Why I Got Into The Business Of LGBTA Marriages

I never saw myself doing this.

I can’t say that when I was growing up, I told myself I was going to be a minister. In fact, I’m more of the sports type of person. I live and breathe sports. I live and breathe gym time, the outdoors, life. Being a minister wasn’t anywhere near my idea of things that I was planning on doing in my life whatsoever.

When my friend told me she was engaged to the guy she had been seeing for years, I couldn’t have been more excited for her. I never thought that the conversation we had would lead to me becoming a minister. She needed someone to marry the two of them, and I jokingly said that I would do it. I was soon to find myself applying to become a minister later that evening.

When I had gone to work the next morning, a coworker of mine told me that the LGBTA community really needed ministers that were affordable because they were charging such high prices. I guess when you can’t marry in a church, finding a minister that doesn’t want to capitalize on the legalizing of marriage is incredibly difficult. When I heard this, I realized that maybe I could make this something of my own. I’ve always wanted my own business, something in my name, and I had no reason to charge a lot of money for weddings, besides the time it was going to take. I already had a good paying job. I realized that I could enter in a market that was going uphill in pricing because other ministers knew that they could.

A few days later I had left the country, a trip I had planned months in advance, and had really given this ministry thing a thought. I’ve learned that while vacations don’t seem all that productive, are actually the best way to clear the mind and focus on what’s really going on in life. I knew that I never wanted to get married unless I was absolutely crazy about someone, which is pretty impossible since I can’t commit on what to eat for breakfast and tend to get bored of people really quickly if they are’t enthralling. Marrying other people could be an amazing chance to change the lives of others and save them money while doing it.

And so I started a wedding officiant business for the LGTBA community.

Over the past month, I’ve gotten a lot of laughter from friends that don’t take me seriously. At first, it was kind of funny since it was completely out of my field of work. But as I looked more into it, I realized I was more interested in changing the way wedding ministers are viewed. I’ve had people tell me that I’m taking away the value of marriage by not being a “real minister” and marrying those that identify as LGTBA.

But if there’s anything that I’ve learned in the process of opening a business that markets itself as LGTBA is people can say what they want. I went into this business because I can make a change in the world, especially those that never had the chance to marry before. I’ve done my research, I’ve learned the process of marriage. I know as much as any other minister on the market, whether or not I like to speak to that loudly. The process of becoming a minister is incredibly challenging and rewarding.

The chance to marry those that didn’t have the chance to marry before is the most exciting thing about this business. That above all reasons is why I got into the business of marriage.