Tips For Holding People's Attention As A Wedding Officiant

If you are a wedding officiant, you want to be sure that you give the best service possible to help make the day special for the two people who are getting married. This involves making sure that everyone who is attending the ceremony remains engaged and interested in what's going on. Here are some tips.

1. Make Frequent Eye Contact When You Speak

Regardless of whether you are speaking at an intimate wedding ceremony or a huge wedding ceremony, you want to try to make as much eye contact with as many different members of the church as possible. This is important because people will respond strongly to this and will make sure that they continue paying attention if they noticed that you made eye contact earlier. The best way to make continual eye contact is to not have to look down at your notes. Take the time to memorize your opening remarks so that you can make people feel as though you are talking to them, rather than at them.

2. Orient Your Body

Make sure that you orient the couple that is getting married so that they are facing each other and so that the crowd can clearly see their profiles. Stand behind them so that you are facing directly into the crowd and are able to remain focused on them. This will make it much easier for you to speak into the crowd and hold their attention. Make sure that you adjust the microphone so that you are not straining up or down to speak into it because this could distract people. Get everything set up ahead of time to make the wedding ceremony flow effortlessly.

3. Ask the Couple What They Want You to Wear

You want to make sure that you don't detract from the bride and groom in terms of your attire or else people will be more focused on your clothes, rather than your words. Talk to the couple that is getting married to see what they would like you to wear. This will usually just be a plain white shirt, plain black pants, and some sort of tie depending on your dressing choices. By simply adhering to the wishes of the couple that is getting married, you will put much more of the focus on them and the words that you are saying, rather than on what you look like.

For more ideas, talk to another officiant at a church like Walton Memorial United Church.