The Vow Keeper
Wedding Officiant
Elopement & Wedding Photographer
For All Couples
Joshua Tree National Park Elopement And Wedding
Native American Wedding Ceremony & Earth Based Crystal Wedding
Same-Sex LGBTQIA Elopement & Wedding
Wedding Vow Renewal & Commitment Ceremonies
Native American Smudge Cleansing Ceremony
Baby Blessing & Baby Naming Ceremony
House Blessing Ceremony
Day Of Wedding Coordinator & Wedding Planner
Making Memories Of A Day You Will Forever Cherish
For All Couples (760) 399-6789 Serving Southern California
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Reviews And Testimonials
Love Letters From The Heart
Wedding Wire Reviews
Sarah and Albert said
Exquisite. Magnificent. A ceremony to be remembered forever! Charlotte's ceremony was absolutely the most beautiful I've ever heard in my life. She is so talented and loving and caring and truly wants the people she's marrying to be happy. She designs and writes her ceremonies around the couple and exactly what they want. We had told her we wanted a non-religious, traditional ceremony with a modern twist and she went above and beyond for us. She wrote a heartfelt, sincere and most beautiful ceremony that had the whole chapel crying tears of joy. We also asked her to write us a blessing for our reception dinner. Hers was steeped in tradition, love and caring for not only us as a couple, but for all in attendance. Her attention to detail is impeccable and her words of wisdom and love are sincere and deep. Larry, Charlotte's husband, is a first class photographer and was able to capture the true essence of us as a couple, whether through candid shots or posed photos. After having taken over 400 photos, Larry did not disappoint. He was always there when we wanted to pose and he was also behind the scenes capturing important moments of the girls getting ready, of us as a couple emerging out of the chapel and of our reception dinner. I wish I could go back in time and be a fly on the wall at my own wedding to step outside myself and really view what everyone else saw in the chapel and at our reception: deep understanding and love between two people who joined as one that day. Charlotte & Larry, The Vow Keeper, were integral to our day and I would hire them all over again!!! Sincerely, Sarah Preble.
Catherine and Duff said
I simply cannot say enough positive things about Charlotte!! From the second I contacted her, to a few days after our wedding, Charlotte was on top of everything!! Our ceremony went beautifully and my husband and I felt so happy and comfortable around her!! Charlotte is friendly and fun and we both felt like she was one of our special friends - even though we had just met! I had hired a photographer and while she took our photos, both before and after our ceremony, Charlotte also took some of her own photos. Well, what a blessing that was because we were extremely disappointed with our hired photographer and when I happened to mention that to Charlotte a few days later, she gracially offered to send me HER photos!! AND THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL!! Not only that, but she absolutely refused to let me pay her. What a sweet, lovely lady!! You will be thrilled with Charlotte if you decide to use her services for whatever special ceremony you decide to have!! And please, hire her to do your photos too - mine were gorgeous and I regret not having used Charlotte and her photographer. Thank you Charlotte!! ❤️ With love, Catherine & Duff.
Alberto and Mardee said
Charlotte, the Vow Keeper is just superb. Even before we hired her she took a significant amount of time to guide us and give us many tips and resources on our wedding at the Joshua Tree National Park. She picked up the phone herself every time we called, no matter what time of the day it was. Her gentle nature, coupled with her expertise made the wedding a breeze. She took care of everything. We also highly recommend the photography service that she and her husband Larry provide. The pictures were just awesome and we had access to them the very next day! We cannot say enough great things about the Vow Keeper. It was such a great value as well. She is patient, sweet and reassuring. She knows the ins and out of everything you need, from licensing to sites, to permits to calculating travel time to and from the venue. Absolutely fantastic.
Peggy and Jorn said
We were so lucky to have Charlotte as our wedding officiant! From the very first contact she was extremely quick in answering all our questions, always giving us great advice and kind suggestions, guiding us through the process step by step (living in Switzerland and not being familiar with American legal procedures we are deeply grateful to Charlotte for her immense help in these matters). With Charlotte's help we were able to design our perfect ceremony. Throughout the process Charlotte was always kind, warm hearted, professional, and genuinely invested in making this a wonderful experience for us. The ceremony itself couldn't have been more perfect: Charlotte conducted the ceremony in a way that enhanced it's depth, solemnity, and spirituality. We couldn't have wished for a better person to be our wedding officiant and highly recommend her to all couples! Thank you so much, Charlotte!
