Your wedding day should be a joyous occasion.
I have seen too many wedding where the family fights and it is not too happy. I know why alot of bride's and groom's elope to Florida and get married on the beach.

I have seen bride's and grooms get stressed out and can not even repeat vows to each other.

I always match my behavior to the mood of the wedding. If they are very serious and somber, then I act appropriately.

Formal weddings are usually very serious and I act accordingly.


If the couple are light and playful telling jokes, then I am happy to match the mood of the marriage party.

I always try to put the bride and groom at ease in as many ways as possible.

1. I try to be one of the first to arrive as there is no sense in stressing the bride by having her worry if the officiant is going to show up....NO OFFICIANT MEANS NO WEDDING!
2. I try to do a mini rehearsal before the ceremony. I want them to feel confident that we are all on the same page and that they know what they are supposed to do. I also want to make sure that I understand any special requests for a custom ceremony.
3. If they are really nervous, and I think that they will have stage fright, I tell them jokes. The jokes usually make them forget their fears and the ceremony almost always works out just fine. If they are still too stressed, I can just have them say "I DO" instead of repeating vows. This seems to work just fine.

Just some tricks that I have learned through the years.

Chaplain Bob