I received the strangest request for a favor I’ve ever received this week: a friend asked me to officiate his wedding (it’s not until a few months), which is odd for two reasons:
1- I’m neither an ordained minister/JP or otherwise licensed to officiate a wedding
2- I’m to officiate it while wearing Star Fleet regalia.
The friend assures me that if I become ordained by the Universal Life Church then I will be legally qualified to perform a wedding.
He also states that the ceremony he wants was on an episode of The Drew Carey Show in which two characters had a Star Trek wedding.
Questions:
Does anybody know the name of this episode or even which characters were married on the episode so that I can see if I can dig it up? (I know who Drew is and I know who Mimi is, but I’ve only seen one or two episodes of the show in its entire run.)
Does anybody know the validity of the Universal Life Church?
Does anybody have any suggestions for where to look for any other Star Trek wedding vows?
Yes, I am a member (and ordained minister) of the Universal Life Church. They legally ordain ministers. I think basically they read the laws regarding marriages/priesthood, etc. and constructed a system almost totally bereft of specific spirituality that would be legally allowed to officiate not only weddings, but other traditional clergy tasks as well. One could do weddings in Star Trek attire, in the nude, or whatever. Requirements vary by state as to what proof you require, but the ULC will provide whatever you need. Of course they hope you will buy something from them, but I never did and you don’t have to either… you are on your own for the Star Trek uniform of course.
visit their official website here and check them out.
One piece of advice… when you actually get ready to be ‘ordained’ over the internet, be somewhere where you can print out your certificate. This is the only proof of your ordination that you can get for free. Also, you don’t actually technically need that proof, since state authorities will just check with the home church in Modesto, CA.
Drew Cary is f***ing funny! I don’t think I saw that episode though. I do remember one episode of Friends where Joey was going to become an ‘internet minister’…
Note: I have not yet officiated any weddings, but plan to take out an ad to do so on weekends in whatever style/denomination/religion/philosophy desired. I believe it is the act of making the commitment and the undertaking of a ritual that are significant, not the window dressing as I call it (read: specific belief system)
i think there was a wedding where louis was the officiate and drew and kate were unmarried. kate was jealous of a coworker having a shower and all sorts of presents. so they threw her an unwedding. i remember louis wearing a star trek uniform while conducting the ceremony at the bar. i seem to remember hand cuffs as well.
was this what your friend was thinking of? it was very early on in the show, first or second season.
I don’t know about Georgia, but in California anybody can get a “Deputy Marriage Commissioner” license (valid for one day) to perform a marriage. It might be worth the question to have your friend ask about it when he gets his marriage license.
Notary publics… er, notaries public are allowed to perform marriages. I don’t know about the legal validity or ULC marriages. As I recall, it costs about $30 to become a notary and you’ve got to take some kind of course. Dave Barry is a notary and went and performed someone’s wedding a few years back.
I spent half my life (so far) in Georgia, and I’ve never heard of anything like the “Deputy Marriage Commissioner” gig that The Devil’s Grandmother mentioned above. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist though.
Marriage laws vary wildly by state. Some states (IIRC, Mississippi is like this; I know Missouri has something like this) require that the officiant not only be ordained by somone, they have to have a congregation “in good standing.” In Texas, on the other hand, anyone who both parties to the weeding agree is authorized to perform the marriage is so authorized, as long as they can sign the certificate. (This is a good thing for Quakers and other religious groups that don’t technically have clergy.)
I would advise you to check the laws of your state. This website doesn’t have a complete list, but I believe Georgia’s on there.
Tell 'em to get married at Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas - I’m sure they do it all the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if they rented out uniforms as well.
And remember, you have to wear a dress uniform (knee-length tunic or white/gold uniform, doesn’t matter).
As Omorka noted, it’s all up to the state law. I can ensure you that in Virginia, for instance, notary publics are not permitted to officiate at weddings – only ordained clergy or judges.
I’d third, fourth or whatever the comment that it varies significantly by state.
A number of states have court rulings that a Universal Life Church “minister” is not considered a minister qualified to perform weddings under the laws of those states. Some other states have rulings just the opposite.