Debra and Barbara said
If you've never been married you don't really know what to expect. When our dear friend an ordained minister could not marry us we were in a quandary. After searching google for Officient Yucca Valley, we found the Vow Keeper. Charlotte, the Vow Keeper was the right choice for us. She offered 60+ sets of vows to choose from and I waded through them all weary... until I fond the Native American Ceremony. She guided us when needed and was very professional and kind. She even shot beautiful photos of our guests. As a designer beginning to get active on social media, Charlottes photos of the custom art and floral decor that I create created for our wedding are Pinterest ready. She captured our Western Party after the rehearsal party and her pictures made our guests very happy, since our photographer won't be ready to to view for 30-90 days. Bottom line, make your wedding planning less stressful and more meaningful--hire Charlotte, the Vow Keeper, she's a real pro!
Jacy and Drew said
We couldn't have asked for a better officiant for our wedding in Joshua Tree. Charlotte was professional, helpful, and kind. She takes her job very seriously, is warm and friendly and was very responsive to our never ending list of questions. We're so happy we found her and that she was part of the most important day of our lives. Charlotte officiated our wedding, and with her endless talents she help us plan our wedding and she also took our wedding photos !!!! we could not have asked for anything more, our wedding day was everything we had imagined.
Valerie and Giesele said
Charlotte was available, flexible, and provided ideas for our wedding. We ended up with an Amerian-native wedding that was absolutely beautiful located at the Hidden Hills Picnic area in Joshua National Park. In addition, she took beautiful pictures, as well. Thank goodness, because our friend lost her camera the next morning. This day was a magical experience on so many levels. I highly recommend her to perform your wedding as she did ours. Gisele and I are happily married and wanted to extend our love and appreciation for her professionalism and sweet sentimental ceremony.
Sofia and Theis said
Charlotte the Vow Keeper was the best! We couldn't have wished for a better officiant, and were thrilled by her services the entire way through. We hadn't even dared hope to find someone who would care about making our day THIS special! From the very first phone conversation across the Atlantic ocean, we weren't in doubt that Charlotte was the one. She has been both professional and personal (a rare combination!) the entire time, and was always very responsive. She assisted us with whatever we needed, and made sure our ceremony was the best it could be. Our elopement in Joshua Tree was beyond anything we could have dreamed of, and Charlotte definitely carries a lot of responsibility for the magic of our day. We cannot recommend her enough!!!
Cole and Marie said
I was lucky enough to find Charlotte online when I was looking for an officiant. From our first phone call I knew that she would be the perfect person to perform our wedding. She is almost always available by phone (8-8 7 days a week!) to answer any questions. She has a great calming presence that is so comforting on the big day! What we also loved about The Vow Keeper is that she has so many ceremony options to choose from, borrowing from many cultures all around the world. She is very flexible and will work with you on building the perfect ceremony for you and your partner.
Elizabeth and Capac said
Charlotte was amazing! She was so helpful and supportive throughout the whole wedding process and gave us lots of information and advice on holding our wedding in Joshua Tree National Park. She even had no problem changing the date due to weather at the last minute and waited on the day when we were trying to track down our best man! She went over and beyond her duties and helped us to have an amazing day! Our Native American Wedding Ceremony was truly special and I am so happy to have found Charlotte. Thank you Elizabeth and Capac.
Sharon and Travis said
Charlotte is a beautiful person and we could not be happier to have selected her as the officiant for our special day. After we decided to elope in Joshua Tree, we came across her website. Eloping simplified the entire wedding planning process for us in some ways, but it also meant that the few elements we were including (flowers, location, officiant) carried so much more weight... so it was a little unnerving to find someone online. Charlotte put our fears at ease during our first phone conversation. She really listened to our ideas and answered all of our questions. Once we officially selected her as our officiant, the resources on her website helped us pull together a ceremony that truly represented our vision. We sent her a pretty rough draft of what we wanted to include and she immediately tied all of our ideas together into The. Perfect. Ceremony. Charlotte is extremely detail oriented and even put in extra effort we never expected of her - when she learned my dress and our style for the day was bohemian, she pulled together the perfect bohemian look to officiate. It was a pleasure to work with Charlotte and I cannot recommend her enough. I'm generally pretty picky, prone to lamenting "what could have been", I'm always looking for "the best" and I can honestly tell you, Charlotte is the best. If you want someone with beautiful energy and a talent for navigating this whole wedding thing, don't look any further. Charlotte is just wonderful.
