Wedding Officiant
Your Wedding. Your Way.
If you’re looking for a memorable, stress-free, and affordable way to marry the love of your life, look no further than right here. Meet Mike Beato. He’s a registered non-denominational minister in the Universal Life Church – often referred by clergy for those couples who need a sound alternative to a conventional church wedding.
Maybe you don’t want, can’t have, or can’t afford a traditional church wedding, but you still need someone to legally officiate your ceremony.
That’s where I can help.
I’m based in Buffalo, New York but am happy to travel anywhere for your wedding. I’d love to talk with you if you’re looking for a traditional, secular, civil, spiritual, religious, unconventional, or LGBTQ wedding ceremony!
MIKE BEATO
Respect for Marriage Act
The Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404) was signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 13, 2022. This new law:
- Repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
- Requires the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states and territories recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages in the United States.
- Protects religious liberty.
This is wonderful news for same-sex marriages! Please let me know if you’d like to discuss scheduling a same-sex wedding.
Getting Married
Marriage is for everyone in love, as it should be.
Loving couples come from different backgrounds and faiths – or sometimes no faith at all. My personal wedding ceremonies are designed to be respectful to all. I am happy to work with you to create a personal, caring ceremony that meets your own specific desires.
Unfortunately, some religious institutions have arbitrary rules about who they will and will not marry, and even where they’re willing to perform a wedding ceremony. I welcome diversity and loving creativity in weddings. I believe:
- The lack of church membership or religious affiliation should not be a barrier to getting married.
- It doesn’t matter if one or both individuals are divorced and their marriage was not annulled.
- Blending different faith traditions can be a wonderful way to build a life together.
- Indoor, outdoor, and themed weddings can be beautiful. The only restriction is your own imagination.
- You should marry who you love. I fully support marriage equality and embrace same-sex weddings.
Wedding Services
My ceremonies are relaxed, personal, and customized to a couple’s requests. I offer these types of weddings:
- Religious
- Spiritual
- Non-Denominational
- Interfaith
- Traditional
- Contemporary
- Civil
- Same-Sex
- Vow Renewals
- Religious
- Spiritual
- Non-Denominational
- Interfaith
- Traditional
- Contemporary
- Civil
- Same-Sex
- Vow Renewals
For destination weddings, there’s a growing trend for couples to have a simple wedding ceremony prior to the trip in order to eliminate complications and legal issues with remote locales or countries. If this is something you’re planning, I would be more than happy to officiate your wedding before your travels begin.
If you’re ready to plan your wedding, please fill out this questionnaire so that we can create a truly memorable wedding ceremony for you!
Love Letters
“Mike took his time sitting down with us as a couple to gather some inside jokes and the history of our relationship and made a very private ceremony feel regal and special. We cannot recommend a more special person to share one of the most important days of your lives. ”
Andrea & Michael
“Mike’s been a friend for 30+ years, and we were so excited to hear he’d become ordained. He was the perfect person to perform our wedding! He was organized, he did his homework (asking us in detail what we wanted, didn’t want, etc.) and he made our small, outdoor ceremony intimate, personal and perfect.”
Nancy & Bobby
“My wife and I were searching for a celebrant to perform our wedding recently when a mutual friend mentioned that Mike Beato was recently ordained. We arranged to meet with Mike and realized from that initial introduction, Mike was the person we wanted to perform our intimate outdoor wedding ceremony. When we met, Mike asked pertinent questions, took notes, listened to our desires and offered suggestions.
On our wedding day Mike was the utmost professional. He was fully prepared and dignified. Mike was simply the best! We highly recommend Mike as a Professional Wedding Celebrant.”
Peggy & Brian
“Thank you so much, Mike!”
Sharon & Louie
“Thanks for everything, Mike!”
Andrea & Joe
“I was blown away by the ceremony. I guess I just thought it was not going to be as beautiful as it was! I told everyone what an amazing job you did. 👏👏 Hope to see you soon.
Thank you so much for making this so easy!”
Tina & Carm
Pricing
Classic Ceremony
$200
- Initial telephone, email interview planning session
- Personalized options based on couple’s requests
- Arrive 45 minutes prior to ceremony
- Perform wedding ceremony or vow renewal
- File marriage license
Customized Ceremony
$250-350
All items from Classic Ceremony, plus:
- In-Person meeting
- Additional ceremony customization options
Optional
Expenses
Rehearsal: If a ceremony is more involved, a rehearsal may be necessary. Rehearsal fee is an additional $100.
Travel Expenses: Additional travel expenses may apply depending on distance and other variables, per the couple’s request.
Contact
Contact me with more information and to discuss potential dates.