Hudson Manor is a beautiful old estate in Louisburg NC (exactly 40 miles from my home in N. Raleigh). Melissa and Glenn Cogliatti who bought it some years ago have done a wonderful job of transforming the property into a gorgeous secluded wedding venue. I have done weddings there for many years and have watched Melissa add a grand ballroom/reception hall with a covered terrace and landscaping and turn the site into a full-service setting for weddings. She has her own catering staff, her own equipment and a keen eye for pleasing any bride and groom who want an elegant yet worry-free wedding day.
Sarah and Alden fell in love with
Hudson Manor and as soon as they had booked the venue, they called me since I am on the preferred vendor list Melissa gives couples. We met in November and started planning their ceremony for July 14, 2012. Sarah is a school teacher and put a lot of hard work into the little details of their wedding including a display board with notes from her students. I have a lot of great photos of this wedding so this post is going to be extra long so you can see all the details this creative couple put together.
The Manor House
The grand ballroom/reception hall with covered terrace. After the wedding the guests congregated on the terrace for hors d'oeuvres and cocktails then moved inside for the reception dinner and dancing.
Beautifully appointed reception hall with dance floor that photographer is standing on while taking this photo...
Bride and Groom's table...
Ron K. Smith is ready to DJ both the ceremony and the reception! We have worked together many times through the past 13 years and I know I can count on Ron to do his job superbly!
Cute little three dimensional hearts that look like butterflies sitting on the table with each guest's name and table number.
The display board with comments from Sarah's students about the wedding...
The gift table with lots of photos of the couple and a basket for envelopes.
Each guest was invited to write a message for the couple for their wedding scrapbook.
The sand ceremony containers were put out on the terrace for the ceremony. The blue thing in the central jar is a paper funnel to help pour the sand. It was helpful because the opening on the central container was much smaller than the mouths of the individual vases of sand. Ruth Payne of
Fleuressence provided all the floral arrangements.
Sarah's father, John, holds his granddaughter, Taryn, who is our 10 month-old flower girl!
Melissa is our director. It is so nice that she is willing to do this as part of the services she provides when you book
Hudson Manor. She is getting us all lined up to process in.
First in are the parents--Alden's mother, Merideth, is escorted in by her son, Eric, brother of the groom. Then following is Sarah's mother, Karen, escorted in by her father, David, grandfather of the bride.
After Alden and I walked in, the first couple followed.
Then the rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen.
Our Maid of Honor wheeled in a carriage with our flower girl, Taryn, and our ring bearer, Treyce.
John proudly escorted in his daughter...
When Sarah and her father got to the first row, her mother, carrying Taryn, joined them and the bride's two sisters, Emily and Elizabeth, bridesmaids, stepped up to join them. I asked them all:
"Who presents this woman to be married to this man?" Of course they answered
"We do!" Sarah gave her parents a little kiss and they were seated.
We began with a welcome to everyone, then a prayer, then honoring of the parents which we kept a secret at the rehearsal so it is a sweet surprise for them on the wedding day.
Then it was time for their story! They met on match.com and soon learned that they had grown up only about 2 hours away from each other--Sarah in Maine, Alden just north of Boston. The attraction was immediate and it did not take them long to decide they were meant for each other. Now three years later they are making their commitment to each other official by getting married.
They each told me in confidence what they love about each other. Here I am telling Sarah what Alden told me. Such a sweet moment.
Our photography team was Thad and Sarah Lawrence with
2 and 3 Photography. I have never worked with them before but I know they got some fabulous photos of this beautiful wedding.
Although we were all thankful that we had no rain, Saturday, July 14th was a hot and humid day and the perspiration was just pouring down Alden's face and dripping from his chin. I pulled out one of my hankies and mopped his face which the guests and bride always find funny! Alden was quite grateful!
The vows were a series of questions to which they each answered "I do."
"I give you this ring...."
I had to reach over and steady the paper funnel during the pouring of the sand.
Then they blended their sand on top.
I did not know until I saw this picture that while I was mopping Alden's face again (getting ready for the kiss, you know), Sarah had taken that opportunity to blow her nose with the hankie I had given her earlier for the tears running down her face. It was a two hankie wedding!
The pronouncement...
This was what they had been waiting for!
Stepping into their new life together!
Sweet little Taryn had fallen asleep!
Sarah and Alden, I am so happy that you found each other thousands of miles from where you grew up. You were meant to be together and somehow the powers that be made sure your paths crossed. I loved working with you to create your perfect ceremony, officiating your wedding and wish you all the happiness in the world!
Before I even got her wedding posted on this blog, Sarah had already given me a 5-Star review on
Weddingwire.com:
"
Kayelily did an amazing job with our ceremony. She communicated well with both of us and really worked hard to make sure that our ceremony was exactly as we wanted it. She responded quickly to emails and was on time and ready to roll for both our rehearsal and our ceremony - she did a great job!"
Thank you, Sarah!
