From Accounting to the Altar: Nearly 1,000 Wedding Ceremonies and Counting
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with Bill Billotte for an episode of Lowcountry Revolutionaries, a Charleston podcast focused on the people building businesses and communities across the Lowcountry.
We talked about a lot: how I went from accounting to becoming a Charleston wedding officiant, how Custom Vows by Casey has grown over the past six years, the Charleston wedding industry, building community among local wedding professionals, and my newest chapter with The Franke Building.
When I think back on the last six-plus years, I honestly can't believe how much my life has changed.
In 2020, I was an accountant, stuck in a job that I did NOT enjoy, to say the least.
Now, I get to marry people for a living.
Let me say that again: I MARRY people for a living.
How crazy is that?
Photo by Karen Schanely Photography
“1,000 Ceremonies and Counting”
That title makes me smile.
When I started Custom Vows by Casey, was it the plan to marry 1,000 couples?
Did I have a plan? No, lol.
When I moved to Charleston in 2020 after eight LONG years in accounting, I knew two things:
I never wanted to be an accountant ever again. (Shocking, I know.)
I wanted to work with couples to create wedding ceremonies that actually felt representative of their relationship and what they wanted from their wedding day.
Did I run the numbers to see if this type of business could work financially?
Yes.
But I definitely didn't have a five-year plan that included officiating hundreds of weddings, building a community of more than 1,500 Charleston wedding professionals, hosting networking events and vendor showcases, producing styled shoots, launching a consulting business, working with The Franke Building, and everything else that has come along the way.
And that's actually one of the things I love most about running a small business.
It keeps changing.
As Charleston grows, the wedding industry changes, and my own interests and passions evolve, Custom Vows by Casey evolves, too.
I just knew I wanted to do something different.
I think a lot of people who are stuck in a corporate job feel the same way. They know they want something different, but they don't know where to start—or whether it will actually work.
My advice?
Just start.
You can have all the ideas, projections, spreadsheets, and back-end systems ready to go.
And yes, those things matter.
But sometimes you really just need an idea and the willingness to go for it.
From Accounting to the Altar
Custom Vows by Casey started with a pretty simple idea: Your wedding ceremony should actually sound like you.
I didn't want to create ceremonies that felt like templates with the couple's names dropped in.
That philosophy hasn't changed.
After nearly 1,000 wedding ceremonies, I've had the opportunity to officiate everything from intimate Charleston elopements and micro-weddings to large celebrations, vow renewals, and ceremonies that looked absolutely nothing like a traditional wedding.
And that's probably one of the things I love most about being a wedding officiant.
There isn't one right way to get married.
Every couple is different. Every relationship is different. And every wedding day is different.
My job is to work with each couple individually to create a ceremony that feels authentic to them, not like something copied from someone else's wedding.
Photo by Wild Cotton Photography
So, What Have Nearly 1,000 Ceremonies Taught Me?
Probably more than I could fit into one podcast episode.
But one lesson stands out:
People are the business.
The couples I've married.
The planners, photographers, florists, venues, DJs, caterers, and countless other wedding professionals I've worked alongside.
The people who show up to my networking events.
The people who have referred me.
The people I've referred to someone else.
The relationships I've built in Charleston have shaped Custom Vows by Casey just as much as any business strategy has.
And I think that's something worth remembering whether you're building a wedding business, a small business, or simply trying to figure out what's next.
Sometimes the next opportunity isn't hiding in a five-year plan.
Sometimes it's sitting across the table from you.
Listen to the Full Episode
If you'd like to hear the full conversation, Bill and I talked about the somewhat unexpected path from accounting to nearly 1,000 wedding ceremonies, building a wedding-industry community in Charleston, entrepreneurship, and the launch of The Franke Building.
Listen to Lowcountry Revolutionaries: “1,000 Ceremonies and Counting: Casey's Custom Vows and the Launch of The Franke Building.”
Casey - Custom Vows by Casey
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