You’ll notice I never use the word “joke” in describing what I do.

Because I don’t tell jokes at your wedding.

There’s an important difference between humor and “a joke.” I love to laugh, and I think you and your guests want to, too. But I steer away from “jokes” that can be said of any couple anywhere, anytime. And I find that gender-based or honeymoon jokes (for example) are almost always cringe-inducing at best and offensive at worst.

Any of the humor in your ceremony will be about a funny memory in your own story from your first impressions of each other, your first date, or your proposal, and it will be something that you told me about. I don’t tell jokes. What I do is find those lighthearted and contrasting occasions in your love story that make us laugh. And those are the moments captured in all those photos.

I am a Certified Life-Cycle Wedding Celebrant with a certification from the world-renowned Celebrant Foundation and Institute®. 

Celebrants are ceremony specialists who have a solid background in the history of ritual and ceremony, and the traditions of many cultures, beliefs and religions. They are experts in composing ceremonies, managing rehearsals and performing life-cycle ceremonies. 

Celebrants are also experienced in the art of ceremonial public speaking. They undergo a full eight months of study and evaluation before they are given the title of Life-Cycle Celebrant.

Besides being a trained ceremony professional, I am an ordained non-denominational minister which allows me to legally officiate marriages in the state of North Carolina. However, I come with no religious agenda. I honor and respect all philosophies, beliefs and traditions - secular, spiritual, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, agnostic, interfaith, atheist, wicken, earthy, artistic, cultural, or totally avant-garde. I also welcome the LGBTQ community.

After we meet and you decide to book me, I send you an email with a link to an online payment portal. You can pay by credit card or PayPal online. I ask for a 50% booking deposit as a retainer, and I ask for the remaining 50% four weeks before your wedding date. You also have the option of paying my full fee at the time of booking.

In order for your marriage to be legal, you must present your marriage license to your officiant and after declaring you married, the officiant and two witnesses (I can supply the witnesses for you, if needed) must sign the license. After all parties have signed the license, the officiant will file it with the Register of Deeds office in the county in which you obtained the license. After the Register of Deeds office records the license (usually within a week) you can request a certified copy that can be used to prove you are married and change your name.

To apply for your marriage license, go to any county Register of Deeds office in North Carolina and apply for it. You can find your local North Carolina Register of Deeds office here.

Note that BOTH parties getting married are required to be present at the Register of Deeds to apply for a license. You can do some of the paperwork ahead of time on the RoD website. The application fee is $60. The license must be used within 60 days, so plan accordingly!

This has never happened, but fortunately I have a deep bench of several licensed and experienced colleagues who I know would knock your ceremony out of the park as well as I would. Your ceremony will already be completely written by me, of course, and I would call on one of my colleagues to seamlessly step in and read and perform what you and I have created together.