Kelly and Aaron's Wedding at Raleigh Rose Garden on May 30, 2009!

Kelly and Aaron fell in love with the Raleigh Rose Garden and knew that would be the perfect place for their wedding. It is so beautiful with all the roses and the fish pool and the stone arches flanked by huge trees that reach way up into the sky. When I look at the stone archways and look up at the trees and the sky, I feel like I could be anywhere in the world!

Saturday was a gorgeous day for a wedding and Aaron and Kelly were so thrilled. They planned their wedding carefully and we rehearsed the day before. Their friends Michelle and Paul were in town from Wisconsin to assist them. I married Paul and Michelle in 2007 and it was so good to see them again! So, Michelle was our "director" for the wedding. Marty and I set up my sound system with battery power and we were set to go. Molly Olah on violin and her associate on the cello provided heavenly music. Melissa Kay was our photographer. She has a blog too so photos of this wedding will probably be there soon.

Kelly did the flowers herself; aren't they pretty? She also made their attractive programs. She told me she hand stamped the green floral designs on each one. She is so creative!

The wedding party was small and Kelly and Aaron wanted to walk in together rather than the tradition of the bride being escorted in. It was a wonderful scene to watch them making the picturesque walk up the grassy aisle flanked by the roses and their guests. Aaron's father, Max, was his best man and Kelly's sister, Brittany, was her maid of honor. She wore a lovely shade of watermelon pink. Kelly and Aaron loved the handfasting ritual with the rich symbolism so during the ceremony I wrapped their joined hands with the traditional red cord for the exchange of their vows. I told them that I had recently read that the more loops around their hands, the stronger the bond so Aaron made sure that every bit of the cord was around their hands! Then they exchanged rings which symbolically take the place of the cord.

Tears of happiness were shed during the ceremony and many guests came up to me afterwards to thank me for the warm and touching ceremony. Of course I tell them that the couple gets to choose exactly what they want for their special day so that it fits them. It was a wonderful wedding for Kelly and Aaron and after the photos they departed to join their guests at Caffe Luna--another great place in Raleigh for a wedding and was our "plan b" if the weather had not cooperated.

Many blessings to you, Kelly and Aaron!