The Carolina Inn Hosts Wedding of Melissa and Aaron!

Melissa and Aaron met with me in December to officiate their wedding on April 3, 2010 at the wonderful Carolina Inn in the Bryan Courtyard. They are a determined young couple who know what they want. Aaron is in business for himself. His residential cleaning business is Neuse Natural Cleaning and they use all healthy green products and have the latest cleaning technology. I must say I was impressed with his knowledge and his care and respect for his customers and staff. Melissa moved to the US from China at age 13. She is a very intelligent, detailed oriented young woman who planned her wedding down to every detail.  I was delighted that they chose me as their officiant and we set about creating the perfect ceremony for them.

Preceding the entrance of the bride, these two pretty little girls strode forth in their pretty dresses with hems filled with rose petals. They seemed to have forgotten what they practiced at our rehearsal because they got confused and started going down the side of the guests. Finally with some direction they came down the aisle to the front then circled around to sit with their mommies. I think they were having a really good time together and just got distracted! 

Melissa was escorted down the aisle by her proud father, Michael. Note the chic veil and the stunning wedding dress Melissa is wearing!

The Bryan Courtyard is a wonderful setting for a wedding. The aisle was covered with graduated shades of pink rose petals ending with a pop of bright pink at the end of the aisle. In the tree branches were streamers of beautiful petals just swinging in the breeze. It was a perfect day for the wedding with the sky just slightly overcast making it perfect for photos. The bridesmaids wore soft petal pink and the groomsmen's vests and ties matched. 

Note Aaron's spiffy spats! He was dressed to the nines to match Melissa! I am glad I had a pink prayer stole that fit into the color scheme.

A Chinese wedding tradition of respect is to serve tea to the elders of the family and to honor her Chinese heritage, Melissa wanted to incorporate the tea ceremony into her wedding ceremony. The elders are called up one by one or in couples, are seated, then they are served tea by the couple as they kneel before them. Melissa's sister and maid of honor, Stephanie, poured the tea and Gabe, the best man, put the used teacups away. I got to sit on the side and call each person forth.

After the tea ceremony we resumed our positions and the ceremony continued with a reading by Melissa's cousin, Benjamin. Then during the wedding address I recounted for the guests the couple's story of meeting, falling in love, what they love doing together and how much they are looking forward to being married. The vows and rings followed and we then had the lighting of the unity candle. 

Melissa found some oil candles on line which we used. They really did stay lit in spite of the breeze we had that afternoon. I was impressed!

I made the pronouncement of marriage and then presented the new Mr. and Mrs. to their guests.

So, now they are married and so happy to be. The guests adjourned to the Old Well Gallery for cocktails while the wedding party and their families stayed behind for photos.

We got some good ones too! Melissa and Aaron, with your determination and persistence, I know you will go far in life and I wish you all the best life can offer!

Our Vendors: 

I want to thank Tracy Adams of Adams and Events for her usual fantastic job of helping Melissa and Aaron handle all the details of this wedding, being on hand to direct the rehearsal and wedding, and keeping everything flowing along smoothly. Another successful wedding, Tracy!

Megan Kime was our photographer. Thank you, Megan, for being everywhere at once with your assistant! I know you got some great photos!

Fara Ashiru with SLM TV was our videographer. She had a stationary camera and a portable one so she could get all the angles. She was one busy lady.

Ashley Cakes made the beautiful wedding cake.

Tim Oxendine of Diamond DJ Entertainment provided the ceremony and reception music. Good to work with you two weekends in a row, Tim!

Laura Greene of Greenehouse Designs was the amazing florist. The bouquets, the boutonnieres, the streamers of petals in the trees, and the centerpieces on the tables at the reception that also had streamers were exquisite!

 These were the floral arrangements on the head table. They are just stunning!

A Dream Wedding for Pam and Dick at The Matthews House!

