The Working Officiant
Building Your Ceremony Practice
With Rev. Lauri Ingram
Saturdays, February 13 & 20, 2027
10 AM–3 PM ET · Live on Zoom · Weekly Recordings Included
General Public $160 · OSLA Affiliated Alumni $125
You're Ready to Officiate. But Where Do You Begin?
You've completed your training or received your ordination. You understand the importance of presence, ritual, and holding sacred space. When a couple tells you they want a ceremony that feels like them, how do you help them discover what that actually means?
Do you find yourself wanting to know more about how to find clients, prepare them for a ceremony, navigate complicated family dynamics, or manage the business of officiating?
In The Working Officiant, Rev. Lauri Ingram draws on her experience officiating more than 100 weddings to help you build a grounded and thriving officiant practice.
Over two interactive Saturdays, you'll explore how to find your niche, speak naturally and confidently in front of others, and ask the kinds of questions that reveal what matters most to a couple.
You'll also work through real-world situations, from complicated family relationships to ceremonies that bring together different spiritual traditions, or no traditions at all.
Alongside the ceremony work, you'll examine the practical responsibilities of officiating: legal requirements, contracts, recordkeeping, pricing, marketing, and planning for weddings of different sizes.
Through guided reflection, listening exercises, case studies, and conversation, you'll begin putting together the tools and next steps for your own practice.
Because the work isn't simply about performing a wedding. It's about being available to help others create a ceremony that is genuinely and profoundly theirs.
“Ordained in 2019, I have officiated over 100 weddings — from intimate elopements to full celebrations — and have been recognized with WeddingWire's Couples' Choice Award (2023-2026), The Knot's Best of Weddings (2023-2026) and Hall of Fame, and Zola's Best of 2026, all based on five-star reviews.
Those 100 weddings taught me that the writing was never the hard part. The hard part is supporting a couple through family dynamics, drawing a couple's unspoken spiritual life into the open, and helping them envision a ceremony they hadn't yet imagined.
Many who feel a calling to serve as an officiant are unsure how to translate it into an actual practice (that is sustainable). With the growing number of people who no longer belong to a single faith tradition, yet still long for a ceremony that honors something sacred, there is a growing need for officiants who can understand and navigate.
This workshop closes that gap by treating discernment and logistics as one continuous act of service, rather than two separate pursuits: knowing your why is what gives the how its meaning, and knowing the how is what allows your calling to actually reach people.
The lasting value here isn't just a set of instructions; it's the shift from being called and inspired to truly offering a service.”
—Rev. Lauri Ingram
What We’ll Work On
Developing Your Officiant Voice
Practice speaking and holding space without feeling like you have to perform a role. Learn how your presence, language, and delivery can help set the tone for a ceremony.
Finding Your Place as an Officiant
Explore the kind of ceremonies you want to lead, the couples you hope to serve, and what makes your approach distinct. Begin identifying a niche that reflects your values, experience, and interests.
Navigating Family, Cultural, and Spiritual Differences
Work through situations involving complicated family relationships, interfaith couples, and traditions outside your own. Consider how to honor a couple's beliefs and heritage without making assumptions or borrowing sacred practices without intentional care.
Drawing Out a Couple’s Story
Learn how to ask thoughtful questions, listen closely, and uncover what matters most to a couple. Explore how to create a ceremony that reflects their relationship rather than relying on a standard script.
Understanding the Business of Officiating
Explore licensing and legal requirements, contracts, recordkeeping, marketing, pricing, and ceremony logistics. Identify what you need to research and put in place for your own practice.
Our Two-Saturday Journey
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We'll begin with the question at the heart of this work: Why do you want to officiate weddings, and who do you hope to serve?
Through guided meditation, journaling, and small-group conversation, you'll reflect on your interests, strengths, and the particular kind of officiant you want to become.
You'll also practice speaking and presence, exploring how to lead a ceremony in a way that feels natural to you and appropriate for the people you're serving.
We'll consider how a ceremony can be sacred and deeply personal whether a couple draws from one religious tradition, several traditions, or none at all.
