Questions? Scroll down for answers…

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still hire you if I’m not queer?

Only if you ask nicely. (Just kidding!) We’d be happy to work with you, and we promise we won’t hold your lack of queerness against you. The chances are that there will be some people at your ceremony who are queer, or who belong to another underrepresented group, and it will give you peace of mind knowing that you’re working with an officiant who will ensure the welcome is wide enough for everyone.

What happens if you’re sick and or unavailable at the last minute?

We have good relationships with several queer and queer-friendly licensed officiants in the Lower Mainland who would be happy to use the script we’ve pre-written and approved with you, and who can step in to lead your ceremony in our place. (Thankfully, this has only happened twice in Beth’s 300-wedding career!)

How far are you willing to travel?

We’re local to Vancouver. For weddings, we are only licensed to marry people in BC, but we’ll travel within the province if you’re willing to cover travel (and accommodations if it’s necessary for us to arrive a day early for a rehearsal, or stay the night after the wedding if we can’t make it home). Danice and Beth especially like to travel for weddings where they are offering combined DJ & officiant services, and offer packages so you can save on vendor travel expenses.

Will you provide our marriage license?

Unfortunately, we can’t do that - legally, at least one of you has to be present to show ID and buy the license. You need to do this sometime within 3 months of your wedding date (including the day of your wedding, though we don’t recommend it!). For each of you, you will need to bring 2 pieces of government-issued identification, one of which must include a photo. You can find more information and a list of locations for purchasing the marriage license here.

Can my friend perform our wedding?

Anyone can write and lead your ceremony, but only registered marriage commissioners and religious representatives can sign the paperwork to make your marriage legal (see next question for more on these categories).

If you still want your friend or family member to lead your ceremony, please get in touch with us… we can arrange to come sign the legal paperwork with you, whether by attending the ceremony and signing during or directly afterward, or by meeting with you and two witnesses at another time close to your wedding day.

What’s a marriage commissioner? Is that different from what you do?

In BC, there are two categories of officiants/celebrants who can legally marry people: marriage commissioners, who work for the government, and religious representatives, who are licensed through religious bodies.

Marriage commissioners are hired by the province of BC. They must be retired from all other work, and may only work within a set radius in their city - couples choose a commissioner from a list of names on a government website. There is no required training or public speaking expertise required of commissioners. They work off a set script (with limited flexibility for changes), and they are not required to meet with the couple to personalize the script or rehearse ahead of time. Still, this is definitely the budget-friendly option - the rates they charge are predetermined by the province, and are very affordable.

Officiants at Pride + Joy fall under the category of religious representatives, even though many of the weddings we do are not overtly religious. Religious officiants often have more experience in public speaking and leading ceremonies. They are free to fully customize their ceremony scripts according to their traditions, or according to the beliefs and values of the couples they work with… the only absolute “must” is for the couple to express their consent to marry at some point in the ceremony. They may set their own rates, practices, and standards. At Pride + Joy, we believe it’s worth the higher price point when it means time to make the ceremony exactly what you want, with inclusive language, story-telling, personalization, flexibility, and availability for meetings and rehearsals.

Do you do any premarital coaching or counseling?

Not at this point, but we love the folks at Thrive Couples Coaching. They have queer and queer-affirming coaches on their team, who are able to work and we are excited to recommend them to you!