Jason & Todd said
Charlotte....WOW - What a treasured blessing to have you! Thanks to you - our ceremony on 5/9 in Joshua Tree National Park was perfect! From the day we met you on our visit in February, we sensed your passion for what you do and assisting us with every detail to make our wedding day special. The smudge ceremony and wedding lasso idea was unique to the Colorado cowboy lifestyles we live everyday, not to mention, it brought our small party (family and friends) to tears. You have fantastic ideas and helped us with the planning process every step of the way! We cannot express enough how much we appreciate your professionalism, knowledge, and kindness to us. Even our guests were extending you compliments! We hope that everyone looking for a "Vow Keeper" selects you for their special day! Again, we are honored to have had you officiate our wedding and you will always have a special place in our hearts with all the memories of that great day! All our best!
John and Jennifer said
Charlotte and her husband Larry are such great people! From the first call up until we said our vows she kept in contact with me going over everything to make sure we had the best day of our life! She helped us pick out the perfect place in Joshua Tree National Park to get married. We hired her husband Larry to do the photography. We met at the park a couple hours before hand to make sure we got plenty of perfect wedding pictures which turned out beautiful! From the minute we met them it felt like we knew them our whole life. I'm so grateful I found The Vow Keeper's website first! They really made our Day a Day we wouldn't forget! Thank you guys so much!
Christina and David said
Charlotte was AMAZING! From the moment I spoke with her on the phone, I knew she was the right person for us. She was beyond thorough with details about being married, what was needed, and all of our options. Not to mention beyond kind spirited! This could of been an overwhelming process but she made it so easy and stress free. David and I are so grateful to have had such a beautiful ceremony that represented us! If your looking for an Angel to you marry you, she's it!
Terry and Marty said
We were so lucky to have found such a kind,and helpful Officiant & also her photographer husband Larry. They are a wonderful team! Charlotte is very knowledgeable & knows just what to do to make all the arrangements & paperwork go smoothly. She really went out of her way to make the whole process easier for us. She had great suggestions & saved us so much time & effort. She really goes above & beyond & her fee is also so reasonable. We highly recommend her services & also Larry for photography. Charlotte is not only a great Minister but also a lovely lady. Charlotte gave us many vow examples so that we could personalize & choose our own vows. We were able to take portions of several examples that meant something special to us & we put them all together into one unique & meaningful ceremony. We are so grateful for that because our ceremony will always be totally just "our ceremony"....one that no one else can replicate, we could never have done that without Charlotte. She has been doing this for a long time & understands how to make every ceremony she does special & personal. It is very obvious that she truly cares about every couple she works with & that it is important to her to give everyone the best wedding experience possible. She makes the whole experience stress free, happy & enjoyable. Now there's her sweet husband, Larry, he was calm, easy going & such a joy to work with. He was open to our input & to our ideas & suggestions. He really went out of his way to make us happy. Not only was he very professional but so much fun. Larry & Charlotte took hundreds of beautiful pictures that we will cherish forever. We are both so grateful & we thank you both from the bottom of our hearts for a perfect wedding day in 29 Palms Charlotte & Larry!
Lenka and Petr said
We have travelled all the way from the UK to the Joshua Tree NP to have our wedding there. We chose The Vow Keeper because their service looked very comprehensive, detailed and professional. We were not disappointed, Charlotte was not only very organised, knowledgeable, very swift with response to a million of questions and queries we had, but also very caring and supportive, attentive to detail and flexible. She advised us on the venue, best time of the day for the best photos. She even lend us a large mirror so we could get ready for our wedding as we were camping, it turned out to be one of the best props we had for the wedding, and I am certain the mirror will be used many more times in the future!! On the day of the wedding, Charlotte and Larry (her husband and photographer) made us feel at easy very quickly, both are extremely friendly, lovely an warm-hearted people, the setting was perfect, the ceremony was beautiful, exactly how WE imagined and wanted it. Larry took some 800 absolutely beautiful photos, he made us very relaxed, even my husband, who is rather shy really enjoyed posing. But most important and difficult part of the wedding for us was the paperwork, endless licences, certificates, apostille, it would take us months and lots of money to have all paperwork sorted and sent back to our country of origin (Czech Rep.) if it wasn't for Charlotte's help. She spent hours on the phone organising for us to have it all prepared on the spot without waiting, and we managed to obtain all necessary documents within the next day of our wedding, which we were ecstatic about!!! We had the most amazing time of our life in the most amazing place in the world with the most amazing people including Charlotte and Larry. We would thoroughly recommend their services to anyone without a doubt, for the time and effort they spent making sure our day is perfect, the price you pay is very little! Thank you again Charlotte and Larry for all your help! Lenka & Petr.
