The photos on the Rigmor House website just do not do the place justice! The setting is back off the road (NC Hwy 54 in Chapel Hill) and shielded by trees and fields. The retreat house is huge and spacious and very well equipped for weddings and retreats and corporate meetings for that matter. A tent was set up for the wedding reception near the ceremony site.
Saturday October 31, 2009 started out rainy and a bit chilly. By 4:30, the sun was shining, the wind was blowing gently and it was 81 degrees! When all the guests were seated, our honorary director and friend of the couple, Leigh, signaled Josh Starmer, friend of the couple, to begin playing his cello for the processional.
Our Chuppah holders then processed in. The original plan was to have the Chuppah already in place but the wind was such that the Chuppah would have been air borne had we left it unattended!
Then Brian and I entered. Brian is a laid-back guy but I could detect a bit of nervousness which is normal. Brian is not particularly religious and Meredith was raised Jewish and wanted Jewish traditions in their wedding. I don't think Brian cared one way or another, he just wanted Meredith to have whatever she wanted. The 4 Chuppah holders were his attendants--three men and one woman.
Meredith had 10 bridesmaids and we scattered them on both sides of the Chuppah. It worked out very nicely. We had three readings during the ceremony and then we had 7 blessings with one attendant reading one each so all ten had a speaking part!
Here come the last two bridesmaids, Julie--Brian's sister, (L) and Diana, Meredith's sister, (R), followed by our ring-bearers.
Sophia was our flower girl. She started out great then stalled when she noticed all the people. Her mother had to help her the rest of the way down the aisle! Then she spent a lot of the time during the ceremony off to the side playing with her petals! She was quiet though and that is what counts!
Our lovely bride is escorted in by her proud parents, Rob and Erica. Up until the last moment before the guests arrived they were busy working on the wedding details then had to stop and go get dressed. They were delightful to work with and I could tell that Meredith comes from a happy loving family!
What a pretty setting for this wedding! Meredith told me afterward that everything went just as she had dreamed.
Diana, sister of the bride, was the reader for one of the readings. It was ee cumming's "2 little whos," the same poem that was read at their parents' wedding. Diana got a little choked up during the reading and Meredith has turned around to grin at her. It was a memorable moment.
After the vows, the rings, the wine, the seven blessings, and the glass breaking and the shouting of "Mahzel Tov," the couple were pronounced married and scampered happily down the aisle!
This is where Meredith was exclaiming to me that everything went exactly as she had dreamed and she was tickled pink. Of course I was very happy to hear that too. I try hard to make brides and grooms as happy as they can possibly be! A friend of Brian's mom told me after the ceremony that he had been to many interfaith weddings and that none of them held a candle to this one. That is always nice to hear. Meredith and Brian....all your hard work paid off and you had a wonderful wedding. I am honored that you chose me to be your officiant and I wish you years and years of wedded bliss!Thanks to Megan Kime for being our photographer. Good to see you again, Megan.
Floral Dimensions and the bride were in charge of the flowers. The bridesmaids each held a single large hydrangea blossom. Simplicity is elegance! The wedding cakes were made by a friend. I saw some of them in the kitchen but did not hang out to see them brought out to the reception, hence no photos.
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