So you are looking for a wedding officiant.
First, congratulations on your engagement! This is one of the most exciting times of your lives with many details to decide. And choosing your officiant is one of the most important.
So now….
Here’s the quick-read info you may want to know:
♦ I am a life-long non-denominational minister and have officiated hundreds of weddings just about everywhere around middle TN (from a truck stop to the Governor’s Mansion) for the last 20 years. And yes, I am a real minister, seminary trained (not internet ordained) with a Masters of Theology & Doctoral level work – serving as a preaching minister for 25 years. More about me. Note: you don’t have to be church-goers for me to help you.
♦ My services include use of my 10-page Ceremony Planner document to choose your wedding vows, readings, etc. so that yours is not a vanilla, matter-of-fact ceremony. It is a tool to personalize your ceremony. Make your ceremony exactly what you want it to be in length, content, and over all feel. You are not restricted to use only what is in the planner, but it does provide a template to get you started. Make your ceremony romantic or religious, contemporary or traditional. Or as many do, some combination of those.
♦ I offer to meet with couples at my home in the Bellevue area to discuss the ceremony. Or, we work out the details through email, phone or video calls.
♦ You can use my online marriage preparation course that saves you $60 on your marriage license (it’s optional, but it is included in the wedding fee at no extra charge). More about the course here, or see the complete course now at: Online Marriage Preparation Course
♦ Current total fee is $300 for most weddings. A $75 deposit (venmo or mail check) reserves your wedding date, time and location. The balance is due two weeks prior to your wedding date.
♦ Find out details on: How to schedule/confirm your wedding
Contact me about your wedding at:
ralph.griggs@gmail.com
615-500-5747 (text or call and leave message)
or go to the
See the links below for reviews, a wedding video, and more details:
Ralph Griggs wedding officiate reviews at Wedding Wire
Reviews on the Knot (scroll down a bit to see the reviews)
Video of me officiating a wedding at Cheekwood Gardens (ceremony begins at 2 minute mark)
Meet the Pros article on CJ’s Off the Square venue blog
Reviews
In case you’d like to see some notes couples have sent, I’ll brag a bit…
Ralph, thank you for joining in our special day. It literally couldn’t have happened without you. We love the wedding prep course – it brought us closer and even helped us resolve current issues we had by coming at it objectively. You made the ceremony sweet and funny. We loved it. I felt a great ease with you being there. It flowed great and you did a splendid job. Love, Mr and Mrs Henderson
I loved my wedding and you were very helpful at making it fit us perfectly without squeezing our wallet dry. -Heather M.
Dear Ralph, …the team at Riverwood Mansion said you were their favorite officiant, and you were the perfect fit for Kathryn and Bobby at this point in their young lives. I don’t know how you managed to to set just the right tone for the ceremony (including the references to the “refreshing” weather mist and the bride’s emotional recitation of her vows), but you did… All of our guests thought you had known them for years and commented about your warmth and familiarity with them. -Mother of the bride
Dear Ralph, we cannot thank you enough for playing such an important role in our most special day. Without us knowing you very well, you really seemed to fit us as a minister. The ceremony was more than I could have ever asked for. I felt a calm spirit come over me that I’d never felt before. You didn’t just marry us, you allowed our family and friends the genuine opportunity to experience what we feel in our hearts….and we thank you for that. -Bethany & Josh
Just a note this morning to thank you so much for your wonderful addition to our daughter’s wedding. Everyone there felt your warmth and kindness throughout the ceremony – it felt as if you had always been our pastor! We are so happy we found you, and now forever a part of our cherished memories of the day. -Matt & Regina
Ralph, we just wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being the minister at our ceremony! We loved how fun and easy the marriage counseling was. I really enjoyed being able to write our own ceremony outline with you as well. I loved your style, and it wasn’t your typical cookie cutter ceremony. The sand art turned out great and my favorite was when TJ and I read out vows. That was a very important day for us, and you made it so special to be the presenter of our love. God bless you and your family. Keep us the great work in all you for the future. You have shared a special time in our lives, and we appreciate it! We will definitely refer you to anyone we know getting married in the future. Thanks! -TJ & Selina
Hi Ralph, I wanted to write to let you know how thankful Sam and I are for you! The ceremony was perfect in every way. We received so many compliments afterward about how wonderful it all was. The wording of the ceremony especially. It would have not been possible without you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are truly blessed to have found you. I also wanted to thank you for the promptness of our marriage certificate. When we got back from out honeymoon on 10?22 it had come in the mail that day and was waiting for us. I was able to go the next day and get my name changed on my license before going back to work on Wednesday. Thank you again SO MUCH for everything!! Sincerely, Audra & Sam
Ralph, we are running off to our honeymoon, but wanted to send you a quick photo of our beautiful wedding. You did such a great job – we received so many compliments about your service. Literally, everyone was moved to tears by the service. And you made the process easy and fun! Thank you so much. You have a true gift and we are so pleased you could share it with us. Thanks, Nicole
Good afternoon. My fiance had contacted you previously about our wedding date, and you were already booked. The problem is that everyone we ask without fail mentions you. I even asked a family member that you married five years, and once again it was you….if you have a cancellation, please keep us in mind. -Christy S.
