Being jilted at the altar is every bride’s worst nightmare. But in the case of Andrea Lech-Cormier, it wasn’t her husband who failed to show up. It was their wedding officiant.
Less than 24 hours before “I do’s” were said, the officiant, who Cormier had hired through a Facebook group, failed to show up at the rehearsal dinner.
Cormier said she paid a deposit to the officiant, who said she’d be at the rehearsal the day before the nuptials.
“[At the rehearsal], we were all waiting for her to come around 5:45 p.m.,” Cormier said.
Then “6 p.m. came, 6:30 came, and she was nowhere to be seen. I kept calling, calling. She didn’t pick up. I messaged her over text, email, Facebook Messenger, everything. She did not answer any of them, and she blocked me.”
Cormier had a cousin at the rehearsal dinner who was married just a couple of months before. Her cousin called the officiant she had used, who made it to the wedding the following day just in time.
For Cormier, the incident was less about her lost deposit of $50, and more about the stress it caused her just hours before her big day. After celebrations were had, she returned to a local Facebook group to warn others, where she then found multiple instances of other brides complaining about the same person, who CBC News has confirmed was registered as an officiant with the province of Ontario.
“I think I’m the first [to speak up]. It’s a simple 50 bucks, but for someone to do that, that’s pretty bad. I was very stressed out that day,” Cormier said.
With so many details to worry about ahead of a wedding, the reliability of your officiant may not be top of mind. But one wedding professional says there are steps you can take to help prevent any issues.
“I always say: Check references. Don’t just check one or read one testimonial. Actually talk to people who have used them. With officiants in particular, I would recommend they contact vital statistics or the data list with the province,” said Cathy MacRae with the Association of Bridal Consultants Canada.
The officiant was granted a licence through the Bancroft Spiritual Centre. Rev. Rita Browning, who is with the centre, said that their program involves a full one-year course made up of multiple components, and isn’t just for the purpose of wedding officiants.
“It takes a year to go through all of our [ministry] courses and then we register them with the provincial government. We don’t license somebody just to do weddings. We’re a full ministry, we’re trying to get people out there to help other people and be in the community,” Browning said.
Browning also shared with CBC News that unless a complaint is brought to them, they have no knowledge of incidents like this happening.
Upon getting in touch with the officiant, Browning was able to confirm with CBC News that a decision was made to terminate her licence.
“This is the first time I am hearing complaints about her. [But] we take complaints seriously and follow up on them. When we hear something like this, it automatically goes back to the board of directors,” Browning said.
The officiant, whom CBC News is not naming due to her licence now being revoked, said that a medical emergency had made her unable to use her phone or to attend the wedding.
She said that this is the first time this had happened, despite accusations to the contrary on the Facebook group.
“I sent Andrea her money back, plus $50. I sent her an apology, [I told] my reverend to revoke my licence. I never want to do this to another bride again. I just feel so embarrassed,” said the officiant.
As for Cormier, she said she had not heard from the officiant until this story had been investigated by CBC News. The officiant has since returned $100 to Cormier, along with an emailed apology and confirmation she had agreed to have her licence revoked.
What to do to avoid being jilted by a wedding officiant
There are several preventative measures to ensure that you have booked a reliable and authenticated officiant for a wedding. CBC News spoke to Cathy Macrae, the coordinator for the Association of Bridal Consultants Canada, who provided the tips below:
Always request to see a photo, or proof of documentation of the officiant’s registration. Anyone can fake their credentials online. The document provided should originate from the provincial government and be up to date.
You can authenticate the officiant online. The Ontario Government has published a complete and regularly updated database of all registered wedding officiants in the province. Before conducting business with an officiant, ensure their name is found on this list.
If you are a victim of a no-show, you have options. You can go directly to the province and file a complaint with Ontario vital statistics. You can also contact the ministry with which the officiant was registered to file a complaint and request a license be revoked. The ministry can then send in a request to have a license removed on the government database on your behalf after the case was investigated.
This content was originally published here.