What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
Professional clergy do not charge a fee. The request is for an honorarium in the range of $300-$500. This includes all rehearsals, meetings, mileage and the use of a professional PA system. If I am asked to perform a small wedding outside my church within 25 miles of Carnegie, I usually ask for $200-$300. If couples come to my Center in Carnegie, I request usually $100-$150. The difference in the honorarium requested is based upon my time. If I have to drive to your location, my total time even for small ceremonies is usually 3-4 hours total. So, I may not be the lowest price on Thumbtack. However, I do provide the best value for professional services in the PA/OH area
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
Usually, couples call and express interest in having me perform their ceremony. I have them send me an email with the date, time, location of the wedding and the legal names on the license. I then respond asking for a $25 deposit to hold the date and ask them to fill out my pre-wedding form. After receiving the deposit, I send couples my copyrighted Wedding Choices from which they can pick out their ceremony. This process helps me to keep my calendar straight. Couples then receive all of my contact information and are encouraged to call or text more than email. I usually call closer to the actual wedding. However, couples are encouraged to call me anytime for any reason related to their ceremony.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have served as a local pastor for over 16 years. I was fortunate enough to receive a year of wedding ceremony mentoring from another local minister who has performed over 2500 ceremonies over the last 30 years. Rev. Jonathon Miller watched me like a hawk during my first year and offered many helpful suggestions that I still use today. I am currently completing my Masters Degree at the request of my denomination in ministry. (During seminary, I only received a total of 45 minutes of actual class instruction on both weddings and funerals. So, I am blessed to have wonderful mentors that include Rev. Jonathon that still act as a resource when I have ceremony questions.)
How did you get started doing this type of work?
After spending six years of DJing weddings part-time, I decided to switch over to pastoring our local church in Akron. After two years of service at the Akron church, one of our members asked me to perform her ceremony. I then registered with the State of Ohio so that I could legally perform her ceremony. My certificate was still warm out of the envelope when my friend Rev. Jonathon called and "told me" I was his backup minister for the upcoming wedding season. Jonathon was also my Church Board President whom I complained to about not receiving any compensation for being the senior minister. The Church Board did vote me a small stipend. However, Rev. Jonathon showed me how to produce an income stream using weddings.
What types of customers have you worked with?
I work with all kinds of couples, from those who just want a short ceremony in my office all the way up to very expensive weddings at the Country Club. All of my couples are special to me. I wish I could do them all for free. However, the income I receive from weddings helps me to financially continue ministry in Carnegie. I ask all of my couples to be generous with the honorarium (fee) given and they have responded with generally more than what I requested. For this, I am very thankful.
Describe a recent project you are fond of. How long did it take?
I will let you read from a recent Wedding Wire review from a bride that was unsolicited.
We love Pastor Mike!
We were recommended to Pastor Mike by our photographer, Miss Kelly Pifer (she's amazing). He was actually working at a church in Pittsburgh when we contacted him, which ironically is where we are from but we live in Cuyahoga Falls, and he was so kind to officiate our wedding despite the commute and work constraints. Pastor Mike is extremely helpful and accommodating to his brides. If you read the reviews and go on his website, you'll see a lot about how he was so kind and quick to respond any time his brides/couples needed anything! Just as an example: Pastor Mike had our wedding on a Sunday in Ohio, and shortly before he was contacted by a bride whose pastor was very suddenly unable to officiate for their wedding the Saturday previous to our day. On such short notice and a 4-hour drive from where we were, he went and officiated their wedding and then came all the way back the next day to officiate ours in 104-degree temps! The document he sends as a ceremony template is super easy to follow and customizable. We were able to make a ceremony that was perfect for us and Pastor Mike added some of his own touches that were really appreciated by our families. His "fees" (a small deposit and a church donation) are extremely fair for all the work he puts in, and I really felt that he cared a lot about me, my husband, our wedding, and everyone included in it. Thank you so much Pastor Mike. Everyone loved your service, especially us.
What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Always check their credentials. Can they legally marry you in your state? Also, does your officiant offer value for the money that you give them? I often lose business because I do charge a little more than others. However, I have always felt that I am a better value. I offer a customized ceremony and vows (taking 3-5 hours on average to write and edit), a portable PA system with music (valued at $150 and up), the choice of what I wear, either a suit or a clergy robe and my many years of experience of working with brides and their families. I also do provide pre-marital counseling at the church member price of $40 for the online assessment and $45 per session that usually lasts 6 weeks. The pre-marital counseling is completely optional. However, I do recommend it highly for those under 25. The brides I have worked with over the years always appreciate that I get back to them very quickly and that I show up on time for rehearsals and ceremonies.
