Best Wedding Officiants in BC (Updated Septembe 2023)
Choosing a wedding officiant in BC is a big part of planning your ceremony, and there are some great choices available.
If you are having a hard time navigating the details of arranging a ceremony location, marriage license and wedding officiant that suits your personality and style, you’re in luck. I have worked alongside many different officiants at a variety of different weddings and have shortlisted a couple of my favorites below, giving you a great starting point when it comes to planning your perfect nuptials.
Like with any person you hire for your day, it’s important to meet with them, get to know their personality and feel a genuine connection. If you do, you know you have found the right person.
Here we go:-
For the bride and groom looking for a little something different, Young, Hip & Married are the perfect BC wedding officiants. Not every couple wants something traditional, and founder Shawn Miller will custom create a ceremony that suits your needs. Whether you want something relaxed, quirky or just plain fun, Shawn and his team can officiate your nuptials in style.
Check out the interview I did with Shawn below too for more insight into the process of hiring a wedding officiant in BC.
With several locations across Canada Young Hip & Married is marrying couples all over BC. They have a young team of Vancouver wedding officiants to choose from and one of my fav’s is definitely Marilyn Knipp.
Marilyn Knipp (of Young, Hip & Married)
Ordained since 1981, Marilyn Knipp has been a prominent BC wedding officiant for over thirty years. You can get the best blend of experience with creativity with Marilyn, so you can plan something that really speaks to your guests and that is truly representative of who you are as a couple. She has a wonderful, warm and genuine presence and every time I see her perform a ceremony, she does so like it was the first time. Truly a gem in Vancouver and a wonderful addition to your day.
The team at Hey Rev pride themselves on flexibility, making them a great choice for just about any couple. Brent and Erica Sheppard have been officiating weddings in BC for over 20 years, and have accrued a great deal of experience that can be a welcome calming presence on the big day. They even have an app downloadable from the app store that will help you manage your booking – jus to make things that bit easier!
Barbara is a great storyteller, good with a punchline and always carries extra Kleenex ;)
With my wedding photography services, I can discreetly capture the moments leading up to and throughout your ceremony, so no matter which wedding officiant you choose, you can have the experience captured forever to put into your own special wedding album.
Interview with Shawn Miller of Young Hip & Married
“It’s not about the Officiant … it is about you and your love.”
As an officiant, what 1 thing do you wish every couple knew?
The one thing I wish every couple knew is that a great ceremony services your entire wedding. Often every element of a wedding is customized and chosen with meticulous detail, other than the ceremony. All too often a wedding ceremony is thought of as a formality that has to happen, not something that gets to happen. A beautiful well crafted wedding ceremony should tell a couples love story, honour their personal and family values/beliefs and educate the guests on why you are in love and why you are getting married. When this happens the entire wedding becomes more robust and more of a celebration because everyone is leaving the ceremony connected to the couple and ready to celebrate their love.
What is the best way for a couple to prepare for their ceremony?
I believe the best way for a couple to prepare for their wedding ceremony is to work with a professional Officiant/Celebrant. A really good Officiant will walk the couple through all the steps from A-Z and make sure nothing is forgotten. They will ask powerful questions to discover what you want and what you don’t want (equally as important), and they will do all the work for you to ensure your ceremony is everything you want it to be.
What are some of your favourite locations / settings to officiate in?
Some of my favourite locations to Officiate in are outdoor spots with epic natural landscapes and backdrops. Mother Nature simply can’t be outdone in my opinion. There is just something so epic about a beautiful sunrise on a beach, or a snow capped mountain that takes your breath away like nothing else can. Combine that with an authentic love story and you have a tried and true formula for a magical experience.
How have you seen your role change during Covid?
The core of what I do has not changed at all. I still get to know my couples and craft for them a ceremony that honours their values and tells their love story. However the means by which we do this has changed. Instead of meeting in person we meet on Zoom. I wear a mask and make sure everyone has their own pen for signing the licence. We’ve changed a lot of the “HOW” we do things but “WHAT” we do is the same.
What key things should a couple consider before picking someone to officiate their wedding day?
#1 – Are they a professional? I’ve heard countless stories of couples getting married by a friend or relative only for the ceremony to go horribly wrong. If the ceremony is important to you, work with a professional who has amazing online reviews and has some experience.
#2 – Is your Officiant willing and able to perform the type of ceremony that you want? Some Officiant’s are not able to include personal or religious beliefs, and others are not willing to omit their own personal or religious beliefs. This can make for a very awkward ceremony especially if they begin to speak about things that you don’t believe in.
Always remember this is your ceremony and you deserve to have it represent you. It’s not about the Officiant … it is about you and your love.
Thank you Shawn!
Contact Shawn here for your wedding day:-
Shawn Miller – (he/him/his)
Young Hip & Married & 778-549-2100
You can also check out some of my other favourite vendors in and around Vancouver + BC here. For international recommendations, please shoot me an email hello@sachinkhona.com.
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Did I miss anyone off my list? I’m always looking to add awesome people in the industry to work with .. let me know!
Contact me here to learn more about my wedding collections and services this year.
Sachin
// www.sachinkhona.com //
Award Winning Wedding & Portrait Photographer
Vancouver, BC + Destinations
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