Celebrations
“We could not have asked for a more perfect wedding officiant!”
Contact Chris: chris.highland@gmail.com
“Having Chris as our officiant was a life saver, his background and approach meshed perfectly with both of our needs for the wedding. For a little background, my wife and I both have religious families, but wanted a star wars themed ceremony–you’d think this would’ve been tough, but Chris was able to guide us through in a way that pleased everyone.
Weddings are about you, and your significant other. They’re a celebration of love, and commitment, and Chris always made sure to keep the focus on that, and honestly, gave a flawless performance as our officiant. He understood our goals and desires, and on top of that, is an awesome person to have a beer with.
We can’t recommend Chris highly enough, if you’re looking for a professional, open minded, and thoughtful officiant, you can’t go wrong with him.”
“You were excellent and thank you for bearing with me and tell me to breathe when I was trying to hold back my tears through my vows! It was a huge help! The day went by so quickly but you were a soothing voice throughout the craziness!”
“It was an absolutely magical day. Everyone came up to us and said it was the most beautiful wedding ceremony that they had ever been to. We have you to thank for that—you will always be in our hearts for making it so special for us and for our family and friends.”
“We can’t thank you enough for making our ceremony so very special.”
“We really enjoyed having you as our Officiant and you could not have done a more spectacular job.”
“Thank you again for everything you did to make our day so very memorable, special, and uniquely ours!!”
“We wanted to thank you for the wonderful ceremony you performed for us on Saturday. Our guests agreed that you did an exceptional job putting our relationship into words, and we were positively giddy watching it again yesterday on video. We can’t thank you enough.”
We were so appreciative of your kindness, personalization and the endearing way that you addressed us during the ceremony. Thank you for being so easy to work with, for having great ideas that enhanced our ceremony and also just for being willing to go through that special day with us!”
Personally designed secular ceremonies:
*Weddings: Wife & Husband; Wife & Wife or Husband & Husband
*Passages: Recognition of important thresholds such as graduations, days of birth, namings or seasons
“Our backyard ceremony to name our daughter and plant a tree was fun and amazing! Thank you so much.”
*Memorials: Remembering, honoring and celebrating life
“I think [today’s memorial] went just as our dad would have liked it…calm, reflective and joyous…thank you for leading through this difficult period of our lives.”
Celebrations are creatively crafted by You and Me; each fresh event is uniquely personal.
These wonderful moments are centered and grounded in Nature and the natural world of which we are a small but significant part. Words are great, but so is silence, music, simplicity, and long, deep, calming breaths. Together we participate in a meaningful, communal experience that is respectful, delightful, enjoyable and memorable.
I’ve been performing weddings and other special celebrations since the 1980’s when I was ordained as a Presbyterian Minister. I left that Protestant ordination in 2001 but retain legal standing as a Humanist Celebrant (I hold a Master’s degree from a fully-accredited theological institution plus 30+ years of experience).
Though a freethinker (in the historic tradition of amazing individuals like Thomas Paine, Frances Wright, Walt Whitman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Lucretia Mott, Robert Ingersoll and John Burroughs), my years as an Interfaith Chaplain as well as friendships and family relationships with people of faith keep me connected to the world of religious experience (after all, I’m married to a wonderful woman who is a minister herself).
In other words, I’m sensitive to consider words or music in a ceremony that reflect a couple’s feelings … within reason of course (smile).
See: Secular Weddings (CNN)
Contact Chris by email: chris.highland@gmail.com
Friendly Freethinker 
Chris, I am looking for an officiant for my wedding in october 2017, do you do weddings in the canton, NC area?