Liz had always dreamed of a wedding based on 1001 Arabian Nights with decor like the inside of lavish desert tents, beautiful lights, and rich colorful decorations. They found A Step to Gold Ballroom and decided that it was the best candidate to be transformed into their fantasy wedding. With Erin's help, they assembled an impressive team of wedding vendors to put this all together for them. This is the inside of the ballroom that has been draped with white sheers along the walls and radiating out from the ceiling in swags. Notice the lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Colored lights were placed behind the draperies and the colors changed throughout the evening giving a different color of light and mood to the whole room.
This is the sofra, a Persian wedding tradition where gifts and items are placed for good luck and happiness for the couple. Notice the beautiful peacock feathers bedecking the altar.
The ceremony took place out on the balcony where a giant white tent had been set up. Here is Liz being escorted in by her Uncle Bill and her grandson, Aden.
The tent was enclosed on two sides. The balcony floor was covered with snow white wall to wall indoor-outdoor carpeting. Jeff, our light and sound guy, had white lights beaming in from outside and inside the tent. I know when it got dark later on it was beautiful to behold.
Liz and Russ wrote their own secret vows to each other heard for the first time on their wedding day. It was very special and I heard Russ sniffling a little bit!
Now they are married and it is time to party!
Here is the wedding party inside. Notice the pretty magenta color of the lights behind the sheers. On the left is our bridesmaid, Sarah, Liz's daughter and mother of her grandsons, Aden and Crayven, Viki, Maid of Honor, Liz and Russ, and Samuel, Russ' son and Best Man. Matt, Sarah's husband, was a groomsman but not here for this photo.
Here is the traditional shot of the couple with the officiant!
Liz wore a lovely off white silk two piece Indian style wedding dress bedecked with glittery jewels. She had her hands and arms covered with henna art in the Indian tradition for the wedding. Her bouquet was of brilliant colored blossoms with peacock feathers interspersed. Liz and Russ, I hope your fantasy wedding was your dream come true! You pulled it off royally! Congratulations and I wish you all the best!
Here is a photo of the balcony and tent before the ceremony. The bride had tree branches spray-painted white in the background. She wanted to be surrounded by a white wintery decor as much as possible to be in stark contrast to the rich colorful tent decor inside. After the ceremony, this space was transformed into a lounge area with sofas and tables.Our Wonderful Vendors who made this dream wedding come true:
Wow! Where do I start??
First, the wedding planner, Erin McLean, who assembled a fabulous team to manifest this couple's dream wedding. You and your assistant, Rachel, did a great job on this wedding! Thanks for all your hard work, long hours, and for sending Liz and Russ my way!
The venue, A Step to Gold Ballroom, is located in Pleasant Valley Promenade on Glenwood Avenue. I had not been there before but had heard about it. It is ballroom dance studio and also a lovely space for a wedding. Liz and Russ are avid dancers and that is the primary reason they were drawn to this setting.
Michelle Aldred of Triangle Catering was handling all the food for this wedding, and the decor, tables and chairs. It was good to work with you again, Michelle, and I look forward to the grand opening of your new venue, The Cotton Room, in Durham next week!
Jeff Simpson of Simpsound DJ and Lighting Services provided the sound system for my microphone and all the beautiful lighting which was an integral part of setting the mood for this fantasy theme. I have done weddings with Jeff in his role as DJ but had never seen his expertise in lighting. It is quite the thing for weddings these days.
Rob Seelye of Studio-R-1 was our capable photographer. It was good to see you again, Rob! He created this fabulous movie poster with our couple who are portrayed as a couple of gangsters, such as Bonnie and Clyde. Very clever! The guests signed the mat around the photo as their version of the guest book.
Elegant Ensembles out of Winston-Salem were our musicians and they played so well despite the high moisture content of the air this evening. Thanks, you guys! One of them is violinist Matt Evans who is part of a duo with his wife Elena, flutist, known as the Kildaire Duo, of Cary.
The amazing florist for this wedding is Tracy Huntley of Springwell Gardens in Cary.
Yummy chocolate for the Groom's cake!
This is a spectacular wedding cake also created by Cake Dreams by Sally.
1 comment:
Today I received this sweet note from Liz and Russ:
"Dear Kayelily~
Thank you so very much for everything you did to help us with our wedding ceremony; it was so very beautiful and it meant a lot to Russell and me.
You wrote the most beautiful and wonderful service, especially since Russell and I were more than a bit confused about what you needed from us. Thank you again for that.
I'm going to print out a copy of the entire service and decoupage it to the inside of our wedding photo album. And with all the photos our photographer took, it's going to be quite a large album.
As we listened to the words you spoke, we felt everyone of them and they are being kept near and dear to our hearts. And we are closer to each other than ever before.
Thank you, thank you, and a million times thank you for everything from the bottom of our hearts.
Sincerely~
Liz and Russ"
Thank you for your kind words, Liz and Russ. I celebrate with you and wish you all the happiness in the world.
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