Ashley and Alan and I met the end of 2014 to plan their wedding ceremony. They are both in the restaurant service industry and friends of my daughter, Andrea. Turns out we have other friends in common as you shall see below! They were delighted to be able to put together their own ceremony and control not only the content but the length. They wanted no longer than 15 minutes and so that is what we created.
Their wedding day August 1, 2015 arrived clear, and hot! Hardly a cloud in the sky! So glad the ceremony was on the shorter side!
The Oaks at Salem was all prepped and ready.
The reception area under the tent was cooler and all ready for the guests after the ceremony.
Rocky Top Catering was providing the goodies!
Veni is new with
The Oaks and this was her first wedding solo. Joslin, the events facilitator I usually work with, had her baby girl early--the night before our rehearsal! Veni is a wonderful addition to the staff at The Oaks and really earned her stripes on this wedding with all the coordinating and dashing back and forth. I really appreciate that she gives me and the DJ a ride from the house to the ceremony site to get the sound set up.
And so, the guests are beginning to arrive and take their seats. Our DJ, Scotty Williams with
Making Memories DJ Service, was set up and ready. Our photographer and videographer, Martin Vojtek with
Martin Video and Photography was set up too.
First to process in around the street side of the lake were Ashley's grandparents followed by the parents then by Alan, Nick (Alan's younger brother) and me.
I haven't clue who the guy behind us is! We were busy talking away!
From the other side of the lake, the bridesmaids and groomsmen entered.
Walking on grass with high heels on is quite a challenge. And if it has rained in the past day or so the ground is even softer and easy to sink into!
This bridesmaid gave up and just took her heels off and walked barefooted!
Now our maid of honor and best man come along.
Our oldest flower girl, Haleigh, had ventured closer to the water. You can see the bride and her father in the background along with Veni and April (owner of The Oaks) waiting for them to get in place.
Miranda, our youngest flower girl, needed some assistance!
Haleigh gets going on down the aisle!
So now we await the bride and her father. I asked the guests to remain seated so Alan could watch Ashley and her father, Joe, approach. Then when they got to the back of the chairs I invited them to stand in her honor.
Scotty gets the cue to start the music for the bride.
It is an impressive walk around the lake and so beautiful!
Joe answered my question to him, placed Ashley's hand into Alan's, carefully stepped behind her making sure he did not step on her train and Kristle straightened the train for the ceremony.
Now we begin this wonderful ceremony that was full of laughter and tears!
They have a good story too. They first met back in 2008 when they were both working at bars in downtown Raleigh. They hung out together with their friends and coworkers and were just friends.
In 2012 they were both invited to be in the wedding of friends. Alan's affinity for redheads prompted him to make the first move and the timing was right! By the time of their friends' wedding, they were dating.
Alan popped the question two years later during a trip to Blowing Rock and of course Ashley said yes!
We pause for a moment for me to mop Alan's face which was dripping with sweat, not that the rest of us weren't dripping too!
Being very careful not to drop the rings!
Alan placed the ring on Ashley's finger while saying the chosen words to her.
They got tickled while Ashley was trying to put the ring on Alan's finger!
A short closing blessing followed then the legal moment they become husband and wife!
I invited Alan to kiss his beautiful wife then made a beeline to get out of the way!
And it was a good thing that I did!
Here they are, folks, all married!
Let's go, baby!
And they strutted down the aisle so happy to be married at last!
And off into the future happily ever after!
While I was removing my microphone, another couple I married in 2013, Heather and Jed, came up to say hello! It as so good to see them! Heather is Alan's cousin. I never know who will be attending weddings and I love it when other couples I know say hello!
Alan and Ashley, what a fabulous fun couple you are! It was an honor to join you in marriage. (And yes, I wore the same navy outfit this past week for your friends Allison and Steve's wedding which you will see later on this blog!) Thank you so much for your review. I appreciate it so much. Only a few more to go to get my 250 reviews badge from Weddingwire.com!
My husband and I were so pleased with how helpful Kayelily was from start to finish. She answered every small question we had, was very detailed in every step of the process and she was extremely professional, but yet so friendly she felt like family. We felt very comfortable with Kayelily and we will be recommending her to friends and family going forward. Everyone at our wedding commented on how graceful she was and we agree! Absolutely wonderful ceremony! We would not have had it any other way. Thank you so much for making our day absolutely perfect!
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