Clergy Questionnaire: What To Ask At Your First Meeting

There are so many potential trouble spots facing many couples today.
If you are planning a wedding and are seeking an officiant or a Justice of the Peace to preside,
Here's a list of questions you'll want to make sure you have answered at your first meeting.

• Are the date and time we've chosen available? If not, what alternate dates and times are free?

• Must we be members of this church or synagogue, or know members, to be married here? If we’re not members, must we pay special fees?

• Are we required to go through premarital counseling? If so, how many sessions? What topics will be covered?

• Will you marry us if one of us is divorced? What special arrangements does a remarriage require?(Permission from a religious authority? Proof of divorce?)

• Will you marry us if we are of different faiths? On what conditions? Will one partner have to convert? Will we have to agree to raise any children in one religion over another? Will you perform the ceremony with a clergyperson of a different faith? How do you usually share officiating duties?

• During which holidays or liturgical seasons are weddings prohibited/ Is any time of day inappropriate?

• What are the fees for using the synagogue or church and for the services of the organist, and the rest of your staff? Who is usually tipped? About how much? When?

• Are there any restrictions on ceremony dress? (For example, must the men wear yarmulkes?

• Should the bride’s and bridesmaids’ shoulders be covered?)

• Must readings be religious in nature? At what point in the ceremony are they performed?

• Is a kiss permitted at the end of the ceremony?

• Are other weddings scheduled on our date? How much time will be devoted to our ceremony? Is there leeway so we won’t feel rushed? Can we share church flowers with another bride and groom?

• What’s the seating capacity of the sanctuary? How big a wedding party fits comfortably on the altar? If there’s a center aisle, how many people can walk down it abreast? Can the aisles be used for a procession?

• Is the church/synagogue wheelchair accessible?

• Is there a changing room for the bridal party?

• Does the church or synagogue have space for wedding receptions?

• Are there food or beverage requirements?

• Is there adequate parking for all of our guests? On-site? Off-site? Will they be charged?

• Is there air conditioning in the summer? Adequate heat in the winter?

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This article originally appeared here.

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