Carrie and Russ Marry at St. Mark's Chapel, Raleigh!

If I was planning my own wedding, I would have it at St. Mark's Chapel. It is located on the Mordecai House Campus in downtown Raleigh. It was built in the 1800s and moved to its present location. It is very simple, rustic, and cozy with maximum occupancy capacity of 55 . The chapel can be left plain without decorations or it can be decorated to the hilt! It is air conditioned too! Carrie and Russ thought this was the perfect setting for their wedding too. They wanted to be surrounded by family and close friends and to include Dino, Russ' 8 year old son, in the ceremony. Dino is just adorable and was so excited to be all dressed up and in his Dad's wedding. He really enjoyed the sand ceremony as he and the couple had fun layering their three colors of sand. Afterward, as a sweet surprise, he gave Carrie a rose!

Marty and I arrived for this late Sunday morning wedding on May 10th which was also Mother's Day. Carrie looked so pretty in her simple but elegant wedding gown. Her sister, Erica, was her maid of honor and Russ' friend, Michael, was his best man. Carrie's Aunt Martha was our director who expertly got everyone in place. The beautiful and uplifting music was very unusual and something I had never heard or seen! John McHugh plays the Uilleann Pipes and Tin Whistles. The pipes sound just like a bagpipe but not nearly so deafeningly loud. It is played by pumping the bellows with his elbow and depressing the numerous keys. He also played the tin whistle. He plays for weddings and special events and I would highly recommend him, especially for anyone wanting an Irish/Celtic wedding. His information is at this website. Amanda Byrnes was our photographer and it was good to be working with her again! She took the top two photos and send them to me for this post. Thanks, Amanda!

All the best to you, Carrie, Russ and Dino!