A Great Wedding for Adam and Kristina at Anderson Point Park!

Friday, October 9, 2009, was an Indian Summer day with temps in the mid eighties! Adam and Kristina chose the beautiful amphitheater at Anderson Point Park in East Raleigh just off 264, a little gem hidden away in a spacious park with woods and rolling hills of green. I did a wedding several years ago there but we had the wedding in the charming cottage on the property because of threatening rain. Everything ran rather late this Friday--chairs, guests, food--but it was no big deal because there was nothing else pressing on my calendar. We began the wedding at 3:20 with the escorting in of the mothers. Adam's mother, Lair, had just flown in from their ranch in Texas and had to fly right back after the wedding because there was no one else to look after the horses, dogs and cats. Adam's father, Nick, was already here as he was serving as the best man for his son. Cheryl, Kristina's mother, was escorted in by her son Jason.

Enter our Flower Girl, Natalie, with her shiny gold shoes. She is Kristina's niece.

Here is our beautiful, beaming bride! She is escorted in by her brother, Chuck. She is wearing a shimmering beigy-gold colored wedding dress. It was so pretty on her. Her bouquet was reflective of lovely fall colors.

So, here we are at the beginning of the ceremony with Aidan, Adam's son, age 4, sticking close to daddy. Adam had a brown jacket and shoes for him to wear but he refused. He was being pacified by a ziplock bag of Fruit Loops!

When it came time to do the Blessing of Aidan in the ceremony, I called his name and he turned and walked in between Kristina and Adam and looked up at me so I crouched down to his level. This is what I said to him: "Aidan, you are a very special part of the lives of all the people here today. Your daddy and Kristina want you to know how much they love you and how important you are in their relationship. They want you to know that there is nothing you can do or say that will stop them from loving you. The three of you, as a family, makes them happy every day." He listened very attentively then gave me a Fruit Loop!

Aidan finally got so bored with the ceremony that he gravitated toward his grandmother to hold him.

Here is a wide view of the ceremony site. It is a wonderful setting for a wedding. Adam and Kristina made "fall leaves" out of yellow, orange and red tissue paper and right before we began (because it was breezy) we scattered them in the aisle and it made a stunning color palette for the wedding. Note that Kristina's two sisters, Jessica and Rachel, are wearing dresses identical to Kristina's except that they are red and orange. Adam and his father were both dressed in brown suits and Nick had a red shirt on. Kristina told me that she had hoped that the leaves in the trees would have turned by the wedding but they were still green today.

Adam and Kristina requested that the guests "shower them with the fall leaves" as they recessed out, and they did!
Kristina and Adam did not know what a big hit the leaves would be for the kids--an added bonus!

From left to right: Cheryl (mother of the bride), Aidan, Adam, Kristina, Lair (mother of the groom still in jeans because she did not have time to change), Nick (father of the groom and best man) and me.

This happy family of three, now married! Aidan is a little doll and we were so proud of how well he behaved himself! Still hanging on to that bag of Fruit Loops! Adam and Kristina, Aidan is a lucky little boy to have you as parents. I wish you all the happiness in the world.

Julius Carrasco provided us with wonderful wedding music. Julius is an accomplished classical/Flamenco guitarist. He brings his own sound system to weddings, just like I do! This time I supplied the battery for our power as there are no power outlets in the amphitheater. Thanks, Julius, your music was great.

Many thanks to Anna Lawson who directed this wedding for us. Anna and Adam and Kristina all work for the Washington-Duke Inn where I do so many weddings. In fact, I saw Anna there the next day at a wedding I was doing that evening.