Will you marry us?

Not in a Big Love kind of way. In a I-now-pronounce-you-man-and-wife kind of way.

Until now, we've had a lot of good luck with securing the folks that are going to play important roles in our day. Originally, we had hoped that my cousin would be willing to get ordained online to perform the ceremony. While he is very supportive of our relationship, he didn't feel that he was the appropriate person to do the honors. So we are now trying to find a stranger.

I'm not gonna lie... I'm pretty bummed that some random person will be our officiant. We aren't religious, so we don't have a pastor to ask. I'm not sure asking a friend at this point would feel right. I've looked extensively online and only found 2 people in Laughlin that may perform non-denominational weddings. To say that I'm nervous is an understatement. The ceremony will be less than 10 minutes, but it will be the most important 10 minutes of my life. And since we live 9 hours from our ceremony site, we won't have a lot of time to really get to know this person.

So, I kind of saw this coming, but I am still sad. I'm sure it will be perfectly fine. But I'm not sure "fine" will be enough for the person pronouncing us husband and wife. *sigh*

Are/were you married by a stranger? What did you do to better acquaint yourselves before the big day? Was it awkward? Any do's and don't's that you can share?