Pam and Dick came to see me in early June to officiate their wedding. They told me their sweet story. They both were widowed and after they got their children grown up and their empty-nest lives in order, they met unexpectedly, fell madly in love, and consider each other a miraculous blessing in their lives. And so they wanted to get married. Pam wanted to have the wedding she always dreamed of and set about with great determination making that dream come true with Dick's loving support. Their lovely wedding was Friday October 30, 2009 at The Matthews House in Cary. A great place for a wedding. I love doing weddings there! Somehow Nina, the owner, keeps thinking of more things to make it an even better and more beautiful place to get married!

So, their wedding day finally arrived. Tracy Adams, our wonderful wedding planner, was on hand to wave her magic wand and make everything flow like clockwork. Even the weather cooperated! Ross and Alice Merle were there when Marty and I arrived. Ross was the DJ for the reception and providing sound for the ceremony. Alice on keyboard was providing the music for the ceremony. The groom and his men were all decked out in white suits and shoes. The bridesmaids were in pretty cognac colored dresses. Even Dick's boutonniere was a small cognac colored orchid--as were the tablecloths in the breezeway and the napkins and even the flowers on the cake. Everything had been so carefully planned. They even had surprise ring-bearers in costume!

Pam and Dick's grown up children were their attendants. Here Catalina and Darren process in.

Our beautiful bride was escorted in by her brother Jerry. Tracy is fluffing the bride's train. Two of Pam's sons, Benjamin and Joel, sang solos during the wedding.

Pam and Dick wrote their personal vows to each other and read them from my book to each other during the ceremony.

Then I called for the rings! The couple's furry friends were escorted in. Pick, an Australian shepherd mix, wanted to kiss each guest on her way down the aisle. Roxie, a dachshund, was steadily making her way down the aisle on her short little legs to greet mom and dad! Their pouches were handed to me and the pups then were escorted out.

Pick and Roxie really wanted to hang around with the family but reluctantly let themselves be led out.

Pam is ecstatic! Can you tell?? So happy to be married to Dick at last. The deed was done so it was time to have some fun.

As you can see, we were running out of daylight for the photographs but the bride and groom were on a high and ready to have a great celebration with all their friends and family. It was a glorious occasion and Pam had the wedding of her dreams. Pam and Dick, I wish you many years of bliss and all the happiness in the world! You both deserve it.

This is Pick smiling before the ceremony and ready to go. She is such a sweet and happy dog with boundless energy!

Here I am giving her last minute instructions as she washes my hands with her tongue!

Awww, sweet Roxie. She is 9 years old and looks like she has had many litters of puppies. What a sweet doggie!

All ready for the reception decorated in the bride's choice of colors.

Tracy Adams of Adams and Events was the wedding planner and director for Pam and Dick. When Tracy is in charge of a wedding, I can relax and know that everything will flow without a hitch. She told me that she thinks the same when I am the officiant! I highly recommend Tracy. Her opening words at a rehearsal are priceless! You rock, Tracy!

The wedding cake is by Ashley Cakes and follows the color scheme.



As a wedding gift to the couple, Tesh Parekh of was there to paint the scene of their wedding ceremony. Marty and I did not hang around to see the finished painting but I know it will be a treasure for the couple.

Martha Manning was our photographer and it was good to work with her again. Victorian Seasons did the pretty flowers.

Krista and Chad's Wedding at the Regal Renaissance Hotel!

Krista and Chad wanted their wedding to be uniquely theirs with their "stamp" on it. And so they did. First of all they picked the Renaissance Hotel, the newest hotel in Raleigh, located at the upscale North Hills complex for their wedding venue. It is a beautiful Marriott hotel with all the amenities and a view of Raleigh. One particular thing about the hotel for which I am so grateful is that you can park underneath and take the elevator up without ever having to get rained on! Very convenient. This was my first wedding here and I hope to do many in the future at this wonderful site. I got to meet Megan Brewer, the events manager, and gave her some of my business cards.

