Planning for the wedding high season (June – August) is already starting up. I have had the great fortune of officiating at some weddings in my work as Ceremonialist – see here for a wedding example and here for an example of a handfasting.
I have had a lot of questions about my legal qualifications as a wedding officiant, so I thought now would be a good time to update and clarify.
In the province of Quebec, I can legally perform civic marriages, both opposite sex and same sex. Just to be clear, if I am your Ceremonialist in Quebec, you will be legally married, wedding certificate and all.
In the province of Ontario, it is at the discretion of the municipalities to designate legal wedding officiants, that is to say, people who are not ordained clergy who can perform weddings. So far, the City of Ottawa, the large municipality I live near, has only given permission to city clerks. However, they are currently in the process of reviewing this policy and I am in communication with them about my position as a trained Ceremonialist.
In the meantime, if you are in Ottawa and interested in hiring me, some possibilities are:
· doing the Ceremony in Quebec – outside, inside, at a golf course, in Gatineau Park, there are lots of very special places to get married in “la belle province”
· having the legal ceremony at City Hall – the 10-minute civil ceremony in the small room with the city clerk – and then having the meaningful ceremony with all your guests at the place of your choice with me as Ceremonialist (FYI, this is how many couples in Europe plan their weddings!).
It is certainly my Intention to become a designated legal officiant by the City of Ottawa in 2009. I will keep you posted here.
And, to any interested couples, here is my posting about what to expect in working with me. Just to let you know, I am bilingual and am available to officiate in both official languages. Please contact me and I would be happy to talk to you!
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