Hi, I'm Colin.
I live in Charlotte and I officiate secular weddings and elopements here. My day job is helping companies make complicated processes simple, and that's the whole idea behind Charlotte Elopements: the legal part of getting married should be as easy as booking a table.
I keep ceremonies warm, short, and about the two of you. No religious language, no lectures, and no judgment about how or why you're getting married today.
How a secular officiant is authorized in NC
North Carolina is stricter than most states. Its marriage law, G.S. 51-1, allows ceremonies by a magistrate or by an ordained or authorized minister of a religious denomination, and NC courts have been skeptical of instant online ordinations.
Colin is completing his endorsement as a Humanist Society Celebrant. The Humanist Society is a long-standing national body that endorses humanist clergy and celebrants, which is the path secular officiants in North Carolina rely on instead of one-click online ordinations. We only confirm ceremony dates once that endorsement is in place.
None of this changes your ceremony. A humanist celebrant performs a fully secular ceremony; the endorsement is about the paperwork, not the content.
Ceremony styles
The express signing (about 5 minutes)
A welcome, a few sentences about why you're here, the declaration of intent, and your signatures. Perfect when the legal part is the goal and the celebration comes later.
The personal elopement (10 to 15 minutes)
Before the day we trade a few emails about your story. I write a short ceremony around it, with room for your own vows, a reading, a ring exchange, or a moment with the people who came.
Vows only
You've written your vows and want an officiant who keeps everything else out of the way. Done.
What a secular ceremony sounds like
"We're here because two people have decided to build a life together, and they wanted the people who matter most to see it. Marriage asks for patience, humor, and showing up for each other on ordinary days. Today you promise to do that."
Then the legal part: each of you says you take the other as your spouse, I pronounce you married under North Carolina law, and you sign.
Everyone is welcome
Same-sex couples, interfaith and no-faith couples, second marriages, couples on a visa or military timeline, and couples who just want it done. If you're legally able to marry in North Carolina, I'm glad to marry you.
Book
Express signings are $120. Local elopements are $175. Need witnesses? Add two for $50.