Rent-a-Pastor

Rent-a-Pastor is a German network of wedding speakers (Trauredner) who lead freie Trauungen, personal ceremonies that are mostly secular, across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The site's footer presents Samuel Diekmann as its face, a celebrant for weddings, children's welcome ceremonies and farewells in the Rhein-Main area of Germany "und weit darüber hinaus" (and well beyond), backed by a network that provides replacements across the DACH countries when he is booked. For Switzerland, the network runs region pages for Aarau and Zurich, and both currently list 1 celebrant: Jan Euskirchen, based in Safenwil.

What the network is

The site explains its name. The brand "rent-a-pastor" dates back to its founding in 2013, when the founder still worked as a pastor. Today, it says, the name stands for an ideologically open network of speakers for everyone, and around 90 % of the weddings it covers are free, secular ceremonies with no church reference. The region pages describe the listed speakers as "weltanschaulich offen und auf Wunsch vollständig neutral" (open to all worldviews and fully neutral if you wish), with Christian elements or a personal blessing available on request.

As a network, it also offers organized cover if a speaker cannot make the date, which it calls Ausfallschutz. If a couple's chosen speaker is already booked, the network will suggest alternatives, and it says a request is passed on to other speakers only after checking with the couple.

The network rating shown on the page is 4.93 out of 5 stars, given as based on 592 verified reviews in one place and 567 in another.

The Swiss pages

The Aarau page is titled "Freie Trauung in Aarau, Trauredner in Aargau", and the Zurich page covers the canton of Zurich. Both currently show the same single profile:

• Jan Euskirchen, based in Safenwil. The card lists him as 10 km as the crow flies from Aarau and 44 km from Zurich, tagged "sehr persönlich", "weltanschaulich offen" and "ritualstark" (very personal, open to all worldviews, strong on ritual), with languages "Deutsch, Englisch, Französisch mit Elementen und Italienisch mit Elementen" (German, English, and elements of French and Italian).

The FAQ confirms that multilingual ceremonies are possible where a speaker's profile lists other languages, and advises couples to settle the extent and level of the language directly at the first meeting. For an English-speaking couple, the listed English is the key line.

The site's footer also names further Swiss region pages: Baden, Basel, Olten, Solothurn, Lucerne, Zug and Dietikon.

What it costs

The FAQ gives a price range: for the speaker profiles listed on the page, freie Trauungen currently cost roughly €1,500 to €2,200, depending on the speaker, the work involved, the date, travel and the design the couple wants. Availability and exact prices are confirmed only on request. The figures are in euros, which is worth noting for couples budgeting in Swiss francs.

The matching tool

Both region pages carry a matching tool. A couple enters the ceremony location (all other fields are optional) and a search radius, and can then filter by ceremony language (German, Arabic, English, French, Hebrew or Italian), how secular or Christian the ceremony should be, humor, ritual depth, individuality and emotional tone. An expert mode adds modern life realities, guest involvement, spontaneity, musical dramaturgy, and checkboxes for intercultural openness, cover in case of cancellation, availability beyond the region, destination weddings and LGBTQ-friendliness.

For a couple abroad this is a practical way to shortlist, though on the Swiss pages it currently returns a small pool.

Samuel Diekmann's own reviews

The reviews block holds 23 approved testimonials from weddings, naming ceremonies and vow renewals. Most are for Samuel Diekmann, and they come from ceremonies in German towns such as Mainhausen, Hanau, Aschaffenburg, Offenbach am Main and Karlstein am Main. They describe secular weddings and vow renewals as personal, humorous and moving; one, from Julia and Tobias Schneider, says he shaped their secular ceremony exactly as they had imagined it, and that many guests told them they had never seen such a beautiful ceremony. One four-star review notes a wish for a little more time on individual family stories. None of the reviews on these pages is for a ceremony in Switzerland, and none is for Jan Euskirchen.

Other ceremonies and resources

The menu shows that the network covers more than weddings: free naming ceremonies (Freie Taufe), vow renewals (Eheerneuerungszeremonie) and funeral ceremonies (Bestattungszeremonie), each with its own cost page. There is a dedicated page for LGBTQ couples, a magazine with articles on weddings, naming ceremonies and relationships, a vow-phrase generator (Trauspruchgenerator), and footer links to a quality certificate, ethics standards and publication principles.

The range inside the network is wide. The same reviews block includes 3 testimonials for a different speaker, Arne Giewald, for an Orthodox wedding in Tuscany and an Orthodox baptism, which shows that the network also places speakers for religious ceremonies when couples want one.

What the pages do not settle

• Who leads a Swiss ceremony. The Swiss pages list Jan Euskirchen; the reviews and the footer are about Samuel Diekmann. A couple should confirm who would lead their ceremony, and see that person's own profile.
• Travel. The price range mentions travel as a factor but gives no rate.
• Process. These pages do not describe the meetings, the preparation or how far ahead to book. The menu links to separate pages on Samuel Diekmann's offer and costs.
• Legal side. The pages do not discuss how a freie Trauung relates to the civil wedding.

Booking starts through a request form ("Buchungsanfrage") linked from the menu.

Who it suits

Rent-a-Pastor suits couples in Aargau or around Zurich who like the idea of a network behind their celebrant, with a published price range and cover if the speaker cannot make the date, and who are happy with a German or English ceremony. The matching tool helps couples who want to filter by tone and language before they make contact.

The caveat is that this is a German network with a thin Swiss presence: 1 listed speaker for both Swiss pages, and reviews that come from Germany. Couples should check who their celebrant would be, and ask for references from Swiss ceremonies.