Ralph, thank you for taking care of the certificate so quickly [marriage prep completion certificate] and for your prompt and professional responses over the past few days. You have a good reputation on theknot.com tennessee local boards and I look forward to being another of your happy brides. -Jessica
Ralph, thank you so much for guiding us through the premarital counseling course, helping us create the perfect ceremony unique to us, and ultimately leading our ceremony & officially joining us as husband and wife. Thank you for making the entire process meaningful & simple from beginning to end. As soon as we met you, we knew we were in good hands. We truly appreciate you taking the time to get to know us and our story, and helping us craft a wedding ceremony that felt so right for both Matt & I. Thank you for your ability to crack a joke and a smile when nerves for the best of us during the ceremony! We recently got back our video and noticed how you were keeping Matt loose while he was waiting on me to walk down the aisle & of course loved your ad lib when Matt said “I Aubyn” – you kept it light and real and we will forever be grateful to you. We weren’t surprised that our guests all commented on what a great job you did. Knowing you were leading the ceremony allowed us just to enjoy each moment. Thanks again and we hope you and your wife are doing well! -Aubyn
Hi Ralph, thank you so much for accomodating us. We are very much looking forward to you officiating our ceremony. I also wanted to tell you that the vendors that I have spoked with around Nashville have spoken very highly of you. They have the highest of praise for you! -Sarah & Chad
Some reviews from Wedding Sites:
Our wedding ceremony was the favorite part of our day for many reasons, and Ralph was one of those reasons! We planned our Franklin, TN wedding from Maine (where we live) and Ralph made our ceremony planning super smooth. He sent over a Word document template of a ceremony script and we were able to easily go in and modify it to make it our own and special to us. A lot of the suggestions that Ralph made to be included in our ceremony we went with and we are SO happy that we did! During our actual ceremony, Ralph was so personable and he made it seem as though we had known him for years! We are so thankful that Ralph was the one to marry us and I will never forget how special he made it for us – thank you, Ralph!! – Tristin S.
Ralph was an amazing officiant! Nashville was not mine or my husband’s hometown so we were worried about finding a minister who would marry us with a personal, faith-filled touch. Our wedding planner Sweetwater Events connected us with Ralph and after meeting with him we immediately felt like we were in good hands. He tailored the ceremony to what we were looking for, kept it professional yet some light humor mixed in, it was a perfect ceremony. Ralph also provides an online pre-marital course which we thoroughly enjoyed. It was self-paced and filled with great discussion questions and notes. – Maragaret W.
Ralph was an absolute pleasure to work with! We were worried about finding a minister that made us feel comfortable, but he was the perfect addition to our ceremony. He met with us via phone call to go through all the details, and even included an online premarital counseling course, which we used to strengthen our relationship in months leading up to our day, as well as get a great discount on our marriage license! He also sent us a ceremony planning guide that was instrumental in helping us craft the perfect ceremony. His delivery of it combined all of the seriousness, humor, and love we hoped for and we had numerous compliments on how much our guests enjoyed it! He also filed our license for us while we were away on our honeymoon! Ralph’s communication and professionalism can not be beat, and we are grateful to have had him as part of our team that day. If you’re stuck on who to go with for your wedding, you can trust that Ralph will do an outstanding job! – Kaitlin S.
Hope you find this site helpful and best wishes for having a Ceremony to Remember