Professional clergy do not charge a fee. The request is for an honorarium in the range of $300-$500. This includes all rehearsals, meetings, mileage and the use of a professional PA system. If I am asked to perform a small wedding outside my church within 25 miles of Carnegie, I usually ask for $200-$300. If couples come to my Center in Carnegie, I request usually $100-$150. The difference in the honoraium requested is based upon my time. If I have to drive to your location, my total time even for small ceremonies is usually 3-4 hours total. So, I may not be the lowest price on Thumbtack. However, I do provide the best value for professional services in the PA/OH area
What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?
Here are 15 key questions to ask your wedding officiant before you make things official. Keep in mind that these are a necessary starting point, but they aren’t the only ones you should be asking before hiring an officiant. (Thank you Wedding Wire!)
Are you available on my date and legally able to perform a marriage in the state/country where we will have the wedding?
From fellow ministers, this is the most important question to ask upfront before asking what they charge for a wedding ceremony. Is the officiant even available for your date? And more importantly, can they legally perform your ceremony in your state? Currently, I am eligible to perform weddings in OH and PA. As I tell my PA couples, make sure your officiant is legally able to perform your ceremony. Only regularly ordained clergy, religious leaders and judges can marry you in Pennsylvania. If in doubt, call your Clerk of Orphan Court's office in the county you are applying for your license.
Do you have a script or do you personalize the wedding ceremony for each couple? I personalize every ceremony with couples choosing what is said using a nineteen-page document called Wedding Choices. Couples love Wedding Choices because it makes ceremony planning easy. If you don't like the wording, I can change it for you. In over 12 years of performing ceremonies, I have never had a complaint about the actual ceremony itself. Why? Because couples have to agree to the ceremony before I go out and perform it.
Can we write our own vows? Will you help us with that? Absolutely! The vows are the actual contract of the ceremony. I assist couples all the time in writing their own vows. However, in Wedding Choices there are 10 different vow choices. Many times after reading the vow choices I offer, they choose one of mine rather than writing their own.
How long is a typical ceremony? My ceremonies are usually 20 minutes or less. Because I perform so many outdoor ceremonies, I have found that keeping ceremonies under 20 minutes keep brides and bridal parties comfortable. In this area (OH/PA) the weather sometimes changes from moment to moment. Some days are over 90 degrees, some are under 50. Do I have to mention the possibility of rain or snow? Keeping the outdoor ceremony under 20 minutes makes everyone happy.
How long have you been an officiant? How many weddings have you done? I have been pastoring for 16 years, officiating weddings for 12 and have performed over 675 weddings.
How many times will we meet? As many times as you would like. I also have a Zoom account, so we can do an online meeting also if you would like. I usually meet one or two times with my couples before the wedding. If we do the pre-marital counseling, the meetings for that last 6-8 weeks.
Do you do rehearsals? Absolutely. My rehearsals tend to be about 30 minutes and tend to be very quick if all the bridal party shows up on time. Sometimes they do and most of the time they don't. No worries. I allow up to 1 hour of rehearsal time to accommodate the latecomers.
What do you wear? Male ministers usually wear a suit and tie. I like to wear a clergy robe most of the time. However, the couple gets to pick what I wear.
What time will you arrive? I usually arrive about 45 minutes to 1 hour before the wedding. At rehearsal, I usually get there 15 minutes before the start time.
Do you offer premarital counseling? Yes, I use PREPARE/ENRICH as my standard assessment with 6-8 weeks of scheduled sessions. The online assessment is $40 with weekly sessions at the church member's price of $45.
Will you fill out and file our marriage license? Yes, I am required by law to do that and will get the documents back to the clerk's office in a timely manner.
What does your contract contain? Pastors usually do not use contracts. I only require a $25 deposit to hold the date. Have I been burned by couples who change officiants two weeks before the ceremony? Of course. However, most of my colleagues do not have a written contract. For your information, the contract you sign protects the vendor more than it does you. Read every contract very carefully before signing.
Do you have a back-up? Yes, I do. And I usually perform several ceremonies per year because of pastors not wanting to do the ceremony at the last minute. The reason given is usually sickness or a last-minute commitment. However, knowing my colleagues well, if they know that you have been living together, have a child out of wedlock or this is your second or third marriage, they can not perform your wedding out of good conscious. How I was taught was to find one or two ministers that could cover for me if I could not make it. When the minister doesn't find you another minister, it is usually because of what I call "the three strikes" mentioned above.
Couples do not get that kind of judgement from me. Read the story below about a weekend I had in July right before leaving for the Summer church conference
What are your fees? Professional clergy do not charge a fee. The request is for an honorarium in the range of $300-$500. This includes all rehearsals, meetings, mileage and the use of a professional PA system. If I am asked to perform a small wedding outside my church within 25 miles of Carnegie, I usually ask for $200-$300. If couples come to my Center in Carnegie, I request usually $100-$150. The difference in the honorarium requested is based upon my time. If I have to drive to your location, my total time even for small ceremonies is usually 3-4 hours total. So, I may not be the lowest price on Thumbtack. However, I do provide the best value for professional services in the PA/OH area
