What exactly does a wedding officiant do? What about a celebrant? Unsure about the differences between who to hire for your wedding ceremony? Fret not, for this guide has got you covered! Here’s the rundown on some common roles involved in conducting a wedding, whether the ceremony is Muslim, Hindu, or Christian.
What Does a Wedding Officiant Do?
As their name suggests, wedding officiants are responsible for officiating the ceremony by leading any formal procedures and pronouncing the couple as married. Wedding officiants may need to have legal, religious, or other formal credentials to have authorisation, such as being a qualified pastor if the ceremony is held in a church. Other officiants include tok kadi for Muslim wedding ceremonies (nikah) or pandit (Hindu priest) for Hindu weddings.
Some couples have multiple ceremonies significant for different reasons: A cultural or religious ceremony accompanied by a civil ceremony, for example, like how some Chinese couples have a tea ceremony alongside their wedding ceremony. In such cases, a master of ceremonies is hired to navigate the customary practices but a civil ceremony like the registration of marriage would require someone authorised to play the part of registrar.
In conclusion, wedding officiants are individuals authorised by legal ( be it part of religious institutions or not) to officially marry the couple.
What Does a Wedding Emcee Do?
A wedding emcee directs the ceremony from the frontline, entertaining guests, announcing each stage of the procedure, and introducing any speakers involved. The primary role of a wedding emcee is to help create the desired atmosphere, plus ensure all your guests are at ease and aware of what’s going on. Although professional emcees can be hired, the role can also be filled by any experienced friend or family member who’s a captivating speaker with a sense of humour.
Wedding emcees need not have legal or religious credentials, though you might want to look for an emcee who would be familiar with the cultural procedures involved in your wedding ceremony. That would make explaining the significance of each stage or tradition to your guests much easier, considering Malaysia’s diverse array of ethnic and religious traditions, which not every guest might be familiar with the meaning of.
In short, wedding emcees facilitate your wedding ceremony by introducing the procedure, relaying any necessary information, and interacting with guests to build the atmosphere you desire.
What Does a Wedding Celebrant Do?
Wedding celebrants specialise in performing wedding ceremonies. However, their roles tend to encompass far more, and can even include involvement in the planning. Unlike some wedding officiants, celebrants usually aren’t affiliated with any ethnicity, culture, or religion, meaning your ceremony is free to flow however you’d like.
Therefore, a wedding celebrant can make full use of this freedom by hearing out your desires and assisting with planning of the vow exchange. They ensure that each wedding is a unique, individualised celebration that truly captures the essence of a couple’s bond. Whether you want your wedding ceremony to be fun and contemporary or calm and traditional, a good celebrant is mindful of faith, culture, or ethnicity, and can script ceremonies that honour a couple’s wishes.
You can think of wedding celebrants like bespoke tailors or shoemakers. Much like such expert craftspeople specialise in the creation of a bespoke product that best accentuates an individual’s features, wedding celebrants draw from their wealth of experience building on the many expressions of a couple’s romance to craft a bespoke wedding experience tailored to best accentuate it.
If you’d like a hand with expressing your emotions as deeply as possible on your special day, wedding celebrants can assist with writing vows or scripting other parts of the wedding ceremony. In sum, they are wedding officiators who can also personalise each wedding ceremony in a manner that’s uniquely memorable.
Who To Hire For Your Ceremony?
The above diagram summarises the general difference between the roles of an officiant, emcee and celebrant. When opting for a religious ceremony, it’s possible that you’d need to engage the service of two different vendors for their distinctive roles. Overall, the roles as an emcee and celebrant are interchangeable and many vendors perform execute the two roles skilfully.