New Yorkers Can Now Be Marriage Officiants for One Day

In a press release on Wednesday, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that will allow New Yorkers to become a marriage officiant for just one day.

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I am just starting to get into the wedding season era of my life. All of a sudden, my old friends from college are starting to get engaged and save the date cards are starting to pile up on my dresser. And with them comes a slew of other responsibilities I inherit for the actual wedding itself.

But if any of my friends decide that they want me to officiate their wedding, I can now get certified to be a marriage officiant for only one day in New York.

I doubt any of those friends have my name at the top of their list to officiate their wedding, but now I can get ready just in case there's an emergency. Besides why wouldn't they want me to officiate their wedding? My unofficial job title is "professional talker" I think I could handle reading a few lines off a piece of paper and then legally declaring my friends married. If you think about it that way, it's crazy that they haven't already asked me to become a full-time officiant so I can do everybody's weddings instead of just for one day only.

Either way, New Yorkers being able to become marriage officiants for just one day is going to save a lot of people a lot of hassle. And it's way easier to ask one person if they could get that one day permission instead of going through a list of all your closest friends and family to see if any of them are already qualified to officiate your wedding.