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My fiance did it for a friend's wedding and my aunt did it for my mom, other aunt's, and my wedding. Yes, it is legal to be ordained online. I think my fiance did Rose Ministries or something. Really easy and a great way to make your ceremony personal!
We had a friend do it for our wedding. It was perfect...and legal!
Check your local jurisdiction......my fiance's mom works at the courthouse and says their county (or whole state, i'm not really sure) does NOT recognize this type of ordainment. Just check with your courthouse first.
I think this is a lovely idea - but one teensy suggestion: make sure you know the tone that you want for your ceremony. I went to one wedding where the groom's brother married the couple, and it was more like a drawn-out reception speech (complete with a dirty joke thrown in) than a wedding ceremony. Whatever you do, just make sure the person you choose has a clear idea of the atmosphere you're looking for, and consider creating an outline for him/her to follow.
I was in a wedding where the bride's oldest brother was ordained for the day and performed the ceremony in a garden. It was very special, personal and memorable and he did a wonderful job.
If you end up hiring someone you don't know, try to fill the ceremony with readings, poems, personal stories and songs read/performed by friends and family - that could give you the best of both worlds - a professional officiant with a personal touch.
Davids_Bridal_F12732.jpg (10.5 KB, 48 downloads) 2 years old 
Definitely check with your local courthouse (or whoever processes marriage certificates) to make sure that they will recognize this as a legal marriage.
We had a friend become ordained for us, and we wouldn't have had it any other way! We worked with her to write our ceremony, so it was exactly the tone that we wanted (followed a church-like ceremony, but was waaaaay more personal.)
Our close friend was commissioned for a day to perform the ceremony and it was absolutely perfect. Check with your county clerk's office to see what is necessary. While it wasn't a problem for us, Wiglet has a good suggestion in being clear about the tone for the ceremony. This is good for any ceremony, whether it is a person you know or not. Good luck!
If you go to www.openordination.com there is a link to check the individual state laws regarding this issue. I live in Indiana, and my uncle is being ordained on this site so he can dress up like Elvis to perform our ceremony. 
I'm getting married in October in North Carolina (Chatham County), and am doing the same thing, but with my dad becoming ordained. The official language of the North Carolina law is basically that any minister ordained by his/her church to perform the ceremony will be recognized. Other states only recognize specific religions, but I think NC is pretty lax about that. It MAY vary by county, but I don't think it does.
Good luck!!
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Hi all- We're getting married in Charlotte, NC and do not regularly attend a church. I know you can "rent-an-officiant" for the ceremony, and we're considering that. But I'd prefer that it be someone that we know and knows us well. I always hear about people being ordained online to perform ceremonies and I was wondering if anyone here's had any experience with it. We'd love to do that but want to be sure everything is legal and on the up and up. Thoughts/advice??