When...oh when....will my officiant come?

[WDWbride2007]

Well, I just looked down at my ticket today....1 month, 4 weeks. I still don't have an officiant. We were going to use one of Raul's relatives, but he is not coming to the wedding anymore. I asked my cousin, but she would prefer not to do it. My sister (and MOH) is willing to do it, but I always imagined her at my side. I wanted to go with Rev. Jack Day, but Raul wants someone that speaks Spanish. He is focusing on his masters thesis that is due in 3 weeks. It frustrates me b/c I am just supposed to be in charge of everything wedding. Once his thesis is over, though, it will be his turn. My thesis proposal is due before the wedding, so he will need to step out to the plate then. I don't really know what to do at this point. It is technically a vow renewal because we are getting married two days before we leave NY for Disney. (I want to avoid the hassles associated with being FL residents.) I asked my EM if the officiant has to be a notary or religious minister, and she said yes. aahhhhh.... I got to figure something out today. And finish the guest list...and pick out the ceremony music. On the brighter side, my floral proposal is done.

 

[JandJ]

I know it's frustrating! Take a deep breath!

I'm a FL Notary and it takes about 6 weeks to become one. There's a test and then you have to wait for the paperwork to go through and then you have to order your Notary stamp, blah, blah, blah.

Just FYI, there aren't really any hassles in FL to get married. I think it's one of the easiest states to get married in! You don't have to be a resident, you can get your license the same day (if you are a resident it's a 3-day wait or take the class and it's no wait), you don't need a blood test, you don't have to take any classes (if you do you can get married the same day you get your license), out-of-state and out-of-country folks can get their license by mail, you don't need any witnesses, and a Notary can marry you.

Now finding that right person to marry you can prove to be an issue! Sorry, I'm sure it will all work out

 

[WDWbride2007]

the problem is that we are FL residents. we will only be down together 2 days before the wedding, so we wouldn't have time to get our license and wait 3 days. the people that do the licenses by mail won't do it for FL residents. oh well....the real problem is the officiant. hopefully, i will make some progress today..thanks!

 

[sajetto]

Was your EM able to recommend a spanish speaking officiant? Do any of your guests speak english?

 

[KT27]

I already am married, we did it a few weeks ago at the Osceola Courthouse while visiting Disney. My fiance is military so it made things alot easier. Rev Jack Day is not changing ANYTHING in our ceremony even though we are married. The only diffrence is that instead of giving them a marriage license you give them a copy of your Marriage Certificate.

 

[JandJ]

the problem is that we are FL residents. we will only be down together 2 days before the wedding, so we wouldn't have time to get our license and wait 3 days. the people that do the licenses by mail won't do it for FL residents. oh well....the real problem is the officiant. hopefully, i will make some progress today..thanks!

OH, well that does stink - sorry! I wish I knew someone in Orlando who is a Notary and speaks Spanish. My friend, who is a Notary, was going to do ours before we got Rev. Jack but she does not speak Spanish. Have you tried all of the ones on the DFTW list?
This might be helpful:
http://www.weddingofficiants.com/spanish.htm

Sounds like a VERY stressful time for you and your DH2B. I have a friend who just defended and it's been a rollercoaster for her. Best of Luck!!

 

[Kim10110]

hope this helps

Victorian Wedding Chapel
815 N. Main Street
Kissimmee, FL 34744
Phone: 407-847-6775
Fax: 407-847-6775
Contact: Sonia Bergman
Web: www.FLWEDUSA.com
Email: chapel@kua.net

Ceremonies performed by a Florida notary offered in English or Spanish. All ceremonies are customized for each couple and a keepsake provided. Ceremonies can be performed in our chapel or at your location. Wedding packages available for all budgets. We provide minister services upon request.

 

[WDWbride2007]

Half of our guests speak english only and half speak spanish only. It is quite a pickle. We are looking to have the ceremony in spanish with our vows and reading in english (we are both more comfortable in english). We will write the entire ceremony (including vows) in both english and spanish in the ceremony program. Our EM gave us the name of an officiant, but he was quite rude on the phone. I really don't want to trust someone like that with the most important day in our lives as a couple. Thanks for the link, Jen! I already filled out the form, so I hope to hear back soon. =)

 

[Boo0105]

I think my EM gave me the same Officiant she gave you, he did not sound too friendly and I thought his price was kind of high. She gave me two other Spanish speaking officiants, I haven't called them yet.

Roberto Rojas 407-927-5735
Pastor Gilberto Falcon 407-889-5039

Hope this helps

 

[WDWbride2007]

Thanks, Boo0105! I will try them next. Now, Raul and my parents are telling me to book Rev. Jack. They see how stressed I am, and they just don't think it is worth it. I was thinking of creating ceremony programs with the entire ceremony written in Spanish for those who wish to follow along. I just don't know....sigh

 

[sajetto]

I think that you would be really happy with Rev. Jack, but if its really important that you include spanish in the ceremony you may want to try some of those that were posted. I would call the others, see their pricing, and how I felt about them. If you just don't click with them then definitely move on to Rev. Day. Good luck!

 

[WDWbride2007]

Crisis Averted!!! I went to have lunch with Raul today. I was telling him about the officiant frustrations. He turns to me and says "I have told you since the beginning that I don't care what language the ceremony is in." I just burst into laughter. I remind him that HE was the one that was adament about the bilingual service. He honestly didn't remember. Sometimes in life...you just got to laugh. =) Anyways, we agreed to have Rev. Jack. We are going to incorporate a reading in Spanish, and write out the entire ceremony in Spanish (and English for the reading) in our programs. This way, everyone can follow along. I just didn't want to have an officiant that was going to push for a certain religion. From my experience, it seems that most of the bilingual ministers were quite into their faith. That is totally respectable, but just not what we were looking for. Thanks again, ladies!!!!

 

[sajetto]

Congrats! You will be so happy you chose Rev. Day. He's such a great guy

 

[Codie]

Just a thought--when I was first looking at DFTW, I was told that the officiant does not count as one of your guests (my dad was marrying me and I was trying to get 20 guests when they used to only allow 12)...might that help you with your other "family" guest problem? Also...my marriage license was from Dade county--can't you get a license in your county? I'm not a fl resident...so i don't know...

 

[WDWbride2007]

Hi Codie,

Thanks for your suggestions. We actually live in NYC, and DF won't make it down to FL until 2 days before the wedding. Since we are both residents, we have a mandatory 3 day waiting period. Anyways, we decided to get married at the court in NY on our 8-year anniversary (2 days before we leave to Disney for the wedding). Our guest list actually worked itself out. Two of DF's cousins decided not to go, so we actually only have 18 total (including us). We are saving quite a bit, so now we can go to Paris in June for Part 2 of our honeymoon. =)