Cameron and Justin said
Charlotte is the friendliest most sincere, kind sweet person you will ever meet. We love Larry her sweetie too! He was a fill in witness for us. They are both great! Do yourself a favor and look no further, you've found the best!
Rachel and Phil said
My husband and I traveled from Pittsburgh to get married in Joshua Tree National Park last weekend and had the most wonderful and perfect day of our lives out there. Charlotte made me feel so comfortable and relaxed about our plans and it felt great to find someone to trust with such a significant event. She was great with getting back to me right away every time I called or e-mailed her with questions or concerns. She is extremely detailed and so helpful with planning! I am so grateful to have found her. Her husband Larry was so friendly and patient with us when it came to taking our photos. We talked and laughed with them while we walked around and found beautiful backgrounds to photograph us in (which is everywhere in that park). We loved them and would suggest their services to anyone who is looking for a personalized and unforgettable wedding experience!
Blair & Brey said
Charlotte and her husband are true gems that made our secret elopement truly special. My spouse and I had never been to the area but wanted to elope in Joshua Tree. Charlotte had great information about the park and suggestions on where to eat. She was also very thorough in making sure we had everything we needed from the county and lots of options for ceremony scripts. She also did not bat an eye when we asked for an early morning ceremony. In fact, she had a sunrise ceremony scheduled in the park right before ours... And still made it to the site before us! One of the hiccups of the day was that our photographer got lost and actually did not make it to the ceremony. While waiting for an hour, her husband pointed out some cool things in the desert including a couple of tortoises! Since the point of the early morning ceremony was for the beautiful light and cooler weather, we decided to just use our own camera. Charlotte officiated while her husband took photos. Afterward, Charlotte took more pictures of us around the site. The photos came out beautifully. We also brought a small wedding cake, for which we forgot to bring a knife. But, of course, they happened to have a hiking knife with them that we used. They had the answer for everything we needed that day. We are truly grateful for the experience we shared with them.
Lance and Lee said
Charlotte, Thanks so much for the work you did to make our special day even more fantastic. We sincerely appreciate your professionalism, but also the warmth you extended to our non-traditional family and to our friends. Our memories of this day will always include fond thoughts of you. Thanks again!
Elaine & Steve said
Charlotte & Larry are an amazing team and couple! From the first email and phone call to Charlotte, her top priority was that we were happy with our ceremony. We were undecided as to how we wanted to have our small, Joshua Tree National Park site ceremony done but her suggestions and website were filled with examples and suggestions. We decided to go with the Native American style ceremony and my (now) husband couldn't be happier about it as the Native American lifestyle is close to his heart. Charlotte paid close attention to the little details - blanket, smudge fan, wedding bell, her attire - to ensure she stayed true to the Native American style and, at our request, her husband was able to take photos during the ceremony, allowing Charlotte to be in some of our ceremony pictures. Throughout the preparation period leading up to the ceremony (we live in northern California) she kept us in the loop and ensured that we had the appropriate documents to ensure our marriage had no complications that would delay our submitting the marriage license in our county. Charlotte is a kind and compassionate minister and she obviously conducts many types of ceremonies to compliment many types of couples. I loved that and she always reminded us that she wanted us to be HAPPY with our ceremony. Our photos are wonderful, we are soooo happy with the results of everything and I cannot recommend another person whom I would feel would integrate herself into your ceremony, should you choose her. She even had a beautiful hankie for me when I started crying (with happiness) during our vows! Charlotte will compliment your ceremony - she is a positive and good choice. You won't have any doubts about anything should you decide to go with Charlotte at the Vow Keeper. Thank you so much Charlotte! We love everything. :)