$100 for starters, I say.

Here's the lady who did our ceremony thing.

Did you post a very responsible- and professional-looking photo of yourself in your ad? People want to picture who's going to marry them.

Cost of travel/accommodation plus an invite to the reception and open bar, and $100 on top. :)

We had my step-grandmother marry us, so it was free. But I think her normal fee is a couple of hundred, and she's even been flown to Bali from NZ to marry a couple, so I guess she's a special case. She also often takes care of (prerecorded) music and the required paperwork.

Find out what the typical religous representative costs and charge half of that.

$100 seems pretty cheap.

Well, the venue will be provided by the clients and it's not like klangklang is a celebrity marrier.. er.

How long do the clients expect the ceremony to be? Will you show up, hang out during the preliminaries, speak your spiel, witness the signatures, shake hands and leave, or would you be there for the entire ceremony + reception?

I think that tracicle's setup is fair for a novice marrierer. Hey, if you can do a kickass job, maybe word will spread and you'll become a celebrity marrierer, in which case, feel free to charge what the market will bear.

I gave the guy who did mine $100 plus open bar, reception, etc - and that was in 1994, so probably $200 now.

Moonbird comes out of the closet and confesses...

I've been ordained for nearly 10 years now and have performed, jeez, more than I can count (and I'm heavily booked this year already). For total strangers, I will not quote an exact price, but instead suggest that they talk it over and discuss what it's worth to them. Since I do some pre-marital counseling, it's usually worth more than 150 clams. I will quote 150-200 as the going local rate if they are mutually anal and need a range.

I've gotten as little as a $25 gift card to Borders Books, and as much as $800.

For me, there is nothing quite as thrilling as being witness to two people as they look into each other's eyes and find sanctuary in that odd and anxious moment before their friends. Please feel free to contact me if you need any marketing / service design tips.

don't do it if it's a scam in your mind--please.

I'll gladly pay $100, klangklang. Does that fee include a bride? Brunette, please.

If it includes a bride, I'll take six, and I'll toss in travel expenses to Utah.

I've always wanted a different bride for each day of the week.

But what happens when the honeymoon is over? You've got six women who have a piece you you... and when they leave, do they all take half of what you've got? I doubt that they'll settle for a seventh.

" don't do it if it's a scam in your mind--please."

Well, the reason I feel it's a scam is because I don't necessarily think that people NEED someone to marry them. I think that marriage is a wonderful thing, but I don't see a state connection to it on any rational level, honestly. I'm a good public speaker, I look good cleaned up and in a suit, and I'm solid on bringing a gravity to pronunciations. But if it were left up to me all marriages would be private affairs conducted by the people involved solely.
This is something that I think I'd be good at, yet don't place any real weight in purely as ritual. Perhaps its my inner liberal, but I kinda feel like the role that I play— magic handwaiving and state-sanctioned paper signing is kinda silly. I love the idea of people getting married, I love the idea of marriage, but I don't feel any real connection to tradition or standing on ceremony (which may be why I support gay marriage whole-heartedly, and would gladly perform ceremonies for them despite our state's moronic legal prohibition).
I dunno. Maybe I've been tainted by the fact that a couple of friends have gone the Justice of the Peace route and been married for $10 in the courthouse. I'd like to provide a little more venue flexibility and decorum, but when people say $100 it seems insanely high. (I would say that's the other part of the scam— I kinda feel like I'm scamming people any time I get more than about $10 per hour for freelance work, and marrying people for $100 seems to fit that bill unless I put a lot more into it than I forsee. $25 at Borders sounds much more fair and less scammish. Unless I need a tux).
But thanks everybody, I feel more comfortable and hopefully this will progress into something that I can ask for more advice over.

I totally want in. Where can I get a certified ordination? Oh hell, I'll just Google it.

Would being an athesit count against me? I mean, I'm married and monogamous and all, I just don't believe there's a bearded wizard in the sky waiting for me to fuck shit up.

But if it were left up to me all marriages would be private affairs conducted by the people involved solely.
This is something that I think I'd be good at, yet don't place any real weight in purely as ritual. Perhaps its my inner liberal, but I kinda feel like the role that I play— magic handwaiving and state-sanctioned paper signing is kinda silly. I love the idea of people getting married, I love the idea of marriage, but I don't feel any real connection to tradition or standing on ceremony (which may be why I support gay marriage whole-heartedly, and would gladly perform ceremonies for them despite our state's moronic legal prohibition).

Marriages are a legal contract more than a spiritual thing, at least in this country, no matter what people may say--Justices of the Peace and City Halls are not spiritual or religious places and millions marry at them each year. You'd be bestowing over 1500 rights and privileges to the people you marry and their families if they're straight.