I Officiated My Best Friend’s Wedding Ceremony And All I Got Was This Stupid T Shirt.
Officiating weddings is time consuming and emotionally labor intensive. We should know… we’ve cumulatively officiated over 800 of wedding ceremonies. From reading through extensive questionnaires, to in depth ceremony planning meetings, to copious amounts of online research, to writing the perfect script, to figuring out what to wear on the day of, to leading the dress rehearsal, attention to detail is required at every stage of the process.
Many couples take for granted what a big ask it is for a friend or relative to create and deliver the perfect wedding ceremony. They also generally take for granted how important it is to express their gratitude in a way that feels honoring of the time, energy and output that went into their ceremony.
Since friends generally won’t accept money for officiating, getting them a gift is the best way to go. So we decided to curate a list of high quality officiant gifts to make your friend or relative to feel adequately appreciated for their hard work.
Don’t just give them a scented candle!
Our advice: be generous and splurge! Think about everything they just gave you… This doesn’t mean that you have to spend a fortune, but definitely get your officiant friend a super thoughtful, unique and high quality thank you gift. Below are some curated officiant gift ideas for folks with all kinds of tastes, interests, hobbies and preferences. Please be aware that there are some affiliate links in this post.
Wedding Officiant Gift Ideas
“If you think adventure is dangerous try routine. It is lethal.”
Pair a super beautiful travel-themed coffee table book with a rustic leather passport holder, and if you’re feeling really generous, include a flight gift card.
“Life is too short to drink bad wine.”
Pair a fancy wine bottle opener and wine book like this or this. You’ll want to include a bottle of fine wine of course!
For your Kitchen witch friend…
Bundle an indoor herb garden and The Spice and Herb Bible, a spice collection or a cute and functional spice rack.
“You can't buy happiness, but you can buy coffee, and that's pretty close.”
Consider combining a high end pour over maker or cute little french press, coffee beans, and a coffee themed book like this or this.
Home spa hook up!
Combine a deep tissue therapy massage gun, dead sea salts, and a yummy foot spa for some serious at home pampering. Or get them a day spa gift certificate with all the bells and whistles (think facial, massage, sauna and mud bath!)
Outdoors much?
Gift them with Cabin Porn: Inspiration for Your Quiet Place Somewhere and a heavy duty hammock to enjoy it on.
“Pizza is not a trend, it's a way of life.”
Bundle a cast iron pizza pan with a pizza making book like this or this, and a fancy pizza cutter.
For the love of words!
We are word nerds, lovers of etymology, collective nouns, and alliteration. If your friend loves words like we do, consider getting them these 3 books…
More ideas!
Consider gifting them with an experience: an escape room, an outdoor dining experience like Outstanding in the Field, a hard to come by ticket to Burning Man or concert tickets. (But maybe not Beyoncé tickets, cause those are hella expensive!)
Sign them up for a subscription box for a year. There are SO many types of subscription boxes out there - from chocolates to crafts, from socks to succulents, and from mindfulness to military. Assume that whatever your friend geeks out on is probably available in a subscription box!
Donate some serious charity in your friend’s name. Two of our personal favorite causes are: Center for Biological Diversity and Fix The News.