Kathleen and Steve are such a fabulous couple. I had a blast working with them on their ceremony. They chose
Olde South Estates in South Raleigh for their venue. I'd never been there before. The owner is
Lundie McComas who is also a photographer. It was great to meet her and do a wedding at her lovely estate which is an almost 10 acre farm with some horses, a couple of lakes, and a lot of pretty scenery.
This is the main house--at almost 5,000 square feet, I'd call it a mansion!
When my husband and roadie arrived on Saturday April 21st, 2018, the first thing we did was get my sound set up and do a sound check. I had checked with their DJ, Peter Gumaer with
DJ Uniq, ahead of time to be sure my receiver could be plugged into his system. It was a snap. The above photo is of Peter and me after the sound check talking about the beautiful setting and how the ceremony will flow.
From their seats on the benches, the guests can see horses and barns in the background.
These cute little chickens were rooting around under the bushes just like they did at our rehearsal.
That is our photographer and mistress of the estate, Lundie, pointing at something. She had just been taking some photos of the bridesmaid and the bride outside before the guests arrived. Then she took them inside for more.
The entranceway--yep, I'd call it a mansion!
Lundie has transformed her living room into a studio as you can see. Lots of great natural light.
Out back is the pristine swimming pool and the tent for the reception.
A sweet memorial board for their loved ones who have passed on from this earth but are forever remembered.
It is traditional in Pittsburgh where Steve grew up and his parents still live, to have a Cookie Table at weddings.
So, here it is!
Kathleen and Steve are very creative as well as having the same wonderful sense of humor. On the gift table I could see examples of their ....... well I would call them "character impressions."
A play on Steve's last name Lucey!
And here is another one!
The tent is all set up and ready for the reception.
A view of the lake behind the tent.
Steve and his guys hanging out before the wedding.
Lundie and her second shooter strategizing!
This is one of our flower girls. She was adorable. During the rehearsal she discovered the fresh triple shredded mulch in the flower beds out front. Better than a sandbox! Her mom could hardly pull her away!
Most of the guests have arrived. A few more trickled in after the processional.
Our wedding planner and director, Drema Joyce who owns
In Your Dreams, so expertly coordinated all the events of this wonderful wedding day. Her son Jamie was also on hand as her assistant. She has gotten us all lined up to process in. I went first then Steve escorted his mother in and joined me up front. Liam escorted his grandmother, the mother of the bride, to her seat then returned to for his entrance as the ring bearer.
Then Steve's groomsmen processed in and joined us up front too.
Everyone watches while the bridesmaids processed in one by one.
Now it is time to see if Drema and Maria's mother can get Lauren and Maria to walk by the mulch bed without Maria stopping to play in it. There were are few starts and stops but they finally made it! Lauren is Liam's sister, daughter of the Matron of Honor, Christina.
Kathleen's father proudly escorts his beautiful daughter down the aisle as I invited all to stand in her honor.
And so we begin! A welcome to all who have come from far and wide.
A surprise tribute to their parents was next. Always such a sweet touching moment because they don't know it is coming!
Kathleen's nephew, Liam, (son of Christina our Matron of Honor) is 7 years old and they asked him to read a poem about love by Deepak Chopra. To be honest, I did not know if he could do this but I trusted Kathleen and Steve and I was so pleasantly surprised! He did an amazing job and got every word correct. Dan, best man and brother of the groom, held the microphone for Liam and it was absolutely perfect. (After the wedding, Liam sought me out to tell me I had done a really good job too! I tell you, that boy is going places!!)
[
photo by Lundie's Photography]
Now it is time to tell Kathleen and Steve's love story. Both sets of parents hail from Pennsylvania but Kathleen's had migrated to Raleigh years ago so she grew up here. But did Kathleen and Steve meet in Pennsylvania or North Carolina? Oh no--they met halfway around the world in Busan, South Korea where Kathleen was teaching at an English school. Steve was a friend of one of her fellow teachers and came to S. Korea to visit him. But before the visit he had seen some videos that Kathleen and her students had made and had thought at the time he wished he knew a girl like that and was looking forward to meeting her.
[
photo by Lundie's Photography]
So they met and clicked together right away. Especially when Steve missed his flight home and Kathleen was called upon to entertain him for an extra day. They had a blast and that sparked the texting and Facebook messaging almost daily from that point on. When Kathleen came to Raleigh for a visit, of course Steve came too and it was at that point that they decided they were "an item!" When Kathleen's teaching contract ended and she came home, Steve moved to Raleigh and they have never looked back!
They each told me secretly what they love about each other and what they are looking forward to in marriage. I think this photo is Kathleen finding out what Steve told me!
Then Steve gets his turn to hear what Kathleen told me. As I said before, they both have a great sense of humor.
It was time for them to make their promises of marriage to each other. So I asked them each a set of questions they had chosen to say "I do" to.
After the vows, it was time for them to seal their promises with their rings.
Dan places the ring on Kathleen's finger and repeated a few lines after me.
Kathleen's turn as she made sure that ring was securely on Steve's finger.
After a closing prayer, I pronounced them married!!
Their first kiss as husband and wife!!
Time to celebrate!!
I introduced them to their guests and invited them to stand and join me in congratulating them!
They literally danced down the aisle!!
And so did their bridesmaids! They all scooted into the house for more photos together and the guests when around to the back for refreshments!
What a spread put on by Mediterranean Deli, their caterer!
Steve and Kathleen, what a fabulous wedding you pulled together. And you did your own florals too. It was really YOU! I adored working with you to create your amazing ceremony. You are such a good match for each other and we are all so happy you found each other. I wish you all the best always!
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