Love & Wisdom Inc.

Love & Wisdom Inc. serves mostly as officiants in Western North Carolina, but we also serve the greater Charlotte area, Upstate South Carolina, and some areas in Tennessee and Georgia. Check out our growing list of locations we serve here. https://loveandwisdominc.com/about-us/faq/locations-areas-served/

We made the recent decision to only offer our Custom Ceremony because we have found that every couple needs some level of customization. Our Signature Ceremony was a non-customized pre-written wedding ceremony script that we are no longer offering because couples were realizing, once they got into the process, that they really do need more personalized aspects. Even couples who are having a very small wedding and just need something "short and sweet" still need their ceremony to reflect their preferred level of religious tone, humor, and length, just to name a few things. So, there's really no one-size-fits-all ceremony script, and when we create a Custom Ceremony, we take great pride in crafting something special and unique for each couple.

Yes, our professional officiant, photographer, and musician will meet you at the location of your choice to capture the magic of your intimate elopement ceremony. This is a wonderful option if you want a super simple wedding, and you already have a location in mind for the ceremony. We're happy to customize this package based on your wants and needs, and we can suggest wonderful venues options too.

Yes, we have an optional program called the Pre "I Do" Essentials program that is available for free to all of our clients. Other couples can purchase this on our website below. This is a great alternative to traditional premarital counseling that I created in order to help strengthen the foundation of your relationship. It's a self-guided online course that you and your partner work through together at your own pace. It consists of four fundamental conversations you need to have in order to avoid major issues and stay on the path to a happy and lasting marriage. https://loveandwisdominc.com/online-courses/

Always! Not only do we have over a dozen NC officiants at Love & Wisdom Inc., but we also maintain great relationships with other officiants in the area. We always have at least one officiant on call just in case there is an emergency. We take your wedding day experience very seriously, so it is important to have this plan in place for everyone’s peace of mind.

Love and Wisdom Inc. has taken affirmative steps to protect our clients and ensure the validity of the marriages over which we preside. All of our officiants have been ordained by organizations that require specific qualifications and adherence to a particular doctrine, which satisfies the requirements of NC written law and case law. Our officiants must go through a process of ordination and are not permitted to rely solely on ordination by the Universal Life Church or any other similar organization that grants instant ordination with no requirements or qualifications. We require all of our officiants to keep up-to-date valid ordination certificates on file in case this were ever to come into question.

If you get married by a minister of the Universal Life Church, American Marriage Ministries, or a similar organization that grants “instant ordinations” online, your marriage could be deemed void in a court of law. In one particular case that was decided by the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1980, State v. Lynch, 301 N.C. 479, the court held that a marriage presided over by an officiant ordained by the Universal Life Church wasn't properly validated because the Universal Life Church has no real requirements for ordination other than the submission of one’s name, and it adheres to no particular doctrine such that the court would identify it as a religious denomination. This case has been used as precedent in a court of law to deem Universal Life Church ministers unqualified to officiate marriage ceremonies in NC as recently as 2018. Hence, marriages performed by ULC ministers in NC are considered to be “voidable". This may be extended to American Marriage Ministries or similar groups.

Yes, you and your partner are responsible for acquiring a marriage license from the state in which you are getting married before your wedding ceremony. Where you live doesn't matter, it's where your wedding ceremony will take place. Each state has different marriage licensing laws, and you can find more information on marriage licensing in NC, SC, GA, and TN on this page on our Asheville officiants website. https://loveandwisdominc.com/marriage-license-info/

Yes on both counts. We require a 50% deposit at the time of booking, with the remaining balance due 30 days prior to your wedding date. For bookings placed less than 30 days before the big day, we ask for payment in full upon booking. We are paperless, and we accept all credit and debit cards, payable by convenient and secure online invoices.

Yes, we have a two-million-dollar liability insurance policy that covers every wedding officiant that works for Love & Wisdom Inc. This is sometimes required by certain venues, but the obvious benefit here is peace of mind.

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Oh-fish-ee-ant. Not many people use the term on a regular basis, so don’t feel bad if you didn’t know how to pronounce it. It simply refers to the “official person” who performs (or officiates) a ceremony. Some people incorrectly use the term “officiate,” which is a verb, not a noun.