You'll work on: Identifying your niche, expressing your calling, and developing your presence as an officiant.
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How do you help a couple create a ceremony they may not yet know how to describe?
Through real-world case studies, listening exercises, and group discussion, you'll explore how to understand a couple's wishes, work through family dynamics, and approach cultural and spiritual traditions respectfully.
We'll then turn to the practical side of officiating, including legal requirements, contracts, recordkeeping, pricing, marketing, and the logistics of weddings of different sizes.
You'll use a self-audit checklist to identify the requirements and responsibilities relevant to your location and begin outlining your next steps.
We'll close with reflection and a commitment to one concrete action you can take after the workshop.
You'll work on: Listening and ceremony-development skills, practical business considerations, and a plan for moving forward.
What Your Registration Includes
Your registration includes two live, interactive five-hour sessions (10 hours total), weekly recordings, and practical resources to support your ceremony practice.
✎ Participant Workbook
Guided reflections and exercises to help you identify your niche, develop your voice, and clarify your approach to officiating.
◇ Ceremony-Creation Resources
Tools and examples to help you listen to couples, understand their wishes, and begin developing personalized ceremonies.
◎ Legal & Operational Self-Audit Checklist
A framework for identifying the licensing, documentation, recordkeeping, and business requirements you need to investigate for your location.
✧ Public Speaking & Presence Exercises
Opportunities to practice speaking, communicating clearly, and holding ceremony space.
⚖ Cultural & Spiritual Sensitivity Exercises
Real-world situations and discussion about family dynamics, interfaith relationships, and the respectful use of sacred traditions.
➜ Your Personal Action Plan
Identify a specific next step toward establishing or strengthening your officiant practice.
▶ Weekly Recordings
Revisit workshop content or catch up on a session you miss.
You'll also have opportunities for small-group conversation, peer connection, and community learning.
Is This Workshop for You?
Aspiring Wedding Officiants & Celebrants
You're interested in creating personal ceremonies but want guidance on where to begin, how to work with couples, and what practical responsibilities come with the role.
You don't need to have officiated a wedding to participate.
Newly Ordained Ministers & Spiritual Practitioners
You've developed a foundation in spiritual presence, ritual, or ministry, but you're not sure how to translate that training into officiating weddings.
This workshop will help you understand what it takes to move from being qualified or called to officiate into offering that service.
Those Interested in Inclusive Ceremonies
You want to create ceremonies that honor the people involved, including couples whose spiritual lives don't fit neatly within one religious tradition.
Participants from different spiritual, religious, and secular backgrounds, and all levels of experience are welcome.
Officiants Looking to Strengthen Their Practice
Perhaps you've officiated a few weddings but want to refine your speaking, improve how you interview couples, work more thoughtfully with different spiritual traditions, or become more organized in the business side of your work.
Meet Your Facilitator
Rev. Lauri Ingram (she/her)
Rev. Lauri Ingram was ordained in 2019 and has since officiated more than 100 weddings, from intimate elopements to full celebrations.
She has received WeddingWire's Couples' Choice Award (2023–2026), The Knot's Best of Weddings (2023–2026) and Hall of Fame recognition, and Zola's Best of 2026, based on five-star reviews.
Drawing on a corporate background and formal public speaking training, Lauri helps fellow officiants move from ordination into a working, sustainable practice.
Her approach goes beyond writing ceremony scripts. She emphasizes listening deeply to couples, navigating family and spiritual dynamics, and helping people discover the ceremony they may not yet have the words to describe.
Workshop Registration
General Public: $160
OSLA Affiliated Alumni: $125
Your registration includes both sessions, workshop materials, practical exercises, and weekly recordings availbe until June 30, 2027.
Taking more than one workshop?
Buy 3, save 15%. Buy 4, save 20%!
Discount applied automatically at checkout.
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After You Register
You'll receive a confirmation email with instructions for accessing the workshop's Hylo Course Board, where you'll find the Zoom link and workshop materials.
Can't attend live? The recording will be available within 72 hours of the workshop and accessible through June 30, 2027.
Questions? Contact help@1spirit.org.
