An Elegant Wedding for Sara and Kevin at the Carolina Inn!

Sara and Kevin planned for their wedding at the Carolina Inn to take place in the Ann Hill Courtyard but the rainy forecast dictated otherwise. So, prudently they opted to have their ceremony in the Hill Ballroom instead. You can never go wrong with a wedding there! It was gorgeous. They hired Kate Foster of Kate Foster Productions for their wedding planner and I know from working with her before, she is on top of every little detail, especially the decor. You see the aisle in the photos? Well, that is not the carpet pattern you see, that is tons of beautiful red, pink, orange and yellow rose petals thickly covering the entire aisle! It was stunning. The guests were escorted in from the sides to prevent the petals from getting scattered before the wedding party processed in.

Chris Ferrer was our very capable photographer and so easy to work with. I have worked with him before and it is always a pleasure. He always asks if I mind flash photography during the ceremony. I don't. Seems that I am so focused on the ceremony I am oblivious to the photographer. It was fairly dark in the ballroom so flash was definitely necessary. He does not mind when Marty steps up with my camera to get a few shots for this blog. Thanks, Chris. A couple of musicians I had never heard of provided wonderful music for the ceremony. These guys, Stephen Murtaugh (guitar, piano) and Brendan Rice (violin), are actually two members of a rock band but on the side, they play for weddings and they are great. They call themselves The Sunday Paper. Marty and I ran into Joe Bunn, DJ, in the Old Well room setting up for the reception. Joe and I work together often and refer weddings to each other. Below is a photo of the two of us today. While we were there we took a look at the huge, beautiful, impressive wedding cake and met Wayne Swank of Swank Cake Design who was setting up the cake with his assistant. He said they baked all day today to get this cake made, delivered, and set up for the reception. I told him I had some of his delicious red velvet cake at a wedding a couple of weeks ago. It was nice to finally meet him.

On with the wedding! Sara's father escorted her in and Sara literally floated down the aisle on top of those petals. Her dress was stunningly beautiful. It was something wonderful. Sara sniffled a few times during the ceremony which Kevin told me later made him nervous and he was afraid she was going to lose it but she was fine! They created a beautiful ceremony that included a contemporary version of First Corinthians. They chose the "I do" style vows so they did not have to worry about speaking too much in front of their guests which numbered close to 200. The rings were exchanged with a few "repeat after me lines" and then we did the sand ceremony. Before the ceremony I had taken a look at the small opening on the central container with funnel nearby and warned Kevin that it would not pour very fast. Someone needs to jiggle the funnel to keep the sand flowing. So wisely they got a little bit of their sand in during the ceremony but did not prolong the ceremony by standing there trying to pour it all in. (After the ceremony we completed the pouring with me jiggling the funnel! That is the photo here which shows the back of Sara's amazing wedding gown. Kate told me later that she should have heeded my warning about getting a container with a large opening!) I pronounced them husband and wife and then invited Kevin to kiss his beautiful wife! We closed with a blessing and introduction of the newlywed couple to their guests--and out we went for photos while the guests proceeded to the reception. The intense part of the whole wedding was over and it was time to party and have fun! Best of everything, Sara and Kevin!