Alberta marriage commissioners busier than ever

Any newlywed will tell you that if you want to get hitched, you have to book your wedding venue months in advance.

But that's not the only thing you have to plan ahead for.

Alberta marriage commissioners are busier than ever, which mean couples who want a non-religious ceremony could be left scrambling to make it official.

"I know of some marriage commissioners in the cities — they're doing one every day," said Marianne Bennett, who works as a certified marriage commissioner south of Red Deer in the town of Bowden, Alta.

Bennett, who has officiated 24 weddings since May, says she has seen an increase in business in the last two years.

And while she doesn't officiate more than two weddings in one day, that hasn't stopped her peers from filling their daytimers.

"If people are open and not everyone wants to get married at two o'clock, you probably could do three or four. I know one marriage commissioner has done as many as six," said Bennett.

That's right — six weddings in one day.

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​According to Service Alberta, right now there are 251 certified marriage commissioners in the province.

Bennett says because quite a few officiants are retiring, there is a shortage in some ares of the province.

She adds that getting certified is a lengthy process and all marriage officiants in the province must re-apply from scratch, every five years.

Couples need to compromise

While Bennett has never heard of a couple having to cancel their wedding because they couldn't find an officiate, she says they may need to be flexible with their dates.

"I've done a Tuesday, a Wednesday and a Thursday," she said.

She also says brides should be open to changing the time of their ceremony, especially if they wait until the last minute to book their marriage commissioner.

"A lot of them are not booking their marriage commissioners, or not trying, until after they already have their invitations out and then you can't change the time."

Bennett says if a couple can't find a marriage commissioner within 100 kilometres of their venue, they can apply to Service Alberta to have a family member officiate the ceremony.