has what needs to be said bolded and everything else in regular text, you might want to look at that to begin with!

Best of luck with the two meetings!

Thanks ladies... yes, marriage commissioners are certified to do non-religious type ceremonies and there is a standard charge (a fee plus mileage) in BC.

We wont be doing any unity ceremonies or incorporating anyone else into the ceremony, nor will be be doing any readings.

One thing we will ask is if they have any sample ceremonies we can read as we don't really have much clue when it comes to writing them ourselves!

The only other thing I can think of asking is what the back up plan is if they become sick or somehow unable to attend the day of the wedding!

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You don't have to. Many commissioners (I assume the same as an officiant) only schedule enough time to do the ceremony and then move on to whatever else they have scheduled.

When we looked for an officiant, we asked cost as a lot of officiants offer different packages for different lengths wedding ceremonies with different features in them. We then looked for someone who's personality we liked and got along with.

It was important to us that we didn't have someone who was cracking jokes the whole time as I wanted it to be more serious as well.

Is a marriage commissioner similar to an officiant in Ontario (just someone certified to run a ceremony?)

If they are, I would bring questions to ask about themselves, so you get to know a little about them (how long they have been doing this, maybe ask for a funny story that they've run into).

About your own ceremony, you'll probably want to ask how they run it. If they have some sort of routine or not. If you want specific people to be incorporated, you'll want to see how they suggest or if that's alright with them. If you want any kind of together ceremony (like a knot, sand or otherwise) you'll want to check with that as well.

I'm going the religious traditional route, so these are just ones we asked our priest. You may want to ask about scripts as well as fees or thoughts about rehearsal as well.

In regards to inviting them to the reception, I would wait until you get to know them a little better. We've invited ours to our reception as we know our priest well, and would have invited him even if he wasn't doing the ceremony. Once you've chosen and you get to know them, you can decide if you want to or not. I don't think they expect it, perhaps a tip if they've done well. So, totally your decision.

Another question - do you invite the commissioner to stay for cocktails and the meal following the ceremony?