Why do we LOVE the part of the ceremony where we get to tell your story so much?
Because you people have GREAT stories that are worth telling!
About Our Fees
(Scroll further down past this section for more information about our services. Continue below if you want more info about our pricing.)
Wedding Officiant Fees vary greatly as do value and quality. So, this page was among the hardest for us to compose.
Every ceremony we do is different because every couple has different needs. Our fees are based on the actual time taken up on calendar specifically for you. Location is a real factor in our pricing too, just as much as is whether we’re meeting with you and writing a custom ceremony, skipping the meeting in favor of a pre-written ceremony from our website, having us come to sign a marriage license (making it legal for a friend or family member to marry you), or doing something else altogether.
With regard to time, we do not schedule closer than three hours between weddings (unless they are in the same town or building). So, if there happens to be a bridge, tunnel, or single lane road that can be backed up or slowed by a tractor on the route to your ceremony (ie: Montauk in the summer)… We consider that as well and assign to you a larger window of time on the calendar.
Generally speaking, if you need more time, the fee will reflect this.
There are also things that can lower the cost of your ceremony. Are there things you are willing to give up? If you are flexible as to your ceremony start time or location, for example, this can be a way to reduce the fee. Weekdays are more flexible than weekends. Backyard and DIY weddings are especially good for that kind of flexibility. You can also come directly to us, or to a park or gazebo near one of our officiants, for a simple unscripted civil ceremony. These are just some of the ways to reduce the costs.
About Our Services
Below are the most common ways that we work with our couples with a detail of the services that go with them. If you’re interested in hearing more and getting a proper quote, contact us with the date, time and location of your ceremony and we’ll get right back to you with more info.
Full Custom Originally Written Ceremonies:
For ceremonies that include a meeting and originally written content.
With our Custom Ceremonies, we meet and talk about your options as to structural elements and write new sections about the two of you, your relationship, love story, and family. So, if you imagine your love story set amid rich and descriptive language, or have a theme in mind, or even a specific style or vibe in mind for your ceremony, then meeting and writing with us is for you.
We actually start with a blank piece of paper and write your ceremony with you. Physical or virtual meetings are a little over an hour and then it’s about two hours or so at the computer to craft what you’ve shared into a draft, which goes back and forth for editing until it’s perfect.
Anyone can give you lists of things to copy and paste from or ask you to choose readings and vows and then call it “custom”. Some officiants will send a questionnaire only to add your answers verbatim to a prewritten script.
But if what you’re receiving is not a refinement of your own thoughts and feelings, speaking for and about YOU, then it is just an assembled ceremony and not a truly custom one.
Skip The Meeting and Choose a Pre-Written Ceremony From Our Website
If you don’t want the meeting time, but still want flawless delivery and professionalism, save $100 and choose this level of service.
Do you see something on our website that is already perfect for you? This is where you go to the sample ceremonies you see here on our website, email us your choices, and we deliver exactly what you have chosen. You can mix and match too! We also have a vast amount of material not online that we are also happy to share.
This level of service is popular among couples who are more traditional, who want it short and sweet, or perhaps want to write their own vows and see those as the centerpiece of their ceremony. If you want it even simpler, you can give us guidelines and we will do the rest!
By doing the heavy lifting yourselves, we give you a discount for the roughly 3 hours that we’re saving by skipping the meeting and not having to do extra writing.
Btw, this above is what many officiants (but not us!) consider a personalized ceremony. It is a mix and match, rather than starting with a blank piece of paper and us writing new original material with you.
Signature Service / Sit and Sign
If you were also considering having a friend or family member, or someone who is ordained online perform the ceremony.
There have been 5 bills before our state legislature since 2015, trying to expand on who has authority to sign a marriage license. None of them have passed and online officiants do not have authority to perform marriage ceremonies in New York State, that cannot later be deemed invalid.
