Can a friend or relative officiate our wedding?
Your wedding day should feel like you, and if that means having your best mate, your hilarious cousin, or even your mum up there leading the charge? Then let’s make it happen.
Enter the ‘celebrant buddy’ – the perfect way to bring someone you love into the spotlight without asking them to officially study to become a marriage celebrant (it takes longer than you think).
Here’s how it works:
🧑🤝🧑 So... what is a celebrant buddy?
Basically, you choose a friend or relative to lead the fun bits of the ceremony, the stories, the laughs, the “I remember when they first met” kind of moments. Meanwhile, I (your actual legal celebrant) will handle the official parts: the legal vows, the paperwork, and pronouncing you legally hitched.
It’s the best of both worlds, heartfelt and personal, but still totally legit.
🎤 How does it all go down?
Here’s a common setup:
Your celebrant buddy kicks things off, maybe with a few funny memories, a heartfelt intro, or even a surprise “I’m not really a celebrant… but I play one for today!” moment.
They can guide you through a custom ceremony, share your love story, and maybe throw in a cheeky quiz or give some questionable marriage advice.
Then, I jump in for the legal stuff like reading the monitum, guiding you through the legal vows, getting all the right signatures sorted, and making it all official.
🎭 Want to mix things up?
Couples have gotten very creative with this setup:
Your friend pops up from the crowd like a surprise guest celeb-officiant.
A sibling starts with a playful, slightly chaotic vibe to get everyone laughing before we bring the tone down for the vows.
Or you keep it super sweet and simple, just someone close to you walking you (and your guests) through your love story before I seal the deal.
The vibe is totally up to you - fun, formal, quirky, chill - whatever feels most you.
📝 Important stuff to know:
Even though your buddy is holding the mic, I’ll be:
✔️ Lodging all the legal paperwork
✔️ Making sure the legal parts are said correctly
✔️ Keeping the whole thing on track and stress-free behind the scenes
So your friend gets to be the star, but you also get the peace of mind that everything’s above board and beautifully run. What a deal.
Sound good?
This setup is ideal if you want a ceremony that feels more "led by a mate". It's warm, relaxed, super personal, and always memorable. Fun fact, being a celebrant buddy for my best friend’s overseas wedding is what inspired me to become a marriage celebrant!
Keen to get creative with your ceremony? Let’s chat about how we can make the celebrant buddy setup work for you!