A wedding pastor is an ordained member of the Christian faith who is qualified to perform legally and spiritually valid wedding ceremonies. When choosing a pastor for their wedding, a couple should exercise extreme caution. The wedding service is led this official, who also reads the vows. A wedding pastor may also provide pre-marital counseling to the couple, meet with them to design the ceremony they want for their wedding, attend the wedding rehearsal, and sign and file the marriage certificate.
Some couples choose a wedding pastor from their current church, while others choose a pastor they have never met before. Whether or not the couple is acquainted with the pastor, he or she should work closely with them to outline the elements of their wedding ceremony. Prayers or hymns, as well as the wedding vows, may be included.
Many wedding pastors also provide pre-marital counseling to the couples whose weddings they will officiate. Some pastors insist on premarital counseling as a condition of performing the wedding, while others strongly advise it but do not require it. Pre-marital counseling usually consists of several sessions between the couple and the pastor during which common marital issues are discussed and couples are taught how to deal with them. Some wedding pastors devote a significant amount of time to this type of counseling, which has been shown to significantly lower the divorce rate.
It is common for a couple to have a rehearsal a few days before their wedding to go over the ceremony’s order. This event is usually attended a wedding pastor. During this rehearsal, the couple usually hands over their marriage license to the pastor, along with any fees associated with filing it with the local government. Following the ceremony, the pastor will sign and register this paperwork for the couple.
A wedding pastor usually leads the wedding guests in any prayers that the couple has chosen for their ceremony on the day of the wedding. He or she then performs the ceremony of the couple exchanging wedding vows. The pastor pronounces the couple married at the conclusion of the ceremony. If the couple invites them, some pastors attend the wedding reception or party after the ceremony. When the pastor is someone the couple knows well, this is more likely to happen.