Hiring a Wedding Officiant in Atlanta: What to Look For and What We Cost

If you typed wedding officiant Atlanta into a search bar and landed on a business from Augusta, here is the short version. Yes, we travel to Atlanta, and the cost is our regular package price plus a flat $200 travel fee.

We are Augusta Officiant. Home base is a couple of hours east on I-20, so we are not a local Atlanta company and we will not pretend to be one.

Are you actually based in Atlanta?

No. It is right there in the name. We have married more than 1,200 couples across the CSRA, which is the Augusta area on both sides of the Savannah River, and back home we have been the go to officiant team at Windsor Manor in Augusta since 2022. Atlanta is one of the cities we drive to, along with Savannah, Charleston, and Columbia, South Carolina.

Augusta Officiant is co-owned by Katie and Nick, and Jonathan is our third officiant. We are veteran owned, family run, and a foster family. Ceremonies can be in English or Spanish. You can read more about our team before you decide.

What should you look for in any officiant you hire?

A wedding officiant Atlanta couples can rely on should be able to answer a few plain questions before you book. This list applies to us and to anyone else you interview.

• Do you have a business license and liability insurance? We hold a business license and carry $2 million in liability insurance.

• What happens if you are sick that morning? We run a backup officiant system, so a ceremony is never left without an officiant.

• How does the ceremony get written, and how much say do we have in it?

• Are you comfortable with the marriage license? A wrong date or a missing signature can cause real trouble when the court goes to record the marriage.

• Where can we read your reviews? Ours are on Google and Facebook.

A word about friends. A friend can get ordained online in minutes, and plenty of couples love having someone they know up front. What a friend cannot easily produce is a business license and a $2 million liability policy if the venue asks for them, and more venues are asking. Read your venue contract first. We wrote a longer piece on asking a friend to officiate if you are weighing it.

Wedding officiant Atlanta pricing with us, travel included

Our wedding officiant Atlanta pricing is the same every month of the year. Pick a package, add the $200 travel fee, and that is the total.

• Custom Ceremony: $400 plus $200 travel, $600 total. A ceremony written from scratch for the two of you, one planning meeting before the wedding, and we attend the rehearsal.

• Elopement Ceremony: $200 plus $200 travel, $400 total. A short ceremony with a set script, standard vows, and a ring exchange, for up to 20 guests. No rehearsal.

Payment plans are available on every package, and they cover the travel fee too. Split the total into as many payments as you like. The $600 Custom Ceremony total works out to about $50 a month over 12 months, or $100 a month over 6. The $400 elopement total is about $33 a month over 12 months.

Our fees support the Augusta Birth Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in our hometown.

How does planning work from two hours away?

By video. For couples who are not local to Augusta, the planning meeting happens over Zoom or FaceTime. With the Custom Ceremony, that meeting is where we hear your story and learn what you want the ceremony to sound like. Then we write it from scratch.

The Custom Ceremony also includes the rehearsal, so send us your rehearsal date and time along with your wedding date and we can confirm both. The Elopement Ceremony uses a set script and has no rehearsal, which leaves very little to schedule.

Which county issues your marriage license?

Georgia keeps this part simple. There is no waiting period, no blood test, no residency requirement, and no witnesses are required. The license is usually issued the same day.

The county matters most if you live outside Georgia. Couples who do not live in Georgia must get the license in the county where the ceremony takes place. Most of the city of Atlanta is in Fulton County and part of it is in DeKalb, and plenty of venues with an Atlanta address sit in a neighboring county, so ask your venue which county it is in. Georgia residents can apply in any Georgia county.

In Fulton County, both of you go in person with current ID. Appointments are offered at the downtown location, and the North and South service centers take walk ins. Cash is accepted downtown, and cards are accepted at all locations. Courts change their fees, so confirm the current marriage license fee with the Fulton County Probate Court before you go. Many Georgia probate courts lower the fee for couples who complete a qualifying premarital education course of at least six hours and bring the certificate.

One more honest note. The Fulton County probate court offers free ceremonies on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with no appointment, for up to 6 guests, and a Fulton license is required. If that is all you want, it is hard to beat free. We compared the two routes in courthouse wedding in Atlanta versus hiring an officiant.

What happens to the license after the ceremony?

At the ceremony we complete and sign the license and hand it to you. You take it back to the probate court that issued it, in person or by mail, and it must be there within 30 days of the ceremony. Returning it yourselves gets your recorded license back to you faster. Ask the court for certified copies when you do, because you will need them for a name change. A Georgia license must be used in Georgia.

Atlanta wedding officiant FAQ

How much is the travel fee for an Atlanta wedding?

Atlanta adds a flat $200 travel fee to any package. A Custom Ceremony is $600 total and an Elopement Ceremony is $400 total, and payment plans cover the travel fee.

Do your prices go up in peak wedding season?

No. Our wedding officiant Atlanta pricing is the same all year, and every package can be split into monthly payments.

Will we meet our officiant before the wedding?

With the Custom Ceremony, yes. Your planning meeting happens by Zoom or FaceTime, so you see and talk with us before the wedding, and we attend your rehearsal.

Can you perform our ceremony in Spanish?

Yes. Our team is bilingual and performs ceremonies in English and Spanish.

Do we need witnesses to get married in Georgia?

No. Georgia does not require witnesses, a blood test, or a waiting period, and the license is usually issued the same day.

Check your Atlanta date

When you are ready to cross wedding officiant Atlanta off your to do list, send us your date and venue. Tell us the county, the rehearsal time if you have one, and which package you are leaning toward. We will confirm the total, including the $200 travel fee, and set up a payment plan if you want one.

In the meantime, read our 5 star reviews on Google and decide whether we are worth the drive. We think so, but we are biased.