Melissa and Phil's Fabulous Wedding at Caffe Luna!

Melissa and Phil met with me on March 4th to discuss my officiating their wedding. We hit it off right away and they hired me on the spot. I also recommended other vendors they needed and they got right on it and assembled a great team of vendors, most of us members of the NC Wedding Ring, a group of seasoned wedding professionals in the Triangle.

Melissa and Phil's wonderful ceremony was Sunday April 29th, 2018 at Caffe Luna in downtown Raleigh where I do a LOT of weddings. It is the best place in town for a fun, laid-back wedding ceremony and reception.  The food and wine cannot be beat!

Melissa wore these cute and comfy Tieks especially designed for weddings! 

Emily Thomas with Emily Katherine Events was with Melissa and her bridesmaids in the hotel room getting ready for the ceremony before heading over to Caffe Luna nearby.

Margo Codd Williams with Belloviso was Melissa's hair and make-up person. 

Kevin Seifert was our photographer who furnished all these photos of this wedding for this blog. 

What a great photographer! Thank you, Kevin!! Eric took this photo for me to put on this blog.

Usually I have no photos of the bride getting ready so this was a great addition. 

Emily has arrived at Caffe Luna and speaks with Sherry Lattin with Florian Music about the processional music. 

Kevin caught this shot of me going between the ceremony area and the reception area. 

Cool wedding cake by Daisy Magnolia!

Sherry begins the prelude music while guests are arriving and getting seated. She is so good! 

Getting that boutonniere pinned on securely on Phil. 

Getting the Maid of Honor's signature on the marriage license in the VIP room where Melissa was hanging out with her bridesmaids before the ceremony.

It was such a happy day. Melissa was all grins and laughter. In the mirror you can see the reflection of Eric Hodgden with All Around Raleigh DJ who provided the music for the reception. 

Phil's dad signed the marriage license for me. He came down from Connecticut to be with us. 

When Emily gave me the signal, I walked out and took my place. 

Phil and his father, also his best man, followed.  Then the bridesmaids entered and took their places. 

On cue, Melissa came through the back door and began floating down the aisle. 

Then Phil began walking toward her and they met in the middle. 

They came down the aisle together to be married. So romantic!

I invited the guests to be seated then welcomed them to this wonderful occasion. 

I asked the guests to join me in prayer then it was time to thank the couple's parents for all their love and support. 

The fun part of the ceremony is chronicling the story of how Phil and Melissa met and fell in love. 

It all began 13 years ago in 2005 when both of them were college students in Charleston SC--1000 miles south of Connecticut where they both grew up.

They both ended up back in Connecticut for a while but they have followed their careers to many locations finally ending up in Raleigh. Phil surprised Melissa with a proposal in December of 2016 and they began pulling this wedding together despite their very hectic schedules.

Next came the part where they each hear for the first time what the other has told me they love about them. It is so sweet and can be quite humorous as in this case.

They read their promises of marriage to each other from my book while placing their rings. 

Melissa's turn although she is putting the ring on the wrong hand! 

They chose the Anniversary Box for their unity ceremony. They each wrote a love letter to each other the night before the wedding day and sealed them without sharing and gave them to me. During the ceremony I handed them the letters to place in the box with a bottle of wine to be opened on their first wedding anniversary along with this bottle of wine.

Phil's turn to put his letter in. Someone gave them a bottle of really vintage wine! 

I pronounced them married and invited them to share their first kiss as a married couple! 

Congratulations from Melissa's mother and stepfather. 

I got a big hug from Phil. He had told me he had never been to a wedding before. So his own wedding was his first experience of a wedding! He was such a happy man!

Melissa and Phil, congratulations to you both. Thank you for giving me the honor of joining you in marriage. Your wedding was so much fun and touching too. I wish you the best forever!