We don’t know, and we hope to re-write the book!. Perhaps it was written when couples were members of a church and offering a stipend to the minister. Often we hear that couples confuse stipend with a fee. You are choosing to hire a person who is not affiliated with a particular church and for many officiants this is a business service. Rev. Dalton and Your Ceremony Matters is a full service wedding ceremony planning business. As such, we charge fees that are in-line with your overall wedding budget.

An officiant’s fee will be a very small amount in comparison to your flowers, wedding cake or hired transportation. An ordained officiant has spent years in training and his or her experience needs to be valued and compensated like any other professional.