Celia and Scott's Spectacular Wedding at The Umstead!

I met Scott and Celia last July to start work on their wedding ceremony for May 21, 2011 at the elegant Umstead Hotel and Spa. They were referred to me by their astute wedding planner, Angie Wright of Chic Details. Angie tunes right into the couple's vision for their wedding and makes it come true. Scott was away at medical school in West Virginia for most of the wedding planning time so Angie was a big help to Celia. When they met with me they already knew they were going to have strings and trumpet for music and the color scheme was black with pinks and corals. They had hired Lynn Graves of Fresh Affairs for the florals and Sweet Memories for their wedding cake. They wanted an interfaith ceremony since Scott was raised Christian and Celia's parents are Jewish and Christian. The gorgeous Chuppah was the Jewish element they chose and it was simply magnificent as you will see in the photos. Lynn Graves is so creative and did an amazing job fashioning this beautiful canopy.

Notice the topiaries lining the walkway. They are on platforms covered with rose petals so they can be moved where desired.

Our photographers, James and Meridith of Walters and Walters Photography, are getting photos of the bride and her attendants while all sorts of other activity is going on around them including my doing a sound check with George, The Umstead's audio man. I think this might have been the first time James and Meridith and I worked the same wedding but I have admired their work for years. To the right is the market parasol covering the musicians who were warming up their instruments.  Note all the guests of the hotel watching the activities.

One of the lovely poses James set up. There was a slight breeze. The weather was perfect for their wedding.

Meanwhile inside the hotel the reception area had been decorated. Those "ropes" of flowers are hundreds of tiny orchids strung on a plastic line and draped beautifully over the silver branches.

Here you can see the cake table with the bride and groom's table in front of it. Gorgeous centerpieces on the tables.

Here is a close up of the cake.

Here are our musicians who were assembled by Mary Greiner of Save the Date Music, a musician booking agency.

Scott's brother, Steve, escorts in their mother, Sherry, followed closely behind by their father, Tony, who was in a very mobile wheelchair.  He has multiple sclerosis. Sherry kept exclaiming how beautiful everything was!

Mother of the bride, Robyn, is escorted in by Jonathan, Celia's brother. She was so pleased with the way the courtyard looked for the wedding.

After a music change, I processed in next followed by Scott and the groomsmen.That is Celia's dad waiting on the sidelines to escort in the bride.

Then it was time for the lovely bridesmaids. Angie had them all lined up and ready to start walking down the aisle.

Their dresses were some of the prettiest bridesmaids dresses I have ever seen. They had a tulle overlay on the skirts which made them very unique.

Celia and her proud father, Scot, get ready to walk as soon as the music changes and Angie gets the train of her lovely dress ready. That is Angie's assistant, Debbie, in the background.

When we arrived for the wedding at 5:00, the sun was high enough to be beaming directly on the Chuppah. As the sun sank lower, the building then shielded it from glaring in our faces for the ceremony which began at 6:00. You can see that the sun is still high enough to illuminate the trees around the lake. The guy standing to the right of the aisle is Terry Wayne Young with Cinema One owned by Dennis Huffstutler doing the videoing.

Is that not spectacular?? This may be the prettiest Chuppah I have ever seen. Lynn is famous for his "flower balls" which hang from the beams overhead. They are solidly packed with hundreds of flowers. You can see that one fell down on the left behind us before the ceremony started. But, it looks pretty resting on the stone step.

This is a view of the wedding from the terrace overlooking the courtyard. There were many hotel guests watching and listening to the ceremony from the terrace and from their room balconies overlooking the garden.

 

Scott's friend Matthew read an excerpt from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Celia's friend Kelly read an excerpt from Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres, a popular reading these days for weddings.

This is the part of the ceremony about how Celia and Scott met.  "Across a crowded room at a fraternity rush cocktail party on September 7, 2004, Scott spotted this woman in a cute little black dress who was smiling and laughing and dancing by herself. So happens she was with a blind date, a pledge, who did not dance. Scott just had the feeling that he needed to meet her.  It also did not hurt  that she looked gorgeous with all the right curves in all the right places!  So, he sort of stole Celia away from her date." And so it goes.....

 

 The rings..........

 The pronouncement of marriage........

 The KISS!

And their new journey as a married couple begins........

Scott and Celia, your wedding was one of the most spectacular weddings ever! I am so honored to have been a part of your special day and to know you both. I know you will be so happy to finally be together and to begin your marriage adventure. I wish you all the best!