Krista and Chad's wedding was June 6, 2009 at 6:00. I was cutting it close with the wedding at Duke Gardens at 4:00 and that wedding ran late. Krista and Chad were aware of the situation and had told me that it was okay with them if we did not start their wedding until 6:15 if I needed the time. Marty and I arrived by 5:30 in record time and I got my microphone and receiver hooked into the DJ's system. Damien Maas of Joe Bunn DJ Company was our fabulous DJ and quickly got me plugged in and we did a quick sound check. The sound was perfect for the ceremony which took place in one section of the beautiful ballroom. The room was filled to capacity for this wedding. Everyone was looking forward to seeing Krista and Chad get married.

When Chad and Krista and I met last March, Chad asked me if I had ever done a wedding in which the best man was deceased. I had not and wondered where this was leading. Well, they had an unusual request and that was for Chad's father who had passed on some time ago to be the best man and represented by putting a portrait of him on an easel in the place the best man would traditionally stand. I told him I had never done this before but I certainly was willing to do this for them, no problem. So, that was the plan.

Krista and Chad put together a wonderful wedding ceremony and in it we remembered those who had passed on and those would could not be with us due to health issues. Seems that Scooter, Chad's cat, was so near and dear to Chad's heart that he rated being mentioned in this section and I was happy to have that in the ceremony. It was a humorous reference too and I am all for humor in a ceremony. One day before the wedding though, Chad emailed me that Scooter had died. His cancer had recurred and he just couldn't keep going. So, we needed to change the wording in that reference in the ceremony--again, no problem with that. I also suggested that they add Scooter's photo to the easel with the best man which they had already decided to do. So, you see here in the photo that both Chad's father and his beloved Scooter were his best "men!"

Another stamp they put on their wedding was the aisle runner. The carpeting in the Renaissance Ballroom is bold and contemporary and Krista's mother, Jenna, thought it was too bold for a wedding so she hand constructed a 75 foot aisle runner out of sheeting fabric with an overlay using a 50 foot commercially sold runner on which she had hand written "Krista & Chad." I was afraid it was going to be a problem with getting it laid out before the entrance of the wedding party but I am happy to report that I was wrong! You can see it in the photos.

Then there were the groomsmen's shoes!! I noticed that they were all wearing black Crocs clogs when we were on our way from the bar where they were sequestered to the ballroom. Afterwards I asked Chad about this. He had on black Crocs too, no socks! He told me he loved his Crocs and had about 13 different pairs in different colors. He wanted to wear them at his wedding and so he got some for all the groomsmen. See photo of his feet as he and Krista were recessing out after the ceremony. I wonder how many guests noticed??

Krista wanted a black and white wedding. She even chose pretty bridesmaid dresses in a black and white print. The beautiful wedding cake by Donna Ford of Sweet Memories matched!

Krista's Matron of Honor was Ryan Mason Hill, someone I have delighted in working with for many years at Caffe Luna as their Events & Catering Manager. This wedding she got to be a participant rather than a director and as she processed in, she carried the portrait of Chad's father, handed it to him to put on the easel. Speaking of directors, Jennifer Barnette Davis, formerly a wedding director for the Carolina Inn but moved to South Carolina, is a good friend of Krista's and was supposed to be her wedding director. About 2 weeks before the wedding, Jennifer found out she could not come to Raleigh that weekend. So, Krista and Chad hired Adams & Events to handle their wedding. Saundra Carmichael, Tracy Adam's associate, was their capable director and we started right at 6:00! Their wedding photographer was Nila Garriga and the flowers were from Ninth Street Florists in Raleigh.

The ceremony was memorable and sweet with humor. A great combination that expressed Chad and Krista to a TEE. Their guests loved it! The parents shed some tears at the tribute to them. When Chad began reading his vows, he was looking at me and not Krista. I signaled him to look at his bride, he said "I want to start this over." Everyone laughed and so he started his vows over looking at the woman he was marrying instead of me!

Krista and Chad, I hope your wedding fulfilled your dreams! I wish you all the best forever!