Sealed with a kiss!

Sealed with a kiss!
Laura & Chris' Wedding at JCRaulston Arboretum

Monday, October 6, 2008

Meghan and Ernest Tie the Knot at Stone Chapel!

I met Meghan and Ernest in January 2008 when they hired me to officiate their wonderful wedding at the beautiful Stone Chapel in Wake Forest on October 4, 2008. They were so excited at the prospect of creating their own ceremony so they could combine the traditions from which they came. Meghan grew up in New Jersey and teaches third grade in Cary. Ernest grew up in North Carolina and is a student at Campbell College while working a full time job. They met at the beach in NC one summer and knew they belonged together. In their wedding ceremony they included the sand ceremony and gathered sand from the very beach where they met to pour together. The chapel was filled with all their guests who were so excited to see these two tie the knot and jump the broom. The beautiful floral arrangements were provided by Preston Flowers in Cary. Jeffery Pauk was the photographer. Molly Olah and her North Carolina String Quartet provided the heavenly music!

The ceremony began with a warm welcome and prayer followed by a tribute to their parents. Ernest's niece, Nichelle, presented a reading from First Corinthians and after the vows and rings, the couple poured their sand together while a family friend sang An Irish Blessing. Following the pronouncement and kiss, the couple jumped the broom combining the wedding customs of their African/American and Celtic/Irish traditions. The newlyweds and their wedding party recessed and circled around the outside of the chapel and entered the altar area from the side for a group photo of everyone from the balcony. This seems to be a very popular trend as this is the third wedding I've done this year that the couple has requested a group photo of everyone. Then the guests proceeded to the Sheraton in downtown Raleigh for the reception while the wedding party took photos. Meghan and Ernest are honeymooning in Hawaii, too, just like Krystal and Todd I married earlier in the day. Wonder if they will run into each other! All the best to you, Meghan and Ernest!

1 comment:

Rev. Linda said...

What nice stories about your couples. The first one where you mention about a sound system brought me back to the first wedding I did for a couple. It was in a tent and it rained and rained and rained. Sometimes I spoke normal, other times I yelled and still other times it was so loud I simply waited to be able to continue.

After that I told all my couples that I had a very different perspective about weddings than a lot. I said that they were putting on a show. People spent money on their wedding. They either gave a gift or money. Some people bought new clothes. Some people traveled in from long distances by plane, train and car. They all deserved to hear what was said at the ceremony.

After that little speil no one complained when I said they needed to have microphones.

I'm not doing weddings any more but I have taken all my experience around writing one-of-a-kind weddings and personal wedding vows and wrote an Ebook, The Secret Life of Vows-How to Write Wedding Vows that Create Powerful Marriages.

My perspective around the power and potential of writing personal wedding vows is unique and innovative. www.WeddingVowsandCeremonies.com

There is a great blog with many articles that support writing vows and living them.

Love, light and laughter,
Rev. Linda Bardes, The Wedding Vow Coach