Deneen and Jon's Wedding at The Pavilions at Angus Barn!

Deneen and Jon wanted a simple ceremony surrounded by their family and closest friends. So, they planned  their wedding ceremony to be lakeside at The Pavilions at Angus Barn, a beautiful setting for a wedding. After the ceremony, their guests were invited to enjoy cocktails and hors d'oeuvres on the terrace entertained by Julius Carrasco and his wonderful band. Later they would move to the Wine Cellar of the main restaurant for dinner. When Marty and I arrived on September 3, 2010 for the wedding, Julius and his musicians were already assembled and playing the most fun and beautiful music. It was a pleasure to sit and listen and made me want to get up and dance.  Julius is such an accomplished musician. His band plays at local restaurants in Durham and although I have done many weddings with Julius as a solo guitarist, I have never heard the band. They are fantastic! I had told Deneen and Jon about him when they met with me in March and they went to hear him and hired him on the spot.

When everyone was ready to begin, Julius took his position at the ceremony spot and began playing the first piece of the processional. Our photographer was Amber Parnell with F8 Photo Studio. (Please note that the photos on this blog post are not professional photos. They are taken with my small digital camera.)

I began the long walk from the pavilion to the lakeside terrace and the attendants, Deneen's daughter, Lydia, and Jon's daughter, Olivia, escorted in by Jon's son, Ian, were being cued to follow by Kelly Joslin, wedding coordinator for The Pavilions. She is so great to work with. Thanks, Kelly! The day was not too hot and there was a nice breeze blowing.

When the kids and I were all in position, it was time for the bride and groom to enter. What a handsome couple they make. Deneen is such a gorgeous woman and her beautiful beaded gown was perfect for her.

Isn't that a beautiful sight? What a nice place for a wedding. The other one I did here in July was rained into the pavilion building so this was my first one lakeside. The English Garden provided the beautiful florals and bouquets and boutonnieres.

 This was a second marriage for both Jon and Deneen and they knew exactly what they wanted. With my guidance they created a sweet and meaningful ceremony and included recognition of all their family members who were present, especially their children.

 They also wrote their own special vows to each other which they read from my book as they exchanged rings.

Then it was time for the pronouncement followed by......

The sweet kiss to seal their vows. A blessing followed then the ceremony concluded as I introduced them to their guests as husband and wife.

The happy couple! It is time to celebrate as the guests trickled back to the terrace to enjoy the great music and the refreshments. What a great wedding! Jon and Deneen, I know you will be so happy together and this makes it official. I wish you all the best life can offer!

Tribute to my friend and colleague, Julius Carrasco, Classical Guitarist--fond memories.

It is with great sadness that I learned this evening that my friend Julius Carrasco died on March 15th. His daughters emailed me asking for photographs of Julius that are on this blog and of course I was glad to be able to send them to them. Julius was a fantastic classical and Flamenco guitarist, he was highly educated and could play anything. I was always impressed not only by his talent but with his dedication, perseverance and endurance in the weddings we did together the past few years.
From his biography:
Julius Carrasco, classical and flamenco guitar: Julius began playing guitar at three years old. He entertained family and friends while growing up and was largely self-taught. A music professional, he received a degree in music from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, where he attended master classes taught by legendary Spanish guitarist Narciso Yepes. He also learned flamenco music technique from nuevo flamenco artist Gerardo Nunez.  

This is Julius' band, Los Tres Caballeros, playing for the reception of Jon and Deneen's wedding at The Pavilions at Angus Barn. 

Julius always dressed the part when he played for weddings. He played for Deneen and John's wedding ceremony out on the terrace.

I could always count on Julius to play for a wedding on short notice. This was a quickly arranged wedding ceremony at Page Walker Arts Center and it was dark by the time the wedding started. This was not a problem for Julius who could play beautifully in the dark! This wedding was on October 30, 2010, the last time I saw Julius.

At Anderson Point Park in Raleigh there is no power source at the amphitheater. So, I brought my battery to this wedding to power his sound system and I plugged my wireless microphone into his system for amplification of my voice. We had it all worked out.

This wedding was at the Second Empire. Julius is up on the porch all set up and again I plugged into his sound system.

I will truly miss Julius, my friend, who enriched not only my life but the lives of all he played for! He will always be in my heart and in the hearts of his loved ones.

To live in hearts we leave behind
Is not to die.
~Thomas Campbell