Many couples are choosing to get married outside of the traditional church setting and opting for unique and creative venues that showcase their personality. While the location of your wedding ceremony is key, finding someone to officiate your wedding may be even more important.
If you are looking for a dynamic, fun, warm and friendly officiant, look no further, the honorable Judge Derek Mosley is here to make your ceremony an event people talk about long after you’ve said your vows.
An Engaging Wedding Officiant
I’ve seen Judge Mosley speak many times before. He is full of passion for the Milwaukee community and is one of the most engaging people you’ll meet, both on stage and one on one – the perfect mix for someone to officiate a wedding. Judge Mosley has quite a few really cool ideas he brings into performing wedding ceremonies, and while I won’t spoil them all, I’ll share a couple with you.
Ring Warming
This event is incorporated into Judge Mosley’s weddings. As the ceremony begins, he will take the wedding rings and send them around to your guests. Your loved ones then have a chance to make a wish and send positive thoughts about you and your soon-to-be spouse as they hold your rings. This is such a great way to incorporate your guests into your ceremony in a simple, but meaningful way.
Tie the Knot
According to Judge Mosley, hundreds of years ago, priests were not always present in remote areas to perform wedding ceremonies. Couples would literally tie themselves together to symbolize their desire to marry and once the priest arrived at their town, they would participate in a “group wedding ceremony” of sorts. I won’t reveal exactly how Judge Mosley incorporates this into the ceremony, but it’s pretty cool.
Wedding Advice
Judge Mosley had a few words of advice for couples getting married.
- Wedding officiants are generally there to execute a wedding ceremony based on your instructions. So be sure to have a plan in mind of simple things like logistics – where to stand, pieces of the ceremony to incorporate, scripture / poem readings, etc. Unlike most church weddings who have a standard liturgy for ceremonies, officiants are more flexible and like direction from the couple to plan the ceremony logistics.
- Be sure to meet with your wedding officiant before your wedding day. Sounds like a given, but this is something to not skip.
- Apply for your marriage license early! In Milwaukee County, you can apply up to 30 days before your wedding day, but not later than seven days before the wedding day. That leaves you with slightly more than a three week window of time (business days and hours only) and better to get that done as soon as possible before the hustle of last minute wedding planning starts to fill your time. Here’s the link to the Milwaukee County marriage license page for more info.
Looking to talk with Judge Derek Mosley about officiating your wedding? Send him an email or give him a call at derek.mosley@milwaukee.gov / (414) 286-8759. While he is a Milwaukee County municipal court judge, he has performed many weddings outside the bounds of Milwaukee County.
Special thanks to Nicole Utecht Photography for the pictures in this article.
