Laura and Dan's Sweet Wedding at Duke Gardens!

Laura and Dan's wedding was the first wedding after my hiatus and vacationing in August. It was time to get back in the wedding mode! September 3rd was a beautiful day at Duke Gardens, especially for a wedding. The Gardens had done some drastic landscaping since earlier this summer.  As I was driving into the parking area,  I could see the spires of Duke Chapel peeping above the trees and thought to myself "why have I never noticed that I can see the chapel from here before?" When Marty and I walked up to the gate, it was obvious that I could not have seen that view before because of all the trees lining the walk to the rotunda which were all gone!

 

The entrance into the gardens is all opened up and the concrete edging is new too.

As we walked further in, I noticed that all the roses in the center were gone. The new egret fountain has been there a few months but the surface around it used to be a rose garden and is now terrazzo. It is quite beautiful. There are still some roses in the perimeter bed though. The steps have been widened and new pillars set in place. And, instead of a ramp down each side of the steps, there is a new ramp that forks off to the right leading down to the rotunda--handy for wheelchairs and the golf cart buggies they use to transport people who cannot walk far. 

We turned left at the circle and then left again into the Blomquist Gardens. I had never been back in there before and wondered what beautiful garden was hiding there! 

 

The gravel path and pretty foliage beckoned us to come on in! 

Around the turn in the path appeared this beautiful pavilion on a pretty little lagoon with stepping stones across it. Laura's sons, Quinn and Ian, ages 7 and 5, and their cousins, Gretchen and Gwen, were having fun on the stepping stones. It was the perfect place for a small intimate wedding.

Laura's sister had all the kids lined up on the stones taking some great shots!

The dedication plaque for this lovely garden. 

 

Our photographer, Jennifer with Acorn Photography, arrived and set up this great family photo before the ceremony. Jennifer and I have worked together before. She is so good and so creative. She can get the best shots!

Gradually other family members and a few friends arrived and we were soon ready to begin the ceremony.

Quinn and Ian were eager to get their hands on the sand and pour it! There was a pretty water fountain in the center of the pavilion that made the perfect table for the family unity sand ceremony. 

Laura and Dan had been waiting a long time for this day and finally they are married. Time to celebrate! 

 

Laura and Dan, I am so happy you found each other and I think Quinn and Ian are too! I wish you all the best in life and may your family be blessed! 

Fabulous Highgrove Wedding for Jessica and Kevin!

Jessica and Kevin came to see me in June 2010 to plan their wedding scheduled for July 16, 2011 at the wonderful Highgrove Estate. They are two delightful, down-to-earth people who are very dedicated to each other and cherish the closeness they have with their families! They wanted to create their own ceremony and make it personal and meaningful. So they dived into the ceremony material I sent them right away and emailed me the first draft of everything they wanted. I did my tweaking to it, wrote their story from the answers to questions they each sent me, and we emailed the ceremony revisions back and forth until it was exactly what they wanted. Unfortunately last spring, Kevin's father had serious health challenges and so it was questionable whether he and Kevin's mother would be able to attend. They notified me and we created Ceremony B, in case they could not come. Sadly that is the one we used.  But, Kevin and Jessica arranged with Island Sound to video the wedding which they plan to take with them when they visit his parents and watch it together. That will be very special.

There is a little story here that unfolded as I set up my sound system before the ceremony. The ladies from Expressions of Love Florists were putting out the shepherd hooks and hanging beautiful vases of hydrangeas from them to flank the aisle.

But the glass vases tended to slip out of the ribbon holding them. One of the small children brought to me one of the vases that had fallen but not broken, then suddenly one toward the back slipped out and broke on the brick walk. That is Ann Eberle, our wedding director with Highgrove, going to get a broom and dustpan to sweep up the broken glass.

At first it was suspected that the vases were falling because the children touched them but I assured  them that  the children were standing with me and were not near the vase that fell and broke. These kids were so cute. I had my doubts about their ability to stay together and make it all the way down the aisle at the wedding given their erratic, age-appropriate behavior at the rehearsal. But they surprised me!! The little ring-bearer took charge of the little girls, made them hold his arms and brought them down the steps on cue!

Ed Stephenson furnished lovely guitar music for the processional and recessional. I do many weddings with Ed, on his own, and with string ensembles. Turns out, he is a personal friend of Kevin's too.

Simply Cakes made this beautiful wedding cake and it was color coordinated with the royal blue wedding color.

 

The garden ballroom was ready. The tables were completed and there was a frame with the couple's picture in it for the guests to sign like a guest book. They thought of something different too. This frame above says "Bought new shoes to match your dress and now your feet are sore? Please help yourself to a pair of these flipflops so you can dance some more!  Compliments of the Newlyweds!" How thoughtful!

Ryan Pflumm, DJ for Island Sound, was on hand to provide the music and entertainment for the reception. He was at the last wedding I did at Highgrove! 

We are all lined up inside the house ready for Ann to cue us in.

Aren't these dresses spectacular? I love the silver sandals too. 

Since no parents or grandparents were being escorted in, I was the first to take the walk to the "altar." 

Here they are! The little boy, Aidan, is clearly in control of his "girls," Kiera and Kaylee. 

Jessica's parents, Jeff and Pat, are proud to escort her down the aisle. Her dress was so pretty and fit her personality so well. Amazing how bridal gowns can do that! 

I think this photo was taken during the opening prayer. 

 

I put this photo in here so you can see that the solution for the flowers for the aisle was to remove the shepherd hooks and place the vases on the bricks and with some pretty petals, no one knew the original arrangement and it did not matter because it looked just as pretty! 

 

After the story, vows and rings, the guests and the attendants read the Irish Blessing in unison to the couple. All the attendants had the blessing on small pieces of paper they had kept out of sight. Jessica and Kevin had cute programs that were like fans and the Irish Blessing was printed on one side. 

And, now they are married! 

 

The wedding party and parents recessed through to the front of the house while the guests had cocktails on the patio before the reception. Our photographers were on hand to get some wonderful pictures for the couple. Jennifer Kromout of Acorn Photography is on the left and her second shooter, Diane McKinney, is on the right.You can see that they were a lot of fun to work with.  I have done weddings with Diane before but this was my first wedding with Jennifer. I know these two got some awesome photos. 

Jessica and Kevin, what a great wedding! I know you are grateful that it was short and sweet at about 15 minutes because it was rather hot with the sun beaming down on us. You did a wonderful job organizing your wedding and it is a day you will never forget! Congratulations and best wishes forever!