Below is a link to our State Legislatures website and the failed bills. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/s430
Information on future bills will be there as well. The future bills are what you will want to keep an eye out for.
If you decide that you need a Signature Service (also known recently as a “sit and sign” service) either on the day of your ceremony, or sometime before, we have several options and ways we can help there, just ask!
This service can be secured any time before the wedding day.
A simple signature service at one of our locations or to have one of our team come to the venue are both possible.
Just Marry Us
We’ve got our marriage license! Can you marry us today?
We perform simple ceremonies & signature services Monday – Thursday with very limited weekend availability in Northport, Centerport, and Glen Cove, with other officiant locations available and possible as requested.
For Just Marry Us elopement ceremonies, you come to one of our officiant’s locations, we ask a few questions about content and then we improvise a brief ceremony from our experience. If you just want the 5 sentences that make you legally married, we can do that as well!
For this service, we mark off a half hour of time on the calendar and you are in and out in 15 min. For this service you can have 1 or 2 witnesses with you. This service is $100.
If you have 3 or more people that want to come, the gazebo in Northport is our favorite location. It’s free to use (no permit needed) and is absolutely beautiful. As a public park you can have as many people there as you like. For these, we mark off 1 hour of time to allow for some wiggle room, and we deliver the elopement ceremony. This service is $150 on weekdays. The fee is higher on weekends. Reach out for details. Please note that on weekends this location requires a permit which is available to residents only.
Other locations are absolutely an option and as always and the fee only reflects the real time that you are asking for.
With both these options the fee is so low because you are hiring whoever is closest for a very short and specific period of time. Because of this, late fees are $50 per every 15 minutes past our scheduled start time. If people do want to come and you choose one of those locations, I recommend having everyone there a half hour before the start time. This way if they are a little late it doesn’t raise the fee.
Other Services
What else is possible?! Anything, just ask!
Minister & Rabbi Duo
Interfaith ceremonies are a huge part of our rich cultural heritage in this area and we love taking the best of what our different traditions offer and calling it our own.
Full Day Service
This works well for couples who want to be the only wedding scheduled on their day. Some like to rehearse not an hour before but 3 hours before and then do pictures. Some weddings, Up State New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in particular require the time that two or three local weddings could be performed locally. The fee will be based on traveling and time spent both on the day and for whatever levels of pre-ceremony service you choose.
Unscripted Ceremonies
If you want something spontaneous, in the moment, and beautifully delivered by one of our team members according to your guidelines. This can be an option when you have a wedding coming up very quickly or have had your officiant cancel at the last minute.
Writing Services
In addition to signing marriage licenses to make your union legal when you want a friend or family member to officiate your ceremony, we also offer writing services; working behind the scenes with you to craft a ceremony that will be remembered forever.
Stay for a Meal Blessing (check out some of our blessings, here!)
Most couples have a family member perform this function, However if you would like us to stay and give a blessing before dinner wee would be honored! An additional fee is required to reserve this extra time on the calendar.
Destination Weddings
We’ll go anywhere (especially if the flight is on you)! Contact us for pricing. The fee will be based on real time spent to make your day amazing and perfect! All expenses, including air, transportation, lodging, and board, if necessary are provided by the couple.
Funeral & Memorial Services
Religious, Interfaith, Non-Religious, Spiritual, Humanist
Excerpt from a letter to one of my newer ministers: “I always feel like I do more good at a funeral than at a wedding. At a wedding, as long as you stick to the couple’s content guide lines, almost anyone can do a good job, because they’re already so happy. When it is their worst day ever, if you can bring some light to their pain and somehow have them leave with something more than they came in with…. It is then in my opinion, that we have truly served.”
Baby Blessings, Baby Namings, Interfaith Ceremonies & Baptisms
We follow many of our couples through all of life’s major milestones. We love welcoming new angels into the world. Reach out for more information.
Don’t see what you’re looking for? Contact us and we’ll be happy to help you realize your vision!