Wonderful Windy Wedding of Jamie and Charles at Gregory Vineyards!

I met Jamie and Charles on September 15, 2014 to plan their ceremony for their wedding on December 7th, 2014 at Gregory Vineyards in Angier--about 30 miles from Raleigh. Vineyards are quite the trend for wedding venues these days and I was happy to do my first wedding at this lovely vineyard.

This December day was seasonably quite chilly, the temperature hovering at 50 degrees with gusts of wind up to 30 mph. It is the chance you take when you plan a December wedding. The weather can go either way. I was dressed in several layers for this one. The vineyards were bare of leaves and fruit but beautiful nevertheless. Imagine all these vines covered with leaves and clusters of grapes. Wow.

The site for the ceremony was overlooking the lake. 

Marty and I arrived and put up my sound system which was definitely needed or my words would be "gone with the wind!" The guests gathered before the ceremony in the large building where the reception would take place. The band was set up and Backyard Bistro was cooking away on their grills outside. The guests were transported from the building to the ceremony site by tractors pulling trolley type wagons. It was fun to ride over and back!

Stunning vista!

There was a "hitch in the wardrobe" according to the mother of the bride and the wedding was delayed in starting about 20 minutes. Charles and his best man Steven and I are chatting while we wait for the bride and her sister, Emily to arrive.

The music for the processional and recessional was provided by the guitarist from The Magic Pipers Band that was playing for the reception.

Poor thing, he stood there until we were ready with his hands in his pockets keeping them warm so he could play!

Here comes the bride and her father, Malcolm. 

Down the aisle...

Malcolm presented his daughter then I invited everyone to sit down. 

A warm welcome and a prayer to begin.....

Then as I stepped out from behind the couple to pay a sweet tribute to their parents, I discovered that Malcolm, instead of taking his seat, stood up with the best man! I invited him to please be seated and he did. (There was no rehearsal.)

Jamie's sister, Emily, was her maid of honor and I know she was so cold without a wrap. 

But she was having fun as you can see. She is grinning in every photo! 

Telling their sweet and humorous story! This warmed everyone up! 

Steven was lucky to have a ponytail to keep his hair in place. Jamie's hair was frozen in place with hairspray and mine was getting blown every which way!

Even though my mic had a windscreen, the gusts of wind still could be heard through the mic. Here I am shielding the mic while revealing to Jamie and Charles what they told me in confidence they love about each other.

A little tear leaked out of Charles' eye so I had to mop it up. 

Jamie asked for a wipe too! 

Time for the vows.....(love my hairdo!) 

And now for the rings.......

A closing blessing....

Jamie was holding a wadded up tissue and here I am taking it away from her in exchange for the pretty hankie before the pronouncement.

Great kiss! 

That sweet "after-kiss" moment!

Here they are, folks! All married--husband and wife!

And away they go! Literally! While I was disconnecting my sound system, their photographer whisked them off across the lake for photos where I could not follow so I did not get my usual pose with the couple. Oh well! Jamie and Charles, I am so happy for you! Despite the weather, the wedding was super! Congratulations!

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Lovely Autumn Wedding for Sam and Ric at Optimist Club Farm in Apex!

Sam and Ric wanted a casual fun wedding surrounded by their friends and loved ones. And, that is exactly what they planned for October 1, 2011. They met back in 2007 at a World Series party hosted by their friend Todd who thought that they should get together. Although they had noticed each other at work, they had never really met until the party. Todd's matchmaking intuition was right on! These two found that they fit each other like old worn jeans and everything was in sync. They told me they are best friends and that the sum of their parts really does exceed their individual strengths. They feel truly blessed to have found each other. They hired me sight unseen via email and we began crafting their special ceremony. Later on we met in person and knew we were a good match too. They brought along Sam's daughter Katie and her son Kendall who were their only attendants in the wedding. I could tell the kids thought that this marriage was a great idea! The day of the wedding, I was on Facebook and saw the above banner announcing their wedding. I made sure that I got a photo of it for this blog. 

I had never been to Optimist Club Farm  in Apex. It is a beautiful site with a clubhouse and a gentle slope to a pretty lake and lots of land in the back for parking. We were all set up for the guests to arrive.

On the porch the tables were covered and decorated. Everything was ready inside too. The Cupcake Bar set up the table of sweets. Another table held the place cards and some foam drink holders for the guests. There was a wishing tree where the guests wrote a wish for the couple and hung it on the tree.

I brought my copper-colored table for the Family Unity Sand Ceremony and placed it among the pretty chrysanthemums up front.  Then it was just a matter of time before the guests got there. Beverly Harmon with B.E.S.T. Hair Designs was doing Sam's hair. Backyard Bistro was grilling in the back yard. John Hensley with Anything Music was our DJ and had the music playing. Friends of the couple, David and Cheryl Williams with Painted Pixels Photography, were snapping photos everywhere. The flowers came from the NC Farmer's Market.

Kendall holding the ring box and Katie entered to take their places up front. Purple was the color!

Here come the bride and groom escorting each other down the aisle to take their relationship to the next level--marriage! The music they chose for their entrance was "Stuck in the Middle with You," just a little hint to the fun couple that they are.

When they got down front, they turned and faced their guests and I said: "There is an old tradition that the elders, or the wise ones of the tribe or family give the beloveds to one another as an acknowledgement of their support for this union. I believe all of you here qualify as the tribe of Ric and Sam. So, please all answer “We do” when I ask, “Who has the privilege of presenting this woman, Sam, to this man, Ric?” Of course they all shouted "We do!"

 

We acknowledged Katie and Kendall and how important they are in this marriage.

 

  

You can't tell in the pictures but it is really windy and our hair is flying all around! So much for the hairdos!

 

 

 

 

  

"Walking on Sunshine" played as we all recessed. 

 

Ric and Sam, Kendall and Katie, I know you are all so thrilled to be officially one big family now. May you have a wonderful life together with love and abundance!