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Dusty Hoesly, Postdoctoral Researcher in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

Just about anybody in America can officiate a wedding, thanks to the internet – and one determined preacher

Who did the honors: clergy, a justice of the peace or just a friend? More and more weddings are performed by someone ordained online. Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Wedding season is here again, and my calendar is filling up – not just as a guest.

Over the past 15 years, I have officiated over 20 weddings for friends and family, plus nearly 200 more as a part-time professional wedding officiant. These weddings have ranged from simple elopements to fancy ceremonies before hundreds of guests. They have taken place at farms, beaches, mountaintops, hotels, wineries and warehouses – but never at a church. They have been secular, spiritual, religious and interfaith.

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