Selecting your Minister

SELECTING YOUR MINISTER

Every wedding is a very personal and special occasion and calls for a number of climactic points. It is vitally important that you discuss these points with your marriage officer / wedding minister, but first, let’s point out the difference between a marriage officer and a wedding minister.

The marriage officer is a person that does weddings on an ad hoc basis, as a hobby, or part-time for financial gain. Their main concern is how many weddings they can do in a day. On the other hand a wedding minister does this as part of his/her ministerial function and it is done with more heart and soul in it. For them, it’s about the bond the couple pledge to uphold with God on their wedding day. It’s about their entire ceremony and it’s importance in society. So, think carefully when you make this choice between using a marriage officer and a wedding minister.

It is illegal to charge any fee or receive any privileges for doing a wedding ceremony in South Africa. However, there is a loophole !!! The travel and time factor. It has been found that some marriage officers will charge R4000 and more for a wedding not even 50kms away !! Where on the other hand, a wedding minister, for the same distance will charge R1500. This is a huge saving on the wedding budget so, “shop” around.

So let’s move over to the marriage ministers. How do you find a really great minister? Well, first establish:
1. Proof of his/her existence as a marriage minister for at least the past 8 years. They all have proof because they must keep records of all their weddings.
2. Proof of appointment under Section 2 and/or Section 5 by the Dept. of Home Affairs.
3. Establish his/her credentials from the branch of Home Affairs where they have filed their marriages.
4. Does the minister have a church and/or a website, and can you make an appointment with him/her during the week at his/her office for a meeting, let’s say at 11:00am?

Now, you will have a good background of your minister. Set up a meeting with him. All churches will have their own requirements to follow. This might hamper your marriage if some of the requirements cannot be met.

However, if you select a Non-Denominational minister, then there are basically very few church rules and it’s also the most popular way to go.

Discuss with the wedding minister, your views on your marriage as well as your requirements. Allow the minister to suggest a few different ways to perform the ceremony.

Request for him to explain the various wedding climactic points. What are the minister’s views and requirements where videographers and photographers are concerned? Allow the minister to give you his/her vision of your wedding. This way you will know that the minister does indeed have the passion and vision that you want and whether or not you can connect with him.

Ask the minister if you can visit one of his/her wedding ceremonies, it makes great sense to do so. Don’t rush your meeting with the minister. Set aside at least two hours.

Word of mouth is not always a good guide. Make a point of finding out for yourself.

Remember the key words to describe your minister must be: Vision; Insight; Passion; Experience; Emotional feeling; and most of all he must connect with the couple.

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Selecting your Minister | Wedding Articles