Wake couple hopes for sweeping ruling

In relationships, some say timing isn’t everything. But for Chris Creech and Chad Biggs of Raleigh, timing meant the difference between partner and husband.

The couple eagerly awaited a ruling declaring same-sex marriage to be legal in North Carolina on Oct. 10, with friends, family and media in tow.

Biggs, a wedding planner and Wake County sheriff’s deputy, said the two were married at exactly 5:44 p.m. and 46 seconds — making them the first same-sex couple in the state to be legally wed.

For Biggs and Creech, the announcement that same-sex marriage would be legalized was a relief and a surprise.

“We were still shocked because I never really thought I’d see (same-sex marriage) in my lifetime,” said Creech, an information technology manager in Wake County.

The couple excitedly put their names third on a list to be married in Wake County. But when two other couples opted for a more private, less media-attended wedding, Biggs and Creech learned they would be the first same-sex partners to legally celebrate.

At the ceremony, amid all of the camera flashes and anticipation, Biggs said a little girl around age 4 walked up to congratulate the couple. He said hearing the little girl gush that “their marriage was great” showed nobody is born with bias.

Creech said the media and large attendance made their wedding even more meaningful.

“It was nice to be able to share that with everybody that we know and hopefully give other people that we didn’t know hope that times are changing,” he said. “They’re headed in the right direction, and it’s going to all be OK.”

The couple’s relationship started with a first date and mutual friends, like so many others. But from their first night together at Mellow Mushroom, Biggs said they had a natural connection.

For the date, the two brought their children — for Biggs, a 4-year-old daughter, and for and Creech, two foster children — and they never had an awkward moment, Creech said.

“It was amazing,” Biggs said. “It wasn’t 10 minutes into our date that my daughter was climbing all over him.”

Their daughter’s school has also shown incredible support and encouragement.

“All of her friends jokingly say that she’s a star now that she’s been on the news.”

Creech said sweeping legalization of same-sex marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court would be a landmark event, particularly with so many passionate people on both sides of the debate.

“It will be one of the greatest changes and positive movements that the country’s moved in,” he said.

state@dailytarheel.com