Imagine finding that special someone you want to spend forever with. The feeling is mutual, and the two of you have agreed to tie the knot. You have the support of family and friends. You’ve picked a date. You’re making arrangements for your nuptials. There’s nothing standing in the way of your marriage. You’re both adults planning to declare your intent to marry in front of the requisite number of witnesses. You just need to find someone to legally officiate your wedding.
If you’re a straight couple planning to have a traditional ceremony according to an established religion or faith, finding a minister is just a matter of confirming availability. Although same-sex marriage is legal throughout the United States, some gay couples struggle to find a member of the clergy who can accommodate them. Alternatively, couples who want to marry in unusual settings may also find it difficult to find a legal officiant besides a judge or justice of the peace.
Enter the Universal Life Church
The Universal Life Church believes each person has a right to direct their own spiritual journey. To that end, the ULC has a free ordination program that fully authorizes anyone to perform marriage ceremonies. You don’t need to enroll in law school or seminary to officiate weddings. Many people have become ordained through the ULC to legally marry couples, often to help out friends, strangers, and those who can’t find a minister. Several celebrities and public figures are ordained ministers, including actor, filmmaker, and podcast host Dax Shepard.
All About Dax
Dax Shepard started his career in show business performing as part of an improv troupe in the late 1990s. In 2003, he landed a role on the TV show “Punk’d” which allowed him to flex his muscles as an improv actor and comic. Shepard began to pick up more roles on the small screen and big screen throughout the 2000s and into the next decade. During this time, he met fellow actor and future wife, Kristen Bell. The two began dating in 2007 and, by 2010, were ready to become spouses.
Although Shepard and Bell announced their engagement, they opted to postpone their wedding until same-sex marriage was legal in the state of California. After the US Supreme Court declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in June of 2013, the couple got married later that year at the Beverly Hills County Clerk’s Office.
In 2022, Dax Shepard appeared on an episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to promote his podcast “Armchair Expert” and the TV show “Top Gear America,” which he hosts. Shepard wore a tan suit in the episode, which prompted Jimmy Kimmel to comment on how dapper Shepard looked. Shepard revealed he was inspired to wear the suit because it was what he wore recently to officiate the wedding of his friends, Matt and Laura. He briefly discussed his online ordination, acknowledging that Kimmel (who is also a ULC-ordained minister) had also officiated weddings.
A Knack for Marriage
Shepard and Kimmel shared their experiences about being asked to do weddings and reassuring the couples about the content in their wedding scripts. Shepard revealed that a relative of the couple who didn’t know who he was, approached him after the ceremony and suggested he pursue a career in show business. While you don’t have to be a public figure to marry people, you can imagine Shepard’s talent as a host and entertainer served him well as a minister.
Anyone can be a ULC-ordained minister, whether famous or not. Whether you want to help friends or strangers, you can fulfill this critical role. The ULC not only provides the paperwork to make you official, but it also provides resources to help you serve others with a ministry of marriage.